Newsletter - Archive  May 1, 2010

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RI President Ray Klinginsmith Plans Club Visit

For the first time in its history, the Jefferson City West Rotary Club will host the President of Rotary International.

    The fact that Ray Klinginsmith is from Kirksville, Mo., and that he was specifically asked to come by Club President-elect Linda Nichols - a long-time friend -- may be two reasons the historic Presidential visit could happen on July 30, Club President Steve Houser announced to Rotarians on April 23.

    Despite those two pluses, to have an RI President visit a single club is not a normal occurrence for someone who is in charge of more than 33,000 clubs worldwide, Houser pointed out. The RI Presidential visit is tentative, but Houser said it is obvious that Klinginsmith really wants to come to Jefferson City. "He loves our club and what we are doing," Houser said.

    Once Klinginsmith's visit is firmed up, Rotarians from other clubs will also be invited.

    Houser also announced that new District 6080 Gov. Raymond Plue of Columbia has agreed to visit our club on June 11 for a special presentation. The district governor has also scheduled to give his "official" address to West Rotarians on July 23 -- a week before Klinginsmith's planned visit.

JC West Rotary Club qualifies for Presidential Citation

The Jefferson City West Rotary Club has qualified for a Presidential Citation, District Gov. Steve Montgomery has announced. The JC West Club is among 34 Rotary clubs and three Rotaract clubs within District 6080 to do so - having met such qualifications as having reached membership growth goals, participated in an international project, and achieved RI Foundation giving goals established by Rotary International. Jefferson City Breakfast and the Jefferson City Rotaract clubs also qualified for Presidential Citations.

Trivia Night a Success (Again) for Samaritan Center

Question: Name the "team" that has won Jefferson City West Rotary Club's Trivia Night two years in a row.

    If you think that's hard, you also would have had a tough time with the 100 questions that Rob Murphy and Warren Prost of the JC West Rotary Club came up with during its second annual Trivia Night on April 23. Some 170 guests - making up 20 teams - attended the annual fund-raising event, which also benefited the Samaritan Center for the second year in a row.

    It's no secret that Trivia Nights are fun and festive even if you aren't a trivia buff - and even if you weren't a member of the "We Are Tuesday" winning team headed up by JC West Rotarian Brian Johnson and pictured at left. His team ran away with the honors last year - it was not then known as the "We Are Tuesday" - but this year (again on a Friday) it barely beat out the Jefferson City Breakfast Rotary team (by two points).

    Final figures are not yet in as to how much was raised for the Samaritan Center, but Samaritan Executive Director Marilyn Defoe was ecstatic that the community - and especially Rotarians in the community - would again benefit their operation to help the needy in Jefferson City. "With the sad shape of our economy, this has been a very tough year in raising dollars to do what we must do. Even so, Rotarians continue to live out their motto of Service Above Self," Defoe said.

Meet a New Member: Jon Wilson

Jon Wilson was born on Ground Hog Day, but he was so small - a "preemie that would fit into a coffee cup" he says - that he would have never seen his shadow. He is now a Big Man with the Boy Scouts of America and one of the newest members of the Jefferson City West Rotary Club.

At right, Jon Wilson shows off his proud trumpet.

    Jon grew up in the Kansas City area, graduated from Fort Osage High School in Independence, where he excelled in band, playing the trumpet, and received his bachelor's degree at William Jewel College as a history major. "I never knew what I wanted to pursue in college, and once I got a history degree, I didn't know what career I wanted to pursue. So I decided to do what I always wanted to do - work with the Boy Scouts, which I always felt was my calling," he said. An Eagle Scout, Jon is now district executive with the Five Rivers District based in Columbia and includes Jefferson City.

Meet an Older Member: Tim Haas

    Tim Haas has always loved music -- rock music mostly. And even today, he plays a sax, an acoustical keyboard, and has his own band, "Blues de Ville," which performs throughout mid-Missouri.

    Tim married his college sweetheart, Gretchen, when he met her after joining a rock band while at Northern Iowa. They married three years later and they have two sons who are also getting into the music beat. When Gretchen got a job with the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory, they moved to Jefferson City.

    In his "other" life, he runs his own business, T & G Specialties, after working for several years in the construction business. Tim joined Rotary in 1999 and has been at the forefront in orchestrating fund-raisers for Rotary. He has been the chair of the Trivia Night Committee for the past two years. He was named Rotarian of the Year last year.

Students of the Month and Families Honored

Certificates of appreciation were awarded by the Jefferson
City West Rotary on April 30 to its two Students of the Month
for April, along with their parents and sponsors. From left:
Rotarian Alan Mudd, parents Greg and Lynda Weaver, Hilary
Weaver of JCHS, Justin Balk of Helias High School, his mother
Buffye Balk, and Rotarian Tim Haas. In the background: Club
President Steve Houser.

Program Highlights: Missouri Wines

    As the "Missouri Wines" brochure suggests, "uncork an adventure and explore Missouri's wineries."

    There are 97 of them, and many are located in scenic valleys, or on bluff look-outs, or along many of the wine trails that take in the natural beauty of the state - not to mention the salubrious bouquet of Missouri wines that feature such varietals as Norton, Vignoles and Catawba grapes.   
    Danene Beedle, marking director of the Missouri Wine & Grape Board (photo on the right), gave Rotarians a sampling of the wine country without really sampling the wines themselves. "We have the wines that go best with Missouri cuisine, such as rainbow trout and BBQ," she noted. The wine industry began in the early 1800's near Hermann, and has grown into a $700 million industry. About 75 percent of all Missouri wines are from grapes actually grown in Missouri, she noted, with Norton grapes the state's official state grape. So here's a toast to Missouri wines. For more information about Missouri wines, go to http://www.missouriwines.org.

Wanted: President-Elect for 2010-11

Club Secretary John Wood, who was due to be President-Elect for the 2010-11 Rotary Year, has announced that he will be moving to St. Joseph due to a job change involving his wife, Andrea. As the result, current President-Elect Linda Nichols is looking for a volunteer to serve the Jefferson City West Club as president-elect for 2010-11.

    Ed Hughes, a seasoned Rotarian who is 73 and currently Secretary-Elect, has indicated that he would prefer to serve the club as its Secretary, having just undergone training for that post, rather than moving up to President-Elect. He has also indicated an interest in staying on as Secretary for 2011-12, so that "business and professional people younger more ambitious than I" can move up to become club president without having to go through being club secretary.

     Those interested in serving as President-Elect for 2010-11 (and President for 2011-12) should contact Linda Nichols as soon as possible. Linda is also currently selecting committee chairs for her term as president.

Coming Programs

May 7 - Rick Huffsteder, Central Missouri Food Bank.

May 14 - Chris Neff, the "Yo-Yo Man."

May 21 - Linda Nichols, Ecuador Mission Project.

May 28 - Jefferson City Mayor John Landwehr.