With the Harvest Howl less than a month away, Mike Wier, Harvest Howl Chairman, spent some time last week bringing us up to speed on the tasks we have ahead of us.
Mike began by showing us the layout for the Howl. It's bigger, seating more ticket-buyers than ever before. We'll need a sizable crew Thursday night, Nov. 1, and an even more sizable set-up crew for all or any part of the day on Friday, Nov. 2. Block out some time on your calendar - many hands make light work!
The silent auction is a big part of our annual fund-raiser, bringing in $40,000 and more in a good year. At latest report, we're low on donations of wine and liquor, so bring your bottles to Rotary this week! We also need attractive donations for other silent auction items. This is not the time to clean out your basement. We need high-quality, unique, or packaged items (like fishing trips, Bobcat-Grizzly game tickets, a weekend on Big Mountain, etc.) Contact Susan Wolff or Rob Rezek with your donations.
The night of the event (Friday, Nov. 2) we need every volunteer we can lay hands on. There are meals to serve, people to greet, 50-50 tickets to sell, wristbands to attach, bands to keep happy ... something for every skill set. And, of course, there's the clean-up afterwards.
This is our signature event. WE ALL CONTRIBUTE. So block your calendars, dust off your creativity (or your checkbook) and give of your time, toil, and/or till. With these exciting bands and our newly reinvigorated club, this will be the best Howl ever!
This Week at Rotary
This week Rotarian Kelley Aline, along with experts from Highgate and Brookdale, will bring us up to speed on long-term care. Join us at noon at the country club!
If you're thinking that the 50-50 pot has to be burgeoning and there are only 16 cards left, think again. Tom Nelson pulled the elusive 6 of spades last week and immediately donated his share of the $474 pot to the purchase of another table for Harvest Howl. Thank you, Tom. Now, on to a new deck and a skinny little pot.
Coming Right Up ...
With Harvest Howl occupying the last week of the month, our end-of-the-month social has been moved to mid-month. Joann Gogo has graciously invited us to the open house of her group, Corder and Associates, at 6 Fifth Street North this Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. Welcome Joann downtown and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow Rotarians!
The Duck Derby is another major fundraiser Rotary taking on in the next month. The event itself will take place on Nov. 8 at the Holiday Inn Express. You can buy a duck for $10 and the payoff is YUGE: $1,000 for first place and $250 for second place. Let's do this! Contact board member Heidi Hockett (Heidi.hockett2012@gmail.com, 868-3599) for more information.
Thirteen boxes of dictionaries went out the door last week. Thank you, Rotarians! We now have just 9 boxes left. Dr. Cait will take over the box distribution this week, and to save wear and tear on the country club staff, please get yours picked up and delivered to your school. We must get these out the door this month.
Today's winning "bulletin bucks" winner is button number #23. See Todd Neighbor to claim your $25 cash card!
Last Week at Rotary
Last week Jenn Rowell visited the club to tell us about her exciting new venture, The Electric (theelectricgf.com).
In 2016, Jenn was one of the journalists who lost their jobs when the Great Falls Tribune cut back drastically on its staffing. After mulling over her options for a while, she decided she couldn't give up journalism. Her electronic newspaper, The Electric Great Falls, was born. It's now been in operation for over a year.
Jenn covers the city, the county, and the air force base thoroughly and well. She attends countless meetings and follows up with questions to the appropriate staff or community members so that she can tell the stories completely, accurately, and objectively. If you want to know what's going on with the "slaughterhouse" proposal, visit The Electric. If you're curious about what the city's planning board is up to, visit The Electric. For regular updates on city and county commission meetings, The Electric is your best source of information in town.
Jenn knows enough about the electronic aspects of mass media to make The Electric easily accessible and visually pleasing, but as she told the club last week, her focus is on the journalism. It's impressive to see a young professional invest so much of her time and talent to preserve the role of an engaged and impartial free press in our community.
The Electric is funded through advertising, subscriptions, and donations. Check it out.
Evening Membership Growing
Our evening membership pilot project is beginning to bear fruit. The board approved the following individuals for membership last week:
Eric J. Hinebauch
Jennifer R. Creed
Samuel H. Hames
Saniel M. Clarey-Rezek
Zachary M. Swartz
Trish Foss
They join previously approved members Elizabeth Frasure, Derik Sapp, Patricia Boyle, and Alisa Peterson. These Rotarians meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, gathering socially at 5:30 with the program beginning at 6:00. Block out some time on a Thursday evening soon to welcome these Rotarians to our club!
