RCGC Meeting Recap: Friday, July 31, 2015
On a particularly hot day, we were treated to a sizzling performance by Kami Corwin with an a capella rendition of “At Last,” a 1941 song written by Gordon/Warren for the musical “Orchestra Wives”, later made famous by Etta James. Club members will recall last week’s Happy Ad by Judy Corwin that informed us that Kami was auditioning for the NBC show, “The Voice.” Kami provided a recap of her experience where, although she didn’t make the cut this time, Kami was encouraged to audition in the Spring. She also entertained the passengers on her flight back with song, establishing a solid network of future contacts. It’s clear that Kami has the chops to compete and soar – and it’s equally clear that Kami’s musicality, intonation, and pitch will find more appreciative audiences in the future. One such audience might be found in Colorado, when the Corwin family travels next week to celebrate their son’s wedding!
Friday’s meeting began with an Inspiration by Kate Lacey. Thereafter we welcomed visiting Rotarians Larry Holcomb (e-Club) to the club. Guests for the event included Lev Griffin (newly hired executive director of the Corvallis Schools Foundation), Jim Boeder (local developer), Kassey Mosher (Director of Development for Boy’s & Girl’s Club), Heather Rapp (OSU vet), and Michael Matier (vice provost from Baylor University in Waco, Texas).
Club announcements were made by the following:
>>Megan Schnieder indicated that there are opportunities for hosting students from other countries. Megan coordinates that Rotary Student Exchange (student arriving in August), but this offer comes from agencies in town that have high school students that need home placements. If you are interested in hosting, contact Megan for more information: megans@hurleyfinancial.com
>>The upcoming Mario Pastega Memorial Golf Tournament will be held at Trysting Tree on August 11th. Teams are being formed and no individual that wants to participate will be left out. Want to join a Rotary team? Contact me and I’ll coordinate the registration of the event. Your participation will help create local cancer survivors by helping fund the construction of the new Pastega Regional Cancer Center! >>Mark Kalmar is sponsoring two events to help club member Stephanie Douglas with her anticipated and expected birth in August. First, if you want to join with providing a meal or two for Stephanie and her daughter during the busy months of August and September, Mark is coordinating with the website “Meal Train” to schedule delivery of meals. The second activity is a “Guess the Birth Time and Birth Weight” of Stephanie’s baby, scheduled to be induced (if the baby does not arrive earlier!) on August 23th. If you have an interest in either activity, contact Mark: mark@cradiology.com
>>Movie Night is next week – no meeting on Friday. This event is coming together nicely and will all of the pieces in place; we need to ensure that enough club members turn out to help with the event. The activity that requires the most participation is from 4:00 pm to movie start. If you have yet to secure an assignment for this club fundraising event, simply show up at the Avery Park train and you will be assigned to a station. It’s going to be great fun and I want to encourage each and every member to lend a hand and provide “service above self” for this great event. As an aside, the GT gave us a big ole fat “ROSE” in Friday’s paper. Check it out.
Our featured speaker for the meeting was Sara Gelser, democratic member of the Oregon State Senate representing district 8. Sara provided a recap of her first year with the senate after having served ten years with the Oregon House of Representatives. Senator Gelser stated that her first year witnessed over 3,000 new bills introduced, which translated to 910 actual bills considered, with a third of them passing. Sara also stated that she was the chief sponsor of 59 bills. Her work in the Oregon State Senate was, as she described it, very different from her decade in the House – more work in a different culture. One of the big issues that confronted Sara and the other members was the abrupt resignation of Governor John Kitzhaber. Sara explained that the circumstances of the ethics investigation had a paralyzing effect on her work and that of all government agencies. She said that is was not the media that should be faulted, rather, the distractions of process restrictions, especially limiting meeting with people, that shut down the government. Sara said that she was active during the year with many town halls and constituent meetings, an enjoyable part of her job. She related a lesson that was taught by Peter Courtney, Senate President, after he called to tell her about the Albany fire of their high school, asking her to join him on the scene: be there, listen, help.
See you at Movie Night on Thursday August 6 !! Wear your Rotary t-shirt.
Remember – No meeting on Friday, August 7.
