As Andy Tucknott, director of Youth Services, reported at last Friday’s meeting, we have a great track record for supporting the youth in our community, from elementary school literacy programs to college level advocacy of the Rotaract Club. As part of our work, we have been a consistent champion for high school youth attending the annual Rotary RYLA summer camp (Rotary Youth Leadership Award). Today’s program reinforced the tremendous benefit of this opportunity as two recent alum described their experience.
The meeting began with an emotional Inspiration delivered by Van Melick on this, the anniversary of the 2001 series of attacks on the United States by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda. Van described his experience of interrupted travel, stranded in the east when air travel shut down. It led to support and assistance by others, demonstrating the enormous goodwill that defines the character of people in this country.
Travis Harper announced our visiting Rotarian, Derek Godwin, from the Downtown Salem Rotary club. Club members guests include: Taylor Derrick, Randon Dobson, Becki Goslow, and Rick Stein. Announcements:
Dave Henderer announced that PLENTY of vacancies still need to be filled for the clubs booth selling pizza at the Fall Festival, September 25th and 26th. OSU plays Stanford on Friday night – thus the weekend will be open to all for club service opportunities (except Duck fans on Saturday, traveling to Eugene to witness Oregon vs. Utah football. Contact Dave to sign up: dave@hendererdesignbuild.com
Jeff Davis, Michele Kellison, Bob Esterling, Larry Holcomb, Travis Harper, and Lynn Kosanovic were recognized for their service to the community for a weed picking, bark spreading project that occurred at SAGE gardens. Kudos and thanks.
Ron Thiesen announced that the club’s annual “tailgater” will take place on Thursday evening, October 8th, so mark your calendars. There will be food, fellowship, and “plenty of good door prizes.”
Dolf De Vos proudly presented the 2015 PRAFFLE, a contest featuring two prizes for a $1 entry: [1] all revenue of the contest is directed toward the Rotary International PolioPlus Foundation in the name of the winner; and [2] two Club level seats for a Beaver home game, thanks to the generous support of Steve Sullivan. Thanks to all who participate in this fun activity!
Dave Henderer passed around a sign-up sheet for the annual club pizza booth at Fall Festival, scheduled for September 25th and 26th. OSU plays Stanford on Friday night – thus the weekend will be open to all for club service opportunities. Contact Dave to sign up: dave@hendererdesignbuild.com Tammy Morrison introduced Lauren Gallops to club members. Lauren was then inducted as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis. Congratulations, Lauren, and welcome to the club.
Locke Williams, the clubs RYLA coordinator, introduced our featured speakers for the day, Clark Shimeall and Ben Stein. Both are juniors at Corvallis High School, having attended the 2015 RYLA summer camp. Both RYLA alum described the activity of the camp, beginning with an enthusiastic welcome by the staff and counselors as they stepped off of the bus at the Dorena Lake campsite in Cottage Grove. They described participating in the many leadership activities during the week, the new people that they met, the life-long relationships that were formed, and many other valuable lessons learned on many levels. Both suggested that they made better friendships in one week than they had previously made in two years of high school. Some of the take-aways mentioned during the presentation: among others, [1] Don’t be afraid to try something new; [2] be open to others can build trust; [3] active listening is a valuable skill; [4] allow individuals to take the lead – it’s alright to step back and support the direction of others; and, [5] understanding non-verbal communication is a valuable skill. Clark Shimeall summed up his experience well by stating: “I made a huge number of new friends, learned some valuable leadership skills, and increased my self confidence, but most importantly I credit RYLA for forcing me to evaluate my entire worldview. Essentially it was one of the best and most important experiences of my entire life.”
The meeting ended with the first OSU Beaver and UofO Duck football predictions of the 2015 season. We will keep track of the predictions and award a “Pigskin Prognosticator” to the best predictor at the end of the season. Al Hutchinson – Beavers vs. Michigan: Al predicts Michigan winning 31-17
Gerry Kosanovic – Ducks vs. Michigan State: Gerry predicts Oregon winning 31-28
Next Week, September 18: Forum Discussion: Future Homeless Shelter in Corvallis
