RYLA Committee Chair Fred Anderson reports that the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy is on "pause" right now, as RYLA coordinators assess RYLA in the COVID-19 era. Our interviews have been conducted, but we're pausing, too, till we hear whether the annual event is on or off this year.
Our club will really be "Zooming" around next week since we are going to have our Tuesday meeting and our end-of-the-month social via Zoom. You will receive email notifications of how to link up on the day of the event, but they are provided here as well.
Sheila Rice is inviting you to the noon meeting.
Topic: GREAT FALLS ROTARY CLUB NOON MEETING
Time: Apr 14, 2020 11:45 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
We're also having a virtual social Thursday, April 16, at 5 p.m. Come prepared to share two truths and a lie about yourself; the game will be for the other attendees to guess which is the lie. Here is the link:
Heather Palermo is inviting you to a Zoom meeting.
Topic: Rotary Social
Time: Apr 16, 2020 05:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
In our second Zoom meeting since the COVID-19 crisis, John Juras did a test-run of a presentation he planned to give to a national group of adventure cyclists before the week was out, also using the virtual meeting format. He sandwiched the overnight cycling presentation between updates on the River's Edge Trail and on trails at Camp Rotary.
The next big River's Edge Trail project involves connecting the 10th Street Bridge to the trail network and running the trail from there along the river bank (instead of along River Road) to the 15th Street Bridge. Ideally, the Luminaria Walk scheduled for Aug. 22 will culminate this year on the 10th Street Bridge as a centennial celebration of the construction of the bridge.
Overnight bicycling is a great way to combine exercise and adventure, and John is an experienced enthusiast. Longer trips allow you to get completely away from the cares of the world, John said, and live in the moment. Whether you are "luxury touring" or "bikepacking," Montana has miles and miles of scenics roads to offer the cyclist. John's favorite ride is the one from Logan Pass to Lake Saint Mary.
John engaged attendees in a discussion of what they do to get exercise while sheltering in place. Some Rotarians are walking in the parks or in their neighborhoods and are delighted to find that others are doing the same thing. Some are using their home machines - treadmills, rowing machines, Nordic tracks - to release some stress and keep in shape. John reminded Rotarians that Camp Rotary has three good hiking trails and outlined each of them. It's tough to get into Camp Rotary right now, he said, but as the weather warms, that will change.
We had 25 participants in the Zoom meeting this week and John provided his presentation on powerpoint, which is extremely engaging in this format. Thank you, John, for leading in this club innovation!
Rotary Memory
We've been asking Rotarians to share their favorite Rotary memory. Here's one of Judge Holter's:
Not too long after he was invited to join the Bozeman Rotary Club in 1962, FDR's widow, Eleanor Roosevelt, made a train tour of the United States that passed through Bozeman. Someone somehow arranged for her to speak at Rotary.
Word sped quickly of the event. On that date, Judge Holter, then a lawyer, was in court about two blocks away and could not get out until just after twelve. He rushed to the Baxter Hotel, where the club met, to find the spacious dining room jam-packed. The hotel crew began setting up extra places on the opposite side of the head table and soon escorted the late arrivals to those places.
"Imagine my surprise," the Judge recalls, "when I found myself sitting across the table from Mrs. Roosevelt! Very graciously, she took the lead and introduced herself to us late arrivals. A spirited conversation developed as she asked questions about ourselves and our community. She laughed when I told her I had been held up in court. 'Did you win?' she asked."
After all these years Judge Holter cannot recall Mrs. Roosevelt's exact speech to the club, but does remember "it was a positive look at our country and its future. What a wonderful person!" [photo doctored to simulate the moment]
Public Service Messages from Rotarians
From the beginning, Rotary has been a way to bring community leaders together to make their communities better places. At last week's Zoom meeting, leaders of a variety of community efforts gave us updates.
Chelle Fried of Easter Seals Goodwill urged members NOT to drop off donated clothing and houseware to Goodwill during the self-isolation period. Goodwill is closed, and the bags fall prey to theft and vandalism.
Kurt Baltrusch wanted members to be aware that the IRS rules for charitable donations change when you turn 70+ and members in that category may want to check with their financial advisors as they near 70 and 1/2 years of age. Keith Duncan will be speaking to the club on charitable donations on May 26.
Diane Wright of Red Cross reports that while blood donations have been good in the early weeks of self-isolation, there will be a need to continue donations throughout this crisis. You can make an appointment to donate by calling 868-0911 or going to redcrossblood.org. A great opportunity for a win-win is the Give a Pint/Get a Pint event on May 1. The Red Cross, our local Chamber, and Celtic Cowboy are collaborating to reward those who give blood with a pint of ale at the Celtic Cowboy. (It's important to replace those fluids!)
The COVID-19 Crisis poses serious challenges for the census. As we are reminded every time Montana receives a federal allocation based on its reported population, participating in the census is vitally important. Following is a summation of a conversation between City Commissioner Owen Robinson, who co-chairs the city's census efforts, and Colleen McCarthy, Partnership Specialist, Denver Region Dallas Regional Census Center, US Census Bureau.
Everyone with a street address should have received two invitations to respond to the Census count. If the second one came after you already responded, ignore it.
If you did not get one because, for example, your address is a post office box, you can still respond by going online. Simply, go to 2020census.gov. On the opening page click on the green box with the word “RESPOND.” It will ask you for your 12-digit Census ID. If you did not receive an invitation letter with a Census ID, you can use your address. Notice, that you can click just below the Login box where it says, “if you do not have a Census ID, click here.” Continue to finish. That’s all there is.
If you haven’t responded and have lost your invitation, follow the instructions above as if you hadn’t received an invitation.
For now, numerators are not working because of the coronavirus. The Census has been extended into mid-August, from the original July 31. Governor Bullock has requested to extend the ending date into September.
Although only trained Census Bureau employees can do “counts,” all of us can help by posting these bullet points on social media and encourage people to share to all of their social “friends.” Remember, “it’s never been easier to respond to the Census, on-line, or by phone!”
Also, if you are curious, you can Google 2020 Census Response Rates and find:
Montana has a 34.5% response rate.
Great Falls has 48.3% Yea!!
Cascade County has 42.9%, still one of the highest in Montana.
Milestones
Just one birthday salvo to go out this week, but it's a good one. Happy birthday this Easter Sunday to the wry, warm, funny, dedicated Rotarian ... Tony DiLello. Many happy returns, Tony!
Other good news: Ryan Miller is back home and "still kicking," as he likes to jest. He's looking forward to seeing his fellow Rotarians sometime soon.
Weekly Wit: Blessed Are the Meek
As a line formed at the Pearly Gates, St. Peter sought to organize applications for entry. He announced, “All you men who were dominated by your wives on earth stand in a line on my right side; and all of you who were not dominated by your wives stand on my left side.” It is perhaps not surprising to record that the line on St. Peter’s right was very, very long, while on his left side, only one man stood where those not dominated were supposed to stand.
St. Peter turned to the lone man and asked, “What did you do to gain this singular honor?”
The man replied, “My wife told me to stand over here.”
