January 25 Rotary Bulletin (Jan 24, 2020)

This Week at Rotaryut

This week we'll have a very timely presentation as GFPS Superintendent of Schools Tom Moore tells us about the need for an elementary school levy. Join us at noon at the country club!

Last Week at Rotary

Every now and then the featured presentation at our weekly meeting just kind of takes your breath away. Last week's noon meeting was one of those times.

Fellow Rotarian Kelley Aline responded to the call for a speaker after a cancellation and she addressed us on the subject of "Young Women and Fire." Beginning in 2005 after her freshman year in college, Kelley became a wildland firefighter. It is physically demanding work, traversing steep and rugged terrain, digging lines, hauling chainsaws and 40-pound packs, working a full days and many nights, sometimes only grabbing 30 minutes of sleep, and then rising at 2 a.m. to start again. As a competitive racer and former farm kid, Kelley was up to the task.

Over the course of the next several summers, she met smoke jumpers and heli-repellers and became part of a hot shot crew, fighting fire at a higher level because of her proven experience and ability. She fought fires in over 15 states including Alaska in that role and was eventually promoted to senior leader of a crew. Unfortunately, a knee injury made it impossible for her to perform at the level she felt was necessary, so she accepted her supervisor's offer to staff a lookout in the Bob Marshall Wilderness instead for the summer of 2011.

With no running water, no electricity, and no digital access, life at a lookout is quite isolating. "You wake up and make yourself breakfast thinking, This is the greatest life there is! By 10 a.m, though, you're down to, This is pretty good stuff. By noon, you're restless and looking for a distraction and by evening you're wondering about the meaning of life." She stayed in the Bob by herself from July 2 - October 10, visited every now and then by some hikers and running into a bear or two. Looking back, she says it was an unforgettable experience.

It was also an unforgettable presentation. To look at this demure young woman, now a financial adviser, you would never guess the strength of body, mind, and spirit beneath that charming smile and professional demeanor. You go, girl!

Going the Extra Mile

We were reminded this week of the propensity of Rotarians to go the extra mile. Joann Gogo and her Membership Committee have followed up on a suggestion made by Judge Holter last year and created a membership business card that a current member can use to invite folks as a guest to a lunch meeting or a mixer. The card entitles them to up to two visits at no charge, with the hope that they will discover the value of being a Rotarian and join our ranks.

Art Taft had a creative idea as he went through the Pennies for Polio change bowl recently. He decided to start a collection book that we could sell for a few more dollars than the sum total of the pennies. If you have any pennies from the 1940s or 1950s, those are pages in the book he has yet to fill. Help out if you can ! As Art was quick to quip, "It makes more cents."

What a delight to have Ryan Miller with us again at Rotary meetings! It requires a little more effort for him than for the rest of us ... getting in and out of a car in a wheel chair and taking the elevator up to the meeting room. He makes that effort with his usual aplomb. We are graced by his presence.

Condolences ... Again

Anyone who has helped out with the concert put on by the Philipsburg Rotary every summer has had the pleasure of meeting Susan Wolff's remarkable mother. As delightful as it was to meet Christine Eleanor Jelinek Johnson, it was even more heart-warming to see the love that she shared with her daughter.

There is a new degree of gray in Philipsburg this week. Mrs. Johnson left this world after a long, full life. As Susan noted, "This woman was and will remain a guiding beacon for her family and so many others."

Your mother's apple has not fallen far from the tree, Susan. She must have been so proud of you. Be assured that the well-wishes of all of us in Rotary go out to you in this time of loss.

Change of Schedule for Evening Meetings

Evening meetings will now be on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Join us at 5:30 p.m. at the country club!

Weekly Wit: Winter Doldrums