Darrick Price  took the stage to the typical luke-warm reception.

Waldo Farnham acknowledged 44 years of wedded bliss.

Randy McCreith and his wife Joni celebrated their 33rd anniversary last Friday.

Tom Tankersley and his spouse Jann toasted to 37 years of marriage recently.

John Larsen was proud to announce that last week he returned from Colorado after visiting his new grand-daughter, who is now two months old.

Pam Watts announced that a new Kids on the Block fund raising event, “Spotlight,” is coming September 19th at Sokol Blosser winery.

RICH, Bob Emrick's brother-in-law, announced that he is raising funds for Oregon National Guard members and their families by selling wristbands for $1, and you can buy one or more from him today.

Russ Rainwater announced that on Sept. 3rd, 1-4 p.m., the Amerititle office in Dundee will be hosting a car wash to benefit Cub Scouts. Root beer floats will be available, too!

President Jan assumed the mic again, calling us to empty our pockets of change again for Pennies for Polio.

Kristi Brill reviewed the September issue of the Rotarian, which features a nice letter from the Rotary International President on youth programs, an article about Mia Farrow and her work against the genocide in Darfur, and  the origins of the Rotary motto, “Service Above Self.”

 

MAIN EVENT

President Jan called up DEL SMITH, Ken Till and Colin Armstrong for a the induction of MR. SMITH as an Honorary Rotarian. President Jan defined the title as the among the highest and most exclusive in Rotary, given only to those have a demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the Rotary ideals.

Ken Till then explained that MR. SMITH exemplifies the Four-Way Test. As to fighting disease, he spent 14 years in Africa helping the World Health Organization eradicate the Black Fly disease, which caused people, particularly children, to go blind. For youth services, he donated 9,474 sq. ft. of his museum space to establish and Engineering and Space Academy (EASA) for the McMinnville School District. He also offers two pilot training scholarships annually, and more. In the field of development, his museum and coming water park and lodge complex add enormous benefits to surrounding communities.

President Jan asked MR. SMITH to stand for the presentation of the Rotary certificate, pin and framed Four-Way Test.

Colin Armstrong mentioned that MR. SMITH has received awards worldwide, so he is proud to pin him as an Honorary Rotarian.

DEL SMITH thanked those in attendance, and said that he is grateful to be a member of Rotary. He would like for our club to launch a challenge to Rotary International, to initiate a program to wipe out malaria. There are 2.5 million deaths a year, and he believes that we can eliminate it in as little as two years.

Ray Fields took the podium to make DEL SMITH a Paul Harris Fellow. Ray explained the significance of the PHF and gave MR. SMITH a PHF certificate and pin.

MR. SMITH returned to share some information about the current activities of Evergreen Aviation. He mentioned that he has worked with Rotary in other parts of the world, including Albania, Honduras and elsewhere, and he wants us to tackle issues together.

MR. SMITH outlined Evergreen's helicopter services globally, providing services such as supporting troops and working with the petroleum and forestry industries. Evergreen has offices in Louisiana, Hawaii, Trinidad, and Rhode Island along with the headquarters in McMinnville. Evergreen is very proud of its safety record, with no injuries or fatalities for at least the last five years.

The airline side of the business has nine 747s that fly out of the East Coast to the Middle East, then out of Afghanistan to Asia, and back across the Pacific to the U.S. They also operate a fleet of cargo freighters. The new Boeing 787 class will become the pre-eminent cargo plane for the next 30 years.

BLYTHE BERSELLI then shared the latest progress on the new Water Park development. It will be an 18 month construction project, and will bring more families to the museum complex and to McMinnville.

JIM RAY spoke briefly about the EASA program, which is developing strong bonds with local high school districts.