Governor's Dinner

The Governor's Dinner on October 15 at the Spica Restaurant was a huge success and a chance for the three local Rotary Clubs (CLK, Houghton and Hancock) to rub elbows and get to know each other. In addition, it was a chance to pass out some awards and accolades to members.

(At left, District 6220 Governor and Mrs. Maynard Bowers)



When it was Eva's turn on the dais, she called on Phil Smythe to be recognized and thanked for his long and dedicated service to the club. Every past president will agree that Phil is invaluable to the efficient running of the club's meetings. Characteristically, Phil was modest in accepting his accolade.

Next, Eva named the three recipients of a Paul Harris Fellowship as nominated by the Board of Directors. They were: Dan Dalquist, Sue Dana, and Don Kilpela. It is a singular honor for a Rotarian and each Fellow graciously accepted the award.












District 6220 Governor Maynard Bowers (Marquette Breakfast Club) gave the address which centered on the main district interest, The Etta Projects.

What is the Etta Projects? A short answer to this is: … Out of Hunger…On to Hope. Two teenage girls, Etta Turner and Sarah Houghton traveled to Bolivia as Rotary Youth Exchange students. From different parts of the country, both carried dreams of not only visiting other parts of the world, but also of making a contribution to their adopted community. Etta and Sarah were on a bus that plunged off a mountain cliff. Their story is filled with sadness and inspiration. Etta lost her life. Out of this tragedy, hope has sprung. Critically injured, Sarah spent the night in the canyon holding a Bolivian child. Together they survived the night. Sarah refused to leave the accident scene until Etta could also be taken out. After surgeries and rehab, Sarah returned to Bolivia to complete her RYE exchange. While there she assisted with the building of a living memorial to Etta called Comedor de Ninos Etta Turner. This program provides food, medical and educational support for over 200 of the most malnourished children in Montero, Bolivia. As sustained economic development it also provides their parents with vocational and nutritional education. It educates the mothers in skills necessary to Supporting their families. The Comedor de Ninos Etta Turner has been recognized as a model project for sustained economic development. This project provides yet another tangible element for the mothers of these children. Sewing is one of the vocational skills that the mothers learn. Etta Projects purchases from the mothers the items made by them and then places these items for sale. Some of them ar purses, computer bags, table runners, guitar cases, etc. Sales proceeeds go to further development of the project.

Governor Bowers set as his goal for the 2007-2008 fiscal year a $10 contribution from each Rotarian in the district by December 1, 2007. It seems that this is certainly a modest amount, the price of one luncheon, and doable. Let's all pitch in with our ten bucks!

(Most of the pictures in this blog were taken by Bill Fink of the Houghton Rotary Club. He has posted more pictures on the Houghton web site at www.houghtonrotary.org and click on "Gallery." Following are some pictures taken at the banquet)




(Left, the three presidents of our local clubs, Marie Buche, Eva, and Karin Van Dyke.)

Business Meeting: October 3, 2007

President Eva began the meeting by explaining that because Tom Liljigren has a special guest who will be delivering a presentation, she will hurry through the business portion of the meeting.

Attendance: 27 members (the most we have had in a long time) and 6 guests: Bob Thornblum, our speaker, Dave and Linda Grahek, Julie Jennerjohn from the Houghton Rotary, and Dave and Jan Palmazal.

Mainly, Eva announced that she hopes for a big turnout at the District Governor's Dinner in Houghton on October 15. In addition, Eva thanked the six people who cleaned the highway the Saturday before, Tom Scanlon, Richard, Don, Andy, Sandy, and Herself.

A stellar birthday song was rendered for the October birthdays. Richard Schaefer and Jim Lowell.


(Before Eva arrived, Don captured the mood of the participants, Richard, Tom Scanlon, Andy and Sandy, as they prepared to clean up the mess.)


After lunch, Tom Liljigren introduced Bob Thornblum who has served as a Christian missionary in the Congo most of his adult life. An engineer by profession, Bob is working to improve the infrastructure and thereby the economy of the northern Congo. Though the country is very wealthy with an abundance of extractive metals and minerals such as copper, gold, and diamonds, little government money reaches the that region. Therefore, almost all improvements are funded by the private sector. During his talk, Bob distributed many photographs for the improvements in bridges and roads which facilitate the movement of their produce to the market place. During his talk, he praised Rotary International for their Polio Plus program which is designed to rid the world of the virus. It was an interesting and informative program.

Lucy won the monbthly 50-50 drawing and then donated her winnings to Mr. Thornblum for his work.



(Bob Thornblum, center, talks with Kathy Johnson and Tom Liljigren after his presentation.)