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Next Week at Rotary

Next week we're in for a special treat when University of Montana President Seth Bodnar is our featured speaker. With a record of high achievement in academia, the military, and business, he's been at the helm of the university for just over a year, bringing a new energy and heightened sense of purpose to the campus.
 
As if President Bodnar weren't enough of a draw, Virginia Stacey failed to draw the elusive Jack of Diamonds for the 50-50 prize last week. That makes the pot at least $176 next week! Join us at noon at the country club!
 
This week's bulletin bucks # is 168. If that's the number on the back of your Rotary button, contact Todd Neighbor for your prize.

So Much To Do ...

We've got two Rotary events scheduled for the same evening next week. The first is a Rotary social at Happy Tails Lodge, held in combination with the Chamber of Commerce's Business After Hours event.  Happy Tails is the thriving business run by Katy Duncan, wife of fellow Rotarian Keith Duncan. You'll love the ambiance of the Lodge and the chance to rub elbows with Rotarians and other business leaders. That's Thursday, from 4 -6 p.m. See you there!
 
Carey Gray has scheduled our semi-annual highway clean-up for the same evening. Meet at the KRTV parking lot at 5:30, spend an hour or so de-littering that stretch of highway, and, if you like, enjoy a cool drink with the crew when all the work is done. We have seven volunteers so far and welcome more. Many hands make light work!
 

Last Week at Rotary

Last week was one of those unexpected delights at noon Rotary. We said goodbye to beloved fellow Rotarian Kevin Clark, who leaves our club but not Rotary as he retires from the working world.
 
On hand to help him celebrate were his wife, Paula, and their son Brett, who is President-elect of the Helena Rotary Club. A lawyer at Crawley Fleck, Brett has his father's droll sense of humor. He summarized Kevin's career in banking and his influence as a father in a humorous way and closed by reminding Kevin to "retire from work but not from life." 
 
Kevin plans to do just that, enjoying his place at Swan Lake and being active in the Bigfork Rotary Club. Not surprisingly, his parting gift to the club was well thought-out: a new microphone for the country club!
More on Kevin in The Last Word, below.
 
Our speaker last week is also a dynamic leader, Jon Konen. As a principal at Lincoln Elementary School, he's written a book called "10,000 Steps" that describes the life of a principal. Yes, it's a busy life, checking in with teachers, filling in when needed, making sure the building is secure, tending to at-risk children. But it's also day after day of "hugs and handshakes," making kids feel valued for who they are and helping them master all the little things that make a big difference in how they work they way through the world.
 
There were many take-aways from his talk, but perhaps the most surprising was what Jon described as the mental health crisis affecting children in our community. Eighty out of his 410 students have been identified as suffering from trauma and anxiety, posing unique problems for their teachers and, of course, for the students themselves. We are fortunate to have positive, insightful leaders like Jon in our school system.

Updates

Our club was recognized by District Governor Rick Moore at last week's district conference for outstanding achievement. Past President Dean Boyle accepted the Rotary International Club Citation on behalf of the club. We were recognized for achieving all club goals in the last year: increasing club membership, developing sustainable projects, increasing giving to Rotary International foundation, and building awareness of Rotary in the community. Congratulations, fellow Rotarians! Pat yourself on the back!
 
Sydney Blair announced that, after three successive evenings of interviews, the 8 spots for Rotary Youth Leadership Academy have been filled. In fact, as of Tuesday, 7 of them had already registered! Our thanks to Sydney and to Bill Harp for heading up the interview process.

Milestones

Happy birthday this Wednesday to Keith Duncan! Best wishes for your best year yet!
 

Last Word

Last week we said goodbye to Kevin Clark, whose presence in our club and in our community has been such a warm and welcome one. The occasion prompted some memories from club members of Kevin as a businessman and as a Rotarian.  Carey Gray remembers Kevin as the first banker in town who really made her feel supported as a woman in business. He believed in her. He had her back. Kevin Eckhardt, his colleague at First Interstate, described Kevin as the consummate professional, polished and unflappable even in highly charged situations. "He came to the bank with a positive attitude every day," he said.
 
Those members of the club who are Griz fans (aka, the better half of the club) remember the delight that Kevin took in "the Mallard," the camp trailer that has been a fixture at Griz tailgate parties for as long as anyone can remember. He was always glad to see a fellow Rotarian drop by and enjoy a burger, a beer, and of course lots of laughter.
 
I'll always remember how willing he was just to fill in the gaps for the club. Whatever was needed - managing the bank for Harvest Howl, setting up tables, being an ambassador for the club at the district conference - Kevin stepped up to do. He especially loved the dictionary project. Every year he would bring back a picture like this one, with a group of happy kids in the foreground and one big happy kid in the back: Kevin Clark. In short, he liked to be of use. There's a poem that captures that kind of person well:
 
To Be of Use
 
The people I love the best
jump into work head first without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals bouncing like half-submerged balls ...
 
I want to be with people who submerge in the task,
who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who stand in the line and haul in their places,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.
 
The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done has a shape that satisfies,
clean and evident. Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
 
Marge Piercy
 
Fare well, Kevin. You have done so much work worth doing very, very well. Don't be a stranger. Thank you for all that you are and for all that you have done to make our club - well, be of use.
 
Russell Hampton
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