Stories
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 Gaylord, Secretary of The Rotary Club of Newton, presents a donation check to Barbara Lee of the local Salvation Army. Each year the club Rings Bells during the Christmas season and collects funds at meetings for school supplies. |
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 At the May 2, Val Gleason - from Newton Medical Center talked about healthcare - the ACA - and other issues that are relevant in the healthcare industry. Val has worked in healthcare since 1975, which to her seems like yesterday! Her clinical background was spent in adult Intensive Care Units: Coronary Care, Burn, Transplant, and Surgical ICUs. She started a progressive managerial track in 1989 and in 2002, accepted her first executive position at the former Riverside Health System in Wichita. For the past 15 years, she has worked in the area of hospital administration focusing on the areas of clinical care, medical staff organization, risk and quality management, and multi-disciplinary clinic development. She transitioned into the role of Newton Medical Center’s CEO in March 2016 and became its Board President in September 2016. Above all else, Val likes two specific things about her work at NMC:
She is an adjunct faculty member at Friends University in the Master of Healthcare Leadership curriculum. She is a current member of the Policy and Advocacy Committee and the Governance Committee for the Kansas Hospital Association. She also serves on the Board of Asbury Park. |
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Water, Water Everywhere! The subject of the February 21 Rotary Program presented by Ron Graber - K-State Director of Central Kansas Watershed and Richard Basore -Environmental Compliance/Regulatory Specialist with the Kansas Department of Health & Environment .
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Bill Gardner (An active member of Wichita Downtown Rotary Club), is a person of great influence in the graphic design industry spoke at the February 7 meeting. Value building - Branding and corporate identity design was explained by Gardner, an Internationally renowned designer and authority in corporate identity.
His firm, Gardner Design, has built strong brands for hundreds of clients, from small businesses to international corporations. Gardner Design has collaborated with Kroger North American Convenience Stores, Wichita State University, Spirit AeroSystems, Cargill Corporation, Visit Wichita, Aspen Boutique and many others.
Gardner also was named a fellow in the American Institute of Graphic Artists, whose Wichita chapter he helped form in 1987, and served as the chapter’s first president. Gardner started LogoLounge.com, an online catalog of more than 200,000 logos from around the world, in 2002. LogoLounge has become an international resource and a gathering point for designers, and was the catalyst to the best-selling book series of the same name.
Gardner also wrote “Logo Creed: The Mystery, Magic and Method to Designing Great Logos,” a textbook for students and professionals alike. Gardner spends time away from the office speaking locally, nationally and internationally on the subject of corporate identity design.
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 Janet is recognized at the January 3 meeting for her years of service as club secretary. Jan will be relocating to Texas by the end of the month. The club wishes Jan the best as she moves and hope she can find a club in Texas where she can continue her service in Rotary.
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.jpeg) Brett Akagi, story teller extraordinaire was the speaker for the last meeting of 2016 . Brett is an award winning storyteller in the news industry well known for the quality of his reporting. Brett is not known for controversial reporting - he much prefers life stories that show that there's still a lot of humanity out there that we should be proud of.
Brett spoke on his life as a member of a Japanese family and the impact on his life from having family members that both fought for the USA in WW2 and also family members that were placed in internment camps after Japan attacked the USA at Pearl Harbor. Brett recently did a stint in the Journalism department at KU, teaching the value and art of storytelling in the news industry.
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 The second Tuesday of each month the "Noon Satellite" meeting of the Rotary Club of Newton are hosted by various businesses that club members own or run. On December 13, the meeting was hosted by the Interact Club at the Newton High School. Tony Hein, Interact Sponsor, set up presentations from the High School Administration and classroom teachers. The student guides were members of the Newton Interact Club. Here Gracie is telling Gaylord about the machine shop.
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 John Morton and Steve Johnson as part of a team who prepared the dictionaries for delivery. The Rotary Club of Newton has provided dictionaries to every 3rd grade student in Harvey County for over a decade. The club delivered to the students the week of 12-16 December. According to Janet Frantz, dictionary project Captain, "We never have a shortage of club members wanting to deliver the dictionary to the classrooms" "The members actually go into the classrooms and gives a short presentation and then hand each student and teacher a dictionary".
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 Judy Friesen was presented a Paul Harris Fellowship during the Rotary Club of Newton's annual Christmas Banquet. The presentation was made by Past District Governor David Yoder.
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Matt Johnson spoke to the Rotary Club of Newton at the November 15 meeting. Matt is a member and past president of the Wichita Downtown Rotary Club. Matt spoke on the topic of Kidzcope.
Kidzcope is a center for grieving children and their families, has been providing peer support groups for children since September of 2000. We believe strongly in the need for support from the very beginning stages of grief, and over the years, we have walked alongside many families on their path of healing.
For more on Kidzcope here is their website: http://kidzcope.org/
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 The speaker for the November 1 Rotary Club of Newton meeting was John Wright. John is currently assignment desk editor at KWCH TV after three years. Prior to that John was employed at KFDI radio from 1978 until 2013. John has served in positions of assignment editor, sports director and interim news director at KFDI radio for 35 years. One memorable moment for John was on March 13, 1990 John spotted a tornado headed toward Hesston Kansas. John broadcast of the location of the twister and describe what areas of the community it was hitting. John has also served on the various community organizations and boards, most recently the Real Men Real Heroes program and also the Northeast Optimists Club. John has three children John III, Aaron and Matthew. John is married to Karen, who is an employee at Wichita State University.
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 Our program for Tuesday Oct 4th were two short term Rotary Exchange students Elsa Menindez and Logan Treaster. Logan is our local outbound that did a short term exchange in Orleans, France last summer. Elsa is our short term exchange student from Orleans this fall.
It was the first time we have had the opportunity to have and exchange brother and sister (Logan stayed with Elsa's family and Elsa is staying with Logan's family) speak at the same meeting. During both students fielded questions from the audience for a lively and informative discussion.
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Dean Kennedy is the District 5690 Governor, the District is the home of 32 Rotary clubs and over 1550 Rotarians in Kansas and Oklahoma doing good in our community and world every day. During his year 16-17 he will visit each and every club in the District, September 20 he will visit The Rotary Club of Newton. Dean has been a Rotarian for over 25 years and has found it to be a journey and NOT a destination. "Rotary has been evolving during that time and will continue to change as our world changes. In 2017, we will celebrate the 100th birthday of our Rotary Foundation that fuels all of our service projects worldwide". says Kennedy. Come to the meeting early where you will have a chance to hear Gov Kennedy share his goals and vision for the year. |
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Greg Claassen, ventriloquist, and Harley entertained the Rotary Club of Newton at their annual picnic meeting. This year the meeting was held at Our Lady Of Guadeloupe church where they were served a delicious Mexican dinner. Harley had several friends in the audience that he poked fun at. Many of the Rotarian bring spouses and guests to this meeting. All enjoyed the humour provided by the entertainers.
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Senator Moran a Rotary Member of The Rotary Club of Hays told the audience that he was proud that a community the size of Newton had such a great turn out at a service club. A proponent of service clubs he said "While the decisions made in Washington DC are important, it is the involvement in the local community that makes the difference". He also reported on the activities in Washington and shared some stories about his travels around the state saying that later this month will be the 105th "town hall" meeting he has held this year.
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Judge Pierron presented his award winning outreach program about how the Judicial system works. Judge Pierron's appointment to the Kansas Court of Appeals in 1990, he served as a district judge in Olathe from 1982. Before that he was an assistant county and district attorney in Johnson County from 1971. He was also municipal judge of Spring Hill in 1972.
Judge Pierron has served as President of the Kansas Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse and on the board of directors of the Kansas Children’s Service League. He is chair of the Kansas Bar Association Law Related Education committee and is a member of the American Bar Association Judicial Administration and Alternative Dispute Resolution sections. He served as chair of the Johnson County Bicentennial Commission on the United States Constitution.
Judge Pierron has received leadership and public service awards from the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, the Kansas Children and Youth Advocacy committee, the Olathe Police Department, the Olathe Medical Center, the Olathe Jaycees and the Leavenworth Kansas Bar Association. He received the Junior League of Topeka Community Volunteer Award in 1998, the Kansas Bar Association Outstanding Service Award in 1999, the Liberty Bell Award from the Shawnee County Bar Association, and the State Department of Education Civic Education Partnership Award in 2008.
He joined Rotary International in 1971, served as President of the Olathe Rotary Club, and is a member of the Downtown Topeka Rotary club and a Paul Harris Fellow.
In 2009 Judge Pierron received the first Kansas Boys’ State Governor’s Award for outstanding leadership, public service and dedication to the youth of Kansas. In 2010 he was named to the Olathe High School Wall of Fame. In 2011 he was awarded the first Kansas District Judges Association community outreach and education award.
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Once again, we are starting to sell Colorado Palisade Peaches. They come in 20lb boxes and the price is the same as it was last year - $ 35. We are now taking orders - you can make your order by sending an email to newton.ks.rotary@gmail.com |
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C J Hague, pictured here is sharing about his experience of living and working in Ecuador. He gave a description of life in Quito, speak about cultural differences between the United States and Ecuador, and share specific lessons learned through this unique experience. C J Hague is an English teacher who recently returned to the United States after living in Quito, Ecuador, for three years. While in Quito, C J worked as the Ecuador Field Director of WorldTeach, an Non Governmental Organization that works in education, and as an English teacher at a public university. Later this year, he and his fiancée, Gaby, will be moving to Austin, Tex. C J is originally from Goshen, Ind. His parents are Betty and Barth Hague. It was great to have one of our members proudly introduce his son for this very interesting program!
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The Rotary Club of Newton is testing a satellite club meeting during the first 6 months of the new Rotary Year. The first meeting was held at Drubers Conference Room on July 12. The purpose of the meeting is to allow members who have a hard time attending the evening meeting to meet at a location to learn about the projects of the club so they can participate when and where feasible. The next meeting will be held at Kevin Geraci's business. Kevin will provide a tour and overview of his operation. It was also decided at the meeting to move around to various businesses of the clubs membership, if you are interested in hosting one of the satellite meeting contact Andy Lowe or Tim Marlar.
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Outgoing President Tom Williams receives a gavel award for his year of service from incoming President Mike Hyllton. After the presentation to Tom, Mike gave an overview of the upcoming Rotary Year. His year will include the 100th Anniversary Celebration which will be held in June. Welcome Mike and thanks to Tom.
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.jpg) The May 17th programs was about the American Red Cross. Community Volunteer Leader Doug Lloyd will presented the program.
Doug is a resident of Newton, Kansas for 50 years, native Kansan, born and raised on a farm in Clay County. Attended Clay County public schools and earned a BSIE from Kansas State University. He has spent his career at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, Hesston Corp, The Associated Co., Full Vision Inc., AGCO and ownership of Sundance Equipment, LLC. Currently he works part-time for Sundance Grinders LLC.
In addition to serving as a current Red Cross disaster cycle services volunteer, Doug was recently appointed a Community Volunteer Leader by the Red Cross. In this role, he serves as a point of contact for local communities with the primary goal of connecting the community to the Red Cross mission. His work is centered on volunteer recruitment, engagement and retention as well as cultivating, managing and stewarding relationships with key community stakeholders. His efforts are coordinated with Michelle Jantz, Executive Director and the Board of Directors. Doug serves throughout south central and southeast Kansas with a focus on Harvey, Reno and Rice counties.
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Here is a group of Rotarian members who came out to support the Chisholm Trail Bike Ride on the day of the event. With their work and that of others in the club throughout the year, the ride raised over $2400.00 to promote safe cycling in the community. The ride was collaborative effort with Kiwanis, Lions, Healthy Harvey Coalition and the Newton Bike Initiative Committee. This was the third year of the ride. Way to go everyone!! The second picture is of riders getting into position for the start of the ride.
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 Our speaker for the Tuesday May 3rd Rotary meeting was our own Tom Williams. Tom spoke about his recent trip to Haiti and shared his experience doing service work at a school. It's was fun to see and hear those that have received a gift from the service they have provided. There are still opportunities to support this effort, see Tom for a donation sheet.
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Have you ever wanted to take one of those vacations that push your physical endurance to the limits? That's what Gary does as a tour operator. Gary told his story about A LIFE ON THE ROAD to the club at the April 19, 2016 meeting.
A Life on the Road - Gary Scott
Gary Scott is a much in demand adventure travel and walking guide who spends half the year guiding in northern Italy. Previously a world-class mountaineer and mountain guide, Gary has organized and guided over 250 international adventure travel trips including 40 treks and expeditions to Nepal and over 80 walking tours in the Italian Alps.
A pioneer of extreme rock climbing in Australia, Gary has over 200 first ascents to his credit and in 1986 he set a world-record for the first ever one-day ascent of Denali in Alaska climbing it alone and unsupported from the 7,000ft base to the 20,300ft summit in an amazing 18 hours - on a mountain that often takes 18 days to climb. The record stood for 27 years. He has climbed many famous mountains around the world and was the co-leader on two successful Mount Everest expeditions, reaching 27,500ft himself without using supplemental oxygen.
Gary left his native Australia at the age of 24 with a daypack, a passport and a one-way ticket to Kathmandu, Nepal, and he still considers himself to be on that same trip. For the last ten years he has been on the road pretty much full time visiting friends and exploring different parts of the world while promoting and leading his walking tours. He currently operates his travel company Right Path Adventures from his laptop wherever he is in the world.
A published author and frequent speaker about his exploits and adventures - Gary will be speaking about why the Dolomites of northern Italy recently became a UNESCO World Heritage Nature site and why it is his favorite place in the world.
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President Tom made presentation of 4 - $500 dollar scholarships to Newton High School Students. Pictured are the winners of the scholarships. Left to right are students Alexandria Tozier, Wyatt Dickinson, President Tom, Jennifer Tozier and Jaiden Ochoa.
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The April 5th Newton Rotary Club meeting heard a presentation from Kansas Court of Appeals Judge Karen Arnold-Burger and Deputy General Counsel for Textron Financial Corp., Laura Ice.
Both are representatives of the National Association of Women Judges Informed Voters Project. This group is a civics non-partisan education campaign developed to increase public awareness about the judicial system, to inform voters that politics and special interest attacks have no place in the courts, and to give voters the tools they need to exercise an informed vote in favor of fair and impartial courts.
Arnold-Burger is a fourth generation Kansan. She received her undergraduate and law degree from the University of Kansas. She has served as First Assistant City Attorney for the City of Overland Park, Assistant US Attorney in Kansas City and Presiding Judge for the Overland Park Municipal Court. She was appointed to the Court of Appeals by Governor Mark Parkinson in January, 2011. She has also served as President of the Johnson County Bar Association, the Kansas Municipal Judges Association, the Earl E. O’Conner Inn of Court, and on the boards of several other law organizations. Her non-law public service includes serving United Community Services, Safe Home Domestic Violence Center and the Johnson County Drug & Alcoholism Council. She donates considerable time talking about the dangers of underage drinking and many other pertinent causes.
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Ice is the daughter of the late Ted Ice, a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Newton. Ice holds a Bachelor of Arts , education University of Kansas and a J.D. Washburn University School of Law. Ice is the recipient of the Kansas Bar Association Professionalism Award, Wichita Bar Association Howard Kline Award, a graduate of Leadership Wichita.
The Rotary Club of Newton will help host the Paddle Battle on April 9. This is the second year for the event that draws a number of folks to Newton and helps fund scholarships provided by Rotary and Heart to Heart a local charity. Andy is the Rotary point of contact, some have signed up to sponsor and some to assist in running the event. There is room for more volunteers if you would like to help. Contact Andy and he will steer you in the right direction.
At the Tuesday, February 2nd, ther Rotary Club of Newton had the pleasure of getting to hear all about the National Baseball Congress. Kevin Jenks, General manager for this group, told us about the rich history of the organization.
The National Baseball Congress of Wichita, Kansas is an organization of 15 amateur and semi-professional baseball leagues operating in the United States and Canada. Since its founding in 1934 by Hap Dumont, it has conducted an annual North American championship tournament among its members, The National Baseball Congress World Series, held at Wichita’s Lawrence-Dumont Stadium annually since 1935.
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The program at Tuesday's meeting was our exchange student - Teo Soler. Teo shared a few things about his family, city and country. Teo is a cool guy - The Rotary Club of Newton found him him very entertaining!
Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) is a program for students in high school. Since 1929, Rotary International has sent young people around the globe to experience new cultures. Currently, about 9,000 students are sponsored by Rotary clubs every year. Typically, students are sent to another country for a year-long stay, generally living with multiple host families during the year and being expected to perform daily tasks within the household as well as attend school in the host country. Short term exchange programs are also quite common. These typically involve direct student exchanges between two families arranged through Rotary to coincide with major school holiday periods.
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Frank, Glen and Kent were part of a robust crew who rang bells for the Salvation Army on December 5. This is an annual event for The Rotary Club of Newton who has been a long term partner with The Salvation Army. At the recent Rotary Christmas party members filled the area around the Christmas tree with gifts and food that would be provided to the Salvation Army for distribution.
President Tom presented a check to Superintendent Deb Hamm at the USD 373 School Board meeting last night for $5500. This money was raised from our "Birdies against Bullies" Golf tournament to bring Rachel's Challenge program to the Newton School System as an anti-bullying campaign. This is the second year that The Rotary Club of Newton has partnered with the school district for these programs.
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The November 3 program was presented by Robert Litan is a lawyer-economist who has four decades of experience in public policy research, public service, and in the private sector.
He currently is a Partner with Korein Tillery, a law firm specializing in complex business litigation based in St. Louis and Chicago, and a regular blogger on public policy for The Wall Street Journal.
Litan returned to Wichita in May 2014, where he grew up and graduated from Southeast High, after spending nearly four decades in high level positions in think tanks, the government, and the private sector. He has directed economic research at the Brookings Institution, the Kauffman Foundation and at Bloomberg Government, and served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust at the Department of Justice, as Associate Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and as a Staff member on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors.
Wichita Paranormal Society Director Sherry Curry was the guest speaker for the October 21 meeting of the Newton Rotary Club. She told us REAL stories about ghosts and ghosts story debunking. Sherry stay after the meeting to visit with club member who had their own experiences to share.
Past District Governor Bauer awarded The Rotary Club of Newton with the distinction of being selected Club of the Year for 2014-2015. He told those at the District Conference on October 3, there were many reasons the club won the award. Most notable was the amount members of the club participating in projects at the local and international level. Good job Newton!
Our speaker for the meeting Tuesday, October 6th was the CEO of Botanica - Marty Miller. The club heard Marty talk about Botanica and his passion for his profession in a very informative and entertaining talk. Gardens that he spoke of were the "Chinese Friendship Garden" and how it displays traditional Chinese architecture, art and culture to inspire the community. The members were also treated to the history of the "Childrens Garden" and many of the events that Botonica will hold in the upcoming months.
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Jessie Conners shared her experience as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student in Taiwan for a year. Jessie told how Rotary has impacted her life and showed how deeply involved Rotary in connecting cultures in a way that furthers their goal of spreading peace and understanding throughout the world.
President Tom presents the a plaque to Past President Tim for his service as President during the 2014-2015 Rotary Year at the August 4 meeting.
Rotary Club of Newton learned about the Kansas Humane Society at the August 4 meeting. CEO Mark Eby of the Kansas Humane Society will be the speaker for the meeting on Tuesday, August 4th. As the former operations director for Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters, Mark was able to merge his love love for kids with his love for animals. Mark is a great guy with a great story.
Rotary Club of Newton welcomed home.Jesse Conner of Newton, who spent a year as a student in Taiwan. Here she is presenting President Tom with a Banner from one of the Rotary Clubs in Taiwan that she was hosted by.
During the July 21st meeting Newton Rotarians hear from Dr Ed Berger, chair of the Cosmosphere Revitalization Committee. Above is a picture of when Berger was telling about their plans that include expanding their education programs to all ages, revising field trips to be more curriculum based and creating more activities for families that visit.
The month of July is another Salvation Army month for the Rotary Club of Newton. Each year Clarence passes the hat at the two monthly member meetings. He does this to raise funds to purchase "back to school" items that will stock the shelves in the Salvation Army Service center in Newton. Clarence told members during the July 21 meeting "Thank You from the Salvation Army and that this years donation was one of the best". The Newton Rotary Club members tossed into the hat over $300 in July 2015. The club also helps the Salvation Army in December - members ring bells at three locations for one entire day, usually the 1st Saturday in December. .jpg)
Our speaker for the July 21st meeting will be Dr. Ed Berger. Dr. Berger recently retired from the presidency of Hutchinson Community College and has an extensive background in all types of service work. He is currently volunteering at the Kansas Cosmosphere to assist them in planning for their future.
The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS houses a collection of US Space artifacts second only to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of Moscow.
Currently,the Cosmosphere is embarking on a 5 year revitalization plan that includes expanding our education programs to all ages, revising our field trips to be more curriculum based and creating more activities for families who visit. Dr Ed Berger, Chairman of Revitalization, will share these plans with our members.
It should be a great program.
Social time at 5:30.
When you see people head to the buffet line, feel free to follow.
The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS houses a collection of US Space artifacts second only to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of Moscow.
Currently,the Cosmosphere is embarking on a 5 year revitalization plan that includes expanding our education programs to all ages, revising our field trips to be more curriculum based and creating more activities for families who visit. Dr Ed Berger, Chairman of Revitalization, will share these plans with our members.
It should be a great program.
Social time at 5:30.
When you see people head to the buffet line, feel free to follow.
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District Governor Martin Bauer visits the club for the passing of the pin ceremony, the room was filled with lots of Past District Governors to include three from our club.
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Sue and Warner II
At Tuesday's meeting, we got out the bar stool and have a "sit & visit" with Past District Governor Sue Pearce about training of service dogs. Sue easily falls in love with anything with 4-legs. This has driven her to her love of being "house mom" with puppies that will eventually become service dogs. These dogs have to be smart, obedient, friendly, and trainable - unlike many of us were when we grew up.
She told the club the dogs come to her as "pups" and She follows a regiment of early training and eventually turns the dog back for finish training before they become service companions.
We have all, at one time experienced a family member that has been ill. There are decisions that need to be made and those decisions are never easy. On June 2nd, our presenter was Leslie Sweasy with Gentiva Hospice, formerly Hospice Care of Kansas. She provided wealth of knowledge on Hospice care - what it means for a family, at what point does hospice become a choice and how one becomes a hospice patient.
New Member Induction
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Jim joins our Club officially at the June 2 meeting. George and Jasper help with the induction.
Congratulations to our winning team of Rotarian Travis Rose, Jaime Rose, Suzanne Unruh and Bob Klein.
Rotary Club of Newton Inducts New Member
Barth Hague was inducted into the Rotary Club of Newton. Pictured with Barth, second from left, are Past International Director Phil Silvers,
Dr. George Dyck, sponsoring Rotarian, and District Governor Martin Bauer.
Peace and Conflict
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One of Rotary's missions is to spread world peace. Rotary actually is very involved in doing this. Our speaker May 6,talked about the role Rotary plays in actively promoting world peace. We do a lot more than you might think. Former Rotary International Director Phil Silvers has been deeply involved in Rotary for many years - actively involved in Group Study Exchange, medical service in remote areas, and many various hands-on international service projects. Phil is a frequent lecturer at Rotary events and training seminars.
Marga Hewko was the guest at the April 22 meeting. Most people know Margo as the wife of the General Secretary of Rotary International. But, many Rotarians know her as the passionate Rotarian from Argentina with a big heart and never-ending energy to do good for the world. Her good work - especially in Africa - have benefited many people in need. Her desire to make the world a better place is very evident .... her passion is infectious. She spoke about the many good things Rotary does - how it provides the framework and connectivity to do almost anything.
During the meeting she also traded banners with our club.
President Tim accepts a check from the Paddle Battle Fund Raiser that was held on April 12, the funds will be used for scholarships that The Rotary Club of Newton awards to Newton High School students.
WSU Innovation Campus
Barth Hague of Wichita State University, makes a presentation about WSU's Innovation Campus at the March 17 meeting.
Poker Tournament
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On March 15 the Rotary Club embarked on a new way to raise funds. Glen brought the idea to the Rotary Board who approved the concept. It appears that this will become a future event. The picture of the last table left in the tournament. Several Rotarians were involved with the workings of the event. All look forward to the next time the event is scheduled.
At the February 17 we heard very entertaining Robert Mendoza. Robert is currently our District Foundation Chair, has been an Assistant District Governor, President of the Derby Rotary Club, and recently announced as the District Governor for our district for the 2017-2018 Rotary Year.
Robert shared a very entertaining way of promoting the Rotary Foundation. Here are two of the Newton Super Heroes
Our speaker for February 3 meeting was Lon Smith, Executive Director of the Wichita Air Museum. The Mission for the museum is three fold
- Preserve the birth and living heritage of Kansas aviation.
- Educate the world on the past, present and future of flight.
- Promote the Spirit of Flight in the Air Capital of the World.
Basketball author and historian Steve Farney Spoke to Newton Rotary Club at the December 16 meeting. Steve is recognized as one of the leading authorities on basketball history in the Sunflower State and over the years has appeared numerous radio and television shows around Kansas. He has authored 4 books and numerous articles on the subject of basketball.
Steve and his writing partner have also penned around a dozen feature length screen plays and even more short films related to basketball and hopes that some of these will eventually hit the screen.
Shelly Black told The Rotary Club of Newton about her career at the December 16 meeting.
The speaker at our November 18th Rotary meeting was Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton. He gave history of the Harvey County Sheriff Office.
On January 12, 2009, the new Harvey County Sheriff, T. Walton, was sworn into office by District Judge, Richard Walker. Undersheriff, Todd Hanchett was sworn in and the Sheriff's Department took on a new look. Sheriff Walton and Undersheriff Hanchett have over 40 years combined experience in Law Enforcement. Sheriff Walton promoted Mark Hardtarfer to Chief Deputy. This new administration looks forward to serving the citizens of Harvey County.
Newton Rotary had Jennifer Szambecki speak at their Rotary meeting on Tuesday, October 21st . Jennifer Szambecki is a native of Wichita and a proud Wichita State Shocker. She spent ten years in non-profit fundraising before joining Greteman Group as associate vice president and brand director. Last year, Kansas Transportation Secretary Mike King invited Jennifer to join the Kansas Turnpike Authority as brand director over the formalized partnership between the KTA and the Kansas Department of Transportation, which was enacted during the 2013 Kansas legislative session. Jennifer works with KTA, KDOT and other state agencies to ensure a consistent, positive brand experience for all travelers in Kansas, and helps position Kansas as the best state in which to start or grow a business. Jennifer is a member of the Wichita Downtown Rotary Club.
Tom, during a World Series Themed meeting, shares a summary of an article in the Rotary Magazine. The article highlights a baseball program that benefits physically challenged individuals.
Giving the Program to Newton Rotary Club about her exchange to Australia during the 2013-2014 year. These students, while on their exchanges, get to meet other exchange students that are also in the same regions. The goal of a Rotary is to give these young adults as much exposure to each other as possible to increase their chances of becoming "lifetime" friends. In todays word, there is considerable benefit I doing this.
Members of the Rotary Club of Newton entered a float in the August 2, Harvey County 4H parade. Parade Captain John made sure there was plenty of candy to toss to the children along the parade route. Jasper’s business refitted the trailer with sign banners advertising the clubs “Peach Sale” fund raiser. He was also able to affix banner stands to display the club’s banner and the Four Way test. This was the first year for children to join the members on the float, they were Andy’s daughter, Frank’s granddaughters and Jaspers grandson and son. See other pictures in the album.
Here is Tom with his team, one of sixteen, at hole 13 playing in the scramble on July 22. The scramble proceeds went to USD 373 to help fund the Anti-Bullying curriculum. A committee of Rotary members and USD 373 school district personnel all agreed the first annual scramble was a success. See more photos in the album.
The Rotary Club of Newton heard from Stan about his company and profession. Stan owns Bridges Construction which is celebrating 24 years in business.
Yes, you read it correctly, Megan Fox gave a presentation at the July 15 meeting - and she started her presentation with a bit of humor about her name and all the hub-bub about having a celebrity name. Our Megan was a transformer of her own kind, she went from excited to disappointed and back to excited about India - the country she lived in for several months. Megan was part of the District 5690 exchange program. Megan told of the different regions she was able to visit while in India.
Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) is a Rotary International student exchange program for students in secondary school. Since 1929, Rotary International has sent young people around the globe to experience new cultures. Currently, about 9,000 students are sponsored by Rotary clubs every year. Typically, students are sent to another country for a year-long stay, generally living with multiple host families during the year and being expected to perform daily tasks within the household as well as attend school in the host country.
Dave listens in on discussion during Rotary Foundation grant training. District Governor Bauer hosted two days of training to certify clubs for eligibility for Global Grants. Dave and TIM attended to training.
Tim and Jasper present checks totaling almost $8,000.00 to USD 373 Board President Tim Hodge. The funds are to be used by the local school district for Chrome book computers for the Santa Fe building students. The other project is for a playground amenities at the Early Education Center.
Thanks to the organization of Stan Scudder, a dedicted group of 10 Rotarians cleaned I-135 from the Outlet Mall south 2 miles to K-196. This was a new area for the club to clean and because of this, there was ample amount of trash to pick up.
Dr. Dyke gives a vocational moment during the May 6 meeting of the Newton Rotary Club.
David was present his Paul Harris Award at the January 21 meeting.
Individuals who have contributed more than $1000 to the Annual Program Fund, the Polio Plus Fund or the Humanitarian Grants Program of the Rotary Foundation are recognized as Paul Harris Fellows. Additionally, individual Rotary clubs may from time to time honor individuals as Paul Harris Fellows. These honorees are individuals who meet high professional and personal standards set forth by Paul Harris. Paul Harris recognition is not limited to Rotarians.
A Paul Harris Fellow receives a special certificate and a gold pin. At the discretion of the Fellow's club, the Fellow may also receive a gold medallion on a blue-and-gold ribbon.
Glen gave the vocational moment at the January 21, meeting.
Tuesday, January 21st Newton Rotary Doug Monty was their program speaker. Doug is the resident agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms (ATF) office in Wichita. He started his career in Texas and was involved in investigations of both the Waco Branch Davidian case and also the Oklahoma City Bombings. Doug was a graduate of Oklahoma University and has been in the Wichita field office for 17 years. He will talk about what the ATF, what it does, how it works with other agencies, and tell about some of the cases that he has worked on.
Barbara Bunting was the speaker for Newton Rotary Club at their January 7th meeting. Barbara spoke about what you should know about school finance in Kansas.
Barbara gives considerable amounts of time to her church and to volunteering in the community. Barbara is completing her 12th year on the Newton school board and served as President of the board in 2010-2011. She works diligently to create an environment that best benefits the education of children and their welfare. Barbara has also been involved in other areas of the community. She worked for Northview Developmental Services, Inc. as their marketing, development and community liaison. She chaired and served on the “Leave a Legacy” Foundation and is a graduate of Leadership Newton. She served on the Kidron-Bethel Retirement Village Board of Directors and was a member of their fund development committee. She is a member of the Newton Area Chamber of Commerce for many years and served on various chamber committees. Barbara has chaired the Harvey County Communities-in-Schools Advisory Council. She is an active member of St. Mary ’s Catholic Church and has served, with her husband, as honorary Chairs of the“ Carrying on the Faith” capital fund campaign, as well as serving on various committees within the church. She is an active member of Junior Reading Circle and is a former president. Barbara is a member of Chapter IA, P.E.O.
The Avenues of Service award for 2013 was presented to Rod at the December Christmas and Awards banquet.
Recognizing that the strength of the Rotary ideal is founded on the service carried out by club members worldwide,
this citation program provides a means for Rotary clubs to personally recognize a member of the club for outstanding
efforts in the five Avenues of Service. The citation commends the service carried out by an individual Rotarian in the
club, thereby reinforcing the importance which Rotary places on the personal involvement of each club member in Rotary
service activities.
Hearts4Him, a men’s ensemble from the central Kansas area, began in August, 2001. A passion and love for Christ, a love of music and a HEART FOR HIM were the driving forces that led to the formation of the group.
The original group made their singing début at the Koerner Heights Church in Newton, Kansas. With the ebb and flow of life the group has changed members, but all hold this group close to their hearts. The diversity of the individuals in the ensemble makes it possible to relate to a wide spectrum of people. The richness of their combined voices delights audiences and stirs the soul.
Here is Kim accepting the award for the Foundation support the Newton Club provided during her term as President of the RotaryClub of Newon. Award is being presented by Jeri and Rod.
Savannah's Sailors mother, Mari, attended our meeting. She shared about Savannah's experience so far. It was a very fun time and left quite an impression with our club on the power of networking that Rotary offers. Savannah Sailors, our outbound student in Townsville, Australia.
Also, Zoe Barbe (our exchange student from France) and Rachael Monaghan (Our exchange student from Australia) were at the meeting. We used technology to SKYPE with Guillaume Mockel, another exchange student from Belgium that is hosted by Ulysses Rotary Club.
Since 1929, Rotary International has sent young people around the globe to experience new cultures. Currently, about 9,000 students are sponsored by Rotary clubs every year. Typically, students are sent to another country for a year-long stay, generally living with multiple host families during the year and being expected to perform daily tasks within the household as well as attend school in the host country. Short term exchange programs are also quite common. These typically involve direct student exchanges between two families arranged through Rotary to coincide with major school holiday periods.
Chancy Gerbitz, one of our newest members provided the Vocational Talk at the December 3 meeting.
U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom spoke the the club on Tuesday, Nov 19.
Grissom leads a staff of about 50 assistant U.S. Attorneys and 50 support personnel who work in offices in Kansas City, Kan., Topeka and Wichita. He was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010.
Speaker for Newton Rotary Club was Bethany Spare. Bethany is from Ashland, Kansas and was the recipient of the prestigious Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship for Rotary District 5690. This is a $ 26,000 scholarship to study abroad at the recipients choice of Universities, furthering their education in their chosen field of study. We should be proud as Rotarians to be a part of an organization that supports this scholarship program. At this meeting, you will see the good the Foundation does as Bethany shares with us her experience.
Bethany used this scholarship on a nine-month graduate program at Oxford University in England studying modern European and native British history and completing a dissertation discussing the ways religious changes during the 16th century affected the wives of Henry VIII. She was an active volunteer at her church and K-State, is among 700 men and women from 70 countries selected this year to receive the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship. The award is given to university students to study in countries where rotary clubs are active. While abroad, the students act as goodwill ambassadors for their native countries and also speak at Rotary club meetings where they attend their selected university.
Chancy Gerbitz is inducted at the October 15, 2013 meeting. Jasper issues the Rotary Challenge and Sandra Fruit, Chancy's sponsor assists in the ceremony.
Laverne Goering presents his vocational moment at the October Club meeting.
On Tuesday October 1, 2013 - President Jasper inducted Glen Davis into the Rotary Club of Newton. Davis is shown with his sponsor, Tim Marlar who assisted in the ceremony. Welcome Glen!
At our meeting on Tuesday October 1, Melynnie and Tom Williams' daughter - Chandler shared with the Rotary Club of Newton her experience doing service work in Haiti with fellow Rotarians from Wichita. There were also other students that worked on the trip. These experiences are open to other Rotarians and students. See Rod if you would like to take part in a service work project.
Born with cerebral palsy, Jerry Traylor was also born with a hunger to take on seemingly impossible goals ... and achieve them.
He has climbed Pikes Peak 3 times, parachuted from 12,500 feet and completed a “Run Across America” from San Francisco to New York City – all on crutches!The first week of September, Jerry spoke about setting goals to area schools. The Rotary Club of Newton was partnering with other area clubs and agencies on this event.
Here are two of our dedicated Rotary Club of Newton members changing Peaches into dictionaries - so to speak. Kim and Gerald team up to sell peaches Sunday afternoon. "We share what the proceeds of the fundraiser goes towards as we talk to the prospective customers" Kim says. "Many tell us to keep the change, I think this is because they see where the money goes" Gerald comments. They have a dictionary on display so lookers and shoppers can see it. The club started with 210 boxes of peaches on Friday and they are below 60 as of the writing of this story. Every year the Rotary Club sets up shop in the Auto Parts parking lot at 1st and Main in Newton.
The peaches arrived in Newton on Friday at 3:30 pm. Gerald said "They are great looking peaches and our customers will be happy". The funds raised from the peach sales help fund the "3rd Grade Dictionary" project. On Saturday Todd and his wife Tammy headed to Ulysses to deliver 60 cases that we pre-sold. Many hands have already been involved in the project, but there are still opportunities to assist. Contact Gerald or Jasper to see where you can assist.
Jeff Sollo from Grace Hill Winery spoke about the wine industry in Central Kansas. Jeff is the Marketing Director for the Winery that is located in near Whitewater, Kansas. Jeff also hosted a wine tasting of the labels they produce. Below we see some of our members visiting his display.
Here are several of our members who helped during the parade. The club uses this to promote community awareness of the club and to help kick off the marketing of the Peach Sales project. Many parade goers asks, as the Rotary float passes their location on the parade route, when the peaches will be available. This year the answer is 15-21 August.
Kim Manring, Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Newton is presented a plaque in recognition of her year as President. Current President Jasper Eicher made the presentation during the July 16, 2013 meeting of the club. Kim gives selfless community service the in all the Rotary Clubs service projects, she also serves on the Board of Directors for the United Way. Kim’s leadership adds value to the Community and the Rotary Club of Newton.
The Rotary Club of Newton heard about the causes of lower back pain from Dr. Jennifer Koontz of Newton Medical Center. Dr. Koontz is fellowship trained in sports medicine and board certified in family medicine. She provides a variety of diagnostic and surgical procedures related to sports and family medicine. She is a native of Hutchinson, and a graduate of Bethel College in Newton, where she was a student athlete and athletic trainer. Dr. Koontz earned her master’s of public health from the University of Kansas and her M.D. from the KU School of Medicine. She completed the Via Christi Family Medicine Residency Program in Wichita, including serving as chief resident from 2007-2008. She became board-certified in family medicine in 2008 and completed a sports medicine fellowship at Via Christi following.
Dr. Koontz is involved in many area service activities and has sports medicine experience with the U.S. Senior Open PGA Championship, Wichita City League high school football, Wichita State University baseball, basketball and volleyball, Newman University basketball and soccer, and professional sports teams Wichita Wranglers Baseball, Wichita Wingnuts Baseball and Wichita Thunder Hockey.
Dr. Koontz is involved in many area service activities and has sports medicine experience with the U.S. Senior Open PGA Championship, Wichita City League high school football, Wichita State University baseball, basketball and volleyball, Newman University basketball and soccer, and professional sports teams Wichita Wranglers Baseball, Wichita Wingnuts Baseball and Wichita Thunder Hockey.
Senator Carolyn McGinn, State Senator for Newton, gave a program at the July 2, 2013 meeting. She provided the club with great information about the running of the Kansas Government and the legislative process. Senator McGinn is also a member of the Rotary Club of Newton and a Paul Harris recipient.
On Tuesday, June 19th, this exchange team presented a program to Newton Rotary Club about their trip to New South Wales, Australia. They talked about the culture, the wine country, the business, the geography, and other things of interest. The team was led by our own Steve Johnson. The team members are Matthew Hosey – a landman with J Fred Hambright, Inc from Wichita, Charity Davis – a registered client associate with Wells Fargo Advisors from Wichita, Melissa Shippy – a case manager with Big Brothers & Big Sisters from Wichita, Hope Swartz – a mortgage loan assistant from Central Bank in Hutchinson, and Larry Altis – the manager of Ulysses Standard supply in Ulysses
One of the interesting programs sponsored by Rotary International is called ‘Group Study Exchange”. This is where a group of young professionals under the age of 40 from our Kansas / Oklahoma Rotary District go to another countries Rotary District to experience their profession in that country. Then, the district our team goes to sends a similar Group Study Exchange team back to our District. These exchanges last for 3-4 weeks and the team members get a good dose of culture during the exchange. The Rotary Districts also send a “team leader” along that is a Rotarian and the entire group attends several Rotary Club meetings and functions sharing information about our their selves and our District.
Newton Rotary Club had Steve Coen from the Kansas Health Foundation speak at their meeting on Tuesday June 4th. Steve Coen has served as president and CEO of the Kansas Health Foundation since August 2008. Since joining the Foundation in 1987, Coen has held a number of different positions, including director of public affairs, senior program officer and vice president for administration.\
Before coming to the Foundation, Coen served as a legislative assistant to Sen. Bob Dole in Washington, D.C. and as state director of his four Kansas offices. In addition to his professional experiences, Coen served as chair of the Governor’s Council on Fitness, and is a member of the Leadership Council of the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition. Coen’s idea to develop a physically-active, healthy lifestyle course for high school students earned him a national award from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). He also received the 21 st Century Community Champion Award, given by the American Association of Family and Consumer Science to individuals who have made a significant contribution toward strengthening families.
Coen completed his undergraduate work at Emporia State University and later earned a law degree from Washburn University in Topeka, Kan.
The Kansas Health Foundation is a benevolent organization that funds close to $ 2 million in Recognition grants to around 100 recipients each year. They are also funding several other health related issues including efforts to make people aware of the dangers of second hand smoke, the importance of good nutrition, promoting healthy behaviors, growing community philanthropy, and building civic leadership. Steve will talk about several of these programs and the work of the foundation.
Tom Williams provides the members at the meeting with a vocational talk.
Dr. Charles Graber shares about his vocation during the club's Vocational Moment.
Todd, who heads the Human Resources at Newton Medical Center, give the club a "Vocational Moment" at the May 7 meeting.
Jasper, President Elect, discusses his vision for the upcoming year as it relates to active committee participation. He made initial assignments to Committees and offered opportunities for members to change committees if they desire. The members present at the May 7, 2013 meeting met and had a robust discussion. Jasper said "I am asking everyone to be active in a committee."
Judy Friesen give the vocational talk during the April 16, 2013 meeting.
The guest speaker for the April 16, 2013 meeting was the 44th Attorney General of Kansas Derek Schmidt. His program focused on two areas Identification Theft and the need for a new crime lab for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
At the Heartland PETs training in Salina on Friday April 4, 2013 Incoming President Jasper and President Elect Nominee Tim get to meet RI President Nominee Ron Burton. The banner in the background is the banner for Ron's Year at the helm of RI. Jasper has received an autographed miniature.
Don Voth, gives an informative talk about his vocation.
Rachel Monaghan, Australian exchange student was the April 2, 2013 guest speaker. Her presentation was about her home and the Continent of Australia. Here she is after the meeting with Club President Kim Manring.
John Bardo, the 13th President of Wichita State Unversity, provided a talk about the Unversity during the February 5, 2013 meeting.
President Kim Manring inductes Gaylord Sanneman, Lynn Moore, and Todd Tangeman at the February 5 meeting.
Paul Sanford, the Amreican Legion of Kansas Department Commander, give an overview of the department during a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of Newton. Commander Sanford is a resident of Newton and leads the statewide organization.
Carolyn is awarded the Paul Harris Award at the December meeting.
John and Leroy deliver dictionaries to Sedgwick elementary this year.
The Rotary Club of Newton's newest member is Debbie Hamm. She recieved her new member packet at the Christmas and Awards Banquet.
The Avenues of Service Award (highest award given by a club to one of its members) was awarded to David Yoder for his years of service to the club and to District 5690.
Past President Steve Johnson of Corner Stone Law received a Paul Harris Award which is the highest award for giving a Rotarian may receive from Rotary International.
The Rotary Club of Newton held their 95th annual Christmas and Awards Banquet Tuesday December 4, 2012 at Cross Wind Conference Center in Hesston, Kansas.
On November 20, 2012 the Rotary Club of Newton heard from four members of the 2012 GSE Team from District 5690. This team traveled to Russia for the 2012 Group Study Exchange.
David Nygaard is attaching an award for International Service to the Rotary Club of Newton's Banner. This was one of several awards the club earned at the Distict Conference.
One of the projects the Rotary Club of Newton is providing USA Maps on the playground for each elementary school in the Newton City limits. Here is a picture of a group who gathered to paint on a Saturday morning.
Frank Stucky presents a Vocational Moment at a recent Rotary Club of Newton meeting.
Three of the Rotary Club of Newton members who are Past District Governor's are with Current District Governor while he is at a Newton meeting. Pictured are Rod, Larry, Gerald and David.
Here are John and Janet of the Rotary Club of Newton selling Colorado Peaches. The funds raised from this project help fund the Dictionary Program for Harvey County 3rd Graders. Gerald Green is the fund raising Captain for the Peach sales.
Leroy Koehn, out going President of The Rotary Club of Newton receive his Presidential Plaque.
Leroy with the Southbreeze students on the map that the club painted on the playgound at the school.
The Rotary Club of Newton under the great leadership of the 2010/11 President John Hosford received four awards from the Trustees of the Rotary Foundation with their deep appreciation to all the members for their generosity in support of the Annual Programs Fund. Presenting the awards were Past District Governor & District 5690 Foundation Chair Geri Appel (Wichita Down Town Rotary Club) and District 5690 Annual Giving Chair Steve Pershall (El Dorado Rotary Club). The awards received were:
No. 1 Club in the District in per capita Annual Programs Fund giving to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Only the top 4% of 34,301 clubs in the world received this award.
Every Rotarian Every Year Club – 2010/11 where every active member made a personal contribution and the average was at least one hundred dollars per Rotarian. Only the top 4% of 34,301 clubs in the world received this award.
Rotary Foundation Sustaining Member Club - where 100% of all active members personally contributed one hundred dollars or more. Only the 2% of 34,301 clubs in the world received this award.
End Polio Now - Certificate of Appreciation - for their financial support of Rotary’s US200 million challenge. The club gave two thousand dollars to help fulfill our promise to the children of the world to eradicate polio.
For the seventh year in a row, The Rotary Club of Newton provided Scholastic Children's Dictionaries to all third graders in Harvey County and Berean Academy. The 522 dictionaries have a retail value of $10,440.00. The dictionaries contain more than 30,000 words, more than 1,000 photographs, and illustrations, maps thesaurus, grammar guide, punctuation guide, initials, acronyms, abbreviation guide, flags, and Presidents of the United States. The dictionaries were paid for from the proceeds of selling peaches, oranges, and grapefruit the club sold throughout the year. The Rotary Club of Newton was chartered in 1917 and is the oldest service club in Harvey County.
July 3, The Rotary Club of Newton sponsored the 3rd Annual Hero Night at the Newton Rebels baseball game. The club honored those who are community individuals who performed exceptional service to the community. Below is a picture of Tim with a group of EMT/Firefighters. See the album for more pictures.
Here are some photos of people enjoying our annual Christmas celebration. For More photos see the December 2013 Album.
Here are two of our members out ringing bells for the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign. Thanks to all members who helped out raising the much needed funds.
Murfin served two and a half years volunteering on a Mercy Ship, a state-of-the-art floating hospital that goes into the ports of underdeveloped countries to offer surgeries and treatments not available locally. Mercy Ships is an international charity that was founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens. Mercy Ships currently operates the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world providing free health care, community development projects, community health education, mental health programs, agriculture projects, and palliative care for terminally ill patients. Rotary International has worked with the Mercy Ship program since 1987 focusing many of its efforts on the West Africa Mercy Ship program. Murfin has wonderful stories to share about her experience aboard a Mercy Ship.
Gerald Greene and David A. Nygaard receive help from Slate Creek Student Erik Brown selling fruit at O'Reilly Auto Parts
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