Newsletter - Current  Jul 16, 2010

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Look who's coming for lunch!

Yes, Rotary International President Ray Klinginsmith is coming to our club for a historic visit - the first time an RI president has graced our environs while still holding the title of world-wide president. He will be at our luncheon on July 30 with his wife, Judie, at the invite of our President, Linda Nichols, a long-time friend.

    Not many RI presidents agree to visit a club. Not with 33,000 clubs around the world. But Klinginsmith is from Missouri - Kirksville, Mo. - and he has known Nichols for some 20 years. Ray also knows a lot of Rotarians in Jefferson City, so why our club? You might just say we lucked out!

    We expect a large crowd (capacity is 200), so this is a reservations-only meeting. (Deadline for reservations is July 23.) The presidents of other clubs in Jefferson City have also been invited, as well as those who are qualified to receive a Paul Harris Fellow award, and other Rotarians as long as there is room.

    It will also be a special day for Klinginsmith. He will receive an official Missouri state flag from Sen. Carl Vogel, who also just happens to be a member of our club.

    We are thrilled to welcome Ray Klinginsmith and his wife, Judie, on July 30.

Nichols takes over as president; Houser gets last laugh

Wearing her cowboy hat and high heels, Linda Nichols unabashedly (but jokingly) promised to "kick butts" to get the job done as she took the gavel from immediate past president Steve Houser on July 2 as the president of the Jefferson City West Rotary Club for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

    She received her gavel in a unique ceremony - a gavel handed down from past presidents who were present for the ceremony, with the gavel eventually reaching Houser and then Nichols (see photo below).

    Then she promptly held a quick "roast" for Houser - "10 Things You Didn't Know About Steve" - and got a lot of laughs, even from Houser. In truth, Houser had the last laugh: he was free from having to run luncheon meetings week after week.

    A Rotarian for 18 years, Nichols said she was drawn to Rotary in 1992 when she was photographing the "shakers and movers" of Jefferson City and learned many of them belonged to Rotary. "Passion and leadership - that's what Rotary is all about," she told her fellow Rotarians. "I really appreciate the love I feel and the fellowship I have with each and every one of you."

    A good friend of Ray Klinginsmith of Kirksville, Mo., who is now serving as the international president of Rotary, Nichols said she is planning to take a theme of Ray's - "using Cowboy logic to kick butts" - and declared "We have some ‘True Grit' in this club, and we even have ‘Young Guns' who are just coming into Rotary with their new ideas and zeal for getting the job done."

    Among her goals for the next year: aggressively promote Rotary to the community, and inspire more young business people and professionals to join Rotary.

Past presidents all in a row

In a unique "passing of the gavel," past presidents of the Jefferson City West Rotary Club took turns passing the gavel until it reached the new incoming president, Linda Nichols, far left. Past presidents on hand for the ceremony, beginning at the far right, were Dr. Richard Graham (1979-80), Ric Telthorst (1990-91), Keith Wenzel (1995-96), Steven Alpert (2005-06), Rita Easterly (2006-07), Carla McDaniel (2007-08), and Steve Houser (2009-10).

New Officers, Directors Sworn In

New officers of the Jefferson City West Rotary Club for 2010-11 were sworn in by Dist. Gov.-Elect Rita Esterly, second from left. They include George Welling, president-elect, who will take over as president in 2011-12; Ed Hughes, club secretary; and Mark Naeger and Jill Dobbs, co-treasurers.

New directors include Bernie Fechtel, Tim Haas, Stephanie Johnson, Bill Maxwell, Larry Neill, Winston Rutledge and Alicia Embley Turner. Walt Rottman will continue to serve as sergeant-at-arms and is an ex-officio of the board.

New Prez, Old Founder

Newly-sworn in as President of the Jefferson City West Rotary Club, Linda Nichols got an old-time friend to drop by and offer his congratulations. Nicholas Monaco, a member of the Jefferson City Rotary Club, was one of the original founders of the West Club in 1974. He's proud of that fact, as he is also proud to note that the "Rotary Club of Jefferson City" - often called the Downtown Club - was chartered in April 1918. He noted that the original members all worked within two blocks of the State Capitol Building. "I wasn't one of them," he added with a wink.

First Official Act

District 6080 President-Elect Rita Esterly, a member of Rotary West club, pictured on the left with Club President Linda Nichols, performed her "first official act" by swearing in new officers and directors of the club on July 2. Esterly is the first JC West Rotary member to serve as either district governor or governor-elect. District 6080 serves Central and Southwest Missouri.

Committee Chairs named

President Linda Nichols named new (as well as some old) committee chairs for 2010-11:

Club Administration: Stephanie Johnson

Membership: Sherri Wilbers

Programs: Corey Backues and Charles Nicastro

Invocation: Terry Jarrett

Community Service: Larry Neill and Stacy Welling

Fellowship: Tim Haas and Rob Murphy

Foundation: Brian Johnson

Fund-Raising: Bernie Fechtel and Tony Porter

Group Study Exchange: Erik Janeczko

International Service: Mark Newbold

Literacy: Carla McDaniel and Peter Goldschmidt

New Member Orientation: Warren Prost

Polio Plus: Gregg Gaffke and Gregg Bexten

Public Relations & Website: Ed Hughes

RYLA: Jon Wilson

Scholarship: Warren Solomon

Sergeant at Arms: Walt Rottman

Students of the Month: Alan Mudd

Youth: Alicia Embley Turner

Rotarians give from the heart

President Linda Nichols, right, presented a $1,020 check to Shelly Feeler, a parent, who received it on behalf of Camp Barnabas, a special summer camp for special needs children. The check represented donations from Rotarians of the Jefferson City West Rotary Club after the director of the camp gave an overview of the camp to Rotarians in March. Nichols noted that a club member, Tim Haas (who couldn't be present for the check presentation) was so moved by the impact of the camp on children with autism, downs and other physical handicaps that he rallied his fellow Rotarians to join him in support of helping out with camp scholarships. "Tim showed what Rotary calls ‘The Power of One,' in that it takes only one Rotarian to make something happen," Nichols said.

Exchange Student Heads for Ecuador

Ashley Schwarzer, a valedictorian at Helias High School and about to embark on a year-long stay in Ecuador as an outgoing Rotary Exchange Student, was scared about making a presentation to Rotarians at her host club, the Jefferson City West Club on July 16.

    It was going to be a test-run of the presentation she will give to Rotary Clubs in Ecuador while attending school there. The reason for her nervousness: She was going to give it in Spanish.

    "Are there any out there that speak Spanish?" she asked. Only a few hands were raised.

    Naturally, she did well - in so far as most Rotarians were concerned. Ashley followed up her Spanish with English translations, talking about her life in Jefferson City, her family and pets, her school life, and trips she enjoyed taking around the U.S. "I am going to miss my family, but especially my two dogs," Ashley confided. "But my first host family in Ecuador has two dogs, so that will help."

    Ashley explained that Spanish and math were her favorite classes at Helias. "I just wanted to learn the (Spanish) language better," she said in explaining why she decided to be a candidate for the Rotary Exchange Student Program. "I love international people and their perspectives on things," she said. "By spending time in another country and staying with local families and understanding their culture will help broaden my own horizons and give me new perspective on life." She will leave on August 20.

Program Highlights: Missouri National Guard in Afghanistan

Maj. B. Scott Miller, with the Missouri Army National Guard's Inspector General's Office, is just back from a tour of duty in Afghanistan where the 203^rd Engineer Battalion based in Joplin helped clear the roads and highways in eastern Afghanistan of IED's and other explosive devices. He showed Rotarians on July 9 photos of some of the well-armored vehicles used to clear the obstacles, as well as the type of armed command posts used by the Missouri Guard while on active duty overseas.

    Maj. Miller - who arrived at the JC Country Club in a well-decorated Hummer - said the engineer group to which he was assigned is currently helping build a $175 million Afghanistan National Army Training Compound. "We found the Afghan people to be good people and extremely friendly - especially the children. Of course, the kids always seemed to have a watch or trinket to sell," Miller said.

    Some 2,352 Missouri National Guardsmen were deployed to either Afghanistan or Iraq in 2009. The biggest complaint he received from Guardsmen while serving as an IG in Afghanistan? "It was usually their First Sergeant," Miller laughed.

Program Highlights: Big Brothers, Big Sisters

    When Lee Knerneschield took on being a Big Sister for "Erika," a 7-year-old girl who had no friends and no parents to speak of, their association began by just having lunch once a week and Lee helping Erika with homework that never seemed to get done. After a year, the girl was surprised that Lee came back to be her Big Sister for another year. And then another year. This year, after seven years of being her "substitute mom," Lee says Erika graduated from the 8^th grade at Lewis & Clark "with a smile on her face" and is now "part of the gang of friends she once never had."

    Lee is the executive director of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Jefferson City. "We now have 160 active matches," she beamed during a talk on June 25 to the JC West Rotary Club. "Our goal is to provide a long-term relationship. By sharing an hour at lunch, and mentoring, we find that grades improve and self-esteem soars for these special needs kids. I am confident that our program helps kids feel better about themselves," she said. Big Brothers, Big Sisters is an United Way agency and works out of the YMCA Knowles Center. About half of their expenses are covered by United Way. The rest comes via donations from business and individuals. Their mailing address is P.O. Box 104176, Jefferson City, MO 65110.

Coming Up Programs

July 23: District 6080 Governor Ray Plue of Columbia.

July 30: RI President Ray Klinginsmith (reservations required).

August 6: Sarah Fuehring, Power-Up Women (self defense).

August 13: Anna Smith, Rotary Exchange Student (Brazil).