Regular Meeting, January 23, 2008

Meeting attendance was 18 members and 3 guests who were Amy Roberts, "Pete" Pietri (of the Houghton Club) and Assistant District Governor, Bob Sharkey.

After lunch, our speaker, Jim Lowrie, gave an interesting talk about the art of the Chapunga Sculpture Park in Zimbabwe. Jim first learned of them when the arboretum in Salt Lake City, of which Jim is on the board, held an exhibit of their work. During the exhibit, a brief demonstration of the sculpture technique was given. Those interested in pursuing the art were given a large piece of Offal Stone from Zimbabwe and some tools with the direction, "start carving." That was it. Jim did just that and has been doing it ever since. In the process, after acquiring many more tools he has produced several sculptures, two of which is brought to the meeting.

It was a very interesting program which elicited lots of questions and curiosity and, frankly, admiration for the work. Thank you Jim.





(Left: a Lowrie sculpted piece of offal stone from Zimbabwe embedded in his fireplace chimney in Eagle River. Below: two pieces that Jim displayed at the meeting.)


























Upcoming Event: Don't forget the fund-raising dinner held this Saturday a 6 p.m. at Little Brothers in Hancock. Proceeds to help defray some costs for our two RYE students from the Copper Country. See last week's blog for complete details.

Next Week's Program Host: Sandy Huuki


Breaking News: I received the following note from Tom Tikkanen about Babette's diving feat.

Don,

Babette and approximately 60 others took their turns jumping through the ice.

With her typical trooper attitude, she charged out and without hesitation hurled herself in. She bobbed to the surface, sprang out of the water, and ran (as if all the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels) straight back to the sauna.

There were fewer jumpers than other years, indicative of the minus 20 degree wind-chill, I'm sure.

My photos did not turn out, but I expect some from my father-in-law. I'll forward one to you.

Tom


(Our Program Host and Sculptor, Jim Lowrie)

Regular Meeting, January 16, 2008

(Joel Keranen, our speaker.)


There were 21 members and 2 guest at the meeting.

President Eva reminded everyone that the fund raiser for our RYE student: Saturday night, Jan 26, 2008. 6 p.m. at the Little Brothers office , 527 Hancock St., Hancock Mi. Cost: $20 per person
Please call 906-337-2917 for reservations. In addition to as dinner prepared by Chef Malcom Hudson, there will be an auction so they are looking for items to auction. If you can't attend, please consider sending a donation. The proceeds for the event will go to helping the two RYE students (Hancock Rotary is sponsoring the other one) with some of their incidental expenses.

Tom Tikkanen announced that his wife (and former member), Babbette, will be taking the ice plunge in the Portage Waterway on Saturday, January 19 at 4 p.m. This is her second time. Pledges and donations have totaled $271.00 so far. Given that Babette can't swim well, it is a singular act of courage to perform this feat for the club. It is hoped someone will get a good picture of the event for the this blog. Our heartiest thanks go out to her...and a wish for good luck as well.

Our speaker was Joel Keranen whose topic was a discussion and pictures of his several trips to Mexico to work in the village of Reynosa which is about 5 miles south of the border town of McAllen, Texas. Joel has made four trips to the village and is becoming close friends with the residents and fellow workers. If you will recall, that was the same village where bicycles were sent in the past.

During each visit, Joel and his compatriots take on a particular doable project such as building more sanitary bathrooms, better sewage disposal, etc. and try to finish it
before leaving. They drive there from the Copper Country , a trip of about 13 hours.

It was a most interesting talk which brought out many questions.

Next Week: Ethan was scheduled but is now gone so I do not know what the program will be. Should be interesting to find out.



( The Rotary plaque in the Calumet Township Hall.)

Regular Meeting, January 9, 2008

The attendance at the meeting was 16 members and 3 guests. Guests were good friend and former member, Jay Ruohonen, Superior Bank Calumet Manager, Amy Roberts, and Hannah Aten, our RYE student from Houghton High School.

(After the meeting, Hannah Aten spoke with Tom about his daughter's experience in Sweden.)



Ms Aten was our speaker and talked about her anticipated trip to Poland which will last from August, 2008 to June 2009. She said that she has no idea yet where in what city she will be staying and who her "Polish parents" will be. RYE students undergo at least four training sessions during which they bond with other RYE students both foreign and domestic. In addition, they learn what is expected of them, the Dos and Don'ts basically, and other factors surrounding their momentous trip. The RYE managers explain clearly the goals and objectives of the program and students take this seriously. She said she will work hard to learn as much Polish as possible, a daunting goal in itself. On the 26th of January, there wil be a fund-raiser at teh Litle Brothers headquarters in Hancock to help the two RYE students from this area--Hancock Rotary sponsors the other one--with the financing needed.

In case you missed it, here are excerpts from Dan Dalquist's announcement of that fund-raiser:

Happy New Year!
Please put Sat Jan 26 aside as your Rotary opportunity to support our outgoing Exchange Student Hannah Aten. Hannah was our speaker today and announced she will be going to Poland in August of 2008!

Hannah has a fund raiser for her and Carrie Yarina (sponsored by Hancock Rotary) to build the $$ needed for plane tickets, preparation fees, living allowances etc. Money raised will be split equally between Hannah and Carrie.

When: Sat night Jan 26 2008 6pm at the Little Brothers office , 527 Hancock St., Hancock Mi. Cost: $20 per person

Meal: Prepared by Malcom Hudson, a Frech chef!

A Silent Auction will also be conducted! It would be fantastic for the CLK Rotary Club to be well represented (and wearing the CLK Rotary Shirts!) at this dinner. Please HURRY TO RSVP AS SEATING IS LIMITED TO 70!!!

Hannah Aten at 906-334-2917. Bobbie & I hope to see many of the CLK club at the dinner!!

Dan

Program chairman next week: Joel Keranen


We'll see you all then...



(Eva and Hannah pose for a final picture.)

Business Meeting, January 2, 2008

Attendance:

It was a pretty good group attending the meeting, 20 members and 2 guests. President Eva decided to share some thoughts about needs and upcoming events. Chief among them was her concern over attendance which, see averred, was nation wide. We cannot find consolation in the fact that this might be a trend among service clubs in general but rather we must work to renew our efforts to attract the important businessmen and women as well as professionals to the concept of "Service Above Self." Some cynics believe that altruism is a thing of the past; it is up to us to prove them wrong.

The March 9th Great Bear Chase and Rotary spaghetti dinner were discussed. Lucy, who has served as chairwoman in the past asked to be relieved this year. Within moments Tom volunteered for the job. Thanks to both Lucy and Tom. Tom said he will form a committee to meet and discuss ways to increase the attendance at that function. Anyone with ideas about promotion, please call Tom as soon as possible.

Eva announced that Ethan, because of a transfer at work, is switching his membership to the Hancock Rotary Club. We will contact his replacement and encourage him/her to join CLK as soon as possible. Contact Eva if you will serve out Ethan's term as club secretary.

Upcoming Events:

March 9: Great Bear Chase and Rotary Spaghetti Dinner

Next Week's Program Chair: George Kiiskila