Did you know that Easterseals has its roots in Rotary? Did you know that its good works were the product of the deep and abiding friendship of two Rotarians? Chelle Fried gave us those stories and more in her review of Easterseals’ first 100 years last week. Because she will be giving the same talk to the evening group May 9, we’ll provide just a "teaser" overview here.
Edgar Allen was a transplanted New Englander who founded the Cleveland Cedar Company, which, over time, made him a successful and wealthy man. He later settled in Elyria, Ohio, and contented himself with business and family until tragedy changed his life. His son Homer and several friends, returning home from a picnic celebrating their high school graduation, were killed in a terrible streetcar accident on their way home. Had there been a hospital in the vicinity, they might have been saved.
The grieving father sold his business and gave $100,000 to found the Elyria Memorial Hospital. It was there that he came to know and love the children with disabilities who relied on the hospital for care. He made it his life’s work to ensure that “crippled children” had the same opportunities for play, education, and careers that other children had.
In 1919, he founded the “Society for Crippled Children” that we now know as Easterseals. An Elyria Rotarian, he relied on a good friend and fellow Rotarian from Illinois to help him get the society going. Who was that friend? Paul Harris. Yes, THAT Paul Harris. Return to this page May 11 for the rest of the story.
Next Week at Rotary
Next week at noon Peter Young will speak to us on a topic that sounds fascinating: "Faith and Basketball - Teaching Life's Lessons through Sports." Join us at noon at the country club!
Rotarians Envision the Path Ahead
Keeping in mind what we learned from our recent Member Satisfaction Survey, Rotarians gathered last week in the home of President-elect Cari Yturri to chart out future directions for the club. In preparation for the session, the board had narrowed down the survey results to four subjects: Fundraising, Community and International Projects, Club Membership and Youth Programs. The participants in the visioning session broke out into four groups to discuss the topics and share a vision for a path we’d like our club to take in the next one to three years. The results:
For Membership, the group endorsed what our Rotary International President-elect, Mark Maloney, stated as one of his goals -- to keep family first by including family in all our Rotary commitments. Also, to enhance membership, the group agreed that committees should publish set meeting times to actively engage more members.
The Fundraising group recommended that we consider more business partnerships and look at additional fundraisers so that we are not completely dependent on Harvest Howl.
For Youth Programs, the group advised that we identify a club champion to reach out to our local schools to find teachers willing to initiate and support our Youth Exchange Program and an Interact Club.
As for Community and International Projects, the group agreed that we should focus on either Toby’s House or the YWCA to build a sustained community project and identify an international project that will focus on a long-term effort to help women and children.
A very productive evening that will provide us with new goals to reach!
New Membership Applications
We continue to attract new members to the club! We recently received applications from Dr. Chuck Jennings, who spoke to us at our Eagle Scout Recognition Luncheon last week, and Katelyn Farrington from the Advancement Department of the University of Providence. Please reach out to welcome them when you get the opportunity.
Milestones
April showers have brought Rotary Club of Great Falls many wonderful members over the years. This month Ian Davidson celebrates the completion of his 58th year as a member and Kelley Aline celebrates the completion of her 2nd. Between those stellar bookends are Paul Gorsuch (25); Glenn Lambert (18); Paul Corey, Todd Neighbor, and Carol Lindseth (9); and Kimberley Hawn (5). Thanks to all of you for all you do to make our club vibrant, generous, and ever-green!
Also, happy birthday on Tuesday to Trish Foss, who joined the club last fall. Older = wiser, Trish!
Weekly Wisdom: Remembering the Doolittle Raid
Last week Kurt Baltrusch shared the following reflection with us as the Rotary moment:
In April of 1942, the United States was still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor when 79 young men in 16 airplanes went on what they knew would probably be a one-way trip. Their bombers took off from an aircraft carrier (a military first, documented in the photograph), hours earlier than planned, into a headwind bound for Tokyo. Their mission: a strike on the Japanese capital in retaliation for Pearl Harbor.
All crews completed their missions, killing about 50 Japanese and wounding approximately 500. As it grew dark, 15 of the 16 planes headed toward China, knowing they would not be able to land. (The 16th plane landed in Vladivostok, Russia.) All 15 planes crashed. Crews either bailed out or crashed in the water. Amazingly, 69 of the crew eventually made it to safety, helped by the Chinese. The last survivor, Richard Cole, passed away last week at 103 years old.
Thursday, April 18, was the 77th anniversary of the mission now known as the Doolittle Raid. The 80th member of the crew was the leader, Jimmy Doolittle, who coerced his way from planning the mission to leading it. He was a person who lived by the creed that a leader will never ask anyone to do anything he himself would not do. While the raid did little damage, it boosted morale here at home and changed the tides of war for the our country.
Did you know that Easterseals has its roots in Rotary? Did you know that its good works were the product of the deep and abiding friendship of two Rotarians? Chelle Fried gave us those stories and more in her review of Easterseals’ first 100 years last week. Because she will be giving the same talk to the evening group May 9, we’ll provide just a "teaser" overview here.
