Spokane North Notes
 
A weekly bulletin of the Spokane-North Rotary Club
December 7, 2015
 
Editors: Chuck Rehberg and Sandy Fink
Program coordinator: Brad Stark
 
          Tis the season: The club’s special holiday lunch is Monday, Dec. 14 at The Lincoln Center.  A 10-member Holmes Elementary School choir will entertain and join us for lunch, along with the choir director and principal.  Spouses, guests and prospective members are welcomed, but let Lenore Romney know ASAP.
 
          Wrap it up!: All the gift tags with holiday wishes for needy Holmes students and their families have been taken.  Coordinator Melinda Keberle reminds that the wrapped gifts, along with the ID tags, are due at the Christmas luncheon.   When President Lenore Romney said “elf service” was available for shopping, Steve Boharski asked if that makes the Rotary motto “service above elf?”  Nice one.
 
          Sponsors needed: Fund-raising coordinator Jodi Harland encouraged members to make one last pre-holiday push for sponsors to include donations in their 2016 annual budgets for next spring’s fund drive.
 
Club leadership, future discussed
 
          The second-quarter report on club activities saved the biggest question for last: Can we find enough members to take leadership roles next year and beyond, or should we consider merging with another club?  This came under the general category of “what can 28 members do?”
 
          Brief table talk among the 18 members at the luncheon produced a variety of reactions, including:
  • Let’s grow our club by contacting businesses (Avista and others), organizations and schools (Whitworth, Mead, G-Prep, District 81) which used to have club members.
  • Merging with Aurora Northwest (which someone suggested calling it the North by Northwest club) might be worth talking about, especially if the focus on helping needy kids was extended more to neighborhoods in the Rogers and Shadle Park areas.
  • It was also suggested that having one large club with a general territory covering all of North Spokane might increase Rotary awareness and presence and perhaps draw even better programs. Aurora is a Thursday lunch club which currently meets at Spike’s restaurant on West Francis.
  • Several members said they like the current size, location and camaraderie – and parking.  To which President Lenore Romney asked: “If no one wants to lead the club, what options do we have?”
        
 
          Romney noted that even with reducing club leadership ranks to eight from 12 officers and directors, three vacancies remain for the next Rotary year – and elections for that year are due by the end of calendar year 2015.  The vacancies are vp/president-elect, treasurer and local services director.
 
          Romney commended Treasurer Nancy Hanson for stepping up to take the merged office of vice president and president-elect, but added that leaves the treasurer’s spot open.  Romney noted that a bookkeeper has been hired and next month to begin handling the routine financial duties, reducing the treasurer’s workload.
 
          Of the club goal “to have interesting and fun meetings,” Romney commended program coordinator Brad Stark for his efforts, including monthly themes for programs, such as the consecutive sessions with UW and WSU on Spokane’s new medical school.
 
          The general goal and focus of helping needy kids continues, Romney said.  All of the budgeted projects at Glover Middle School have been funded.  So have the scheduled projects at Holmes.  Projects at North Central will be funded later, as scheduled.