Kristi Brill stepped to the podium next to give us a summary of the newest issue of the Rotarian. She highlighted World Polio Day, which will be held Oct. 24th; a documentary film called “The Final Inch,” about the fight against polio; the 2010 Rotary International Conference, to be held in Montreal; and a unique story about how Rotary survived, and actually thrived, during the Great Depression.
 

 

Darrick Price was called up to lead Member Recognition, to the usual smattering of modest applause. We kid because we love, Darrick!

President Jan acknowledged her birthday, only revealing that she is still younger than Waldo.

Lee Means shared a story about the remarkable impact of our Rotary club. All from buying a pig. This summer at the Yamhill County Fair, Rotary, and specifically Lee, purchased a pig from an FFA student. She suggested it be donated to the YCAP food bank. Others heard about this idea, and liked it so much that they also donated the pigs they bought. The YCAP food bank ended up with ten pigs, which all became valuable pork protein for local families in need. Lee later also announced that her step-granddaughter was just selected to be a Rotary outbound exchange student.

Brent Adams announced that at this past week's Mid-Valley Rehabilitation dinner, YCAP was honored with an award for their service to the community

Chuck Pattishall reminded the club of the Guatemala trip scheduled for Feb. 28 – Mar. 6. There's also a Rotary trip to Liberia planned for next year. He then agreed to pay a fine because the tables were set a little too close today for Sheriff Jack – he didn't want to have Dan Gardner sitting in his lap again next week.

David Pfendler proudly announced that on this day fifty years ago, his life's career journey began when he started medical school. And on this day today, he is officially taking down his shingle to retire, so that he and his wife can relax and travel. Congratulations David!

Eric Hanson felt the urge to remind Duck fans that the Beavers have not lost to Boise State this year. (Of course, no Beavers mentioned that the Ducks also haven't yet lost to Cincinnati . . ! )

Darrick returned to share a story involving one of his daughters. As is custom, before putting the children to bed during the week he asks each one, “What's one thing you learned in school today?” Amelia, who just started pre-school, didn't want to answer before she got her doll. But father pressed on. Finally, she said, “Well, Dad, does your face hurt? No? Because it's killing me!”

President Jan asked us to empty our pockets for Pennies for Polio (P4P), sharing that fiscal year to date we have collected $440. Ken Till offered an idea about how he saves for P4P: a while back he began dropping his spare change into empty pill bottles that he had been saving. He realized that each one could hold about $10 in quarters. So every time he fills one up, he now brings it in for P4P. If we all did that, each month we could contribute a lot to the polio fight, or buy a wheelchair for Transitions.

President Jan also referenced the foundation giving board. The totals are steadily creeping up. She reminded us that we are all asked to give $100 annually each to the local and international foundations. All of our fines and birthday and anniversary contributions also go to the local foundation, which funds many of the services we provide.

She concluded with mentioning some proposed by-laws changes, to allow for more flexibility in the Executive Board meeting schedule and to add one director. A link to the proposals will be posted with the Pacesetter notification, and we will vote on them next week.
 

MAIN EVENT

Guy Everingham, Rotary Club of McMinnville Foundation Chair, took the stage to share the status of the Foundation.

The Foundation was incorporated in 1990, intended to support educational and charitable purposes for our community, primary those of youth. Its mission is to obtain, manage, and invest funds from members to meet this purpose in perpetuity. The Foundation is led by nine elected directors, each with terms of three years.

Programs which the Foundation supports include: Annual High School Scholarships, Mac Library Bookmobile, Willamette Valley Cancer Foundation, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, Rotary Park at Tice Woods, and the recent 99W Flagpole Project, among others. Funding for these programs come from an annual distribution of 5% of the corpus market value. For scholarships alone, $9,000-$10,000 is awarded to 10 – 12 students from throughout the county.

Scott Chambers, a Foundation Director, came forward to share the specific financial condition of the Foundation funds. As of Aug. 31, 2009, the total value of investments was $371,374. Core holdings are in four mutual funds, 43% which consist of U.S. and International stocks, and the rest in bonds or other assets. The value hasn't rebounded quite as much as the market lately, but it did not decrease as much as the market did last year. The fund is currently quite sound.

A member asked Scott about the overall economic picture for next year. He replied that while credit and housing markets have stabilized, they have done so due to government dollars, which cannot be sustained indefinitely. Concerns are that the unemployment rate remains high and regulators have still done nothing yet about fixing the underlying problems that led to the crisis. If we don't soon figure out a way to start paying down the debt, the result could be high inflation.