Above:  This week's banner photo actually includes someone named Banner!
Left to right: President Mary Horn, Teacher of the Month Rachel Parks, CPHS Principal Rene McCord and CPSD Superintendent Ron Banner

I didn’t hear Sister Sledge as the lead-in to yesterday’s meeting.  Of course, I could have been chatting…or, someone on the Dream Team was asleep at the wheel.  Hard to sleep through “We are family,” however.  Mother Mary’s prelude always seems to awaken the throng. But, the dinner bell did arouse me…and my trusty pencil…so to jot down the tidbits of the meeting.

The president called upon Bob Peterson to give the invocation.  As he does so well, Bob gave a meaningful homily. It was followed by Jacob Cuthbertson leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  It was at this juncture that several whispers were heard around my table that Greg Rediske showed up on Zoom, yet he was present in the room.  Someone spouted off, “He wants to get credit for attendance at two meetings.”  Then, I noticed that President Mary was also on Zoom. Huh???  The real Zoomers were then acknowledged: Ralph Johnson, Kendra Riconosciuto, and Rotarian, far away in the cold, northern country, Carole Weir.
 But, kind as always, Mary introduced and thanked the members of the Dream Team: Tom George, Wynn Hoffman, Terry Roarke, Rick Selden and Rob Erb.

Rotary Foundation Giving:
Bud Montgomery hauled in the Greenleafs at the Paul Harris desk…$1,910.00 to be exact!  Mark Edgecomb was Sgt. at Arms and manned the $2.00 Table.  J-Lo, as John Lowney is so fondly called, tended the Cookie Jar.  The president then invited the Puffins to stand and be recognized.  As many stood, Mary declared, “Amazing,” as she is so proud of our newest members (that may change after the upcoming “Roast”).  The honorable amongst us, PDG Greg Horn, DGN Tony Camoroda and AG Bill Potter, were noted.  The prez neglected to call on me for a Sunshine report, but thank goodness all is well in Lakewood Rotary-Land.

Major Projects update:
A gaggle of announcements followed. Bill Potter, Major Projects Captain, spoke of the 45 bikes that were recently assembled and will be given to area kids in need on December 16.  Bill went on to educate us on how the Major Projects work is initiated.  The club itself starts many of the projects we are involved in, such as Ft. Steilacoom’s multi-year project several years ago, which I remember (and as Bill explained) that my husband, Mike, spearheaded with several other dedicated Lakewood Rotarians.  By the 15^th of this month, members Kim Prentice, John Caulfield, and Mark Edgecomb will be launching a new, multi-year project.


Above:  Bill Potter giving us a Major Projects update

International Projects:
Rose Stevens asked us to approve a grant request for $5,000 for water tanks to be installed in Nepal.  The vote passed unanimously.

Local happenings:
Friday was the last day to sign up for “Mingle & Jingle,” our club Christmas Party and Dinner, being held at the Tacoma Country & Golf Club on December 8^th at 5:30 p.m.

December 9^th is Lakewood’s Christmas Parade of Lights.  Our own Dolly Parton “standee” will be present in John Lowney’s red, hot car.  Please meet at Park Lodge well before 4:00 p.m. and line up in front of the marching band if you’d like to participate.  Mother Mary encourages us to bring the small children in our families.

Gayle Selden announced that she recently escorted our exchange student, Amelia, to her new home of Troy and Stephanie Wilcox.

Upcoming meetings are as follows:
*No meeting to be held on December 22^nd and 29^th.
*The January 5^th meeting will be at the Pavilion at Ft. Steilacoom Park. Dick Ferrell will be cooking.  He would like a few volunteers.  Please bring your friends.

On to the Cookie Jar Payments:
Rob Erb fessed up with a $20 bill, not for the recent trip to Texas, but for the armadillo he hit on the road.  Proudly, Bob Peterson acknowledged that he will be turning 95 years old on December 4.  I believe Bob generously filled the Cookie Jar with $95.00 crisp ones!  

Steve Saalfeld paid up, as he has taken a new position at Greater Tacoma Community Foundation.  Even though you helped fill the Cookie Jar, congratulations, Steve.


Above: Steve Saalfeld ready to conquer a new career

Tyler Parker told a tale about a newly-purchased RV/motorhome and a trip he and a friend made, in very bad weather, to Las Vegas.  As he elaborated, we discover his friend is a boxer, a “bout” fanatic, a “brawler”…the jargon went on and on.  The reason for the trip was to see a boxing match.  As it turned out, it was a knock-out.  Tyler forked over $91.00 (all he had left after purchasing $9 worth of raffle tickets).


Above: Tyler Parker talking about his new motorhome adventure

Traveling salesman Don Daniels introduced the upcoming Fall Raffle.  He told us a new way to sell tickets without really selling.  Approach a friend and ask, "How would you like to make a donation to my Rotary Club?  An added bonus is that you will get a chance to win $5,000 with every $25 you donate.  $100 gets you four chances, and your money goes to a great local cause right here in Lakewood."  See, no selling involved, all you have to do is give an opportunity to donate.  It is hoped that every Lakewood Rotarian will help people donate $250 to the cause.


Above: Don Daniels teaching us a new way to "sell" Fall Raffle tickets, no selling involved.

A Teacher of the Month was honored from the Clover Park School District.  XX teaches 9th graders at CPHS


Above:  Rachel Parks, teacher of the  month from Clover Park High School                                                     

30-30 Giving next week: 
The Lakewood Community Foundation Fund was started in 1993 by Lakewood Rotary and Clover Park Rotary to fund needs exclusively in Lakewood. The endowed fund is now over $1.3 million, the fund is distributing over $37,000 every year, and it is now the 30th anniversary of the beginning.  To commemorate the 30th anniversary, we’ll be asking if anyone wants to donate $30 to honor the achievement.  This will be asked at all the local service clubs as well.  So if you want….

Friday's programme:
The highlight of today’s meeting was a presentation, not by a guest speaker, but by our own Mary Horn, about DACdb. This acronym has been tossed about since I joined Lakewood Rotary two-and-a-half years ago.  I actually figured out the db all by myself…data base, but the “DAC” has eluded me.  Today I discovered “DAC” stands for DISTRICT (as in District 5020) AND CLUB (as in Lakewood, or any other local Rotary club.) Got it?

Now that is settled, on to what the president told us about DACdb.  Simply, it is a computer system, a very powerful tool, that is easier to use than previous attempts at connecting all Rotary clubs and members.
I kind of think of it as a “roster”, but Mary demonstrated that it is much more than a listing of members and members’ contact info.  For example, you can make your own changes within the system should you need.  You can view other clubs’ activities.  You can view things you and other members are assigned to (for example, what dates you are responsible for duties at our check-in desk).  You can access member’s anniversaries and birthdays.  Not only can we, as members, view such data, but the District can see the same data.

And it’s a great communication tool.  If we are not talking to each other in person, we are usually communicating by phone, text or e-mail.  A couple of taps on your mobile device is all it takes.  No more misdialing phone numbers!

Personally, I love paper.  All kinds of paper.  I love my Lakewood Rotary Member Roster.  You know, that little binder with the white plastic cover.  I love it so much that I have two of them: my own, which is new and shiny, and an old, well-used one that belonged to Mike.  His not only has one edition of roster pages, but is stuffed with 5 or 6 years of roster pages. The pages are wrinkled and the cover is cracked and bent.  But, I still use it, no mattered how battered it looks.  I’m thrilled that Secretary Rediske has promised a brand new roster coming sometime soon.

Not only do I love my Rotary roster, I actually loved the telephone book.  You know, the big, fat one with white pages in the front that listed all the people in your town and their phone numbers, and with yellow pages (The Yellow Pages) in the back where you could find a plumber, a barber, some place to get good Chinese food, or someone to fix your TV. Haven’t seen one of those in a while.  Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a telephone like the one I used in my parents’ home when I was in high school.  You know, it was black and had a hand-held part where you talked into one end and had the other end to your ear, so you could hear what your “boyfriend” was whispering at the other end.  It was connected with a curly cord to a box-like part, that had a dial where you stuck your finger in and turned one number at a time to call “the boyfriend”.

Oh, well.  Long-gone.  Now, I’m dealing, begrudgingly, with this thing called an iPhone and an acronym called “DACdb”.

The “big, bad wolf” is in the room!  But, I digress.

Finally, the weekly drawing.


Above, J-Lo (John Lowney) drawing a white chip for a five-r.

Wendy