Farewell to the Minklers and Scholarship Winners

 

 

 

          Calendar notes: June 20 marked the last club luncheon meeting of the Rotary year, which ends June 30.  Next week’s gala event is the installation banquet for new officers and directors, Tuesday, June 28, at The Kalispel Golf and Country Club (formerly the Spokane Country Club).  No lunch meeting next Monday.  Since July 4th falls on a Monday, the first lunch meeting of the new Rotary year is July 11.  Your last opportunity to say good-bye to the Minklers will be on Sunday, June 26^th from 4-6pm at Nectar Wine Bar in Kendall Yards.

 

          Welcome our newest member: Stephen Bergman was inducted as the newest Spokane North member on June 20.  Attorney Stephen is an associate with the Powell, Kuznetz and Parker firm.

Stephen, from Bellingham, served in the Air Force until 2002.  He moved to Spokane the following year and attended SCC and EWU before getting his law degree from GU in 2011.  He specializes in labor and employment law, personal injury and family law.  His wife is Rebecca and he has a son, Bret, and daughter, Sydney.  Hobbies include boating and kayaking, mountain biking and hiking.  His reason for joining Rotary, simply stated: “I’d like to give back to the community.”

 

 

 

 

          After he handed out the Gerald Saling Memorial Scholarships, Jim Minkler was presented with Spokane North’s Club Service award for 2015-16.

 

          n the presentation, President Lenore Romney noted that Jim “has provided exceptional service to our Rotary Club for many years. 

 

          “He served in numerous board positions, including club president in 2011-12.  He put the “international” in our club’s Rotary International title by leveraging his connections with Spokane Falls Community College and arranging programs with guests from several continents.

 

           “What other club has had African and Tibetan speakers?  He guided Sister Bernie into our club as a member and helped coordinate her request to several area clubs, especially Club 21, for the “potty project” at her school for orphans.

 

          “For several years Jim has coordinated our scholarship program, carrying on the educational legacy started by Mr. Saling, a former SFCC president and State Senator.  At times we have had more than 50 scholarship applications from outstanding high school and college students in our area.  His outreach efforts spread awareness of Rotary to virtually every high school in the area.”

 

          Lenore added: “Jim may be moving to western Washington, but his efforts here will never be forgotten.  As just a small tribute for all he has done, the club proudly presents its Club Service Award for Rotary year 2015-16 to a member who has defined exceptional service – Jim Minkler.”

 

          Jim’s wife Yoko was present at the luncheon.  So was their son Doug, a previous Saling Scholarship winner, who offered “a big thank you to the club” for helping him as he obtained a degree in international studies from the University of Washington.      After some time off, Doug will return to UW for a master’s degree in the Dan Evans school of public administration.

 

          “Being a stay-at-home grad is not as prestigious as I thought it would be,” Doug quipped.  He has volunteered for several local non-profit agencies while awaiting his return to UW.

 

          Doug said Rotary’s four-way test has become a guide in his decision-making.   “I want to end up finding a path in concert with the values and spirit of the test.  It can guide you in making tough decisions.”

 

          Several club members shared Minkler memories, none as poignant as those of Sister Bernie of Uganda.  She was on sabbatical at GU and transferred to SFCC, where, she said Jim guided her through English classes and, when math classes were giving her “sleepless nights,” Jim again helped her.  Sister Bernie, who graduated last Friday, said simply, “I thank you Jim Minkler.”

 

          The club presented the Minklers with a nicely wrapped package which contained two rain ponchos to wear in Aberdeen, one of the state’s wettest cities, where, on July 1, Jim begins as president of Grays Harbor College.

 

          The package also contained a gift card for dinner, prompting Lenore to note that “I couldn’t find any good restaurants listed there.  You may have to go to another town.”  Jim replied: “A Wendy’s is coming to Aberdeen.”

 

 

          The 2015-16 Gerald L. Saling Memorial Scholarships were awarded to Om Kafle of Rogers High School and Tony Hazel of Mt. Spokane.

          Kafle attended the luncheon.  Hazel, unable to attend, will visit the club later.

         

          The scholarships are named for long-time club member Gerry Saling, who died at age 80 in 2008, following a four-year battle with cancer.  Scholarship coordinator Jim Minkler, whom Saling had sponsored for club membership, recalled Saling’s roles as a teacher, principal and college administrator and a strong support of education while Gerry was in the state legislature.

 

          Kafle plans to major in pre-med at UW.  He was born and raised in the slums of refugee camps in Nepal and said his “family was exiled from Bhutan,” finally moving to Spokane seven years ago.

          “There were schools in the refugee camps, but farming tools were more emphasized,” Kafle said in his application.  “From the beginning of my school life in Nepal until today, science has always inspired me.”

          At Rogers he was a member of the Interact Club.  He was also enrolled in “Project Lead the Way,” a four-year math-science-technology program which showed “different areas of science to solve complex and fascinating problems with a real-world perspective.”

 

          Om has become an ardent volunteer, amassing 995 hours of community service combined at Holy Family Hospital and the Institute for Extended Learning.

 

          At Holy Family, he delivers meals and transports patients.  “It is humbling to experience the resilience of the human body and to play a small role in bringing joy and love to patients who need to be uplifted and supported,” Om said.

 

          “I am truly, truly thankful for this scholarship,” Om told the club.

 

          Hazel plans to attend Seattle Pacific University and major in accounting.

 

          Hazel also has volunteered often, including as a math and English tutor at school and on three church mission trips, one to feed the homeless in Seattle and Tacoma, another to work on an impoverished Indian reservation in South Dakota and the third to work in San Jose, Costa Rica.

 

          In his application, Hazel said his dad is on low-income disability after being shot multiple times during a home invasion.  “I have dreamed my whole life of going to college and pursuing a better future than the current situation that I am living through,” Hazel said in his application.

 

          Of the four-way test, Hazel said: “Throughout my childhood I observed the harsh reality of consequences associated with dishonest and lack of integrity in others…I have learned from my missteps and I will use the four principle tests that I have learned here to guide my decision-making.”