This week Linda and Mike Mettam will tell us all about the Great Falls Exchange Club. Join us at noon at the country club!
Wednesday is the end-of-the-month social, scheduled this month for after 5 on the patio of the Sip 'n Dip. Sounds like fun!
Long-time Great Falls Rotarian Bob Jorgensen said his last good-bye to his wife Shirley on June 30. Services were held in Colorado earlier this month, but a graveside service will be at 11 a.m. this Friday, June 27, at Hillside Cemetery. A reception will follow at the Heritage Inn. Please take a moment to offer Bob your support and condolences.
Last Week at Rotary
Last week President Todd Neighbor introduced various members of our board to give us an overview into the activities of the year to come. Some highlights:
Heidi Hockett will be heading up the Rotary Duck Race scholarship fundraiser (more on that next week). She'll be selling racing ducks at most Rotary meetings, so chip in and back a duck!
Bill Harp, who heads up youth programs for the club, thanked Sydney Blair for her extraordinary service in overseeing the RYLA program this year and for many previous years. He also asked for a volunteer to chair a committee for foreign exchange students.
Carol Lindseth, our long-serving secretary, reminded members, particularly committee chairs, to make sure they record attendance at Rotary events outside of our noon meetings, so that members get credit for the full range of their participation.
Lacey Gallagher serves on the board as coordinator for the reservations at Camp Rotary, but her informal introduction as "Cheerleader for All Things Rotary" seemed more apropos. She gave us a brief overview of the history of the club and the importance of Rotary values. She also encouraged members to engage in even more service activities and to make an effort to move around a little more at meetings in order to meet and get to know more of our fellow Rotarians.
PresidentNeighbor pointed out that minutes relating to the recent bylaws changes had been distributed to each table. He noted that Mary Moe has agreed to chair a new Bylaws Committee so that we can update the document and suggested those interested in serving on the committee contact Mary. He then turned the meeting over to Rob Rezek and Joann Gogo for an update on the evening meeting option. (See article below.)
One More Act of Service above Self
Rotarians took a moment at last week's meeting to salute Ian Davidson, a member of Rotary Club of Great Falls for more than 50 years, who has made an indelible impact on the club, this community, and our state.
The news had just come out that Ian, his wife Nancy, and their family have contributed up to $1.8 million to restore the beauty and upgrade the functionality of the auditorium at their alma mater, Great Falls High School. It is, of course, only the latest in a long list of Davidson philanthropy. From the beautiful lodge at Camp Rotary to the amazing legacy of the Davidson Honors College at the University of Montana to the beautification of downtown Great Falls, the Davidsons have quite literally changed the face of their community and state.
Beyond their philanthropy is their record of service. And beyond that is the way that Ian has instilled the values of both service and philanthropy in the company he built from a 3-employee operation in downtown Great Falls in the 1950s to a workforce over 1,000 strong spread across 25 states in 2018.
We are fortunate in Rotary Club of Great Falls to have so many members who give so much to make the world a better place. Ian is just one of them - but what a powerful example he has set!
Evening Meeting Option Further Explained
As a follow-up to last week's vote approving a pilot project for an evening membership option, Rob Rezek and Joann Gogo provided further information to the members at last week's meeting.
Rob emphasized that the goal of the evening option is to attract new members to the club, not to "cannibalize" or compete with the existing membership. He has tentative commitments from some 50 community members interested in being Rotarians, but deterred by conflicts at noon or the noon membership dues and fees. It is his hope that the evening option will attract young professionals to the Rotary mission, engage them in volunteerism and service, and add diversity and numbers to our already strong club.
Two Rotarians will co-chair the evening option, one a current officer and the other an evening member. The evening member will have an ex officio, non-voting position on the board to facilitate good communication between the evening members and the existing membership. President Neighbor and President-elect Yturri have pledged to oversee the evening pilot diligently. Evening members will be encouraged to attend noon meetings when they are available; conversely, noon members are welcome and encouraged to attend evening meetings. Evening members may take on a service project or two of their own, in order to build identity and esprit de corps, but they will be expected to participate in at least one traditional club project - e.g., Harvest Howl, the dictionary project, etc.
The format for meetings has not yet been finalized, but the group hopes to innovate on meeting format to create greater participation and engagement from all members at the meetings. Meetings are tentatively set for the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month. Stay tuned!
Milestones
Happy birthday this Friday to Jim McCormick. Best wishes, Jim!
It's always impressive to see how many of our club members have been Rotarians for decades. July has brought us the following LTR's (Long-Term Rotarians):
Kurt Baltrusch - 32 years
Cheryl Crawley - 24 years
Dave Crum - 24 years
Sheila Rice - 24 years
Four individuals - 104 years of service above self. Pretty darn impressive.
Weekly Wisdom
It's so important to make someone happy.
Make just one someone happy.
Make just one heart the heart you sing to.
One smile that cheers you,
One face that lights when it nears you,
One soul you're everything to.
Fame, if you win it, comes and goes in a minute.
Where's the real stuff in life to cling to?
Love is the answer.
Someone to love is the answer.
Once you've found it, build your world around it ...
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