Next week at noon we'll focus on Every Rotarian Every Year. Megan Connors and Keith Tokerud will head up the presentation. Join us at noon at the country club! (And if you can't make it, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!)
Spotlight on ... Ken Munski
At its November meeting, the board of Rotary Club of Great Falls bestowed an honorary membership to Ken Munski. It is a distinction well-deserved.
Ken joined Rotary in 1988 and to say he has been an active member ever since is an understatement. Highway clean-up? He's there. Centennial celebration? "How can I help?" From Harvest Howl to Rotary socials, you could count on Ken to show up with his sleeves rolled up.
Ken was particularly active on all things Camp Rotary, from the camp clean-ups to cabin construction to equipment installation. Even after his relocation meant he had to leave the club, he has been instrumental in providing a pair of Rotary eyes on the camp and in helping us work through the bridge challenge. It is a sign of great leadership to leave your work in good hands. In selecting and preparing John Juras to take over the oversight of Camp Rotary, Ken has done just that.
For those of us who aren't engineers and consider "heavy lifting" to be raising a 16-ounce stein instead of our usual 8-ouncer, the qualities of Ken's we'll most miss are his eternal pleasantness and his humor, especially when it came to "Rotary math." He should have been a teacher. He made learning new things fun.
But life moves on and so did Ken. Our thanks to the board for giving him the recognition he is due ... and to Ken for year after year of service beyond the call of duty.
Can You Help Bridge the Gap?
This week President Yturri emailed members an update on the construction plans for a new bridge to Camp Rotary. The US Forest Service team has been very cooperative in ensuring that the construction plan approval and permitting timeline is shortened so that construction can be completed in time for camping season next May. Additionally, the US Forest Service team has committed approximately $115,000 to a project that is estimated to total approximately $230,000.
Rotary has already paid for a structural engineering assessment, the preliminary bridge design, and final design for a total of $26,250. Various Rotarians have managed to secure funds from a variety of sources that bring us very close to the estimated total needed. However, we are still about $1,250 short of our goal. If you or your organization would like to contribute, or if you have any knowledge of matching grant funds available for this type or of project, please let Cari know before December 15. If additional funds are available, the US Forest Service has committed to spending those funds on Camp Rotary road maintenance.
Last Week at Rotary
We were treated to an update on the various water projects going on around the city last week by Public Works Director Jim Rearden. The projects in the past few years have been numerous and expansive.
The water treatment plant has been significantly expanded and badly needed updates were completed as of February 2019. The water tanks on Ella Avenue and Skyline have been spruced up. The old airport water tower has been torn down and a new water tower was installed on Gore Hill this year.
As Jim pointed out, the expression "a river runs through it" is doubly true in Great Falls. With both the Missouri River and the Sun River separating sections of our community from one another and with flooding always a possibility, the need for redundancy in our water systems is significant. Of particular scope and complexity to create that redundancy is the installation of new pipes between Verde Park and the Fox Farm area, taking them underneath the Missouri River to provide connectivity. The project has caused significant disruptions, especially to traffic in the Fox Farm area, but the result will be a more efficient, modern, and redundant water system.
Between 2015 and 2019, the capital expenditures for these projects and others have totaled $82,190,487 and another $18,875,000 in expenditures is projected to complete the projects in 2020. In spite of that, our water and sewer rates, at both the residential and commercial levels, are lower than those at the other 6 major Montana cities.
Jim was pleased to see so many familiar faces at the meeting and complimented the club on the good will so evident in the room. We were delighted to have such an informative update.
Milestones
Happy birthday next Friday to Brian Hoven and belated birthday wishes to Keith Tokerud and Tom Trunkle, who celebrated their continued existence last Sunday and Thursday respectively.
November has brought us a bucketload of Rotarians, but here are the three with the most seniority : Gary Bjelland, 34 years this month; Mark Macek, 31 years; and Bill Bronson, 28 years. Ninety-three years collectively! Thank you for all you bring to Rotary.
Weekly Wisdom: Turning Rivalry to Profit
In anticipation of today's Cat-Griz game, Art Taft decided to use the annual rivalry to raise some funds for Camp Rotary. He brought two pies to the noon meeting and auctioned them off by the slide, with the pie bringing in the most money for Camp Rotary indicating the true winner of the Brawl of the Wild. Griz dominated, $90-$50.
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