This week John Faulkner will be the featured presenter on Tuesday, bringing us up to date on all that is going on at the airport. Join us at noon at the country club!
There is no evening meeting this week. We'll combine the next evening meeting with the Dream Street social on August 28. (See "This and That," below).
This Week's Spotlight: Megan Connors
Our club treasurer, Megan Connors, graciously agreed to be our first member to spotlight in the bulletin. She is a Senior Manager with Anderson ZurMeuhlen, where she performs financial statement audits, compliance, audits compilations, reviews, and other consulting work. She loves the innovation involved in her work. "Technology has had a huge impact on what I do daily," she said. "We are constantly evolving how we audit, the tools, we use, and what we can do to be more efficient and provide quality service to our clients. Artificial intelligence is something we discuss almost daily."
She also enjoys the relationships she builds with clients. "I spend a good portion of my time out at client locations and I get to develop relationships with a lot of organizations who do great things for our community. Getting to see that in action is so rewarding."
Megan joined Rotary 3 years ago and immediately stepped into a leadership position on the board. She loves the opportunities our club affords members. "I can serve my community and have a global impact at the same time!" she said. "I also love the opportunity it has given me to meet so many wonderful people in this community and by providing leadership to the club, I hope to strengthen those relationships over time."
Megan and her husband, Luke, have two children: Rosemary, who turns 4 today, and Callen, who is 1. Her idea of fun is spending time with them. "It doesn’t matter what we are doing. We enjoy playing in the back yard and having BBQs, going to parks or community events, and traveling around our great state of Montana. I just want to be with those I love."
How fortunate we are to have Megan in our midst!
This and That
Sandy Filipocicz is chairing the Silent Auction Committee for Harvest Howl, which had its first meeting last Wednesday. She urges club members to consider items that they can donate to make the silent auction the strong fund-raiser it always is.
Sheila Rice returned from big city life to present us with a couple of checks on behalf of the Rotary Foundation. The first check, for $3,000, was presented by Bob Holter to the NeighborWorks crew for the purpose of planting trees in the owner-built homes. The Dream Street celebration of the homes and trees will be August 28 at 4:30, so mark your calendars! We'll plant a tree and then have combine their celebration with our end-of-the-month social!
The second check, in the amount of $15,460, was to the club for the operation of Camp Rotary. Approximately 1,000 young people use the camp every summer and in order to keep their costs down, our foundation subsidizes the operational costs each year. Thank you, Rotary Foundation Committee!
Last Week at Rotary
Last week Mayor Bob Kelly visited both the noon and the evening meetings and organized his remarks around a SWOT analysis of the city we call home.
Strengths: For starters, we have a great City Commission with a breadth of experience and expertise and the ability to work well together. We also have a fantastic location, with a beautiful setting, a colorful and proud history, and opportunities to recreate and make a difference. Finally, we have great people, as illustrated by Rotary Club of Great Falls, whose generosity and community focus give Great Falls a strong social fabric.
Weaknesses: The Mayor pointed out one relatively new weakness and one old one. The new one falls under the category of "big city problems in a small city population" - the drug problem and its effect on the city. The old problem is the tax structure of municipal government itself. There are very few tools the City has to raise revenue besides the local property tax.
Opportunities: One of our greatest strengths, Mayor Kelly believes, is the potential the city has for innovation and growth. We're seeing businesses make investments in that potential. We are big enough to have the variety of people that make a city vibrant, but small enough to feel a sense of connection to one another. The young adults in our community are passionate about boosting what we've got.
Threats: The mayor said the biggest threat to the future of Great Falls is the lack of a workforce. We just had to close down two of the pools with a full, hot month of summer left because we couldn't find enough lifeguards to staff them. Many businesses, both existing and potential, complain that they qualified workforce they needs is just not available. Most crucial, according to the Mayor, is the loss of teachers. The persistent failure of mill levies in the past 12 years has meant cuts in teachers and in programs. Without a strong school system we can't create the economic and workforce we need and we will have difficulty attracting new professionals and businesses. Related to that threat, but separate is what the Mayor called the "distortion of the city narrative" that has occurred in recent years. "If you don't love your city," he pointed out, "nobody else will."
The evening meeting was small enough to allow for much more interaction, and Mayor Kelly enjoyed hearing from evening members about their impressions of Great Falls. Leon Green III pointed out that he decided to stay here after finished his MAFB service because his kids had fallen in love with our schools. Troy Halsell lives a stone's throw from our beautiful courthouse and enjoys discovering the city. Zach Swartz grew up here and thinks that while the downtown is important, there are other areas where Great Falls can capitalize on its assets. What a great discussion!
Milestones
Wow! We are rife with birthday milestones this week! Tomorrow Owen Robinson blows out some candles. On Tuesday, Patty Boyle and Dr. Caitlin Walter do the same. And on Wednesday, Cheryl Crawley, Beth Frasure, and Heather Palermo celebrate the completion of another trip around the sun.
Best wishes to all of you from your fellow Rotarians!
Metis Leader To Be Featured Presenter at Peace Park Gathering
The featured speaker at the annual conference of the Waterton Glacier Peace Assembly will be Lorelei Higgins. The background that shaped her to become a candidate for the Peace Fellowship includes her Métis roots and her unforgettable experience as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student to South Africa, post-apartheid.
Lorelei obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta, majoring in Political Science and International Relations. She has an MBA from Royal Roads University majoring in Executive Management and Leadership. Lorelei served an internship with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Bolivia and subsequently worked as a team leader and program officer for Ghost River Rediscovery (the NGO for which she interned) and oversaw administration of programs around the world.
Lorelie speaks both Spanish and French fluently. As well as extensive community service and volunteerism, Lorelei has participated in prestigious national leadership programs, most recently with the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference.
Lorelei is presently employed with the City of Calgary as an Indigenous Relations Strategist. Her mandate is to develop the City's Indigenous relations portfolio in light of the 2016 Truth and Reconciliation report. This includes the development of a Calgary Indigenous Relations Office. Lorelei is married with 2 children.
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