September 11 Rotary Bulleting (Sep 11, 2016)

Another Howl in the Books!

We did it. With the biggest name-draw ever and a timeframe that made us scramble, we rose to the occasion and pulled off Harvest Howl 2016.

Many, many people contributed to the success of this event, but let's start by recognizing a few of the key leaders. Mike Wier oversaw all aspects of the operation. Tom Nelson lined up the bands. Lacey Gallagher made sure the green room was well-stocked and well-managed. Sheila Rice handled the catering detail. Susan Wolff, Denise Gray, Rob Rezek and Malissa Hollan spent countless hours on the silent auction. Cari Yturri did the same for the dessert auction.

And that's just for starters! We'll have plenty of time to reflect on the event and thank other Rotarians who made it successful. For now, let's just breathe a sigh of relief and take ten!

Last Week at Rotary

One of the most attractive features of our community is the River's Edge Trail, offering miles and miles of paved and graveled pathways for cyclists, runners, and strollers of all ages. Fellow Rotarian John Juras, current president of the River's Edge Trail Foundation, brought us up to speed on the trail at last week's meeting.

He believes that our trail is the best of its kind in the Northwest, although Billings appears to be giving us a run for our money. Making the trail the tremendous resource it is involves the collaborative work of many groups. The City Commission, especially the Parks and Recreation Department Montana State Parks, the Montana Wilderness Association, the International Mountain Biking Association and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy are just a few.

Donations to the trail are always welcome. For more information, visit http://thetrail.org/donate-to-the-trail.

This Week at Rotary

This week State Auditor Monica Lindeen will be our featured speaker, bringing us up to date on rising health insurance costs. Join us at noon at the country club!

Please Be Patient ...

A change in ClubRunner's eBulletin format has eliminated the easy way to include photos with the articles. We're working on it! In the meantime, when we have photos that we can't include here, we put the article with photos on our Facebook page, as we did with the River's Edge Trail article in this bulletin.

Milestones

Birthday greetings this week to Virginia Stacey on Wednesday and Kevin Clark on Friday. We wish you the best in the year to come!

Weekly Wisdom: Remembering the Fallen

My older brother John lived in Technicolor. … When he walked in the door, the whole house lit up. And I’m sure heaven lit up when he got there too.

Anthoula Katsimatides at the World Trade Center site in 2005

Whenever we parted, my father would say, "Te amo. Vaya con Dios." And this morning, I want to say the same thing to you, Poppi. I love you. Go with God.

Catherine Hernandez at the World Trade Center site in 2008

If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.

Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl, in Shanksville, Pa., in 2002

With almost no time to decide, your loved ones [on Flight 93] gave the entire country an incalculable gift. They saved the Capitol from attack. They saved God knows how many lives. They saved the terrorists from claiming the symbolic victory of smashing the center of American government. … They allowed us to survive as a country that could fight terror and still maintain liberty and still welcome people from all over the world from every religion and race and culture as long as they shared our values, because ordinary people, given no time at all to decide, did the right thing.”

Former President Bill Clinton in Shanksville, Pa., in 2011