Our January "Pick Your Own Cause" service project is an exciting opportunity for you to do whatever you'd like to do!

Whatever you choose to do, please be sure to document your chosen project with a photo and the number of hours you volunteered by sending me a quick email note or text so we can share as a group and on social media. And, there's an added BONUS if you get a non-Rotarian buddy to tag along with you on your project, and you share that on your own social media, tagging them. Please let Tina know what you and your non-Rotarian friend did so she can enter you into a raffle that will be held at one of our February club meetings!

Need some suggestions? You could do something as simple as the below:

• Donate to the United Way's Covid 19 relief fund
• Bake cookies for a single parent
• Do some yard work for a neighbor
• Pay it forward at a Starbucks or other drive through
• Consider donating blood

Or do something that takes a little more creativity or sweat equity:

• Mail out a handmade card to Cards for a Cause
• Do a neighborhood walk and pick up litter
• Drop off a meal or get well package for a sick or injured person in need
• Deliver meals for Meals on Wheels (this would be done Monday through Thursday, so please do a delivery prior to the 29th, and it will count as your act of service).
• Help a neighbor or friend paint or repair anything that needs an outdoor fix
• Consider participating in the Clark Public Utilities Race for Warmth (100 percent of race proceeds assist CPU customers with assistance paying utility bills)

OR come up with your own idea! There are loads of non-profits in the community that need volunteer help.

Club members were impressed by the stories shared in the Three Creeks Rotary Story Slam contest.

Five members submitted videos to the Rotary Story Slam, and voters who watched the videos chose a three-way tie for first place.

The top three vote-getters are Kinsey Dhoot, Susanne Holmberg and Kristi Straight. All three videos were forwarded to District as our club's winners.

District 5100 also asked assistant governors to submit all videos produced by clubs for the Rotary Story Slam, so we've sent in all five of ours.

This year's Rotary Club of Three Creeks elections are complete, and the board of directors for the 2022-23 Rotary year is now verified.

Beginning on July 1, 2022, the following members will fill club leadership positions:

• President: Andi Costello
• President Elect (club president, 2023-24): Nelson Holmberg
• President Elect Nominee (club president 2024-25): Kinsey Dhoot
• Secretary: Susanne Holmberg
• Treasurer: David Wetmore
• Sergeant at Arms: Jesse Braman
  
• Membership Director: Carol Mackey
• Club Administration Director: Kinsey Dhoot
• The Rotary Foundation Director: Brian Heimbigner
• Service Projects Director: Tina Vlachos
• Public Image Director: Nelson Holmberg

The membership voted unanimously to approve the slate of proposed officers and directors that was presented by President Elect Andi, and read/published in November and December. The election was completed on December 29 via electronic ballot.

With the service project that was held in lieu of our regular second club meeting of the month last night, President Nelson has chosen to conduct the written posting and second reading of proposed new members Charla Burke and Glenn Healey as of this post in order to keep the new member process moving forward.

A resident of Salmon Creek, Charla Burke has visited the club three times since October and submitted her application in November. Her first reading was conducted at the club meeting on December 2.

Charla is interested in Rotary for its service above self spirit, and our club in particular due to the proven track record of making a difference in our community. She is a project manager for Bonneville Power Administration and she holds bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and mathematics. Her interests include biking, soccer, book club and hiking.

Like Charla, Glenn is impressed with Rotary's service to communities and chose our club on invitation from PE Andi Costello. He is a veteran of the United States military, who now works as a financial professional with New York Life. He has lived in the PNW since 2015, and he has two year old son and 22 month old daughter. Glenn's interests include hiking, skiing, cycling, etc. -- the PNW lifestyle, "along with being a history geek".

As is our custom, if there is any feedback from members about either of these proposed members, please contact a board member in writing by no later than noon Monday, Dec. 20. The club board will vote on both proposed members via email beginning on Monday evening.

Rotary Club of Three Creeks celebrates fifth anniversary with huge benefit to community
 
CLARK COUNTY, Wash. – In the same year that 20 percent of Clark County residents relied on food banks and pantries, the Rotary Club of Three Creeks quietly celebrated its fifth anniversary.
 
Even without big fanfare, in 2020-21 alone, the Rotary club donated $21,000 cash, and 108 volunteer hours to three local food banks.
 
“Rotary’s mantra is ‘Service Above Self’”, said Club President Nelson Holmberg. “Members of our club take that very seriously and it’s why we’re successful. It’s our brand and it’s who we are. Since our club’s inception, we’ve made quite an impressive impact for a group of 27.”
 
The Three Creeks club – primarily serving Hazel Dell, Felida, Salmon Creek and Ridgefield – was chartered by Rotary International on October 7, 2016. Since then (through October 7, 2021), the club completed 62 service projects, for a total of 1,674 service hours within the community. If each volunteer was paid $25 per hour for their service in these projects, that impact equates to $41,850.
 
“All I can say is wow – with a capital ‘W’”, said Rotary District 5100 Governor Jim Boyle. “This club has always kind of blown my mind, but to see in terms of the numbers what impact it has made to the community in just five years is beyond impressive; it’s admirable.”
 
To put the financial total into context, the impact is even more impressive. Examples of how the value of service translates to the community include the following points. These are based on Rotary International’s seven areas of focus: Promoting Peace, Fighting Disease, Providing Clean Water, Supporting Education, Saving Mothers & Children, Growing Local Economies and Environment.

• 167,400 meals donated by the Clark County Food Bank, or (Source: Clark County Food Bank)
• 15,000 doses of Polio vaccine, or (Source: Rotary International)
• 41,850 gallons of clean drinking water, or (Source: Safeway)
• Three and a half years of in-state tuition at a public university in Washington state or nearly 10 years of in-state tuition at Clark College, or (Source: United States Department of Education)
  
• 973 cases of diapers, or (Source: Walmart)
• One full-time retail or restaurant job for a year in Clark County, or (Source: Washington State Employment Security Division)
• 1,196 trees planted in the community (Source: Friends of Trees)
  

 
That’s just the direct volunteer service impact of the club. Financially, the club has already raised $120,000 in four years through its annual fundraiser. Three years of Dancing with the Local Stars raised $65,000. The dancing fundraiser is a popular event in the community that is paid for by sponsorships and volunteer efforts, so that 100 percent of donated funds can be awarded as grants into the community.
 
In March 2021, the fundraiser shifted to an online Dining with the Local Stars format, and raised a record $55,000, even during the height of the pandemic. The 2022 fundraiser will again be Dancing with the Local Stars (www.dancingwiththelocalstars.com), scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 26 at ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield.
 
The club recently established, launched, and provided seed funding for the locally controlled Rotary Club of Three Creeks Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit separate from the club itself to collect tax-deductible donations and award grants and financial gifts following the strategic priorities set by the club.
 
In 2018, after the second fundraiser, club members voted to determine giving priorities for the club and the top four selected were children, veterans, homeless and hungry.
 
“After establishing the giving priorities during a club meeting, we invited nonprofits from across the community to participate in a round of ‘speed dating’ at another club meeting to make their pitch to the club about why we should partner with them in giving,” Holmberg said. “It was absolutely an eye-opening experience to understand all of the need in our community.”
 
Since that vote, the club has selected North County Community Food Bank as one of its partners and has granted $30,000 to the Battle Ground-based organization. Clark County Food Bank and FISH Vancouver are other direct benefactors of Three Creeks major grants.
 
In 2020-21 alone, the club granted nearly $40,000 to nonprofits that fit into the giving priorities established by club members. Members even virtually “passed the hat” during a club meeting on Zoom to raise $300 in a pop-up fundraiser for Martha’s Pantry.
 
“Rotarians have a knack for recognizing needs within the community,” Holmberg said. “When it became evident in 2020 that food insecurity was a major issue, our club responded – quickly – and provided $21,000 and lots of volunteer hours that were needed by three of the county’s major food banks so that they could fully provide groceries to their clients.”
 
Included in the total hours of volunteer service to the community are four toy drives that filled barrels for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office Santa’s Posse program, amounting to approximately $4,000 of new toys donated by Rotarians.
 
“And all of this doesn’t even consider the more than $20,000 individually donated by members over the same five years to The Rotary Foundation, which makes an international impact, over those five years,” Holmberg said. “We’re making a big difference locally and we’re also doing our part, as a small club, to make a difference in the world. I think we all are pretty proud of that.”

Back after a "pandemic pivot" in 2021, Dancing with the Local Stars is set for the 2022 run at ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022.
 
“It is so exciting to share that Dancing with the Local Stars presented by Banner Bank will be back, live and in person,” said Club President Nelson Holmberg. “With eight wonderful locally well-known leaders stepping into the spotlight next February, we expect to be one of the first large-scale fundraisers to be back in person. That's ironic, since 'Dancing’ was the last major in-person fundraiser in 2020 before the Covid shutdown.”
 
In March 2020, one week before the shutdown due to the emergence of Covid, Dancing with the Local Stars raised more than $42,000 as Cyndi Holloway of Waste Connections won the Grand Championship by raising more than $10,000. The judges determined Azar Ghiasvand of Banner Bank to be the Best Dance winner for her reprisal of the salsa in the closing scene of the movie Dirty Dancing, complete with both lifts.
 
This year, the cast of Dancing with the Local Stars includes Angie Cherry (Hometown Lenders Mortgage), Kinsey Dhoot (Rotary Club of Three Creeks), Heidi Johnson Bixby (Johnson Bixby & Associates), Sarah Laughlin (Fuel Medical Group), Ryan Montoya (Goosehead Insurance), James Oneil (Columbia Credit Union), Thomas O'Sullivan (ilani Casino Resort) and Nathan Stafford (Banner Bank).
 
The eight local stars will compete for the Grand Championship with the funds that they will work to raise between now and the event on February 6. Funds raised during the event may also be allocated to the donor's favorite local stars to help that star win the Mirror Ball Trophy. A panel of four judges will determine the best dancer, in fashion similar to the TV show that inspires the fundraiser.
 
With the money raised in the 2020 Dancing with the Local Stars, the Three Creeks club was able to award three $7,000 grants – one each to the North County Community Food Bank, Clark County Food Bank and FISH of Vancouver. The club has also made several smaller grants to nonprofits in the community – including the purchase of 50 new stuffed animals to donate to children in the pediatric unit at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center just before Christmas.
 
Total donations, since the club's founding in 2016, exceed $80,000.