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OPENING |
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Greeters
Elise Hui and Lynda Wiegan
were all smiles. President Chuck
Pattishall, called the meeting and
thanked our greeters. The inspirational
moment was offered by Russ Rainwater,
and Scott Chambers led us in the
Pledge of Allegiance.
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VISITING ROTARIANS AND GUESTS |
Colin Armstrong
introduced MIKE STRANGE, former local
Rotarian now living in Arizona. He was
in the McMinnville area for a visit, and
pleased to be back among old friends. He
was joined by his wife JANET STRANGE,
who has been successfully fighting
cancer.
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Guy Everingham
introduced MOLLY WALKER, from the Gold
Beach Rotary Club.
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John Larsen
stole Dan Corrigan's thunder by
introducing Dan's wife MARY.
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Mike Strange, our past club
secretary, spoke a little about how
things are going at his new gym in
Arizona. He also made a special
presentation to our own Steve Larson
of a T-shirt from his business in
Arizona. The back side of the T-shirt
says, "LOOK BETTER NAKED!!" - SUMMIT
FITNESS
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MEMBER RECOGNITION, BRAGS AND
ANNOUNCEMENTS |
Host Derrick Price went right
back to John Larsen to
acknowledge his upcoming birthday. John
admitted that he's been living a lie for
a while and now will admit that he's
officially a senior at age 62.
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Maureen Chapman
happily contributed in honor of her 34th
wedding anniversary.
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Bob Mason
stood up and admitted that his
66th birthday would be coming up next
Saturday.
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Erin Stephenson
announced that First Federal would be
hosting a “shred day” on Saturday the
18th from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
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Al Hansen
also mentioned that he thought Saturday
was also a hazardous waste collection
day at Western Oregon Waste, and Bob
Emrick confirmed.
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Jeff Sargent
announced that the Gallery Theater was
opening that evening with their latest
production, “Inherit the Wind,” which
runs through November 8th. A couple of
nights are already sold out, so he
encouraged members to get their tickets
soon.
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Derrick returned to share some
wisdom he gained from his son.
Apparently Caspian likes to make up
stories. One day Derrick discovered that
Caspian was responding to his father in
narrative form, actually narrating his
own life. This caused Derrick to wonder
how he would narrate his life. He
concluded that it wouldn't be one with
just a desire for a happy ending, but
one that would be full of meaning,
conviction, friendships and a sense that
it was one well lived. He encouraged all
of us to consider how we would tell the
story of our lives as well
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 President
Chuck
followed
with several more announcements:
As he
did not send out an email reminder to
the club this past week, the Prez agreed
to pay a fine before the “bloodsuckers”
called him on it!
A new
tally board for contributions to the
local and international foundation was
unveiled. The Prez challenged each of us
to give generously to both foundations,
due to the remarkable programs they
support.
We were
reminded to continue looking for new
member candidates to bring to the club.
 A
congratulations to Carole Benedict
for her pending retirement after 23
years with the City of McMinnville.
A thank
you from Patrick Fuchs for the
generous pass-the-hat contribution for
his family's new baby.
District
Governor DR. DENNIS WICKAM will be at
the McMinnville Club on October 31st.
A
reminder for members to see John
Larsen to have a new photo taken for
the roster.
Thanks
to Jon Triest for being the
photographer of the day and for running
the mic around the room.
And finally, the Wine and Art Auction
Committee will meet next Friday, October
24th at 11:00 a.m., beneath the
ballroom.
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Richard Weed
wrapped up the announcements by sharing
a message from Caity Bernards,
our outbound Rotary exchange student.
She is living in Thailand for the school
year. Caity is enjoying life in the
“land of smiles.” She is among 10 – 12
other Rotary exchange students in her
city, most who are from the U.S. She is
attending an all-girls school and has to
wear a uniform. Her class schedule is
not difficult. She is having an amazing
experience and at this point doesn't
want to leave. She thanked Rotary for
the wonderful opportunity.
*see the full text below
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MAIN EVENT
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 Bob
Mason
opened by warning everyone to never, never,
never, never give a mic to a retired academic!
He also thanked Ray Fields for orienting
him to the club.
Bob has
three values that have guided his life:
religion, education and community service.
Religion - Bob was born
in 1942 in Palo Alto, California. His parents
were devout Methodists. At age 11 Bob
became “adopted” into the family of God and
accepted Christianity himself. In 1963 he was
living in New York City, and one day went to a
large church there, one which was built by the
Rockefellers. He met his future wife Linda
there, and they were married in 1965. Bob was
active in church, teaching Sunday school and
becoming a lay speaker.
In June of 1991
he suffered a disabling stroke, from which
doctors said he would never fully recover. They
recommended putting him in a nursing home.
However, his wife refused and put him in rehab
instead. Bob claimed that the difference
between his wife and a terrorist is that you can
negotiate with a terrorist. It was with the
support of his wife and through rehab that he
experienced the resurrecting power of God. He
was in rehab for two months and then discharged
home. After his stroke he realized that he
needed to get active, so he became the treasurer
and worship leader at a soup kitchen. He must
also continue exercising and walking to maintain
his health, but he is grateful for his
blessings. Religion is a very important part of
his life.
Education – Bob's
grandmother received a Bachelor of Arts in
Romance Languages in 1900. It was uncommon for
women at the time to achieve such a level of
education, and it set the stage for following
generations in Bob's family. There was no
question that he had to go to college. He
initially graduated from Foothill Community
College in California, and then went on to earn
a B.A. from Columbia University. He later joined
Adelphi University, working as the Budget
Director while earning an M.A. In English
Literature. He eventually moved to New York
University, serving as Director of
Administrative Services and teaching social
welfare policy. His commitment to education
continues today.
Community Service – Bob's
father got him involved at an early age.
Bob's father-in-law actually inspired him to
join Rotary in 1992, and Bob loves the
organization because it reaches out to people in
need.
Bob and
his wife have two children: Scott (age 34, lives
in Oceanside, NY) and Andrew (age 40, lives in
Amity). Both sons are educated, employed and
married. Andrew and his wife have two children,
and Bob moved to Oregon in April of this
year to be closer to the grandkids.
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| CLOSING |
President Chuck, presented Bob
with his blue badge, and a club pen with which
to sign a book to be presented to the
McMinnville Early Reader Program. He
closed with a reminder that next week's program
will feature Lynda Wiegan explaining the
great work of Henderson House.
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A Letter From Caity Bernards |
Dear Rotary
Club of McMinnville,
I apologize for how long it's taken for my
letter to come, telling you all about life
here in the Land of Smiles. I've been very
busy with friends and all that it's just
slipped my mind.
My first day here was spent in the hospital
with the worst case of traveler's flu in
combination with dehydration. I like
hospitals here better than those in the US;
everything is white and it just has a
cleaner, yet friendlier, air to it. Of
course, I did go to a private hospital, I'm
sure the government run ones aren't as nice.
After that first day, however, I've been
absolutely fine.
There are two other exchange students in my
club, which is one of four clubs in Korat.
In all there are about 10 or 12 Rotary
exchange students in the city. Most of them
are from America, as is true with the entire
district. And all but one in my city are
girls, and of the 50 or so students in the
district, the numbers are about 35-40 girls
to the 10-15 boys. That's what I've heard,
anyways. We don't meet everybody until
Monday when we drive down to Chanthaburi as
a whole. If I remember correctly, Nick lived
in Chanthaburi.
After a week of being a tourist and having
my uncle, who is hosting a girl from Japan,
show the three of us around the city and the
zoo, we had to go to school. That first day
I hated having to put on the uniform. It's a
navy blue skirt and a pale purple button-up
shirt with black mary-janes to top it all
off. I still feel awkward in it because I
would never wear something like that in real
life, but because all the other girls in
school have to wear it, I'm okay. There are
only girls in my school, Sura Naree Witthaya
School. That was a little disappointing, but
it's actually been fun. I take very few
"serious" classes, only English, Thai, and
Social Studies for a couple of hours each
week. The other hours are filled with
Cooking, Home Economics (arts and crafts,
really), Music, and the like.
My class is in the science and math program,
but I get to skip those classes and go to
the fun ones instead. I am actually only
with my class for an hour or two each day,
but I see them as often as I can. They were
my first friends here, after all.
Now we're on Winter Holiday, as we have been
for the past month or so and will be until
27 October. The term starts in May, and is
over now. On the 27 we will begin a new
term. This one goes until sometime in March
or April, which is when Summer Holiday
starts. It's so amazing here, I don't ever
want to go home. Thank you all so much for
this opportunity!!!
Caity Bernards
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Photographs by Jon Triest | Captions by Jeff Sargent | Edited for the web by
Jeff Sargent and Ray Fields |
Meeting Make-up Options Online
Did you miss this meeting and need a make-up? Here is a list of places that you can make-up on the web.
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"When meeting day comes around, I do not have to decide whether to attend or not, for that has already been decided for me . . .
it was one of the obligations I accepted when I joined Rotary." -- A Rotarianan |
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