North Notes
Spokane North Rotary Club Bulletin
February 28, 2022
Calendar:
March 7: Rotary lunch, Noon at Bark - Christ Kitchen
March 14 or March 18: To be determined - Either a Monday lunch or a St. Paddy’s Day potluck on Friday March 18
March 21: Rotary lunch, Noon at Bark - Mobius Discovery Center
March 28: Rotary lunch, Noon at Bark – Classification talks
Briefly:
Lenore Romney provided a brief update from last week’s board meeting. To date, contributions to this year’s fundraising effort from members totals $6,500. The board approved funding for two $1,500 scholarships to be paid from our Charitable Funds.
Happy Buck$:
Mentioning a long-time birthday tradition, Chuck Rehberg tossed in a dollar for his March 1 date.
Lenore Romney played the role of Sergeant at Arms for the meeting and asked members who had not yet Wordle’d to put a dollar in the pot. Don’t know if you Wordle’d on Monday? Google it and you’ll discover a fun daily word game hosted by The New York Times.
St. Patrick’s Day potluck??
After a successful Valentine’s potluck, members are asked whether the club should have a St. Paddy’s Day potluck on Friday, March 18. The day-after Irish toast would avoid competition with the actual St. Patrick’s Day and also would allow the participants to have a weekend following the event.
Please contact Lenore Romney to voice your preference for a regular lunch meeting that week OR for the Friday potluck. The Club also needs a host for the 3/18 event.
Class acts, cont.: 
Melinda and Colin 
Melinda and Colin One speaker wore a paper crown to keep kids engaged. The other said two bad shoulders led him to a career in finance.
At the Feb. 28 luncheon, Melinda Keberle and Colin Prestesater provided interesting and engaging classification talks.
Melinda, a former past president of the club, is principal at Ridgeview Elementary School, talked about her special interests in working with kids who struggle in the classroom.
She said she “was born to two teen parents – both were just 17” and “even if we didn’t have food on the table” her mom was “amazing” and worked her way to complete high school, Gonzaga University and a CPA job.
Melinda said she “wanted to be a doctor – a heart surgeon,” but encountered a teacher – also “Melinda” – in drama and English whose inspiration led her to teaching.
Our Melinda also had a talent for music and wanted to play saxophone, but when the rents were high she settled for a spare trombone at the school. She still occasionally plays when her son Landen, now 14, plays piano.
Melinda’s first teaching job was in Ritzville – “not a great fit,” she said of farm life.
Next she taught in Springdale, where she worked with a number of students who struggled.
Next Melinda worked at Bancroft school, and then at Eagle Peak, the former Pratt Elementary at 4th and Bradley in the district’s most eastern school. As the club once toured there several years ago, the school even had a “rubber room,” where students were able to be contained when necessary.
Now Melinda, in her 14th year as a principal, is at Ridgeview, a north side middle-class neighborhood. But every student has had challenges with the Covid chaos, she said.
At her classification talk, Melinda showed her six-foot PVC tube for safe distancing, and a page of yellow and black dots to show the student path during the pandemic.
She also wore her paper crown with messages and illustrations to engage the students.
Being a principal and teacher now has, she said, “a tough job but rewarding.”
Her hand-crafted sign at her school says: “I believe all students can succeed.”
In some idle times during Covid, Melinda also became a real estate broker and she and Landen plan to continue their baseball odyssey to visit all major league stadiums. They have visited 23 so far, and – if major league labor issues get settled – they will soon visit Atlanta and Miami ballparks.
Colin said he and his family grew up in Southern California, where, he said he “was always in sports," encouraged by great parents.
Colin’s football prowess led to a full-ride at Idaho State as an offensive lineman.
While his goals were “leadership, hard work and diversity,” his injured left shoulder meant he “had to buckle down on education.”
After a red-shirt year for rehab, Colin “tore his right shoulder” in his junior year. His hopes to play in the NFL were dashed and his coach told him that Colin could try to play in his senior year, but if he injured either shoulder he
“might not be able to play catch with your kids someday.”
“might not be able to play catch with your kids someday.” Colin’s future plans turned to the financial industry and his next sporting interests went to trout fishing, where, he said, “there is never a bad day standing in the river, even if you don’t catch a fish.”
His first road trip at Idaho State was to play the Griz at Missoula, and Colin said he was smitten about the area even before they got to the city and the stadium. Not playing football,
Colin worked with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
But he knew that “you need to have a PhD to work in a coffee shop” in Missoula, where lots of folks would like to live, but can’t afford the home prices. So a colleague said Spokane is a nice place, too.
Colin married Kelsey just before the Covid clampdown and headed west. Kelsey works at Cooney Law and graduates from GU Law in May.
Colin is an investment advisor with Missoula-based WestPac Wealth Partners and life is good.
Bulletin editors: Chuck Rehberg and Sandy Fink