Lander Rotary Polio Events Set for October
World Polio Day is October 24 every year and is designated by Rotary International to call attention to the worldwide campaign to eradicate the crippling disease of polio. Lander Rotary has several events to observe World Polio Day.
This year, Lander, Riverton and Thermopolis clubs are joining together to raise money for PolioPlus. Fundraising Activities are:
- Golf Marathon being played by Brian Young and Jerry Venters and perhaps a golfer from Riverton. They hope to play 72 or more holes of golf on Oct. 3 and are soliciting pledges/holes played and lump-sum donations. Every dollar contributed will be matched by $2 from the Gates Foundation. To donate go to these links:
Other fundraising activities planned are:
- Cornhole Tournament. The Riverton club has scheduled a cornhole tournament on Oct. 1 and Lander Rotary teams are encouraged to enter. Details to follow soon. A portion of the entry fees will be returned to the clubs.
- “Purple Shirt Days” will be held at our club at various meeting dates in October. Members who fail to wear a purple shirt on those days will be subject to fines! Lisa Dawson, Era Aranow, Jackie Nelson are coordinating.
- Pizza Hut coupons will be issued that will return 20% of the amount of customers’ purchases to the three Rotary Clubs. It appears the coupons will apply to purchases made on Monday, Oct. 24, so “get your pizza on,” grab a coupon and head out to Pizza Hut for lunch or dinner on the 24th! John Brown is coordinating.
Dictionary Project
Sometimes a project review can find ways to add value. With that thought in mind, Service Committee members looked at the long-running Dictionary Project. To answer the question of how to add value, MJ Green and Cassy Venters volunteered to talk to the experts: Teachers, reading specialists, a librarian and a principal.
Here is what they heard:
· Third grade teachers said that a combination dictionary/thesaurus would be more useful than just the dictionary and that students use the thesaurus. The combined resource helps connect the teaching of reading and writing which leads to improved reading scores. Reading proficiency across our target schools ranges from 14% - 64%.
· Getting the school librarian involved may be key as librarians have all students 1 hour/week. Librarians can provide instruction on how to use the dictionary/thesaurus, freeing teachers to focus on using the resource in the curriculum.
· The librarian at Gannet Peak, Julie Calhoun, volunteered to develop a teaching unit on how to use the dictionary/thesaurus. We can share that teaching unit with other schools we serve.
Funding - We’ll apply for a Governor’s Grant to help cover costs. The dictionary/thesaurus is $5 (dictionaries-$3.75). Total cost of the project is estimated at $1,320.
Distribution - Lander Rotary will give the dictionary/thesaurus to third graders at: Gannet Peak (includes Jeffrey City), Ft. Washakie, Wyoming Indian, Crowheart, Dubois, Wind River and Christian School Baptist Church. Riverton Rotary will distribute dictionaries to schools in the remainder of Fremont County.
Dominic Weigel, who chaired the project for 6-7 years in the past, has agreed to chair this revised program for 2022-2023.
Along with our Rotary Readers, chaired by Dottie Tonkowich, program at Gannet Peak, Lander Rotary is helping with Literacy in Lander and Fremont County.
Making Home A Little Sweeter – Girls Home
“The upstairs is totally amazing. Totally different looking home,“ says Dana Flint, Executive Director of the Girls Home after she saw the work of our Rotary painters. Our painters finished 101+ hours of painting the kitchen, dining room, hallway, bathroom and time-out room at the Girls Home. Dottie Tonkowich, Missy White, Joe Quiroz, Maria and Martin Kidner, Jerry Venters, Lisa Dawson, Will Almas, Eddie and Diego Lobatos, Rick Rollino, and Renee Kniola painted 16 different days over the course of a month. Painters came out after arriving home from Europe the night before, worked over Labor Day before leaving on a lengthy trip and set aside the work they had on their own home. Service Above Self.
Broke Out the Bourbon
The Whiskey Group broke out the bourbon for the first home-hosted whiskey tasting September 15. We tasted three bourbons – two that were tasty and one that was excellent! Ken Schreuder and Lorrie Pozarik will host the next gathering at their home on November 15, where Scotch will rule! Watch for an email from Ken for details! Andy Gramlich and Jackie Nelson have volunteered to host January 19. Save the remaining dates for 2022-2023: March 16, May 18.
The Whiskey Group is not an official program of Lander Rotary, but is open to all Lander Rotarians who enjoy tasting whiskeys. The current plan is to meet six times/year on the third Thursday of the month. Food and drink are provided by a host. Whiskey tasters pay $20/gathering to try three whiskeys. Communications are sent to individuals who have said they want to be in the group. If you want to be a member of the group, get in touch with Cassy Venters, cdventers@me.com.
Canyon Scholars
In a follow-up to our August newsletter, the club board has allocated an additional $1,000 to be used as a match to a district grant for Copper Canyon Scholars. This grant request will be submitted this month.
If we obtain the district grant, it could provide as much as an additional $3,000 to the Copper Canyon Scholars. The club service committee has previously given $2,000 to Copper Canyon Scholars for 2022-2023. Ken Schreuder is championing this program for the coming year.
Copper Canyon Scholars is in a difficult transition year as top personnel retired and new leaders have come into the organization. As well, many long-time donors to the program are no longer able to contribute and a new donor program is being developed.
Buffalo BBQ Nets $389
The 40th annual Buffalo BBQ on July 4 served grilled bison burgers and sides to 1214 people at City Park and netted $389.70 in profits this year. Expenses were increased this year, led by paying for the bison, band cost, and increased park rental. Thirty-seven Rotarians and six non-Rotarians volunteered. The BBQ Committee and volunteers, led by Shelby Rohrbacher, met post-BBQ to look at ways to improve the event in 2023.
Board Sets Up Contingency Fund, Approves Bylaws Revision for Membership Vote
At its meeting on Sept. 14, the club’s Board of Directors voted to establish a contingency fund of $5,000 to fund unanticipated, unbudgeted requests and expenses.
- The board then decided to use $1,000 of that fund to support a request from the Service Committee for a matching district grant of $2,000 for Canyon Scholars. If the grant is received from the district, it will be used to provide scholarships for students in Chihuahua State, Mexico.
- The board also approved expenditures up to $750 for equipment to use Zoom for members who are not able to attend meetings in person.
- The Board also approved a revision of the club’s Bylaws for a vote at the Annual Meeting in December. The major change proposed is a new business membership category to allow businesses to designate up to three employees to become involved in Lander Rotary. The goal of the new membership category is to help grow our membership. The Bylaw Committee was chaired by Jerry Venters and Julia Stuble, Staci Lancaster, and Deborah Nunnick were members.
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