Sara Scheetz is scheduled to share more information about A Caring Closet, a non-profit organization that provides gently used Durable Medical Equipment to those in need at no cost.
This week's meeting will be in Conference Room C&D on the third floor at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center. There will be a major event in the hospital lobby at the same time, so please be sure to arrive early (for parking) and use the skybridge to walk between parking and the hospital. Thanks!
Sheetz's A Caring Closet non-profit which primarily serves the geriatric population - also accepts microwave ovens that are donated to Meals on Wheels. A Caring Closet is operated 100 percent by volunteers, and does not turn anyone away.
Scheetz is the CEO of At Your Place Senior Care. She was raised in Clark County, is passionate about her community and a huge believer in volunteerism. She is the co-founder of “A Caring Closet.” She has served on the Firstenburg Meals on Wheels Steering Committee since 2008 and is on the board of Mobile Healthcare Providers Northwest.
In her spare time you might find her jogging on a local trail or running a race on the weekends. She loves spending time with her family, friends and three dogs.
Tina Vlachos will introduce Sara at this meeting.

On April 19, 15 members, and a couple of proposed members, attended and took part in the discussion which was facilitated by President Elect Nelson Holmberg. Among the many terrific ideas that came out of the club discussion.

We have recapped, below, some of the notes that came from the discussion at last night's meeting. Again, many thanks to all who attended. It was great to hear from all of you.
 
Membership

• Put a focus on sustainability of membership; deepen personal engagement between members and the value they are getting from the club meetings, programs, service projects, fundraisers, etc.
• All members should be involved in trying to recruit new members to the club. The best testimonials for prospective members to hear are those from happy club members.

 
Youth Focus

• While the club has always been one with a high value on making a difference for kids in the community, the original idea of being a youth exchange club has proven to be something that’s too big of a bite for our club to chew. So instead, the idea of creating an Interact Club (think high school Rotary) was presented as a substitute for the youth exchange. There was strong support to head in this direction as a club.
  • As a club we talked about a number of ways to support and integrate an Interact club with our Rotary activities.
  • We also talked about the financial commitment it would take to properly engage youth through an Interact club. This felt much more doable and comfortable for the group.
  • It was even suggested that we might be able to create a “Leadership Clark County Light” program in our work with Interact.

 
Programs/Guest Speakers

• There was general agreement among those in attendance that the individual commitment to recruit speakers is a good thing, versus just having a committee do all the work and “assume” what kinds of programs the membership would want to hear.
• As a group, we identified that the best speakers/programs are those that:
  • Have a compelling story
  • Do something that makes a difference
  • Help us learn something by giving us some inside scoop
  • Engage and inspire those in attendance at meetings
  • Are good presenters
• It was agreed that while the idea of each member having the responsibility for a program was good and that adding a small subcommittee of the board to vet speakers proposed by the members would be a good thing. Daniel Spanski-Dreffin volunteered to chair that review committee.
• It was also emphasized that we do not HAVE to meet at Luke Jensen for every program, just because that space might be available to us.
  • Reminder that offsite meetings, particularly those at local businesses where they do something interesting are often very fun, and interesting. Encourage members to consider presentations and tours at locations in the area as offsites with presentations/tours of those businesses.
  • There was also a reminder shared that it is OK, when possible, to have service projects during our first and third Thursday meeting times/days.

 
100 Rotarians Who Care

• After having participated in a couple of “100 Women Who Care”/”100 Men Who Care” events in the past week, some of our Rotarians shared stories about an idea that was suggested to pay a compliment to these two organizations and repurpose their concept for a local fundraiser by Rotarians. Perhaps Rotary Club of Three Creeks would take the lead, and partner with another club in Clark County to put on a 100 Rotarians Who Care a couple of times a year, with benefits of the funds raised going to another non-profit in the county. This idea was popular and it is expected that this idea will be followed up on in the coming Rotary year (beginning July 1, 2018) by the Service Projects Committee.

 
There was general consensus both on site after the meeting, and through personal communications in the following days that this meeting was a big success. President Susanne, having heard of the popularity of the meeting, is even considering scheduling the next one for August 2018 during her program date.

It was a truly great meeting. We'll have more #3CreeksAt3Peaks socials like this one!

US Army Sergeant First Class Wade Mitcheltree will be our featured guest on April 5.

Mitcheltree grew up in Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the Army during high school and left for basic training two weeks after graduating. Wade spent several years at Ft. Bragg and Ft. Richardson before deploying overseas. He served three tours, one in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. His platoon worked with local police to ensure the security of their surrounding areas. On August 31, 2012 near Kandahar, Afghanistan, Wade was severely injured by an improvised explosive device (IED). He lost his right leg above the knee and his right arm below the elbow. He also suffered muscle and nerve damage in his lower left leg, a snapped pelvis, and ruptures to both ear drums.

A month later, Wade was flown to Brooke Army Medical Center with his wife, Katie. His two sons and family soon joined them. In January 2013, Wade was discharged and began rehabilitation at the Center for the Intrepid. His progress in rehabilitation has continued to improve and his outlook on life has been positive. In 2016, due to the severity of Wade's injuries, his left leg was amputated below the knee.

“My biggest desire now is to be there for my wife and children as much as possible,” Wade said, explaining, "I have missed so much.” The Gary Sinise Foundation was proud to welcome the Mitcheltrees into their specially adapted smart home on August 11, 2017.

Eric Lucescu will introduce Wade at this meeting.

The return of Dancing With the Local Stars to Clark County’s inventory of favorite fundraisers was a success last night at Windy Hills Winery.

Scot Brantley and Jeff Swanson would agree.

Brantley, project manager for Clark County Public Works earned the mirror ball trophy as Grand Champion of the event, raising nearly $3,000 for Rotary youth programs and community service projects. Swanson, Battle Ground city manager, was given the award for Best Dance at the event. Both dancers earned perfect scores of 40 from the judges.

The fundraiser brought in donations totaling nearly $13,000 from the Local Stars, who solicited donations over the two months that they also learned a dance and rehearsed for the event.

“This was our first major fundraiser, and we are so proud of the way it turned out,” said club President Susanne Holmberg. “Our first class of local stars was amazing, the professional dancers were fantastic, donors were generous, and the venue was beautiful.”

Local Stars included Brantley, Clark County Councilmember John Blom, WSU Vancouver Professor Dr. Dene Grigar, Legacy Salmon Creek Public & Community Relations Consultant Kelly Love, Sweet Spot Skirts Owner Stephanie Lynn, and Swanson.

First Dance LLC, owned by Vancouver’s Ralph Stevens, produced the event and provided dance instructors Aaron Siebol, Brett Graham, Galaxy Slight, Kristina Hendrickson, and Susan Vandervlugt. Stevens also instructed and emceed.

Celebrity judges were Holmberg, La Center Mayor Greg Thornton, Battle Ground Mayor Mike Dalesandro, and professional dance instructor Melinda Piekstra.

Love and Stevens kicked off the evening with a waltz to Phantom of the Opera; Lynn and Graham performed a foxtrot to New York New York; Brantley and Hendrickson spiced up the event with a salsa to Viva; Blom and Slight channeled the King of Pop with a cha cha to Pretty Young Thing; Grigar and Siebol brought the beach with a rumba to Kokomo; and Swanson and Vandervlugt brought down the house with a west coast swing to Jailhouse Rock.

The event, which was produced in Clark County for the first time since 2014 when The Historic Trust last conducted it, sold out two weeks early. Historic Trust CEO Mike True was one of the 130 people in the full house.

Frontier Landscaping was the title sponsor of the event. Other sponsors included Prestige Development, Paul Montague Tax Preparation, Ginn Realty Group, Waste Connections, Principal, American Family Insurance Tina Vlachos Agency, Impact Wealth Management, Northwest Personal Training, Specialty Graphics Solutions, Vesta Hospitality, The Historic Trust, Corwin Beverage, Riverhouse on the Deschutes & Wunderlust Tours, Best Western Agate Beach & The Bay House restaurant, Double Fifth Dragon Boating, Ethereal Meads, the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum, and Windy Hills Winery.