 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.
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.” Before Thanksgiving, the club posted the "First Reading" of the 2022-23 Rotary Club of Three Creeks Board of Directors ballot, as proposed by President Elect Andi Costello.
This ballot was read a second time at our club meeting on Thursday, Dec. 2 at Round Table Pizza in Salmon Creek, and is being posted publicly and shared electronically one more time now as a "second reading", to satisfy requirements of the club's bylaws. We will vote, electronically again this year, the week of December 13 club vote to be completed and results announced no later than December 31. If there are others who would like to have their names added to the ballot for any of these positions, please email PE Andi directly (andi@andicostello.com), or speaking with her in person prior to the ballot being released. There will also be a "write in" option on the ballot later in December, which would provide another opportunity for those interested in serving on the club board. OFFICERS President: Andi Costello President Elect: Nelson Holmberg President Elect Nominee: Kinsey Dhoot Treasurer: Dave Wetmore Secretary: Susanne Holmberg DIRECTORS Membership: Carol Mackey Service Projects: Tina Vlachos Club Administration: Kinsey Dhoot The Rotary Foundation: Brian Heimbigner Public Image: Nelson Holmberg Sergeant at Arms: Jesse Braman 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. After the Rotary Club of Three Creeks (Vancouver, Wash.) completed its annual fundraiser in the spring of 2021 - a pandemic pivot from Dancing with the Local Stars to Dining with the Local Stars - the club granted $6,500 to the Clark College Foundation in appreciation of Chef Aaron Guerra's work as the club's culinary consultant and lead judge for the fundraiser.
That grant was earmarked for Clark's Early Childhood Development program and Chef Aaron - head of the culinary arts program at the college - would be able to help guide the expenditure of the money. In its periodical, the Clark College Foundation featured a story about what Chef Aaron did to help the children during some tough times. The rest of the story can be found by clicking here. There’s a new foundation in town with a connection to the Rotary Club of Three Creeks.
Earlier this month, the Rotary Club of Three Creeks Foundation was formed, and the board met for the first time – officially – since its charter. As active as the Rotary Club of Three Creeks has been over the first five years of its existence, it made sense for the club to provide the opportunity for donors to get tax deductible receipts for their contributions to the community through Rotary. “That’s really why we formed the Foundation,” said Dan Sockle, the founding chair of the Foundation’s board of directors. “We’ve given more than $80,000 to nonprofits in our community and have been very grateful to take donations from our fundraisers and turn them into doing good within the community.” Going forward, the primary fundraiser – Dancing with the Local Stars – and giving programs, both major gifts and smaller grants to nonprofits across the community, will be carried out by the Rotary Club of Three Creeks Foundation, which has 501(c)3 status from the Internal Revenue Service. Three Creeks club members have established priority areas of community focus: children, veterans, homeless and hungry. “The Three Creeks Foundation intends to identify and help those most in need, where our donations can have the greatest impact,” Sockle said. “We welcome grant inquiries from nonprofits around the community.” Working with Sockle on the club Foundation’s board are Kelley Campbell (treasurer), Jim Selby (secretary) along with directors Wendy Bukoski and Brian Heimbigner. The Rotary Club of Three Creeks was chartered on October 7, 2016 and has already completed 62 service projects with nearly $50,000 of economic impact to the community. As part of his first board meeting as club president, Nelson Holmberg provided the board with an update on the goals - and progress toward those goals - that were set by the club at the beginning of the current Rotary Year.
Board members were encouraged and appreciated the update. They recommended that the same report be shared with club members. Holmberg happily reported that the club has set enough goals with Rotary International that it qualifies to earn a Rotary Citation if a minimum of 12 of the 15 goals are accomplished in 2021-22. The goals, and progress toward them, are: Members & Engagement
Rotary Foundation Giving
Service Projects
Public Image
This report is provided to let club members know that they can be proud of the accomplishments of the club and it's progress toward its goals for the year. With the change that the club has seen in the last year and a half, including spending an entire Rotary year in virtual meetings due to the pandemic, new club President Nelson Holmberg, reported the club's state is "solid" at the club board meeting today.
While membership has remained stable in the mid-20s since the pandemic shut down in-person interaction in March 2020, Holmberg reported the club's finances are in very good shape, with more than $20,000 in the bank. Membership is again growing, with two new members already having been inducted this Rotary year, and more in the pipeline. Retention will also be a focus for the remainder of this Rotary year. "I'm enthusiastic about the state of the club at this point," Holmberg said. "We're in really great shape, and it's visible within the membership. Now that we're meeting in person again, it's exciting to see people coming back and having a really great time serving the community, enjoying time with fellow Rotarians and generally feeling like Rotary again." The board also agreed that Round Table Pizza in Salmon Creek would be the club's primary meeting location through the end of the current Rotary year, with the thought that having that decision made providing predictability and stability for the members. Round Table Pizza in Salmon Creek will continue to be our meeting location through November, at least, as the club's search for a new meeting location is hopefully drawing to a conclusion.
With many thanks to our own Dan Sockle and to Rotary Club of Vancouver Sunrise President Mark Doar, we've been assured that appropriate staff to bartend will be available for both our November 4 and November 18 club meetings at Round Table. We also will not be charged a fee to use the meeting room. While meetings will continue to be done in a hybrid format, we're happy to have in-person meetings again. If you're interested in having a pizza, sandwich or salad bar, please try to arrive a little bit early to limit so you don't miss any fellowship time or meeting content. Round Table Pizza Royalty is located at 13009 NE Highway 99, Vancouver, near the Safeway in Salmon Creek, just east of the Salmon Creek Burgerville.  After the resignation of President Daniel, the club's board of directors met at 10 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 21 to work through a process to replace him for the remainder of the current Rotary year. After discussion, the board agreed on the importance of allowing President Elect Andi Costello to keep her focus on training and preparation for her year as President - which begins July 1, 2022 - and to have some mentoring time.
As such, the club's past presidents, all of whom were present at the meeting, were polled and Nelson Holmberg was able to move back into the role of Club President for the remainder of the Rotary year, effective immediately. Holmberg will preside over the club meeting on Thursday, Nov. 4. Citing a couple of significant family health concerns that will change the way he and his family will allocate their time, Club President Daniel Spanski Dreffin has resigned his presidency, effective immediately, and will be leaving Rotary.
Daniel's wife Kaaren has also resigned her position as President Elect of the Greater Clark County club, and has stepped down from Rotary due to the health issues the family needs to take care of. We wish the Dreffin family all the best in caring for their family members. Thank you to Daniel for the commitment he made, and the time spent, to prepare for service, and his time spent as Club President. It's no small task, and the club is grateful. The club board of directors will work through a process to replace President Daniel for the remainder of the current Rotary year. President Elect Andi Costello, in accordance with the club bylaws, will preside over a special meeting of the club board, and the October 21 club meeting at Round Table in Salmon Creek. |
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