Greeters Stephanie Jensen and Jeanne Hermens were all smiles. President Chuck Pattishall, opened the meeting by asking fellow Rotarians to greet one another. Frank Bumpus shared an inspirational moment with a story about a friend who doesn’t think his business is going to make it during this rough economy. Frank reminded us of the object of Rotary – service to each other, and to the community. Jack Price led us on the Pledge of Allegiance.
 

Host Derrick Price started by noting that the sparse applause was more what he was used to hearing. He then acknowledged the following birthdays and anniversaries:

Al Hansen has a birthday coming on March 29^th. He didn’t admit which one this would be.

Erin Stephenson will be the ripe old age of 30 on April Fool’s Day.

Ken Till,will celebrate his 72^nd year on Monday, March 30^th.

Gary Reuter noted his recent 40^th wedding anniversary to his wife Cheryl.

Dianne Haugeberg announced that her fifth anniversary was celebrated last Friday in the wine country of Wallla Walla.

Jack Thornton announced that Noah’s will be hosting a dinner with new McMinnville Mayor Rick Olson on April 23^rd from 6-9 pm. See Jack for details and tickets.

David Pfendler boasted that only one NCAA school had both the men’s and women’s basketball team reach the Sweet Sixteen – his beloved Purdue Boilermakers.

Elva Salinas-Garcia asked members to dig old baseball caps out of their closets for Virginia Garcia’s Caps for Camp outreach program. The caps will be given to migrant farm workers in the area.

Prez Chuck followed David’s claim with the proud reminder that his alma mater’s women’s basketball team just won the NCAA Div. III championship – the mighty George Fox Bruins!

Steve Larson took a recent sailboat trip into gale force winds and survived. That’s worth a contribution!

Bob Mason jumped into the fray by mentioning that while some schools have good sports teams, others produce the most Nobel Laureates – Columbia University! Hard to top that.

Randy McCreith put in a $20 to celebrate a property that closed yesterday. He believes the housing market is turning the corner, as business is picking up in all price ranges. He is grateful that it is, as his last two single daughters are both getting married next week. He’s married four daughters in 19 months, so hopefully sales will keep climbing!

TAMARA BORGES stated that due to the poor economy, she is available for babysitting, dog-sitting, cat-sitting, fish-sitting, whatever you need.

Brandon Malloy announced the Habitat for Humanity Masquerade Ball, to be held April 18th at the Grand Ballroom. All proceeds will go to McMinnville H4H. The event includes a prime rib dinner. See Brandon for tickets or call him at 503-434-5128.

GIA BATTIGLIA is a member of the student singing club the Youngtones, which will be part of a statewide competition in April. The event is seeking funds to award prizes to the top ten groups. The competition will take place April 25th at the Church on the Hill in McMinnville.

Derrick Price wrapped up the segment by announcing his own new event. In the tradition of Rotary, which always seeks to do big things, over the next several weeks he will seek to find the world’s lamest joke. He started off with a strong challenger: “Why can’t a chicken coop have more than two doors? Because then it would be a chicken sedan.” It went downhill from there!

Prez Chuck saved us all by asking us to dig into our pockets for the Pennies for Polio campaign, and to see Lynda Wiegan about helping with this year’s Rose Sale. He then turned over the microphone to District 5100 and Newberg Rotary Club guest MIKE CARUSO

MIKE announced that Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was on the cover of the most recent Rotarian, will be in Portland soon. Also, he invited our members to attend the Newberg Rotary Club’s annual fundraiser, which will be held next Saturday, April 4^th. The theme is Mardi Gras, and an authentic Cajun chef will prepare the dinner. See him or Jill Methven for tickets.

Prez Chuck welcomed back Jon Triest, who is recovering from an accident. Good to see you, Jon.

MAIN EVENT

Prez Chuck introduced JEAN ERION, a parent counselor for the Loving Options program. The organization has been in McMinnville since 1975, and places children from all over the U.S. and the world. Jean is herself a parent of four children, two her own by birth and two adopted.

Most of the families who adopt are here in Oregon and have infertility issues. The adoption process today is very different than in the past. Most today are what is called open adoption; the birth parent(s) can choose the adopting family and remain involved in the child’s life. The process does not have to be that way, however. The birth parent(s) can choose to be as involved as they want to be. Jean works with both birth mothers and adopting families. Birth fathers are also able to be involved, but sadly, many are not.

All adoptions consist of the interests of the birth parent(s), baby and adopting parents. There are big advantages to open adoptions: adopting families and child can acquire the birth family’s health background, and there can be peace of mind for all parties.

Jean lets the birth mother be in charge – the decisions are hers to make. Jean has profiles on both adopting families and birth  parent(s) for each party to review. If a potential match is found, she sets up a match meeting between the parties. If both parties are satisfied, sometimes the adopting family will be in the hospital during birth. The adoption is not conclusive until the birth mother signs relinquishment papers. She can change her mind up until that time, and it has happened. Once papers are signed, sometimes a placement ceremony is held with all parties, which can be a very special and emotional event. The formal adoption processing through the state then takes about 3 – 6 months.

Loving Adoptions works with the birth mothers after the birth as well – as long as they need support. Jean also provides referrals for other services. She loves her work, even though it can be heartbreaking at times.

In response to questions, she shared that there is not cost to the birth parent(s) for the process. The adopting family picks up practically all costs, which can run $15-20,000. Most of the birth mothers Jean works with are in their late teens to mid-twenties.

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