The meeting began with Roseburg Rotary Club President, Sue Van Volkenburg ringing the bell (thanks, Sue!), followed by an Inspirational message from Michele Davis, reading the heartfelt dedication provided to her in a book that she received from Gondar, Ethiopia, a site that Michele visited for volunteer service in the past. Bernie Sebastian introduced visiting Rotarians, Sue Van Volkenburg (President, Roseburg); Bruce Allen (President, Greater Albany); and, Pete Sekersmestrovich (Corvallis). Tammy Morrison introduced her guest, Lindsay Koenig, Jen Moore introduced her guest, Tina Mills, Lu An Carone Rhodes introduced her guest Leslie Witt, Mark Kalmar introduced his guest Movei Johnston, and Inge King introduced her guest, Mike Simonson.
ANNOUCEMENTS
Service Thanks: Locke Williams with his daughter and RYLA alum Parker and me, interviewed six candidates on Monday afternoon for the 2016 RYLA camp, selecting two outstanding individuals.
Foundation: Tom Nelson provided Polio Plus Society recognition certificates and pins to Mike Sheets and Jim Swinyard for their sustaining contributions to Rotary’s Polio Plus Fund.
Global Grant Scholar: Anissa Arthenayake announced that a Rotary Scholar will be coming to Corvallis from overseas to attend OSU this fall and she is seeking host families for the student. If you are interested in assisting, contact Anissa: aart@citizensebank.com
Service Project: Rick Schroff announced that the annual post office Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is in need of volunteers. The event is on Saturday, May 14, and Rotarians, as usual, will assist sorting food. For more information contact Rick: rschroff@hotmail.com
Monthly Billing: Joy Ragsdale sent out the quarterly billings, asking that members ignore the due date, but send their payments in a timely manner so as to avoid late charges.
Chamber’s Lemonade Day: Mark Kalmar’s daughter, Ava Kalmar, is hosting a Lemonade Stand in front of Fred Meyer on Sunday, May 1 as a fundraiser for Chintimini Wildlife Center.
Movie Night Sponsors: Julene Tudor announced that ALL of the sponsorships for the club’s Movie Night in August have been sold. Congratulations to the committee!!
Fellowship Event: Becki Goslow promoted a Cinco de Mayo event that will take place on May 20th. Interested? Contact Becki: becki.goslow@gmail.com
Member Activity: Stephanie Douglas announced that Girl’s on the Run will hold a 5K run on June 4th. For more information, contact Tiffany Bailey: tiffany.bailey@girlsontherun.org
Student Activity: Tammy Morrison’s student guests announced that they will be traveling to the national Destination Imagination contest and are selling honey as a fundraiser.
Middle Level Student Recognition: Van Melick provided the materials to award two student recognitions, gift cards and certificates to students from Linus Pauling Middle School and Franklin K-8 School. The students introduced their proud parents!
Board Change: Jamie Hughes was introduced as the new club treasurer, allowing current treasurer, Ted Anderson, time off for a little R&R after his back surgery next week.
Student Exchange: Dolf Devos conducted the weekly 50/50 raffle to raise funds for our student exchange student, Franziska Maria Saal. Money raised will help fund the annual exchange trip to California. Pete Sekersmestrovich won the right to pick a card from the deck, but didn’t choose the winning card, so the pot grows!
PRESENTATION
Al Hutchinson introduced the two speakers for the meeting, Oregon Representatives Dan Rayfield and Andy Olson. Both expressed confidence in the ability to reach across party lines to enact legislation to meet the needs of Oregonians. An example provided was their bipartisan effort on HB 4072 to spur innovation and economic development by extending the University Venture Development Fund (UVDF). The UVDF provides initial funding for innovative ideas coming out of our universities and into the commercial marketplace. The funding will help get these ideas off the ground and develop into start-up businesses across the state. “Our universities serve as economic engines for our state and the regions in which they are located. This bill will foster innovation and expand the role of our universities,” Representative Rayfield said, highlighting the importance of this legislation, which passed the House unanimously. When asked, neither representative is confident that a sales tax would be in Oregon’s future anytime soon. Representative Olson suggested that Oregonians have denied the acceptance of a sales tax nine times, signaling a long-standing refusal by the population to tax the point of sale in the state.
Next Meeting Friday, May 6, 2016 with Mark Kalmar (President Gerry and President Elect Judy attending the District 5110 Conference)
Program: Dr. Mark Hoffman, Vice-Provost for International Programs, Oregon State University
