Hello Rotarians
August has been a lot of fun visiting Rotarians in Wenatchee and Yakima. Lisa and I began our visits in Wenatchee where we met with members from the 6 clubs in the area. Assistant Governor Carol Adamson did a marvelous job organizing the District's first cluster visit. Area 9 includes Wenatchee, Wenatchee North, East Wenatchee, Wenatchee Sunrise, Cashmere and Leavenworth. We were joined by Past District Governor Bruce Falkins and his wife Donna from Kelowna. We began with a lunch meeting and there was a social in the evening. We were encouraged by the large turnout. The Wenatchee area is rich with Rotary history. The Wenatchee club was chartered in 1921 and is the 2nd oldest club in District 5060. There have been 10 District Governors from the area including Past Rotary International President Ed Cadman. The Wenatchee club has sponsored 9 clubs. PDG Jim Adamson gave Lisa and I a tour of the community to see the impact of Rotary. The Rotary presence in the area is significant. The parks and signage in the area as well as the work towards a new school is impressive. The visit energized us on how passionate Rotarians can truly make a difference in a community.
Last week we traveled to Yakima for a cluster visit with the Downtown, Southwest and Sunrise clubs. I made it even though I ran out of gas in the middle of the night on a lonely highway coming back from the capitol in Olympia. Thank God for cabs! I'll have to pay more attention to my driving I guess. Tressa Stadel did a terrific job in organizing this. We began with a board meeting which included about 30 Board members from the three clubs. I was very impressed with the partnerships that they have formed with themselves as well as the city, county and other organizations. They are currently undertaking their centennial project in which they plan to build the Yakima Rotary Aquatics Center at a cost of 40 million dollars. The club is well along on their fundraising efforts and are looking forward to December 1, the clubs 100th anniversary. Yakima was the first club in the District and was sponsored by Seattle 4. They have since sponsored 5 clubs of their own. They have had 11 Governors and are the largest club in District 5060 at 311 members. The other two clubs have another 120 members. The three clubs filled the convention center meeting room.
So far the cluster visits have been a change for our District that has been a way for the clubs in the area to socialize and exchange ideas. I am looking forward to visiting Penticton and Ellensburg in the middle of next month.
See you all soon!!