text:
Icicle Creek Center for the Arts - July 17, 2015
Their MISSION - Icicle Creek Center for the Arts is a
place where learning, creating, and performing inspire
and nurture the human spirit in a spectacular mountain
setting. Their VALUES - Culture of Excellence,
Customer Service, Community Respect and Trust,
Innovation and Achievement, Accessibility and
Teamwork. VISION STATEMENT - To become a worldclass
destination for arts education and performance. At
the Icicle Creek center they try to present a diverse
selection of awe-inspiring artistic performances for
everyone. They have 3 select venues to entertain or
educated all that are interested. They are Snowy Owl
Theater, Canyon Wren Recital Hall and Meadow Stage.
They also have huts to house their performers and
Students. Jamie Howell also helps out at the facility his
biggest part is Film and Opera series. They are able to
show Opera live on the big screen from New York and
also film series from London. They have lots to offer so
many different series and educational experiences. If
you would like more information or to see their line up or
to purchase tickets you can find them at icicle.org.
April 10 ~ Wenatchee Wild ~ Wild made the playoffs and have 3 hockey games in 2 weeks. They had the Circus come to the center with 7 tigers and 2 elephants and had over 3,400 people in attendance. The Center has facilities for numerous events in the community. They have conference rooms along with the center itself. They have the Triple Crown coming for opening ceremonies with 120 teams participating. In the next 14 days they will have 7 conversions for different events at the center. During the winter they had 1,700 public skaters during winter break and 250,000 people came through the doors during the year. There are numerous events that they try to use for all in our community. Thank you Jeremy for stepping up last minute as we had a change in the program. If you would like more information about coming events to the center you can check out their website at towntoyotacenter.com.
March 13 ~ City of Wenatchee Fire Annexation ~ There is going to be a measure on the ballot for the April 28th election to consider annexing the City of Wenatchee into the Fire District. The impacts of the annexation is that the elected Fire Commissioners will continue to provide oversight and governance as neither the City Council or the Chelan County Commissioners control the operations of the CCFD #1. Boundaries will be removed meaning the closest station will take the call and not be bound by boundaries. Tax rates will not increase they will change from City taxes to the CCFD #1. This is not a new idea as most towns and communities around Wenatchee are already running this way. As for the annexation of Olds Station into the City of Wenatchee this is a completely separate issue and can have a negative impact to CCFD #1 and City of Wenatchee FD if the April 28th vote does not pass. If you would like more information you can check out the website on www.chelancountyfire.com/annexation.
March 6 ~ SAGE is a domestic violence and sexual violence center along with child neglect. They have 4 programs which include crime victim advocacy, children resources, and general advocacy along with legal and medical advocacy. They work closely with law enforcement to help adults and children. They also have a shelter for women or families in need that can stay there up to 90 days. The shelter is a 19 bed facility. They also have a group that works closely with children in need either from neglect, abuse or sexual assault. Only place in our community to help with these programs. If you are interested in more information you can find them online at findsafety.org. They are also in need of volunteers to help with their phone lines that are manned 24 hours a day. Thank you very much to Nona and Amy for all you do and the great presentation.
Who Lions are by Fellow Lion Al Hunter: Lions are men and women dedicated to serving those in need in our own community and around the world. The 1.35 million members in more than 46,000 clubs in over 207 countries are different in many ways, but share a core belief in community is what we make of it. In addition to humanitarian service. Lions enjoy fellowship and develop leadership skills. Along with our vision statement to be the global leader in community and humanitarian service and our mission statement to empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs and encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions clubs that follows our motto "WE SERVE". This was a good refresher course and good for new members that you can find on the LCIF website under the Lions New Member Orientation Guide. Alan also talked about the great advantages about going to Conventions at all levels and what can be learned and how it can strengthen you as a Lion and a person. Thank you Lion Alan for all you do for our Club and Lions in general.
NW Athletes for the Blind - Bill Henry started this organization when he was 15 years old and has grown it to 4 states and over 1,000 children, youth and adults with visual impairments. The main mission is to provide life-changing opportunities through sports and physical activities to individuals who are blind and visually impaired. The organization started in 2007 and has supported many visually impaired athletes throughout Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana. When he started this group it was out of his garage and with 6 other students. The goal for this year is to get into areas that they currently are not in and trying to help all people in these areas that they currently don't serve. They also have some new sports they worked on and one was tandem cycling where they were able to provide a first time biking experience to a 30 year old visually impaired person. If you would like more information you can find them on Facebook and they also have a video on YouTube at NWABA 2014 video or at www.nwaba.org.
United Way by Alan Walker - United Way is an investment that benefits the entire community, not just one program, issue or population. United Way supports over 40 programs in Chelan and Douglas communities the money raised here stays here except for 1 percent that goes to the logo. There are over 1400 United Ways and they have the same missions each one is independently incorporated for their community through local staff and volunteers. This year was a challenging year with all the fires and the donations that were needed throughout our area to help in the outlining communities. There are numerous ways to help United Ways either by donating, volunteering or being an advocate. For more information you can go to www.uwcdc.org or locate them through Facebook. Thank you Alan and Linda Haglund who is one of the Co-chairs this year for the information and all you do for the community.
The Wenatchee Valley Humane Society was founded in 1967 by a group of women that recognized and wanted to care for lost, abandoned and stray animals in our community and provide them chance for new homes. The Wenatchee Valley Humane Society was
incorporated in 1967. The group convinced the City of Wenatchee to allow them to take over the old city pound on Worthen Avenue and Animal Control in 1974. They then received donated land where they
currently our in 1976 and they added on with more dog kennels in 1980. In June of 2003, the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society opened Club Pet Boarding & Grooming. Club Pet is a boarding and grooming facility and is owned and operated by the Wenatchee
Valley Humane Society. They are a shelter not a pound. The difference is that a pound usually kills strays after 72 hours where as a shelter has no time limit return to owner or to have them adopted. They have 1,000 volunteers a month that help out. Currently they are in the middle of their big fundraiser "Raise the Roof" Building Campaign to help increase the building size in the same space. Thank you very much to Dawn Davies for the great program. For
more information about volunteering, donating or about their programs and education check out www.WenatcheeHumane.org.
Numerica Performing Arts Center - Last year there were 9 main stage programs and 7 sold out. They went from 24,800 people going through the center to 50,000 people through the door. Numerica came on board this year as the naming partner for the next 10 years. It has been an amazing year for the center. Another great highlight to the year is the NCW Community Foundation awarded them a $50,000 grant which will help them start their campaign for an endowment. They have secured 16 fully sponsored shows for the 2014-2015 Fall/WinterProgram. With the same idea that every show is fully sponsored and every seat sold. For more information go to www.numericapac.org. Thank you Matt for your great presentation and all the great stuff you are doing at the
September 12, 2014 ~ Wenatchee Valley FIDO is a volunteer organization with the goal of establishing and supporting a network of public, no-fee off-leash areas in the Wenatchee Valley. The organization materialized in 2010 as the need was noticed for dog off-leash areas in the Wenatchee Valley. Everything is volunteer and donation based. They are trying to make not only dog owners happy but non-dog owners by supply a location separate from other activities. They currently have one location and it is the Hale Park that was donated in 2013 by the pipeline bridge. Thank you very much Dr. Carin for the great information. If you would like more information you can check out their website at www.wenatcheefido.org or on Facebook at Wenatchee-FIDO.
September 5 ~ Pybus Public Market: Steve Robinson
Reminds us that they are a non-profit organization. The port owns the property which they pay rent too and the merchants are the sub-tenants and most of them have 3 year leases. They have 18 tenants and a waiting list. They are running on a shoestring budget. But with the new convention room that will help with additional money for the Market. They have created a new plaza area as well and are moving forward
with expanding the outer areas. They also are trying to bring in fun activities to bring more notice to the area. They are very thankful for the great community support and that is where they put most of their focus and not just for attracting tourists. Thank you very much to Steve Robinson and the great program.
August 29 ~ WV Senior Center: David Tosch & King Bob and Queen Jean - There are a lot of activities for all ages but they focus on the elderly to keep them active. The Senior Center was formed in 1971 and originally was located by the YMCA until they relocated in 1993. In 2013 they added a new parking lot with 200 new spaces. They like to focus on the nutrition center which they do get some government money otherwise it is by donations and fundraisers. They have a thrift shop that is the money maker. Along with the numerous fundraisers they do throughout the year. They have a membership between 1700 and 1800. If you would like more information you can find them online at Wenatchee Valley Senior Center. Thank you very much for all they do for our growing elderly community.
June 27, 2014 - Wenatchee Football Club, Scott Devereaux - The goal is to make Wenatchee Football into a National program that can sustain itself. Currently they have a budget of $4,000 that they get from the district. Hard to run a program on that amount as prices for equipment and training go up. They have applied to become a 501c3 non-profit. They want to develop "Champions for Life" while becoming a North Central Washington Football League. They are developing ways to make and raise their own money. They have a golf tournament coming up and a gold card for sale. If you would like more information you can go to their website at www.wenatcheefootball.com.
June 20, 2014 - Mark Miller, Town Toyota Center - Mark is the General Miller of the Center. He came here 4 years ago and has been working to make the center work the whole time. They really are working on packing the center with different events and performers to help bring the whole community to the center. His biggest message is to support and be involved and tie it altogether. Whether it is the Town Toyota Center, Pybus Market or going to Chelan we are one community. Five points to his philosophy for business: Fun, Safe, Clean, Affordable and Convenient. They have so many things coming if interest check out their website at towntoyotacenter.com. Thanks Mark Miller for joining us again and for Tom Robbins introduction.
May 30, 2014 - Wenatchee Family Medicine Residency with Dr. Malcolm Butler
Training the future of healthcare. The need to have enough doctors in our communities. The need is to get more doctors to come here and to stay because if we can't then we will eventually run out of doctors for the needed care in our valley. As doctors retire we are not getting the doctors to replace them. The problem is they make more money in the bigger areas than in our smaller rural areas. The additional problem along with doctors not training here and
staying is that our generation and community is getting older. Our area and the surrounding communities are rural and well below the average of the state. The need is great and how we can help is by becoming engaged with the process and the crisis. Spreading the word in the community by talking with your healthcare provider and the residency. Talk to your neighbors and friends about the crisis and to recognize that we all have a role in training our future physicians. What is needed it to get all the Healthcare communities to get on board. This presentation was very informative. Thank you very much to Dr. Butler for the great information
Meetings Recaps
Tribute to Lion Homer Wolfe - Homer Wolfe became a Lion back in 1957. Homer was 97 years old when he passed away in November and will be greatly missed. Homer was born on November 25, 1916in Wilbur Washington. They lived in town for 3 years before moving to a wheat farm outside of town. When he became old enough to go to school he went to the 1 room schools that they had back in outlying areas back then. When he was getting ready to start High School the state closed the 1 room schools and he had to go the school in town. After he graduated he went to Whitworth before change and going to WSC. His first job was in Spokane as bug inspector where he then started working on the small cherry disease in trees. He then moved to Wenatchee when they opened the Wenatchee Fruit Station here. He then went into the service where after going to one of the USO's where he met his lovely wife Peggy. After he left the service he came back to his job in Wenatchee where he continued on and became a speaker for the Wenatchee Fruit Station. Homer and his wife Peggy are and were very active in the community and he will be greatly missed. Thanks to his wife Peggy and son in law Steve for allowing us to have a tribute to Homer. Also, thanks to Mary Jane and Linda for the great slideshow presentation of Homer's life.
11/1 ~ "Let's Talk" ~ Let's Talk is a Citizen Engagement Program for the City of Wenatchee. It is a large group effort to reengage neighborhoods and citizens. Originally it was used to tailor to certain areas in Wenatchee. They started in schools and around the schools and now it is spread to a neighborhood scale that allows people to meet at a neutral place to talk about problems and concerns. They know that most citizens won't always come to City Hall or council meetings that was why they branched out to get citizens to come out and help. They wanted citizens to participate in helping to improve the City of Wenatchee. They try to focus on what the citizens believe can help improve neighborhoods and the quality of life in their community. If you would like more information you can find them on Facebook and the web under the City of Wenatchee government. Thank you to Allison, Tammy, Steve and Mark for the great interaction and showing us how you can change your community through a positive forum.
10/18 ~ WV Chamber of Commerce & Tourism with Shiloh Schauer & Jerri Barkley ~ Shiloh and Jerri have been working on changing and newly creating the Wenatchee Valley into the place that you want to go. Started working on the new in April 1st with changing the marketing idea of how to present our community to the outlying areas. They are making it a brand that they started in May with the Always fresh/Always growing. They have expanded to social media by being on Facebook, Twitter and creating a new website. They are working on combining the visitor center with the chamber. They are also now working on joining and helping the Sports Council which was created in 2005. Work on promoting more sports activities and tourism in our area. Lots to do in our valley and communities lots of amenities. Working on having them as part of the family by January 1st. They are really focusing on destination market. If you would like to look at the new brand and to follow them check out Facebook or at wentachee.org.
10/11 -Chelan/Douglas Volunteer Attorney Services by Ryan Feeney ~ This is a non-profit organization that provides attorney services to low income individuals that need help with civil matters relating to family, housing or consumer needs. Ryan Feeney is the Executive Director that coordinates with other attorneys in town to volunteer their services to people in need. They are used to provide a neutral party for legal cases to help bridge the justice gap for people who would not normally be able to afford an attorney. Individuals looking for assistance have to be at 200% of the poverty level and in our community about 33,000 who qualify. All services provided by attorneys are based solely on volunteer hours. They have 230 attorneys and deal with about 300-400 cases a year. The Kingston Fund donated $3,000 to help VAS in their mission. Thanks to Ryan for a very informative program and telling us about the good this organization performs.
10/4 ~ Wenatchee Wild, Don West: Don West came to the Wenatchee Wild last year from Professional Wrestling. He is excited for the new Wenatchee Wild to be returning after all the controversy last year and the uncertainty of where and what was going to happen to them. The new owners are from Texas and are excited to be in our community. David and Lisa White where happy with all the fan support and our community response for the Wenatchee Wild. Wenatchee Wild is one of the biggest crowd drawing hockey team in their league. They average over 3,000 fans at games where the overall league average is 1,200. If you ask players where they want to go they all say they would love to come to Wenatchee. This year the team is a young team. This is the youngest team the coach has ever had and they are more skilled as well as very fast. This year the owner let the coach pick his players. When Wenatchee Wild played their exhibition game against Eastern they made Eastern run. The Eastern coach was amazed at the talent of this team as the beat Eastern 5-2 and their players were huffing and puffing by the middle of the game. The old owners took everything so this year is literally a rebuilding year and not counting on making any money. The City bought the rights to the Wenatchee Wild so it is never going anywhere. They are wanting to move to the Canadian league so that travel would be mostly driving versus in their current league they have to fly. When competing they have to pay the other teams travel expenses if they go to the Canadian League it would save them ½ Million. Thank you Don West for the great program and if you would like to know more about Don West you can go to you tube and see him selling Beanie Babies.
9/20 ~ WHS & EHS Football Coaches: Both coaches brought 3 of their players to meet our club. Devereaux and McGill have both been head coaches for 10 years. Coach McGill talked about how each year is a different puzzle every year and is a new year with different learning stages. One of the new things that Eastmont High School football team did was a fundraiser for the Children's Home Society where they raised $2,100 and numerous amounts of school supplies. Eastmont had about 100 students turn out for the season. Coach Devereaux also talked about their year coming up and what he believes will bring a good year. This year Wenatchee had 120 students come out for the season. Which can vary year to year. He talked about the new concussion rules and it is nice that the decision is left up to the trainer and the doctor and not to the coach which keeps off some of the pressure. When he first became a coach he was a trainer as well and they wanted him to do both tasks and he felt that was a conflict of interest. Eastmont brought David, Ky and Chrisitian and Wenatchee brought Dillion, Isaiah and CJ. Both coaches talked about the level of these players and what they do outside of football. Thanks to both coaches and players for joining our meeting and providing us some great information.
Wenatchee Wine Country with Jan Lutz: WWC is a non-profit organization that helps out our community through recognition to our counties for their wine and recognitions as well as economic impacts to our counties. The powerful Columbia River flows through Wenatchee Wine Country as it arches against the eastern foothills of the Cascade mountain range. On the sunny side of the mountains, we are able to grow vineyards and orchards heavily cropped with luscious fruit, on the fertile soils in our Wenatchee Valley. Spectacular views connect the wineries of the Wenatchee Wine Country. As you gaze upon the mighty Columbia you are reminded of the vast geological and humble human history that surrounds our growing region. We have been growing fruit in this valley since the turn of the century and would like to share our stories with you. Wenatchee area wines consistently earn awards and high marks for their quality. We invite you to enjoy the sunshine and the passion of family winemakers who create fond memories in your heart and tasty wines for your table. There are numerous annual events put on by the Wenatchee Wine Country and they consist of Red Wine and Chocolate, Wenatchee Wine Week, Spring Barrel Tasting, Ohme Gardens Wine and Food Gala, Wenatchee Taste of the Harvest and Wenatchee Holiday Wine Walk. There are numerous wineries in our area from Oroville, Cashmere, Leavenworth, Malaga, Wenatchee and East Wenatchee. Numerous medals and wines have been recognized and won awards from our valley. If you would like to see some of the wineries or events that occur around our wine country you can go to www.wenatcheewines.com for all information and pictures. Thanks to Jan for sharing this wonderful information and letting us know what happens around or valley.
Zone Chair Barbara Dower spoke to Wenatchee Central Lions on Friday about our upcoming meeting with our District Governor and also about some of her goal of his and hers for the year. She reminded us that there will be a short Board Meeting after our regular meeting so all need to stay if they can for a short meeting. We need to make sure to make him feel welcomed in our club. One of the main goals for DG Robert Ayotte and Zone Chair Barbara is membership and growing out clubs. They are focusing on growing and developing clubs. DG goal is 12 new members for the year for the District. Zone Chair Barbara would like our club alone to gain 12 new members for the year. She wants to focus on our open house and getting the word out to the community. Visiting new businesses, working on projects that might bring new members in and making them feel welcome in our club. There are new and more resources available to help our club to accomplish some of this goal. Will work on getting the word out to our club. Thanks Zone Chair Barbara Dower for your presentation.
Bill Layman - Rocky Reach Trail: Bill Layman has lived in Wenatchee since 1979 and has written 3 books about the Columbia River and different environment ideas. He is very passionate about the environment and the river trail and what it can do for our community. The Rocky Reach Trail is a proposed 5 mile trail along the east shore of the Columbia River in Douglas County, north central Washington, connecting Lincoln Rock State Park with the Apple Capital Loop Trail, and the Wenatchee Valley riverfront parks. The trail is to be constructed entirely on public property currently owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Chelan County PUD. Construction of the north mile starting at Lincoln Rock State Park and extending south to a Rocky Reach Dam overlook is scheduled to commence summer 2013, but more funding is needed to complete the south 4 miles connecting Rocky Reach Trail to the Loop Trail. When complete, the Rocky Reach Trail will include three interpretive overlooks, connect Lincoln Rock and Confluence State Parks via the Loop Trail, and add 5 miles of beautiful riverfront trail to an already popular trail system in Douglas and Chelan Counties. The trail will be paved and handicap accessible for all non-motorized users. The Complete the Loop Coalition is organizing a fund raising campaign to make this happen. Funding was being provided by Washington State but was taken away in 1990 as time were changing as were state needs. If you would like more information you can find it on their website at www.RockyReachTrail.org. Thank you Bill for all the great information and for the slide show. What a great opportunity for our community.
Matt Cadman- Execuitive Director of the PAC: Matt used to be a teacher thought that was what he was meant to do until an opening happened at the PAC and he knew he had a new calling. Matt has been the Executive Director for the last 6 months. He has come in with a new enthusiasm and new energy to help get the PAC back on track. Since February they have changed their business model they are bringing in shows that organizations are willing to sponsor fully so that ticket prices can become more reasonable. The whole calendar year of events is fully paid for by sponsors and this is the first time it has happened. With gaining sponsors it also changed how they picked shows and have created a great line up starting in September. The PAC has been operating for 12 years and have realized how our community supports and loves the arts. Along with 9 incredible shows they also have four family shows this year as well. Another thing they were trying to do this year was to create a theatre scene for the summer which they hope will drive tourism and to build audiences during the summer months. This year the performance brought in was "The Rocky Horror Show" which is currently running and will be here until August 17th. So if you want to go back in time this is the show for you and your fishnet stockings. If you would like more information you can contact them at 663-ARTS or www.pacwen.org.
Steve King - City of Wenatchee: Steve is the Community & Economic Development Director for the City of Wenatchee. He was hired in 2002 and has been involved in numerous projects to help improve the city. He worked on the Rotary Park project, Waterfront and numerous others. This was the 4th time he has talked about his current project which is "Cultivating Healthy Communities." A quote that he focused on was "Healthy, vibrant communities are places that provide the opportunities, resources, and an environment that children, youth and adults need to maximize life outcomes." Wenatchee Government provides City Services, Grant Programs, Community Development along with Community Data used to make a consolidated plan. Population is roughly 70,000 with most household's income at $23,500 our community is 26% Hispanic up 5% from 10 years ago with the median age 36 and a 13% living in poverty. When looking outside of our area and comparing to state level Washington state average is 57,244 where Wenatchee is 44,156. Our community has 7,200 households at less than $50,000 and 5,100 at more than $50,000 and 60% of our community qualify for free or reduced lunches. They are now looking at providing a youth intervention program in South Wenatchee where the youth under 20 are 30% of the population in that area. City wants to provide positive impacts to youth that will last for generations. The Future of Wenatchee depends on it! Thanks Steve for the great presentation and joining our meeting. If you would like more information you can look them up at www.wenatcheewa.gov.
I heard it was an amazing presentation, unfortunately I was unable to attend the meeting. Thank you very much for being part of our program. Last time we heard and saw Sergeant First Class Jason Patrick he was a Staff Sergeant and was deployed the first time in 2003 to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). He was part of the initial invasion into Iraq. While there he helped in taking control of the Baghdad International Airport and the Abu Ghraib Palace. SSG Patrick was promoted to Staff Sergeant on March 2005 after passing the promotion board. SFC Patrick has been in Active Duty in the Army for 17 years. In Afghanistan he was part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team where he fought for 10 months fighting against the Taliban. Along with his time served he has served his Country and the Army well.
Below is a list of the medals awarded to SSG Patrick.
These are just some of the accomplishments of SFC Patrick. With missing the program I was able to provide some information to remind people of his accomplishments and service and I know he has done so much more in two years. We would like to thank you for all you have done for our country.
Wenatchee Valley College Foundation, by Stacey Lockhart and Dr. Jim Richardson Stacey Lockhart is the Executive Director for the Wenatchee Valley College. She is in charge of helping raise money for the Foundation to help with scholarships and the College gave away $170,000 in scholarships and $156,000 in additional programs. They are trying to find all alumni's so if you know anyone have them contact the Foundation. The Foundation is 40 years old and has assets for $6 million plus.
Dr. Richardson came to talk about the Wenatchee Valley College Economic study for 2011-2112. They had a budget of 27.3 million with 69% for salaries, wage and benefits; 10% capital and 21% all other non-pay expenditures. The College had 462 full/part time employees with 7,474 students. WV College serves 10,000 square miles in Chelan/Douglas Counties which makes it harder to serve. The area consists of 156,958 residents with an average earning of $33,000. Out of 101,586 residents age 25 or over 17% don't have diplomas. The study focused on the investment analysis on the return for students, society or taxpayers. The other component was the Economic Growth for the college operations, student spending and student productivity. The study and the program was very informative. If you would like more information about the study or the foundation you can check out the website at www.wvc.edu. Thank you Stacey and Dr. Richardson for all the great information. Also, thanks to Sara Lippert for the great program recommendation and for all the help you do on the Board for the College.
Installation Banquet
4th Quarter Awards:
Cub of the 4th Quarter: Ron Ivanick
Lion of the 4th Quarter: Janice Lawell
Shifty Lion Award went to Greg Reed for the most shifts worked for one event
Annual Awards:
CARE: Rod Van Hoven
President's Award: Mike Hammer
Cub of the Year: Lana Zabreznik
Lion of the Year: Marcia Maloney
Mushroom Man: Phil Blakney
Melvin Jones (2): Joan Hunter and the late Don Senn
Others were recognized for years of service, Fab 40 Club with 19 members, numerous 5 year members were added to the club.
May 24, 2013 - Community Harvest is a regional gleaning project in the greater Wenatchee Valley. Community Harvest helps farmers manage excess, un-marketable products and makes that gleaned produce accessible to the local community through the region's existing emergency food providers. Community Harvest's vision of a healthy, self-reliant community includes access to fresh, locally grown foods for every community member. Working directly with farmers from around North Central Washington, we create cooperative new ways to bring fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, meat, cheese and other locally produced food into Wenatchee where consumers can find it more conveniently. Here are some of our programs: Farmhouse Table Local Foods Market: Open 5 days a week, Farmhouse Table offers local meat, dairy, bread, grains, honey, fruits, nuts, and fresh vegetables from a convenient store at 10 N. Mission Street in Wenatchee. Farmhouse Table CSA: By paying in advance for a weekly box of produce, CSA subscribers directly increase the profitability of small, diversified farms while receiving a share of the local bounty throughout the growing season. Farm-to-Chef: Connects chefs, caterers and restaurants directly to all kinds of farms and artisan food operations, allowing them to highlight fresher, seasonal food on local menus. Community Harvest: A regional gleaning project in the greater Wenatchee Valley. Community Harvest helps farmers manage excess, un-marketable products and makes that gleaned produce accessible to the local community through the region's existing emergency food providers. Food waste in America was measured in August 2012 where waste was 40% that we lose amounting to about $168 billion. Where 49 million people are food insecure. This means 1 in 5 our children and in Chelan/Douglas we are 1 in 6 children. If you would like to get involved in this exciting new project through either volunteering , donating produce or learning about Plant A Row, please contact Hannah Hostetter, Gleaning Coordinator, by email or phone at 509.387.5372 or 509.888.3010 Also, check us out on Facebook! Thank you Hannah for the great information and all you do in our community.
May 18, 2013 - Wenatchee Valley Super Oval. In January of this year Jeremy Anders was hired as the marketing director for the Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval. He says this is his part-time "FUN" job. Jeremy has loved racing since he was a very young man, being lulled to sleep in his child carrier seat by the
beautiful sounds of racing car engines. He has visited 15 or 20 NASCAR tracks over the years. Wenatchee Valley's Super Oval has been voted one of the ten top short tracks in the US. It is the fastest quarter mile track west of the Mississippi. Eventually the track management will put in several acres of grass to accommodate campers and tents. Many of these people will come from out of town so this will have a huge financial impact on the Wenatchee Valley. This is a
very affordable sporting event where a family of four pays a total of $16.00. What a bargain! One goal of the track is to be known as the "Super Short Track". And Jeremy says that "Rubbing is Racing"…..you'll have to ask him about that one. Please check out their schedule of
events at www.wvso.com.
April 12, 2013 - The Junior Royalty Program is sponsored by Dr. Cara Schroeder Children's Dentistry. This year there were 85 5th grade participants from Wenatchee and East Wenatchee School Districts. They had to write an essay on the topic "If you could witness any event in history, what would it be and why?" where a panel of educators within those districts picked the12 girls. Once the girls were picked they meet at Eastmont High School and had to write a paragraph in 40 minutes on the topic of "If you could break a Guinness Book of World Records, what would it be for?" were they were narrowed down to the final three. The Queen is Abby Wilt and her parents are Bob & Jackie Wilt. She is a 5th grader at The River Academy. Abby participates in the Mission Ridge Ski Team and swims in the Velocity Swim Program. Abby wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.
One of the Princesses is Meztli Gonzalez and she is the daughter of Erick &Alejandra. She is a 5th grader at Rock Island Elementary. She enjoys taking piano and choir classes at Columbia River Music Conservatory and participating in the Career Program at Seattle Talent. Meztli wants to be a veterinarian and a pianist when she grows up. The other Princess is Isabel Hyde and is the daughter of Dave & Mary. She is a 5th grader at Sunnyslope Elementary. Isabel enjoys playing the piano & cello, tap dancing, participating in Girl Scouts & Math is Cool. Isabel wants to be a teacher when she grows up.
Some of the activities the Junior Royalty will take part in include an etiquette session at Red Robin, attending a service club luncheon, touring Rocky Reach Dam and the Wenatchee Valley Museum with the "Senior" Royalty; riding in the Keyes Fibre Corporation Youth Parade on April 27; helping hand out Art 4 Kidz awards (sponsored by Costco & Bank of America) at the Pepsi-Cola Youth Day on April 28, and carrying the lead banner in the Stemilt Growers Grand Parade on May 4. Thank you Mary Dodge and Claudia Wiggins the chaperones for this year. It was a great program enjoyed hearing the girls read their essays to the club.
President: Eric Strode
President Elect: Meaghan Vibbert
Vice Presidents: Craig Field, Jim
Ottosen and Mike Hammer
Treasurer: Patti Sparks
Secretary: Marcia Maloney
Lion Tamer: Jennifer Devereaux
Tail Twister: Lindsey Wehmeyer &
Michelle Stutzman
Board Members: Tim Doering,
Margene Barr, Lana Zabreznik and
Linda Younkin
Membership: 3rd position - Lori Reed
Mary Jane Gurnard - claims we know enough about her so she talked about the history of the club. Wenatchee Lions was first chartered March 22, 1922 but for some unknown reason disbanded. Then they were re-chartered again in March 1930. When it was started it was an all-male club and they had their meetings at the Columbia Hotel. In the 1970's Wenatchee Lions was renamed at the direction of Lions International when other Lions clubs were formed in Wenatchee. Wenatchee Central was chosen from Downtown and Pioneer. The Lions club has participated in a softball team and also a broom ball team. Their softball team was not very good but they were the most inspirational team. They also used to take hiking trips which included lots of storytelling, drinking and fishing. One major fundraiser was for the Ridge to River by doing the food. Wenatchee Central Lions also had an award that was passed around the members called the Horses Ass award, which is believed to be in the possession of Wayne Harris. During some of the meetings around Valentine's Day they used to have lingerie parties. There were some really good stories that are remembered by lots of members including when the food was bad and a chainsaw was brought in to help cut the meet.
Boy Scouts have a very large territory in our region. Contains Apple Valley, Columbia Basin, Saddle Mountain, Skookum, Prosser all the way to the Canadian Border. In our area some of the statistics for the club are that they have 3,500 youth, 86 new Eagle Scouts, Balanced Budget, 4 camps with increased growth in attendance, expansion of the 1st grade Tiger Cub program (is the time when they can get involved.) They want to focus on the never-ending thirst for Adventure in youths rather than sitting in front of the TV or game systems. The main secret of Scouting is the use of the outdoors as a classroom. Walter also thanked our club for our participation in the purchasing of the Scout A Vista property. Boy Scouts of America was suffering some hard financial times but they are now turning around from the help with Scout A Vista and getting them back on financial track. The mission was formed to help with the raising of the necessary funds with the Friends of the Scout A Vista group. The purchasing of the property was finished on November 14th with the final payment coming form Mrs. Mathison. They had to decrease the hours of the Boy Scouts office but they are now able to open more often with Saturdays being on of those days so that working members can have time to get the necessary equipment. They are starting some new programs which are Leaders of Today for Tomorrow, Camp Improvements, Hispanic Outreach and Facility Endowments. They are really trying to continue the whole experience that is needed to keep youths balanced. Scout A Vista is a year round facility that is also used for the public as well. Would like to thank Barbara Dower for securing this great program and also Walter Mueller with the great information and the wonderful slide show.
The Pybus Market is a remodeling project from a historic building from a steel building that was built back in 1946. The building and the Market should be opening in May 2013. The Pybus Market will be a year round operation that might also be open 7 days a week. The whole building will also have year round heating and air conditioning. They are hoping to have 17 tenants which currently they have 15 spaces already rented. The seasonal farmers market will be moving there permanently and will run from mid May thru Oct plus a presence inside the Market year round. The building is 30,000 square feet about 4 acres and if a football field long. It has been a great learning lesson on how it is to work with City and Government partners. Steve talked about the great relationship that has been fostered between the city and the port. It has cost between $8 & $9 million dollars. Half of the money came from the Chelan County Port and then the other half was donated by Mike and Joanne Walker. The property is owned by the Port. This is a historical building from the Pybus family who were famous at one time in Wenatchee from being a blacksmith to creating a foundry in the 1930's. The building was the first steel building built in the Wenatchee Valley by bringing scrap metal from Pasco to create the building. The Pybus Market has a 50 year lease with the port and has also created themselves as a Charitable Foundation making them a non-profit group that allows them a little more flexibility on how they can function and what they can charge on rent. The only thing they need to do is provide a return to the ports money. The spaces are 20 x 20 and then they can rent an additional 12 feet into the common area. Some of the tenants going in are South, Visconti's, Bakery, Pybus Bistro, Wine area, Auvil Fruit, Mike's Meat & Seafood along with many others. There are also going to be some iconic features around the facility. One is an air stream trailer made into a coffee
stand which will be operated by Anjou Bakery. The other is the Red Neon sign the says Public Market that is 5 feet tall and will be raised up to 30 feet high and is a dual sign and the last is the rail line that will be dug up and modified with a flat car that can go in or out of the building using as a stage. What a great program thank you Steve for all the information and I know I can't wait for it to open now. If you would like to know more you can find them on facebook or there website @ www.pybusmarket.com.
Ryan Blakney - went into professional umpiring in 2006 going into the minor league. He went to Jim Evans Academy of umpiring which is 5 weeks, 14 tests and attending classes 6 days a week. They went to classes from 8 to 12 and then in the afternoon learn on the field with 2 weeks of simulated games. Then he attended PBUC Evaluation Course where the top 25 guys from each umpire school are picked. Then after 10 days of evaluation they let you know if you have a job. He started in the Arizona League with 56 games and all umpires being housed together in the Phoenix area. Then he moved on to the Northwest League which 76 games. Travel every 3 to 4 days with only 2 to 3 days off. You travel with the same person for 2 to 3 months. You get promotions based on your evaluations which happen 3 times a year. The supervisors come to the games at the end of the season you are ranked and put in number of umpires. Ryan then moved on to the Midwest League which is 144 games and opens in April. Next came the Carolina League where he umpired for a month ½ until he was hurt. Next came the California League and now he is in the Texas League where he has been for the last 2 years. You work as a 3 man crew. You travel by van and they went 20,000 miles in 6 months. Reaching 8 cities in 4 states being Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. Ryan is now moving into the International League which is the minor league right under the Major Leagues. Includes Indianapolis to Pawtucket, Rhode Island down to Gwinnett, GA where he will be going in 2 weeks and not coming home till September and he is back to traveling by van.
Apple Blossom Royalty - The Queen is Emily Abbott daughter of Jon and Tara. Emily is involved in Jazz Choir and president of the Chamber Choir, honor society, Cross Country and FBLA. Emily will be attending Western Washington University in the fall to study speech or music therapy. She is participating in theatre productions. She wants to represent the Apple Blossom tradition by giving back to the community and deal with kids.One of the Princesses is Madi Still she is the daughter of Craig and Michelle. Madi is involved in Honor Society, Drama Club and Teens against Tobacco use at her school. She volunteers at Central Washington Hospital. She will be attending a four-year university and continue on to medical school.The other Princess is Maggie Chvilicek she is the daughter of Jeff and Brigid. She is involved in ASB, Honor Society, and Cross Country. She will be attending a four-year college in the fall.These girls did very well for their first appearance as the Royal Court. The girls also thanked the dressers from the day of the pageant and they were Linda Younkin, Sheryl Arends, Suzanne Van Well, Denise Gallucci, Vicky Albrecht, and Joan Hunter.
Wenatchee Adult Respite Care Center - This is a daycare center for elderly people. This is a non-profit organization that helps families and caregivers to have a break in the day and know that someone is with their loved ones. They are funded by the United Way and private donors. Their purpose and mission is to provide a safe and congenial daycare center for the aged or frail adults needing full time care so that the primary caregiver may have time away. The adult respite daycare center offers opportunities for social interaction and participation in activities planned to meet the needs, abilities, and interests of the participation. Hot and nutritional lunches provided by the Senior Center food program. Their hours of operation are Monday-Thursday from 10am to 3pm. The cost is a suggested donation of $4.00 per hour and $3.25 per meal. They are located at Grace Lutheran Church 1408 Washington Street, Wenatchee, WA 98801. Lori Theimer has been the Executive Director for the last 7 years. She gave us a version of their normal day starting with coffee hour, then she reads the newspaper to them, exercise program, lunch, entertainment and then it is close to pick up time. You can take your family members there 4 days a week, or one day a week it is all dependent on you and your families needs.
The Chelan-Douglas Land Trust was formed in 1985 and is a non-profit organization working with community members to conserve our land, water and our way of life through voluntary
land agreements, education, partnerships, stewardship, and well planned growth. They currently have 930 members, 3 million in endowments, 6,000 acres held in fee or conservation easement, seven fold leverage of members and support for grants received. The Foothills
Campaign is a shrub-steppe to link the forested mountains to the valley below. As more houses get built around the area, the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust works with partners to keep this vital connecting habitat intact for wildlife and native plants, and for the enjoyment of the surrounding
communities. Through extensive community planning efforts the united groups has identified and prioritizes key properties in the Foothills to protect and care for. The main point of the project is to provide an opportunity for the entire community to come together to protect the beauty and quality of life we all enjoy. It also includes critical funding for the ongoing care and stewardship of these properties as well as trail restoration. The Campaign Budget is for a total of $8,145,000. If you would like more information of to see a map of the area you can go to
www.cdlandtrust.org/foothillscampaign or for more information you can also check out their complete website at www.cdlandtrust.org.
12/12/12 - A Visit to Uganda with Steve Joy - Steve Joy shared with us his amazing trip to Uganda to visit his niece who is a World Health Service Nurse for the HIV Clinic. He took his daughter and they spent 2 weeks there. Uganda has a population of 32 million and 6% are HIV positive with 30% at risk. Uganda is a male dominated society so it is hard to change things as most male have a girl on the side which they call a side dish. Lifestyle is a huge factor in the HIV problem. When they went to Uganda they took with them pillow case dresses to hand out to the kids. It took them 20 plus hours of travel and over 8,800 miles one way. They felt very safe traveling because of his niece otherwise they would not have been able to go to certain places that they were allowed to go. It was very informative and some great pictures from his experience.
12/21/12 - Alatheia Riding Center By Nancy Grette
Alatheia Riding Center currently serves 30 clients, ages 4-74, with weekly, semi-private lessons that begin in the spring and continue through mid-October. The inspiration for the riding center came in the summer of 2010 when a friend brought her daughter who was 6 years old at the time that had Spina Bifida and had to use a walker and has never walked on her own. They put her on the horse and saw how her life changed that day. Nancy and her husband have lived in Wenatchee for 20 years and were wondering what to do with their 5 horses since all their kids have left home. Volunteers are vital to our program as each rider requires up to three assistants per lesson depending up their unique special needs. Some of the disabilities that they serve are: Cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, Speech/Vision impaired, Brain Injury, Mitochondrial Disease, Rett Syndrome, Eating Disorders, Spina Bifida, Developmental Delay, Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, Multiple Sclerosis just to name a few. Alatheia Riding Center is a 501 (v) 3 corporation and is publicly supported through tax-deductible donations. Your support helps to provide free lessons to these unique kids and adults. The riding center was founded in 2011 to increase the availability of equine-assisted activities and therapies in North Central Washington for people of all ages with physical and developmental challenges. Alatheia features Norwegian Fjord horses and is a member center of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH, Int'l). Nancy is a PATH-certified instructor. Activites on and off the horse help to develop core strength, balance, social skills and cognitive abilities. The four-directional thrust of the horse's walk provides movement that more closely resembles walking than some children will ever experience. Horses empower and motivate in a unique way. It takes about 3 volunteers to help each rider. Most of the lessons are by donation and they are trying to raise money to create an indoor arena so that lessons can go farther into the season. If you would like to contact or get more information you can find them on facebook or visit their website at www.alatheiaridingcenter.com.
Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Wenatchee Area builds homes in partnership with local families in need of adequate housing. Homeowners are selected bases on their need for adequate housing, ability to repay a no-profit mortgage and willingness to partner with Habitat. The loan payments made by current homeowners contribute to help build additional homes in our community. Habitat for Humanity offers families a hand-up, not a hand-out in the use for building hope. The main mission is to provide decent and affordable housing to eligible families in partnership with God, the families and our community. Habitat for Humanity was founded in
1990 and is a non-profit Christian ecumenical ministry. Habitat has built 45 homes in the Wenatchee Valley since it was founded. There is a rigorous application process and one of the requirements is that you have to provide the sweat equity which means they have to help build their home. For 1 parent households they need to put in 300 hours and for a 2 parent home they have to provide 500 hours. Each of their homes average between $110,000 to $150,000 to build and the mortgage ranges from $500 to $550. All dollars raised stay in the Wenatchee Area. Currently they are carrying 31 mortgages and with that it helps pay 100% of the administrative costs. Habitat for Humanity also has a store that is open to the public. The
store is located at 615 S. Wenatchee Ave and they are open Thursday – Saturday from 9am-5pm. The Habitat for Humanity office is located at 1408 Washington Street and their email is email@example.com. If you are looking for ways to help they are always looking for donations, volunteer hours, help sponsor a building, will property, sell them property, and bring snacks to
the job site and so much more. .
Zone Chair Barbara Dower has been a Lion for 25 years and a member in Wenatchee for 6 years. She was a Zone Chair back in the 1990's and since then it has changed a lot over time. We will be having our District Governor visiting in January and so Barbara brought up a few points that need to be mandated during his visit. We will need to stand after introduction and stand when done. She just went to a Yakima meeting celebrating their 90th year. When she was there she was asked how we keep our membership consistent. As they are losing members since they used to have 175 members and now they only have 45 numbers. She told them that our club has a good mixture and that our members remember to ask someone to be a member as that is how new members come into the club. Another way is that we have lots of projects to keep us serving our community. Also, our club has energy and that we have fun. The main idea is about being a Lion and Serving our communities locally, nationally and internationally. We would like to thank Barbara for her presentation and also for doing the induction of our new member. Also, thanks once again to Barbara for picking up the Zone Chair position in the middle of the year.
Vets Helping Vets - Ron Bruno - Vets Serving Vets is a local organization that was created over a 1 ½ ago and has now become a legally licensed 501 c3 as of January. They are also a fully fledged Veteran Organization in our community. This organization is unique in the services that they provide to Veterans. They are there to help people find the services and information to help get the benefits that they were promised. They also let Veterans and their spouses know there are programs out there for them also. They help to educate and get the word out in the community for those who need help. All that is done by these Veterans are volunteering to help out other Veterans. They are a confidential group that will help find housing if they need a place to sleep, they collect food, clothing and other necessities that they might. Vets Serving Vets was started by 4 Vets and they have grown. Also, there are 5 states that have contacted them to help them get started in their states and communities. They help in many ways… consultation & counseling, HUD/VASH housing assistance, services officers, reemployment services, VA healthcare navigation assistance, food bank and just support. These are their statements we are a group of local veterans dedicated to provide assistance in many forms to all honorable veterans. Our purpose is making the transition to everyday life with minimal problems. We function only with support from our community in donations as well as our food and
fund drive. All of what they do could not be accomplished without support of our local, state and federal governing bodies. We only hope our supporters are appreciated by all. You can find them at 1250 N Wenatchee Ave and it is called "The Bunker." They invite all of us to come down and see their location and what they do. Thank you for the great information and services you provide to our Veterans.
St. Jude's Children Hospital has been in the Wenatchee Valley for the last 3 years and are also celebrating their 50th Anniversary. The whole reasoning behind the hospital is to find the cure and save children. When they started it was a 4% survival rate and now it is a 97% survival rate for the most common forms of childhood cancers. St. Judes is built on a promise from entertainer Danny Thomas and that was "Show me my way in life and I will build you a shrine." St. Jude opened its doors in 1962 and is now the world's premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where the families never pay for treatment that may not be covered by insurance or families without insurance. The families also never have to pay any out of pocket expenses and are assisted with meal cost. There are many ways that you or your community can become involved in helping with this great cause. In the months of October, April and May they provide promotions to raise money in businesses. Cherry Creek Radio has helped this cause with vigor. They have been working with them for 3 years and in that time they have raised $30,000 to $40,000 in that time. They do a radio-a-thon February 14th and 15th. Kelley Cheatwood also said that if anyone is interested in helping in their radio-a-thon you can contact him to help out. Also, St. Jude has become an international program as well. That is why they are know as the "Hospital without Borders." Another new program that they will be starting this year is the Nationwide Walk on Nov. 17th and the close one is in Seattle. Claudia came to us out of the Seattle office. If you would like more information you can go to www.stjude.org or you can also contact Claudia Vergara at email@example.com.
WHS Football Coach Scott Devereaux has been at Wenatchee High School since 1996 and has been the head coach since 2004. He brought only one player as they had a game out of town Thursday night and had missed ½ day of school but Nick is a senior and has a 3.8 student so he wasn't worried about him missing some more school. Nick is a line backer. Talked about one student named Cody is has to have ACL reconstructive surgery so he is out for the rest of the year. Which was a concern as he has a scholarship but he will not lose it as they will see what happens and either left him play or red shirt him for his first year. Also talked about the football camp and how it has grown and helps to pay for their sport while leaving the ASB to help the other fall sports more.
EHS Football Coach Doug McGill has been the head coach for 9 years at Eastmont High School. He brought 4 boys with him who are the captains this year and they were McDonald, Osborn, Haufman and Wheatcroft. All of these boys also participate in other sports and maintain high academic grades. Eastmont has started off very strong this year and it has been very gratifying. This season has been very hard on both teams as the weather conditions in our valley has been very challenging. Since they have not been able to practice outside they have been having to use the Sportsplex along with Quicny Elementary School and trying to share the school gyms for all sports. Along with practice being changed they have had to move games out of town to Moses Lake for Eastmont and the Tri Cities area for Wenatchee. It is making it challenging financially as well to both school districts as it is costing more money to travel every weekend, busing for practices and using the Sportsplex. Eastmont used to complain about their practice field now the kids want it back compared to Quincy. Both Scott and Doug also talked about how much they both enjoy coming to our meetings and appreciate the particpipation that comes from our club. Thanks again to Schoot and Doug for once again sharing your challenges and achievements with our club.
Rob Vatter - Lions Foundation
Some of the financial help for Lions programs come from people in their
communities leaving money to Lions in their wills or by gifting through
Endowment Funds. One of the programs that has been funded by an
Endowment Fund is the Lions Health Screening Unit along with the tractor
trailer and the expenses come with it. Originally, they just wanted to raise
$60,000 for the Mobile Screening Unit but ended up raising $90,000. There
are many ways to go this either through gifting, or deferred giving. It is known that 2 out of 3 people die with no plan and then the money is
held in probate until it is settled. There are 2 kinds of plans: 1 is plan by design, 2 is plan by default. When creating a will your estate can only go in three places following death and they are charity, government or heirs.
If you are interested in more information on gifting or how to leave money for the Lions you can contact Robert Vatter at 206-838-4643 or to find more information check out www.nlfoundation.org.
Patrick Walker came to Lions to let us know about the Bicycle Master Planning Program in our community. The Wenatchee Valley Transportation Council was established in 2003. The council consists of quite of few different entities which are Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Rock Island, Chelan County, Douglas County, Link, Port of Chelan, Port of Douglas and the WSDOT. They all are here to coordinate regional transportation planning and how to allocate state and federal funding. Which all parties have to agree on to make things happen. Planning for bicycles start in Wenatchee back in 1980 which was used to create a bicycle network map. Then from 1992-1998 it planned the Apple Capital Loop Trail with the Bicycle Advisory Board in Wenatchee for the 1st bicycle master plan. In 1998 they shifted from recreation to transportation and move to a regional focus. Patrick was hired in 2010 for
the Wenatchee Valley Transportation Council. They have moved on to the
planning of goals and objectives. The goals are to develop, encourage, and to
improve the safety. The council is used to plan for bicycles riders the normal riders. They need to look at it by population and it breaks down 50%
interested but concerned, 15% enthused and confident, 1% strong and
fearless and 30% no way no how. They want to create options for short trips to create bikeway types. Along with the program they need input from the community and they also need to educate the community on what they are trying to do in the community for bicycle riders. If anyone would like more information or to check out what they do and find maps you can check
out their website at www.wvtc.org/bike-plan/. Thank you very much Patrick for the great information.
WSU DOT Truck Survey - Ken has worked for WSU for 48 years were he retired but then was asked to come back and now helps them with these type of Surveys. These surveys are used to help the State Department see how our Highways are being used. It is critical to see how they can make or break certain communities based on how they work and operate for transporting Agriculture, Machinery and goods and services that need to be transported by trucks. If the Highways do not work properly they can cost large amounts of money for loss and example would be transporting perishable items that are delayed and then lost due to spoilage or just overall damage. These surveys are used to get a better understanding on how our Highways work. The point of the survey is to stop the truck then observe and visit with the truckers. The survey takes about 3 minutes and the drivers do not have to participate if they do not want too. This will be the 3rd survey the first being in 1998. Then again in 2002 where there were 32 locations. In both of the previous surveys Lion members were used to help with these surveys. Once the surveys are completed WSU will then analyze the results and help to understand and identify the movement for the better of the Highway and the trucks. We will be doing the surveys 4 times in a year period. They are 2-6 hour shifts and 1-5 hour shift in a 24 hour period 2 days in one week to cover the both sides of the road. State Patrol will be on site the whole time we are there as they are the main reason why the trucks will be stopping at the weigh station. Training packets have been given to the team captains and as we sign up manuals will be used to show us exactly what is going to happening at the sites. Our first surveys will be Nov. 6th and the 8th.
Chelan Co. Natural Resources - Mike Kaputa is the director and Alan Schmidt is the Habitat Project manager/construction. It takes a lot of planning and a lot of working together between counties, cities, people and communities to make these projects work. Along with starting these programs it takes a lot of negotiating. One of the main reasons for these programs is for restoration for working on harvesting, hatchery and hydro power to maintain the habitat and the environment around the projects. When working to make these projects happen they are asked whether to do them voluntarily or to have to follow the regulatory route. Alan came from the public works and is the best construction manager. There have been numerous completed side channel projects since 2005. They include areas like Monitor, Cashmere pond, Dryden, and Nason Creek to name a few. When starting the project they look at the areas and then they also try to keep the work local. One project was Nason Creek in 2007 is was to reconnect and to provide inlet/outlet for Steelhead and Chinook. The cost for this project was $480,000 and took 4 days. Cashmere Gagnon Pond in 2007 and cost $350,000. With this project they also worked with the City of Wenatchee on taking the fallen trees from the bad wind storm in 2006 to help with the project. Cashmere Pond was to deepen the pond and create better inlet/outlet passage. Once the project was complete they transferred it to the Fish and Wildlife department. In 2010, they worked on the Monitor side channel and 2008 was a project in Dryden. It was used to allow more water and a larger levy that they need to help get the flow. In 2007, Entiat helped fix the bridge and also to focus the water to the middle to help with less erosion. Along, with all these projects they have also replaced 28 fish passage barriers with pre-cast concrete bridges. This also helps to replace irrigation dams with rock weirs. With all of these projects you can see the benefits and the improvements. The next big project that is going is up Nason Creek. They have been working on this project for the last 6 years. It is taking more because of the 2 entities that they have to work with including Burlington and Bonneville. They are trying to reconnect the creek but there is lots of red tape to go through. They are also very willing to give tours to see
what they are all about.
August 3 - Welcome 3 New Members: Mitch Nelson, Mike Adams, & Clayton Holmes
Mitch Nelson was born and raised in Wenatchee. Mitch played Baseball throughout High School and then went on to play college ball at Whitworth for 5 years. He had an opportunity to play up but he hurt his shoulder so that ended his dream. He then participated in a mentorship program in California for Property Management. After he came back he went to work for his dad and has Rent Me Storage. He just purchased a new home and has a chocolate lab puppy. Mitch has joined our group with the belief that he has had a blesses life and wants to give back.
Mike Adams was a career Navy Physician. Then he worked at Kaiser in Oregon before retiring to Wenatchee. Mike and his wife Lisa were looking at moving from the Pudget Sound Area and were contenplating a few areas but after looking at Wenatchee they purchased a house and have been here since. He likes golfing, fishing and has done work with guide dogs for the blind. Mike's father was in the Air Force starting in California and then moved and grew up in South Carolina. Went to medical school in South Carolina, Started working in a family practice in Florida. Went into the service and became a sub doctor. He was then put on a nuclear sub. But before he could go on the Sub he had to do extra training like scuba classes where he became sub and diving certified. He was on the USS Ohio which he considered the best time of his life. Mike then was an occupational medicine doctor in the Pudget Sound ship yard. He was on the USS Missouri for his last 3 years before his retirement. Retired from the Navy in 1994 and then went to Kaiser for 16 years where he just retired in Feb. 28th of this year.
Clayton Holmes was a former NFL player for the Dallas Cowboy. He has moved to the Wenatchee Area and is helping homeless teens with his organization. Clayton also helps with some coaching for Pop Warner Football association that is new to the area. Clayton also will be working on a golf tournament for homeless teens that will be next July.
June8 - Senator Linda Evans Parlette represents the 12th district in Washington State. She is from our area and is a 4th generation Chelan area resident. Senator Parlette attended WSU and is now in here 4th term and is running for reelection. When not in session she resides in the Wenatchee area and is a orchardist. Her maternal grandfather alsways said the Lions are more fun than Rotarians. The 12th District is the largest district in the State. In session it takes 25votes to pass a budget and right now is controlled by the Democrats. They did have a historic moment in March with the passing in the budget. She has wore many different hats in the Senate between being a Caucus Chair, Capital Budget, and a Minority Leader. April 9th the Governor created a Governors go home bill which included a few reforms to help the budget pass. They had to repeal 728 which is for the class size incentive. It was taken off the books because it was not happening at this time in our budget. The 4-year, 2-year budget and the Teacher evaluation bill. Where it is getting the unions to bargain with the districts. There are 8 pilots in the State and Wenatchee is one of them and now they are creating a Prinicpal evaluation.
In the next election which is coming up some of the things to look for are the 8221 which is a Constitutional Amendement which was proposed by Senator Parlette. Also, on the ballot will be intitative 502 for the taxing of Marijana not exactly sure how it will work since it is still illegal by the federal government. Some of the other items are for the Charter Schools, Ref. 74 on same sex marriage and many other items to be looked at. Would like to thank Senator Parlette
June 1: Providing Protection for the President with George Wilson
George Wilson is a retired from the Secret Service. He is a native from Minnesota. He was in the Army for 3 years in Security. He started the Secret Service in 1969 he worked in Chicago, Seattle and Washington D.C.
He know has a place in Chelan where he volunteers for the Marine Patrol and he also is a volunteer firefighter.
In 1969 after the assasination of Bobby Kennedy it was determined that Presidential canidates need to be protected. Then he transferred to Washington D.C. and then in 1973 he transferred to Seattle where he remained for 24 years. While in Seattle he calculated that he had 1 million 125 thousand miles flying the whole time and 2,564 hotels. George then talked about some of his highlights in his career. He was actually the person that took the first call in the Watergate scandal. He happened to be working the midnight shift.
Then in 1980 he was assigned to Ronald Regan for 14 months before the election. George got to know Ronald Regan very well. He thought that he was a very remarkable man. Regan would remember details about your family and your life. There was one time that he actually called George's kids and apologized that he would not be home.
Because of all the things that have changed in society now the Secret Service has been expanded to Presidential Candidates, families, Vice Presidents and families and some foreign diplomats. They used to have 658 agents and now they have at least 2,500 agents.
When they traveled to Russia the U.S. agents would take soveniors to trade with the Russian military. He gave one member a Chicago bull hat for his green military hat. He found it was very interesting when he left and the Russian officer was wearing the Chicago bulls hat. He also liked his time with Jerry Ford as he spent most of his time skiing in Vale. He spent 49 days in Vale.
He was also on an undercover mission in Alaska where he actually lived with the bad guy. He spent a year undercover as the felon was being watched for food stamp fraud, counterfeit and homicide. Would like to thank George for the great presentation if you missed it you missed a spectacular presentation.
May 25 - Information Meeting with Barbara Dower and MJ Gurnard
Lions are considered the newest and largest service organization in the World. Lions were one of the first organizations to collect dues for the privilege to provide service. Our logo is the second most recognizable logo in the world following the 1st which is Coca-Cola. When Lions first started women were allowed to be members but after the first convention it was decided that women would no longer be allowed to be members. Currently the largest growing segment for new service clubs and members is in India.
Melvin Jones Fellowship is one of the major providers who started with financial support. In Japan if you don't purchase a Melvin Jones you cannot come in the the Lions club as a member. Locally our club uses the Melvin Jones to recognize certain individuals in our club for their support to Lions. There are numerous groups attached to Lions in what we do by either providing financially or through certain volunteerism to organizations. One Hundred percent of the money that goes to LCIF goes back into the communtiy. The dues that we pay into the Lions are what is used to pay for the administrative part of Lions. This year our Lions President put out to all the Lions groups an incentive to plant over 1 million trees and that program to date has actually ended with 6 million trees being planted to date. Mary Jane Gurnard then provided us with some local information and stories for our club. Our club was charted in 1922 and then rechartered in 1930. To date there are no charter member left in our club. Orginally our club had a Quartet that Davce Swanson was involved in and they performed at conventions as well. Our club then received a great gift of funding from Dr. Kingston when he passed away. We gained that funding since they did not have any children or family left. The money was given to Wenatchee Central Lions, his church
and to Various colleges. The Kingston funding came from the will and also
$10,000 from his insurance. The stories that Mary Jane provided were very interesting and very humourus. Thank you to both Mary Jane and to
Barbara for the great informtion that was provided.
May 18 - Where does the Town Toyota Center go after Prop #1? By Mark Miller - He started out by thanking all the people that have helped to make the center a success with some of the programs for our community. He also commented on the community coming together to help support the center and try to make it work. Once again he commented on the reasons for an arena. The three reasons are to provide entertainment, economic impact and the quality of life for the community. With the passing of Prop #1 it will help to get the debt of the construction under control. The operations of the center will never pay off the building debt. When things were somewhat normal the arena was running in the black and sustaining the operating side to the arena. Unfortunately, now with the problems they are going to be running in the red for awhile because of the legal fees that they have acquired to get the problem on under control. The arena has over $472,000 of legal fees now. That they have to figure out how to pay to keep functioning. With Prop #1 the construction part of the arena is done. They are doing everything they can to bring in entertainment and events to get the community to enjoy
and now that they know they are staying they can now get back to that task. They figure that it will take at least 1 ½ years to come back from the main obstacles of the legal fees.
Spring Conference Awards:
Visitations: Wenatchee Central Lions Runner-up
(Thanks so much Joan & Al for organizing our members for visitations)
Inspiration Award: Wenatchee Central Lions
(In helping get Lilac Service for the Blind up and running)
Zone Visitations: D2 David Severance
(Our zone has the largest number of visitations in the District)
Musical Performance: Shelley Costello
(Shelley will now compete in Nanaimo BC in October)
Freindship Banner from Past International Director Terry Graham on chairing a great conference: Shelley
MD19 Lions Care Project Donation made in Shelley's honor for her valuable contribution to Leadership in District 19-D
MD19 Lions Care Project Donation made in Joan's honor for valuable contribution to Extension South in District 19-D
MD19 Lions Care Project Donation made in Patti's honor for valuable contribution to Cabinet Secretary in District 19-D
International President Wing-Kun Tam Certificate of Appreciation to Shelley, in recognition of Distinguished Achievements in fulfilling the mission of Lions Clubs International. Personally signed by IP Wing-Kun Tam
May 3: All Service Club Luncheon ( No Friday Meeting)
April 27: Relay for Life, Jennifer Carey
Relay for Life is an event associated with the American Cancer Society. Itstarted back in 1985 by one cancerdoctor who ran around a track inSeattle for 24 hours to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Manyof us have been affected by cancer inone way or another. Relay for life Chelan Douglas County is ran by almost all volunteers from our community with our American Cancer Society Partner. The money raised from our event goes to programs in the community as well as going toward cancer research. We have usually around 65 teams that participate with over 600 people at the event. Our event starts with our survivor lap at 6pm. All cancer survivors walk the first lap and are given a free survivor dinner that this year is provided by Olive garden. Last year we raised over $160,000 to help people in our community. Our event is June 15th-16th at the Eastmont High School Track. We have lots of teams that do various fundraising throughout the community to help raising money for the cause. If you would like to participate or just want to see what the event is all about we invite you to join us on June 15th. If you would like more information you can contact Marcia Maloney and she will be happy to provide you with information.
April 20: Apple Blossom Jr. Royalty
Mary Dodge has been involved in Apple Blossom for the last 24 years. The junior royalty was started back in 1994 when the participation for the Apple Blossom Royalty was done so they wanted to spark the interest of the younger ones to get them involved early. The junior royalty is for 5th grade girls. The first year that junior royalty started only 18 girls participated and this year 130 girls participated. The girls have to write an essay that will be judged and then the top 15 move on to the final stage. This year the top 15 went to Eastmont Hs where they were then given a spur of the moment topic that they had to write about in 45 minutes. One of the topics this year that they had to write about was "If you were given $100 and had to give it away to a service club or organization which one would you give it to and why." Queen Gwen would give hers to Habitat for Humanity, Princess Megan would donate it to the Ronald McDonald House, and Princess Savannah would donate it to the Lighthouse which is a local charity. The girls did very good at speaking and answering querstions along with reading their essay's to our group. Would like to thank all of the girls along with Mary Dodge for joining our meeting.
April 13: Officer Evitt is the School Resource officer for the Wenatchee School District.
He has been the full time School Resource Officer for the past 4 years what this means is that the school district is his patrol area. He deals with drug problems, fights and some arrests throughout the whole school district. He also is asked to do presentations and different talks to the students. One of the main programs he does is to give talks to the Sophmore Health class about drugs and alochol. That is where the drunk goggles come into play. He uses them in his presentation to help make the program more interative with the students. The goggles are used to simulate visually the effects of drinking. It helps to show the effects of impaired balance and the stuggle to do normal everyday activities.
How he uses the glasses is to have the students walke and turn while wearing the glasses. He does the normal soberity test where you walk heel to toe for nine steps and then turn on the ball of your foot and walk another nine steps heel to toe. There are 6 to 8 different versions of the glasses. They range in strength and for day or night vision. Officer Evitt is also trained as a drug recognition expert where he is one of 200 in Washington State. He also thanked Wenatchee Central Lions for the purchase of the drunk buster goggles.
April 6: Wenatchee Empty Bowls, Annie Thompson
Annie is an Ameri Core Volunteer who helps with this major event to raise money to fight hunger. The reason they use the idea of the bowl is to serve as a visible reminder that people do go to bed hungry. This project stems from the international project to fight hunger and to use artists to personalize the art and the artists. They have 2 events to create the bowls that will be used at the main event being the dinner. They had 217 made at the 2 events and raised $3,272. Of the money raised 79% goes to the Wenatchee Food Bank which provides 1,200 meals and is 5500 pounds of food. The whole purpose is to raise as much money as possible to feed our community along with increasing awareness of hunger and related issues and to advocate art education. When it comes to looking at statistics it shows that 1 in 4 children in the Wenatchee Valley are hungry. All proceeds go to the Wenatchee Food Distribution Center which provides food to Chelan/Douglas communities. They deliver 96,876 lbs of food per month. Their next event is April 14th from 5pm to 7pm at the Wenatchee Community Center. Where there will be soup and bread from area restaurants and then they will be raffling off some of the bowls made by local artists. Thank you very much Annie for telling us about your program and the good you are doing in the community.
March 30: Election Results
President Gordy DeKraai
President Elect: Eric Strode
VP's: Amy Gensinger, Craig Field and John Evenson
Treasurer: Patti Sparks
Secretary: Shelley Costello
Lion Tamer: Lori Reed
Tail Twisters: Meaghan Vibbert, Darci Waterman, Linda Carveth and BW Williams (Board Member position)
Membership: Mary Jane Gurnard (Board Member position), Buell Hawkins, Ann Bixby-Smith
Board Members: Amber Glann, Ralph Dewitt, Jim Ottosen and Jim Rayburn
March 23 - Diabetes Auction - Our speaker was Rita Brown, Exec Director of the PAC, and Mom of a diabetic child. Nicole Brown (former Apple Blossom Princess) was diagnosed when she was 13 years old, and went to camp Fun in the Sun. She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. It was a hard adjustment for the whole family as they had to learn how to work with the condition. When Nicole was diagnosed they had to travel to Seattle where they spent 2 weeks learning and Wenatchee could not provide the treatment needed Nicole and her family. When Nicole was diagnosed she did not want anyone to know that she had diabetes but you need people to know so that if something happens they know what the problem is and can try to help. Nicole and her best friend went to camp Fun in the Sun and learned a lot and it helped having her friend so that she also learned how to help her along the journey. The camp also helped give the family some time to decompress why she was at camp. It also was great because it helps to give the kids the knowledge and security of dealing with the disease, Rita swears by camp Fun in the Sun and really is glad that these camps are out there for not only the kids but for the families as well.
March 16 - WVC Men's & Women's Basketball Coaches
Coby Weidenach/Men's Head Coach - Coby has been involved with the Men's basketball for 4 years to as an assistant coach and the last 2 years as the head coach. Coby attended Eastern Washington University where he was on the football team. Then he transferred to Columbia Basin College and played basketball for one year and then transferred to Northwest Nazarene University. Coby is following his father who also coached college basketball. Coaching at a junior college is different from a 4 year school as at the junior level you don't have the assistants as you have at the 4 year level so you are doing a lot more or pretty much everything including recruiting. He appreciates being able to participate in the All-Star Basketball Tournament. Gives him the chance to see some of the boys he is recruiting in action and can personally deal with them.
Greg Franz/Women's Assistant Coach - Greg has been the Head Coach for the Women's Basketball team for 19 years. He stepped down and now Rachel Goetz has been the head coach for the last 3 years. Greg is now the Athletic Director for Wenatchee Valley College. Coach Franz has coached for 25 years and during those years he has helped 61 students move to 4 year colleges or universities. Both he and Rachel have 4 girls committed to WVC for next year. For these students it is one last time to play basketball with a good group of athletes. Greg was the one with Phil Blakney that worked on making the All-Star tournament happen and now we have accomplished 15 years. Both coaches wanted to thank Wenatchee Central Lions for what we do with this tournament and good luck to them both in the coming season.
March 9 - ETHNIC DAYS with Eric Strode & Joan Hunter
Eric is from an English/Irish background. There is some royalty in his family history dating back to the 1600's in Queen's county, Ireland. Mother has the Irish side and his father is the English side. Eric's prize family possession is a family bible that has been passed down starting in the 1900's. The bible is to be passed down to the oldest strode son. Eric received the bible in 2010. His grandmother was 104 when she passed away. She had 5 children, 18 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren and 34 great-great grandchildren. The earliest name is from 1801 and it was Taylor Strode. Family was very
important to them when he was growing up and that came from his father's side of the family. Some of the major key items for their family was Christmas Eve where everyone came to grandma's house. The other one was the Saturday morning bread making at grandma's house. Eric had 2 brothers and 2 sisters and he has 2 children of his own. Some other items he showed us were a marriage license and some of the names that were contained in the bible that outlined their family history.
Joan Hunter - Joan grew up in a household with all girls. She had 3 sisters and then the oldest and youngest have passed away. Joan's mother's side is from England. Joan went to England awhile back to see where her mother came from. Her grandparents worked on a ranch. Then her grandfather went to work at a creamery. Her grandmother had a piano that Joan has received but is at her daughters. All the children and grandchildren were taught how to play the piano unfortunately Joan was not very good at it. Joan's aunt was very good and can play by ear. The family always had some form of music playing or participating in their family. Most often than not it was classical music that was being played. Joan visited England and met some of her mom's cousins and went to a place that had some of her great grandfather's furniture and she got a cabinet that he made. Joan parents were married in 1930. In 1892 in Richmond, Missouri had 5 children and then they moved to Canada were some of their other family was already located at. Her grandfather was 6 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 240 pounds and her grandmother was only as tall as his belt buckle. One of the things that Allen gets from marrying Joan is and extra holiday for Canada's holidays and the US holidays. Joan is trying for dual citizenship but right now she has her green card. Thank you Joan for sharing your story it was very interesting.
March 2 - Humane Society with Christi Maroney
Christi Maroney is the marketing director for the Humane Society. In 2011 4600 animals went thru the Humane Society. The Animal Control Department was separated from the Humane Society in September 2011. This
was because the funding was unclear on where the money would go. The Humane Society relies on private donations and Company donations in order to make ends meet. Their auction coming up in April is sold out and they hope it will be financially beneficial to them. Animals picked up by Animal Control are kept for 72 hours and then transferred to the Humane
Society. Animal control licenses animals. Humane society cares for animals and finds homes every animal has shots and is spade or neutered before being adopted. Adoption costs just barely cover these expenses. The current building is 35 years old. There is no air conditioning (other than portable window units) and heating is not adequate (they
use space heaters) they need to raise 2.1 million dollars to build this. They already have 1.1 million, thanks to Helen Zilke, who left money to them in the will. This will be 3.2 million total needed for new facility. Pet hair is a problem with the heating system and drain. So a good system needs to be put in to accommodate all of this. The Capital campaign kick off is 9/2012 and will go for 2 years with community support and grants. Hopefully everyone will get on board and to help them reach their goal!
February 24 - Grief Place with Karen Sheppard
Grief place is a grief/loss support services. The mission is to provide a caring community of volunteers to assist in individual adults, children and their families to reconcile their grief through activities and support in a safe,supportive, confidential and an affirming environment. The Grief
Place was started by a Hospice nurse and volunteers. It originally
started out as a center for children and was modeled by Dougy Center in Portland. They are located on the Wenatchee Valley College campus and since moving to that building they had add more services to the center. This
organization is a non-profit that operates on public/private donations and grants. All the services are provided free of charge to anyone that needs them. Some of the services provided are Camp Erin Wenatchee, Widowed
Support group, Senior Adult Support Group, Children's Grief Group, Children with Attachment Difficulties, Friends and Families of Victims of Violent Crimes, Adult Grief Support Group, Suicide Survivor Group, Grief Listeners and a Greif Library. They are also adding a Teen Grief Groups and Hispanic Children, Teen and Adult Groups. The Grief Place is run mostly by volunteers who are trained to help grievers but they are not doctors this is a facility that provides peer support. The Grief Place is now trying to branch out to other communities to help with the services they offer. They are also starting to visit elementary schools to help kids to deal with issues and to let them see that there are others like them. If you are interested in learning more about the Greif Place you can contact them at 509-662-6069. They are always looking for volunteers to help with their services. Also they are having a fundraiser on March 23rd at the Blue Spoon Yogurt shop from 6pm to 9:30pm please stop by and purchase some yogurt and help raise money for Grief Place. They are also having a Sock Hop & Silent Auction April 21 at the Conservatory in Cashmere from 6:30pm to 10pm. Cost is $15 per person or $25 per couple and you can contact them to purchase tickets or get more information. Would like to thank Karen for joining our meeting and all the work that she and her volunteers do in our community.
February 17 - New Wenatchee Mayor Frank Kuntz
New Mayor Frank Kuntz joined us for our noon luncheon to talk about what has been going on since he started in his new position. Dennis Johnson was also present at our meeting and Mayor Frank had to comment that as soon as Dennis was out of office he changed his cell number. The main item that he has been dealing with since starting is trying to get the situation with the Town Toyota Center under control and back on track. He was just in Olympia meeting with the House Ways and Means committee he was supposed to be over in Olympia for 3 days but instead he was only over there for 12 hours. While at our meeting he was waiting for a phone call from Olympia to schedule another appointment on when he could finally go back over to continue with the process. The main issue that is going on right now is trying to get all 9 entities on board instead of a majority rule it has to have everyone one board with the decision. The main item that is going on right now is to get Olympia to allow it to be a council majority for the .02% tax increases and then a vote from the other entities for a .01% sales tax increase. To get the .01% on the April 17th ballot it has to be approved and ready to get to the auditors by March 2nd. Frank has been spending a lot of time in Olympia with all representatives that can help in this process. There are 2 parts to getting the Town Toyota Center back on track one is to pay the debt and the other is to keep the building running and open. He is hoping that he will know more by Monday. Other than dealing with the Center he is also trying to deal with the Wenatchee Budget and the issues that are arising from the economy and with the issue of the Town Toyota Center. For the 2012
budget what they are also looking at is the employee benefit program and where they maybe able to help reduce some of that debt. Mayor Frank and
the council are really trying to look at items that they can change to help to reduce debt without losing jobs. It was a very interesting meeting. He has
lots to tackle and is really trying to make it work. Thank you new Mayor Frank for joining us and trying to answer most of the hard questions that you were given.
February 10 - Boy Scouts w/Barbara Dower
Lord R.S.S. Baden Powell in 1907 wrote a book Aids to scouting that was a military book that was used to create the foundation for the Boy Scouts. In 1930, the Cub Scouts created the Pine Wood Derby that was used as a competition and also to have time working with your dad or mom. There are also many camps that these youths can participate in to meet other scouts. There are also many merit badges that help the scouts to gain more skills. Boy Scout training can also help teach leadership to adults that volunteer too. The Grand Columbia Council has 6 regions which includes 4,000 boys and 1,000 leaders. In 1980, there were 1 million Eagle Scouts, and in 2009 there are now 2 million Eagle Scouts. Out of all the Boy Scouts only about 4% make Eagle Scouts. It is accomplished by getting all 21 merit badges, doing something with leadership, planning and service plus move up the ranks. Boy Scouts are building bridges for the future. Tim Johnson also talked about how to pull together the community, create leaders, and also wanted to point out the volunteers are always needed. Thank you very much to the Boy Scouts for joining us and also for the Color Guard in participating in the song and Flag Salute. At the end of the meeting the Wenatchee Central Lions also donated $250 to Boy Scout Pack 183.
February 3 - The Top 10 Luncheon was AMAZING!!! Great job to the committee!! Pictures can be found on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=hp#!/pages/Wenatchee-Central-Lions-Club/133633150001647
January 20 - Wenatchee City Police used to have a canine unit until the 1990's. They now have had a new canine unit for the last 2 years. They currently have 1 canine called Gino who is 3 years old. They did have another canine named Dino who was just retired in Dec. as the canine was 10 years old. Gino is trained as a narcotics dog at this time but they are looking into training Gino for patrol work as well. When they are trained for patrol work that is where they learn a little more obedience than they have as a narcotics canine alone. The canines are trained to be friendly depending on the person but it is best to always ask the trainer before petting the canines. Gino has been involved in 2 drug busts one in June and one in July and one of the busts where located in the Yakima. Gino is a very high strung canine that takes a lot of energy by his trainer Scott to take care of. Scott moved form Richland and has been with the Wenatchee Police Department for the past 6 years. Currently he works more with the Columbia River Drug Task Force. The cost to get a canine depends on the training that the canine currently has and what type of canine you are looking at. Scott met Gino in Jackson, Mississippi and has been to numerous training programs to adapt to each other. When looking at getting the canine Scott actively sought donations to get Gino. Scott was able to get Gino almost fully funded just from his donations. We would like to thank the Wenatchee City Police Department for joining us and showing us this great program and the benefits to our community.
January 13 - John has been a Park Ranger for Lincoln Rock for the past 8 years. John got his college degree from N. Arizona University and then his masters came from the University of Denver. Before that he was an environmental consultant for 14 years.
John Wennes came to help our club learn about the Discovery Pass and the benefits to the Parks that the funding will create. The Discovery Pass is a yellow tag that hangs off the mirror and is only specific to one car. The fine is $99 if you park in any of the Parks without a pass. There is legislation in front of the Senate to allow the pass to be transferrable between cars. The fee for the pass is $30 annually or $10 for a one day pass. You can purchase them either at the Ranger Station at each park, hunting and fishing licenses vendors, online, at some retail stores or at vehicle licensing agents. If you purchase the pass any place other than at the Ranger Station the pass will be $35 instead as the outside has added fees. There are some exclusions for the pass one is for disabled people, vets and disabled vet meaning that they do not need a pass. You do not need a pass for Boats as you have a launching pass. The boat launching pass is $80 for the year and it is a decal that goes in the window. The Discovery Pass is only good for State Parks. You can also check online for exceptions or to find out about different locations and what is needed.
The main reason that the Parks have implemented the pass is to help funding as since the economy has taken a turn they are receiving less funding from the State Budget and they need to be self sufficient by 2013. The Discovery Pass is to help preserve public access to recreation lands managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The parks need to get 2 ½ million dollars a month to make budget. Currently the State Parks have 8 full time Rangers but they will be changing to 4 career seasonal Rangers. That is making them worry about how they will be able to keep up with the everyday operations and the maintenance needed to all the areas of the Park. When asked if the public has been supportive John commented that overall they have been supportive. Especially once they find out why the funding is needed. The Parks also use 300 thousand hours in volunteer hours that was what was used in 2010. Daily fees have gone away and there is a 15 minute time allowance when coming in to the park. If you would like more information you can look the information up at www.discoverpass.wa.gov.
January 6 - Growing up in a Family with Migrant Laborers - Dr. Ismael Vivanco works for the North Central Education Service after getting his Doctorate at WSU. Dr. Ismael was born in Mexico City and then later landed in Oregon and then the Skagit Valley. He claims one of the reasons that his parents decided to move to the United States was they needed a different life and a change for the family. Before they left Mexico his dad was assaulted and stabbed and that was what made the decision to look for something better. His biggest influence and role models were his parents but as he claims that most need to be exposed to role models both educationally and professionally. His biggest influence was from education since he came from poverty and his parents were migrant workers. Out of the 20 kids and grandkids, 16 have college degrees and the other 4 are in the social work industry. One of the quotes that Ismael remembers from his dad is "It's better to use your brain than your back" by Pa Jose`. His parents only had about 4 months of formal education. Along with education kids should be involved in sports or activities besides education to succeed in school and life. One of his other memories is the van that they had that was 4 colors and the kids would rather walk to school than be seen in the van. When they asked their dad to paint the van his comment was why when I'm driving you can't see the colors and he did not want nor could not afford to spend the money to paint it. When they lived in the Skagit Valley they lived in a one bedroom home that converted to a house that slept 12 people at night being 3 adults and 9 kids. When he was growing up he never thought they were poor until he was told that he was. They did have a family reunion in 2009 and their family has a total of 600 names that they had printed on the shirts for the reunion. His main point was that everyone needs help in one way shape or form and that there are not the same resources and it is not the same playing field for everyone. He told us that all the brothers have a college education; 4 have masters, 1 has a doctorate and 1 has a double AA. The Sisters all graduated high school but do not have a college education but they all work. He also wanted to thank the Lions Club for what we do in the community that helps and provides too many that truly need it. We would also like to thank Dr. Ismael Vivanco for the great presentation and telling our group about his life.
December 9 - Kids' Christmas Party - this was another great year. Thanks to Rich Brinkman and Father Christmas for sharing their talents with us. And of course, who could forget Santa Claus and his special gifts for all of our special guests.
December 2 - Mark Miller has been the General Manager for the Town Toyota Center for the past 2 years. He was trying to educate us on what is happening with the center and also on some of the positive things that are also going on at the center. One of the main differences with what is going on is that the debt if for construction issues not from operational issues. As for the operational issues they have been running in the black for the past 2 years and that is all while not raising one price in the facility. Unfortunately, the operations of the arena is not able to pay the debt service if it wants to continue functioning the way it is and to also still provide the events and concerts at the facility. Mark also pointed out the most arena run in the red and some can even continue to function in a bankruptcy status. He wanted us to be aware that Kennewick which has a population of over 225,000 versus our 75,000 metro is scheduled to lose $280,000 operationally this year.
One of the reasons that the Town Toyota Center has been in the black is because of the great staff that Mark has employed that put in way more time than most other facilities staff put in. Also, the Center runs with a way smaller staff than most other arenas. He also wanted to point out the 3 things that an arena is for. The fist is for providing entertainment, second is the economic impact, and the third is for the quality of life in our community. One of the other positives is the money that gets funneled into our community from people coming for the games to the shows and concerts. You can also rent the Town Toyota Center for your events ranging in price depending on what you are requiring.
November 11 - Don Baker was born in Seattle and that is where he enlisted in the Navy in 1942. He was an Aviation Boatwain's Mate First Class serving on the USS Guadalcanal where the captain of the ship decided he wanted to capture a submarine rather than sink them which was the normal practice. Nobody believed it could be done but his captain was given the green light to try to do it.
When they ended up in the Atlantic Ocean looking for submarines they were on an aircraft carrier that also had a group of destroyers and a fleet of planes with them. When they were looking for the subs most were staying submerged and out of the way for the sonars. After days of trying to find them they were getting ready to turn around and go back since their fuel was getting low. The captain decided to search one more night before going in to get fuel. But on June 4th when Don Baker was down getting a cup of coffee the alarms went off and they are were told to get back to their stations. He thought that they were just having the planes come into land and was getting ready. But instead they started shooting where they launched a "hedgehog attack" and then a series of mortars were shot into the water which do not explode until they make contact. After it was determined they were not going to make it, the Germans decided to abandon ship. Then the US crew went aboard to save the sub from sinking. They then hooked up to the sub to try to tow it but they had to drag it sideways through the water but then the tow line broke. When they contacted Washington D.C. they then sent a refueler and a tug boat to take the sub. They then towed it to Bermuda.
It was then decided that they needed to keep it a secret so that they could use the equipment on the sub to follow what the Germans were doing in the war. They did not want the crews to talk about it because they did not want the Germans to find out and change their codes. The Germans never learned about the capture until the end. After the war they tried to figure out what to do with the submarine and it was decided it would go to the Chicago Museum. The submarine is still there today and is its biggest drawing item. It was outside and it was deteriorating and they decided to spend $33 million to build a building around it and refurbish it. Even the German manufacturer contributed the plans and parts to fully restore except for the bullet holes that are still there. The submarine has had over 1 million visitors. It was a great presentation and program for the day, sorry to all that missed it. If interested in more information the Wenatchee World also ran a story of this event and can be read online or in the paper.
November 4 - Bill and Carol Forhan have been in the newspaper business since 1980 back in Montana and then in California and then finally landing in Leavenworth in 2000. When they came to Leavenworth they started their own publishing company by purchasing the Leavenworth Echo, Cashmere Valley Record and Lake Chelan Mirror. Since 2000 they have added the Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune in Oroville and the Quad City Herald in Brewster. They also publish 3 different visitors' guides being Leavenworth, Chelan and Wenatchee. Recently Bill and Carol have made a trade of the Oroville paper to the Sound Publishing in Poulsbo for the Wenatchee Business Journal.
Right now they are focusing on the Media Wars and keeping their newspapers functioning in the changing times. In these times it is hard to compete with Radio, Television and the internet and to keep people reading the newspaper. The world is a 24-7 media cycle where it is always changing and you have to stay on top of what is going on around you all the time.
Bill and Carol along with Jim Corcoran and Mike Cassidy like to place their emphasis on local news. They have done a survey that shows that currently people still would rather read their news in a newspaper. Both Bill and Carol are very involved in the community and participate on quite a few boards.
If interested in more information you can locate them on their website at NCWbusiness.com. They also run another website NCWBizlink.com which is a local business directory that is ideal for everyone.
October 28 - Jennifer Witherbee: Washington Apple Education Foundation was started in 1994 to help with education in the tree fruit industry through scholarships and continuing support from the community. They are a non-profit organization that relies on the community and the industry in supporting the great opportunities afforded to the many students through the scholarships and grant programs. Most of the scholarships are awarded to kids coming from the industry. Each year the foundation increases the amount of scholarships provided just this year they provided over 150 scholarships totaling $425,000. Out of the 150 they received 421 applications. When the applications are received there are a about 60 volunteers that donate about 35 to 40 hours over one month to make the selection process. After the scholarships are awarded another bonus to this program is that many of the students they are connected with an industry member or past recipient to help them get through the first year of college. Along with the scholarships the foundation also offers grants to community and school recipients and to farm workers themselves for the community and family and industry education. So the foundation relies on community support for their funding. They have 2 major events that are their golf tournament one here in the Wenatchee Valley and one in Yakima and then the other big event is the Horticulture Association Event in their 14th year and they have a big raffle for a sprayer that gains a lot of funding. But overall their main support comes from members in the industry. Many in our community donate to this wonderful foundation either through personal donations to memorial donations. This organization supports other events and people in our
community and is a great support structure for the tree fruit industry. If anyone is interested in learning more you can find them at www.waef.org.
October 21 Charlie Pomianek works for the Washington State's Tree Fruit Industry Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association. This organization tracks and watches how this industry is doing not only in our community but in the State, Country and Worldwide. In the State of Washington 15% of our ecomony comes from agriculture. In 2009 the Washington State Farm Gate production was $7,081,000,000 from agricultural crops and the Farm Gate money means that it goes back to the growers. Total tree fruit for 2009 was $1,855,000,000 bringing the economy of Washington State to 4%. Apples grown in the state are 2/3 of all fresh apples consumed in America and with that 97% of the crop is consumed outside Washington State.
Fresh tree fruit crops amount to a large volume of product coming out of the state and from our district. Apples amount to 11,000,000 of 40lb boxes and the Wenatchee district produces 36 million of that amount, pears 13,000,000 45 lb boxes and 9.5 million is Wenatchee District, cherries 17, 5000,000 20 lb boxes and 8.5 million and other soft fruit from the Wenatchee District. Of the volume being produced and moved around 30% exported overseas, 30% through Puget Sound Ports. When shipping cherries they are moved by passenger planes that is why they are training to get people to take less bags so there is more room for cherries. They have also started to move cherries through Canada more because there are fewer restrictions then through Puget Sound. Cherries have to be inspected more now than before 9/11/11 that is why the are traveling through Canada. Employees involved in growing, warehousing, packing, marketing and shipping and there are 25,000 full time year round employees and of that 10,000 are from the Wenatchee District then seasonal employees 2,500 are needed seasonally for Wenatchee. Stemilt is the largest Cherry producer in our valley and then they others make up the rest. When shipping fruit the Wenatchee District ships out 140,000 truckloads of fruit per year. That equates to 540 truckloads out of the state every day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks per year that tells us that 90% of domestic shipments are transported by truck.
October 7, 2011 - EHS Football Coach Doug McGill & WHS Football Coach Scott Devereaux
McGill has been the Head Coach at EHS for the past 8 years. He brought 4 players, Christian Baker, Berlie Walker, John Weaver, and Lucas McGill with him. He has a great group of kids who are not only great players and students, but are also great citizens.
Devereaux has been the Head Coach at WHS for the past 8 years also. They were league champs in 2007 & 2009. He brought 2 players with him, Chris Woodard and Connor Black. The Panthers are a young team but are figuring out how to group up quickly.
September 30, 2011
Lions Car Decals - PR Chairman of Lions MD 19 would like to encourage all Lions to display a decal in the window of their vehicle as well as the "We Serve" license plate frames. Patti has them for purchase $10.
Lilac Service for the Blind of Wenatchee - looking for volunteers to hang sheetrock, tape and prep walls in their office. Contact Carolyn Sibert at 425-330-4232
Frank Serratori - USAF Hockey
Frank is the head coach for the United States Air Force Academy Hockey team. He has been the coach for 15 years after coaching at other locations throughout the United States and Canada. He chose USAF Academy to have a location for his family to stay in one area for a longer period of time than they have. He has 4 kids and his boys also participate in the hockey program like the kids on the Wild team.
The hockey team currently has 3 Wild team members on his hockey team and Frank will be getting 2 more Wild players next year. When recruiting players they have to be good, healthy US citizens. They also have to accept a 5 year commitment with the military once they are done with school. It is a good way to progress in their life once they are done with school.
The USAF Academy only takes 1,000 students a year and just this year they had 12,000 applications to their school. Shows how things are going in our society. Makes for a good deal for some of these kids if they can get in since they get a free education and then they have a job and a career once they graduate.
September 23, 2011
Lions Car Decals - PR Chairman of Lions MD 19 would like to encourage all Lions to display a decal in the window of their vehicle. Patti has them for purchase $10.
Member Ethnic Days - Buell Hawkins talked about his background with his mother being from the Phillipines and his father who was a merchant marine. Barbara Dower talked about being Jewish in our community. Mike Teaney talked about his time with the New York Yankees, and Mary Thresher arrived in costume as a French General and Emporer and talked about her French roots.
September 9, 2011
Van Doren Sales started in 1946 and is a family run business that specializes in handling and packaging equipment for the fruit industry. They employ over 100 people and just opened up a small office last December in Yakima. The pre-sizing technology they have developed allows the scanning of 10 pieces of fruit per second to weigh, check for color/blemishes and even check the condition internally. Huge thanks to Brett and Brad VanDoren for taking their time to show us what they do and thanks to Avis Scharleau for her wonderful homemade pies!
September 2, 2011
Marsha Clute with the Chelan Co. Fair was our program and let us know what will be happening at the upcoming 2011 Fair. Carnival, Magician Jeff Evans, Cook's Racing Pigs, and three animal shows.
Also, Zone Chair David Severance sent out a huge thanks to all our Club Officers. He has a few ideas for our upcoming year: petition drive for the centennial coin, Lion for a Life, Helen Keller Awareness Club which works to assure that every school and library in our zone has works by Keller as part of their collection. Thanks David and we look forward to the upcoming year!!
August 19, 2011 - ALCOA Field Trip
The ALCOA facility is located on 2500 acres, 64 of which is leased fruit orchards. They employ 467 people with 23 smelters on 5 continents and 9 refineries on 4 continents. The Wenatchee location opened in 1952. ALCOA employees volunteer about 126,000 in our community since 2002.
August 12, 2011 - Kids Day and Chelan/Douglas Canine Units
Thanks to all the kids that participated!! Chelan and Douglas Counties had two dogs on hand to demonstrate their skills.
August 5, 2011 - Doug Brantiette, Canyon B Bridge Project
Bidding started June 15, 2010 and was awarded July 13, 2010. Construction began August 8, 2010 and should be completed by December 2012, although they are ahead of schedule and think they will be done in 2011. Once bridge is finished, construction will begin to connect the Eastmont Road Project with the Odobashian Bridge and the entire project should be finished by April 2013.
Original estimate was over $9 million, but Cascade Bridge came in at just under $6 million. 300 tons of steel is used in the arch as well as 3,000 cubic yards of concrete. The bridge will have 4 lanes and a meridian to accommodate large use. For more info, plese visit www.douglascountywa.net and click on the Canyon B Bridge Project.
webmaster: firstname.lastname@example.com
Upcoming Meetings
July 31
Performing Arts Center w/ Matt Cadman
August 7
Classification Talks
New Projects
4th Tuesday of each month
Noon - 1pm @ WA Trust Bank in E. Wenatchee
Board Meetings
1st & 3rd Monday of each month
Noon at the Wildcard in E. Wenatchee
Submit your meeting news to Marcia Maloney: firstname.lastname@example.com
by Fridays at Noon for the Newsletter
anytime for the Website
Club Welfare
Lori Reed, Chairperson
670-4012 or email@example.com
Copyright 2015