Darrick Price received his usual warm round of applause as he approached the stage, but this time he was ready for us. Beth Faylor celebrates her anniversary next week, as do Bruce Huffman and Ed Gormley. None of the three were present to acknowledge the dates, so we'll wait until next time.

Ron Noble turns 50 on Monday

Walt Haight and Beth Faylor (not present) share a birthday on the 26^th.

Tom Hellie presented a check in honor of his 23^rd anniversary, which he and his wife celebrated a couple of weeks ago.

Edwina Castle announced that Lynda Wiegan married Ross Phillippi on a Caribbean cruise - Edwina, LV Van Blaricom, and Beth Faylor were on the cruise, as well.

 

Pam Watts says tickets are still available for the Mayor's Ball, a benefit for Kids On The Block. She and LV sold raffle tickets to the club members who wished to purchase them. The grand prize is a $2,500 travel voucher from Evergreen Aviation.

President Jan asked the club to feed the pigs for polio and turned the mic over to Kris Olsen.

MAIN EVENT

Kris began by asking Pat Fuchs to contribute $20 dollars to the club for his political comments during the inspirational moment.

He then introduced today's speaker, Maryalice Russell. Kris praised Maryalice's leadership as she led the passage of the 6.2 million dollar school district bond. The district has the only gold LEED -certified school in the state and has added hundreds of new classroom seats with the bond money.

Maryalice introduced GINA REGALADO, dance team choreographer, fresh from her team's appearance at the Orange Bowl in Miami. GINA thanked Maryalice for reinstating the dance team after a ten year hiatus. The girls were able to take classes from world renowned choreographers, including the people who created Cirque du Soleil's "Viva Elvis" and the dance scene from "Slumdog Millionaire." GINA presented a thank you card, picture of the team and signed by the team members taken at the Orange Bowl.

Maryalice presented a power point "Vision 2020: Charting a vision for the Future." Last year, the district began a process to engage the community in shaping the future of our schools.

The district has had major changes, including significant enrollment increase, building the new elementary school, developing MACA, the Media Arts and Communications Academy, opening the new Engineering and Aerospace Sciences Academy at Evergreen, and developing the Culinary Arts and Hospitality program at the high school.

Both Kris and Maryalice spoke about various facets of the school district's efforts to engage the community in setting high standards for school improvement, resource development and staff and community relations.

Here's a nice fact: McMinnville High School offers more college credit to students than any other high school in the state. In fact, a student can graduate from MHS with an AA degree or a Transfer Degree to any of the public colleges in the state.

The district's partnership with Chemeketa allows students to pay $30 for each college credit instead of the usual $134 per unit price. This allows students to get a head start on their college education and helps keeps costs down for parents. And, no other high school in the state offers more advanced placement courses than MHS.

The district ensures that the college courses offered are compatible with state colleges through articulation agreements set up by the governor's office.

Maryalice asked for continued community involvement. Their process is one of ongoing reflection about the district's policies and practices, with frequent stops to check on their strengths and ask what needs to be improved and how can the district continue to engage the community in conversation.

There was a fairly lengthy Q and A period after the presentation and then President Jan asked Maryalice to sign a book for the Early Readers program.