II. Roll call
Bill Moore, secretary, conducted a roll call. The following persons were present: Joan Barker, Bernice Dommer, Dick Lowery, Bill Moore, Carl "Bud" Munck, Sue Reinold, Gary Rosenfeld, Ray Santos, Chris Stein, David Stone, Claudia Walsh and Betty Williams.
The following members were missed, affectionately: Bayless, Grogan, Kari, Shackleton, Soria, Tollefson, Bill Wunderlich and Norma Wunderlich.
Note: Members please verify attendance with secretary. Thanks.

III. Approval of minutes from last meeting
Deferred.
IV. Open issues

a) Rotary 5220 District Simplified Grant (informational) - Action: Bayless and Shackleton

b) Exchange Student BBQ of July 13 (informational) - Six (6) persons needed for serving. Following persons volunteered: Shackleton, Munck, Williams, Moore, and Walsh. We need one more! Action - Bayless to coordinate.

c) Membership Dues - tabled. Action - Bayless

d) Club attendance at RI Convention - Pres. Williams and "Bud" Munck to attend. Report to follow.

e) Bus Stop Restoration (informational) Needs records of installation for compliance. Recommendation to collaborate with El Portal Community Association (EPCA). Action - Bayless

f) El Portal Habitat Restoration Project - EPCA and volunteers plan to conduct exotic plant eradication work in El Portal on Saturday, June 16, 2007. Brent Johnson, Phd. Biology, from Yosemite National Park, Resources Management and Sciences.

V. New business

a) Rotary 4-Way Speech Contest: Shackleton moved to appropriate $300.00 to promote and conduct the 4-Way Speech Contest among Mariposa County School District High Schools. Seconded by Stone. Motion passed, unanimous. Shakleton then issued a challenge from the floor, offering a personal contribution of $100.00 to be matched by the remaining membership. Moore then pledged $100.00 to the cause, matching Shakleton's call. Only $100.00 now remains to complete the funding. Dick Lowery volunteered to lead the Yosemite Rotary in conducting this contest.
 

b) Joint Meetings with Groveland Rotary: Moore moved to approve, in concept, at least two joint meetings with the Groveland Rotary Club - one at the Ahwahnee in Yosemite and one at the Hotel Charlotte in Groveland. Seconded by Stone. Approved, unanimous. The Hotel Charlotte meeting is tentatively set for October 23rd. Remaining details to be handled by the Board of Directors.

c) Club Presentation: Brent Johnson provided a presentation and answered many questions about the management of invasive species at Yosemite.

VI. Adjournment
President Elect Jonathan Bayless adjourned the meeting at 1:30 pm.

VII. Next Meeting

Thursday July 19th, 2007 at 12:00 noon
Presentation to be organized by: Dave Sexton

VIII. Next Board of Directors Meeting
 

Regular Membership Meeting Minutes

June 21, 2007

I.      Call to order and pledge of allegiance

President Elect, Jonathan Bayless called to order the regular meeting of the Yosemite Rotary Club at 12 noon on June 21, 2007 in the Ahwahnee Hotel.  Pledge of Allegiance and “Moment-of-Silence” observed.

II.      Roll call

Bill Moore, acting secretary, conducted a roll call. The following persons were present: Jonathan Bayless, Kristi Kari, Dick Lowery,  Bill Moore, Sue Rienold, Gary Rosenfeld, Ray Santos, Dave Sexton, Steve Shackleton,  Catherine Soria, Chris Stein, David Stone, Mike Tollefson, and Claudia Walsh.

The following members were missed, affectionately:  Anderholm, Barker, Booth, Dommer , Grogan, Rogge, Westerlund, Bill Wunderlich and Norma Wunderlich.  Note: Members verify attendance with secretary.

III.      Approval of minutes from last meeting

Deferred.

IV.      Open issues

a)      Rotary 5220 District Simplified Grant (informational) - Action: Bayless and Shackleton

b)      Exchange Student BBQ of July 13 (informational) - Six (6) persons needed for serving.  Following persons volunteered: Shackleton, Munck, Williams, Moore, Walsh, and Lowery.  Action - Bayless to coordinate. 

c)      GSE Nominees (informational) -   Kari to place notice in Yose Daily Newsletter. Action Complete.

d)      Membership Dues – tabled.  Action - Bayless

e)      Club attendance at RI Convention – Pres. Williams and “Bud” Munck to attend.   Report to follow.

f)        Bus Stop Restoration (informational) Needs records of installation for compliance.  Recommendation to collaborate with El Portal Community Association (EPCA).  Action – Bayless

g)      El Portal Habitat Restoration Project – EPCA and volunteers plan to conduct exotic plant eradication work in El Portal on Saturday, June 16, 2007.  Action complete.  Report to follow:  Action - Moore

V.      New business

 a)  Club Presentation by Catherine Soria: Movie:  “Did You Know”  10 min.

b)  Board of Directors to meet at 11:00 am prior to next membership meeting.

c)  Next meeting – June 21, 2007, 12 Noon.  Ahwahnee Hotel.

VI.      Adjournment

President Elect Jonathan Bayless adjourned the meeting at 1:30 pm.

Minutes submitted by:  William E. Moore, Secretary, acting

Minutes approved by:  Jonathan Bayless, President Elect

June 27, 2007

MINUTES

Board of Directors Meeting

of

June 21, 2007

Call to order

President Elect, Jonathan Bayless called to order the regular meeting of the Yosemite Rotary Club, Board of Directors at 11 am on  June 21, 2007 in the Ahwahnee Hotel. 

I.      Roll call

The following persons were present: Jonathan Bayless, Kristi Kari, Bill Moore, and David Stone.

II.      Approval of minutes from last meeting

Minutes approved.

III.      Open issues   

a)      Officers – President Elect Bayless discussed the composition of Club officers and directors.  Observation was made that the list has grown to include many club members in charge of an activity.  These members should not be considered board members.  Resolved to rework list to clarify who are the board directors and officers. 

b)      Regular Membership Meeting Minutes – attendees and absentees to be recorded.  Excused status is not to be reflected in the minutes.

c)  DSG - The recent letter from Mel Hanson was discussed with emphasis placed     on various deadlines for submission of requests and reports to District 5220. The playground is on track for a September completion.

c)      Treasurer’s Report – David Stone, Treasurer (See attached reports)  Budget balance is still healthy, but could use improvement.  Lacking additional funds expected from wine tasting event that was cancelled this year.

d)      Sales of “Glow Sticks” - BOD recommends selling them at night!

e)      Fines – BOD to establish goals for fines assessments.

f)        Membership Dues – BOD recommends dues amounts must be affordable, collected quarterly and entered into the by-laws.   (Dues must be kept low to encourage membership.)

IV.      New busines

a)  Membership Drive – BOD recommends establishment of a “New Member” Day shortly before a major event to attract new members from those interested in the upcoming event.  

b)  Rotary software - Treasurer to continue using “QuickBooks.”  Secretary to download reporting software subsequent to obtaining a home internet provider since it is not authorized on Yosemite NP PC’s.

V.      Adjournment

President Elect Jonathan Bayless adjourned the meeting at 11:50 am.

Minutes submitted by:  William E. Moore, Secretary, acting

Minutes approved by:  Jonathan Bayless, President Elect

June 28, 2007

Members attending: Brad Anderholm, Jonathan Bayless, Bill Young, David Stone, Kirstie Kari, Tracy Rogge, Claudia Welsh, Mike Tollefson, Catherine Soria

Alec Waheed will be presented on his trip to Germany

Members attending: Jonathan Bayless, Tracy Rogge, Kirstie Kari, David Stone, Brad Anderholm, William Wunderlich, Claudia Welsh

Joint Holiday meeting between Rotary Club and Lions Club.

Members attending: Sue Reinold, Dick Lowry, David Stone, Jonathan Bayless, Gary Rosenfeld, Ray Santos

Jonathan Bayless: Recent trip to Switzerland and Italy.

Members attending: Chris Stein, Jonathan Bayless, Claudia Welsh, Sue Reinold, Gary Rosenfeld, Steve Shackelton, David Stone, Deb Schweizer, Dick Lowry, Tracy Rogge, Ray Santos

District Governor Bob Hobbs official club visit.

Members attending: Bill Moore, Tracy Rogge, Jonathan Bayless, Sue Reinold, Gary Rosenfeld, Betty Williams, Bud Munck, Ray Santos, William Wunderlich, Dick Lowry, Bernice Dommer, Chris Stein, Brad Anderholm, Catherine Soria, Steve Shackelton, Claudia Welsh, David Stone

Members attending: Kirstie Kari, David Stone, Sue Reinold, Ray Santos, Claudia Welsh, Bud Munck, Betty Williams, Mike Tollefson, Tracy Rogge, Brad Anderholm, Steve Shackelton, Dick Lowry, Chris Stein, Bill Moore, Jonathan Bayless

Tracy Rogge presided the meeting held at the Yosemite Valley School. 

Presenter Lee Shackelton gave his famous law enforcement "hat presentation" to the school children. 

The club also held the Bracebridge Dinner Raffle Drawing.

Members attending: Tracy Rogge, Bill Moore, Dick Lowry, Kirstie Kari, Catherine Soria, Claudia Welsh, Gary Rosenfeld, Steve Shackelton, David Stone, Jonathan Bayless, Ray Santos, Brad Anderholm, Chris Stein

Members attending: Bud Munck, Betty Williams, Catherine Soria, Ray Santos, Leigh Westerlund, Claudia Welsh, Steve Shackelton

Members attending: Steve Shackelton, Dick Lowry, Deb Schweizer, Kirstie Kari, Sue Reinold, Bud Munck, Betty Williams, Catherine Soria, Bernice Dommer, Ray Santos, Claudia Welsh, David Stone

Kristen L. Shive  gave presentation about her 2006 Rotary YNP G.S.E. to Honduras

Members attending: Ray Santos, Bernice Dommer, Gary Rosenfeld, Bud Munck, Betty Williams, Claudia Welsh, Bill Moore, Brad Anderholm, Kirstie Kari, David Stone

Preliminary, Unapproved, Minutes

Members attending: Gary Rosenfeld, David Stone Tracy Rogge, Bernice Dommer, Ray Santos, Brad Anderholm, Claudia Welsh, Catherine Soria, Kirstie Kari, Jonathan Bayless, Steve Shackelton, William Wunderlich, Bud Munck, Betty Williams

Members attending: Catherine Soria, David Stone, Deb Schweizer, Ray Santos, Mike Tollefson, Bud Munck, Betty Williams, Claudia Welsh, Bernice Dommer

Members attending: Claudia Welsh, Kirstie Kari, Chris Stein, Leigh Westerlund, Jonathan Bayless, Betty Williams, Ray Santos, Dick Lowry, Doc Wright, Deb Schweizer, Tracy Rogge, David Stone, Bernice Dommer

Members attending: Steve Medley, Steve Shackelton, Mike Tollefson, Brad Anderholm, Jonathan Bayless, Kirstie Kari, Chris Stein, Claudia Welsh, Ray Santos, Bernice Dommer, Bud Munck, Betty Williams, Tracy Rogge, David Stone, Gary Rosenfeld, Catherine Soria

Guests: Glen Rothell, Mariposa Rotary, Dick and Sue Steinbach, Novato CA Rotary, Jim and Susan Johnson, Dennis and Mary Ackley, Dublin Rotary.

Note: Please call or e-mail David Stone ASAP if you are not going to be at the next meeting. The latest you can do this is noon Wednesday, the day before the meeting. It will be much appreciated by David and will help the Ahwahnee staff plan our lunch. DStone@dncinc.com, 372-8459.

President Steve Medley presided. There was no program given. Steve went over a few items currently in discussion.

Jonathan reported progress is being made on the Malawi international project and thinks that going in with another organization that is already involved would be the best way to approach this project.

Kirstie reported that we will wait until the playground fence discussion happens at the next town planning meeting in El Portal to see what is decided among community members as to whether or not the general population of El Portal wants the fence.

The EBay Squire listing was briefly discussed. Steve is still working on this.

Steve would like there to be a $500 limit on a Paul Harris account before certain matching money can be made. Discussion followed. He would like there to be two Paul Harris members a year. Jonathan has volunteered to be one of the two.

A new member, Dick Lowry, a retired school principal living in Wawona, was voted into the Yosemite Rotary Club. We now have, according to Treasurer David Stone, 25 members in the club, the most we've had for years.

Betty has whipped her party into shape and discussed a few minor details.

The Mariposa Wine Tasting and Arts and Crafts Fair will be held on October 8. We are encouraged to support this great effort and interesting event.

Members attending: Steve Medley, David Stone, Gary Rosenfeld, Jerry Mitchell, Mike Tollefson, Betty Williams, Bud Munck, Leigh Westerlund, Claudia Welsh, Jonathan Bayless, Steve Shackelton, Bernice Dommer, and newest member, Catherine Soria, Yosemite Valley School Principal. 

Steve Medley recapped the Board meeting held just before the regular meeting. 

Outgoing club member Jerry Mitchell gave a presentation of a recent trip to China.

Members attending: Steve Medley, Bernice Dommer, Jonathan Bayless, Gary Rosenfeld, Steve Schackleton, Deb Schweizer, Betty Williams, Claudia Welse, Ray Santos, Crhis Stein, David Stone, Mike Tollefson, Brad Anderholm, Leigh Westerlund. Visiting guests included Jeannie Adams of the Ansel Adams Gallery, Jan Mendenhall, Merced Rotary and UC Merced, Larry Rutter, San Luis Obispo Rotary, Bill and Alice Hurlebaus of Marion, VA, and J. Richard Lowry of Wawona in Yosemite.

Please remember to notify David Stone asap if you are not going to be attending a meeting. David and the Ahwahnee staff need to know the number attending to give us best service. You may email David at DStone@dncinc.com or call him at 372-8459.

President Steve Medley presided. He announced that the next board meeting was scheduled for next Thursday at 11:00 am.

There is some feedback from the El Portal Community that some of the parents do not want a fence. Kirstie will look into this.

We are still waiting for a date for the Yosemite School/Rotary joint barbeque.  Brad is working on this.

Betty announced that her party is still scheduled for Sat., Oct. 28, with music, wine provided, pot luck, bring other drinks if you want other than wine, chips and dip and salsa will be provided, so the hostess requests that guests bring something other than chips. It will not be a Halloween-themed party.

Steve announced that a generous offer to design our cookbook has come from Melanie Dougherty of the Bay Area.

We voted to invite Catherine Soria, new principal and long-time teacher at the Yosemite Valley School, to become a member of Yosemite Rotary.

Next meeting will be Jerry Mitchell's last meeting here. Party at Mikes house Friday, Sept. 22.

Steve Shackelton spoke on the Yosemite Leadership Program before introducing our main speaker, Jan Mendenhall of UC Merced. She announced two new Trustees of the Board, Mike Tollefson and Brad Andersholm. She discussed the vision statement and goals. The founding partners are Delaware North Companies, Yosemite National Park, UC Merced Student Life, UC Merced Campus Recreation, and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park. Creating successful leaders has been a goal since the beginning, eight years ago. One interesting fact among many that came out during this program is that more than 50% of the students are first-generation students in their families. Thank you Jan for an inspiring, thought-provoking, and exciting program.

Members attending: Steve Medley, Steve Shackelton, Deb Schweizer, Bill Wunderlich, Bernice Dommer, Betty Williams, David Stone, Bud Munck, Mike Tollefson, Tracy Rogge, Gary Rosenfeld, Ray Santos, Claudia Welsh, Brad Anderholm. Guest: Catherine Soria, Yosemite Valley School Principal, and Jim Allen, Sheriff of Mariposa County..

Please remember to notify David Stone asap if you are not going to be attending a meeting. David and the Ahwahnee staff need to know the number attending to give us best service. You may email David at DStone@dncinc.com or call him at 372-8459.

We discussed our possible international project with Jonathan Bayless at the lead, mentioning Malowi once again.

Mike Tollefson announced the second partnership in China probably happening with park staff visiting our park in January. Also mentioned was a Chilean sister park with Mike and Claudia on the international staff exchange project.

Betty announced that her Rotarian Bash will be held on October 28 at her house. Claudia, Mike, and Betty are in charge of the party. It will not be a Halloween themed party. It will be a pot-luck for a heavy appetizer-type menu. Chips and salsa will be provided, so please bring something else.

Jerry Mitchell is transferring to Denver, where he has a home he shares with his wife and daughter. Congratulations, Jerry, you will be missed by your Yosemite friends.

Guest speaker Jim Allen gave a slide presentation and handed out information sheets on how to prevent Identity Theft. A couple of points that Jim made were: getting a shredder is a must, and keeping all credit card accounts up-dated with current address and other information. Be aware of title companies' policy on handling your account information. Thanks Jim, for a fact-filled program.

President Steve Medley made the announcement that Kirstie has taken the leadership role of the play park fence.

Brad will work on date for the joint school/Rotary event.

Members attending: Jonathan Bayless, Ray Santos, David Stone, Steve Shacketlon, Chris Stein, Brad Anderholdm, Claudia Welsh, Bernice Dommer, Gary Rosenfeld, and Tracy Rogge. Guests attending: Catherine Soria, former teacher and now principal at the Yosemite Valley Elementary School, Jim Hughes, San Diego Rotary, Beth Anderson, Burbank Sunrise Rotary.

Jonathan Bayless stood in for President Steve Medley and led a timely meeting. Jonathan presented a program that ran on network tv, "Wonders of the West." In depth interviews with Shelton Johnson and Julia Parker were highlighted and captivated those in attendance.

Note: Please call or e-mail David Stone ASAP if you are not going to be at the next meeting. It will be appreciated and will help the Ahwahnee staff plan our lunch. DStone@dncinc.com, 372-8459.

Brad suggested a combination meeting and welcome barbeque at the elementary school to celebrate the new position for Catherine Soria, a long-time and loved teacher at Yosemite Valley Elementary School. The membership agreed that this was a good idea and want to see it happen. Brad offered to host the barbeque.

Brad announced that the DNCINC lawyers gave the go-ahead to post the Bracebridge Squire position for bidding on E-Bay!

Thanks to Bernice, the guests were told about our Bracebridge Raffle and bought two tickets!

Ray spoke on the fall wine tasting date possibilities. It does not work out for us until late October, when we probably will run into the same rainy weather that we have in the spring. We will be better off scheduling the event for late September, 2007, giving the hotel manager enough time to pull a tasting together for us The members agreed.

Ray will set up another Bargain Sale tonight if there is a food service and if YEA bar will be open. We have to clear everything out of the Pre-School Room before September 11, the first day of school, so regardless of food and bar service tonight, everything must go. Ray is working on passing on the left-over items to another non-profit group, the El Portal Community Hall Board of Directors representative Sunshine Goodmorning has expressed an interest in this and would possibly be able to store the items in a locked area in the hall itself.

Brad Anderholm's birthday happen to be August 31, so we all had the great pleasure singing happy birthday to Brad and enjoying a piece of chocolate birthday cake, a cake that was fit for a king.

Members attending: Steve Medley, Betty Williams, Bud Munck, Bernice Dommer, Jonathan Bayless, Ray Santos, Bill Wunderlich, Steve Shackelton, Mike Tollefson, Tracy Rogge, Claudia Welsh. Visiting Rotarian guest, Kevin Cann.

President Steve Medley presided.

Business meeting was held starting with a report on the board meeting held at 11:00 am before the scheduled meeting was to begin.  Discussed the El Portal Play Park fence as a potential Community Service Project.  Steve asked if anyone knew how far the project had gotten before Brian Grogan left the area.  No one had any information.  Discussed the possibilities of an International Project, members were in agreement that it was preferred to have an environmentally focused project.  Discussed an Educational Partnership, also.  The idea of an Annual International Internship was greeted with enthusiasm with comments that this was a great idea and that we should proceed in developing the internship.  Steve brought up that Sam Wheeler proposed larger and more groups of International Exchange Students be hosted by our club along with the help of park partners.  The members did not seem to think that this would work out.  The exchange group from Germany, numbering 60 students plus chaperones, had a successful visit with our club hosting a barbecue on Friday night at the Yosemite Institute Crane Flat Campus and a guided tour in Yosemite Valley on Saturday.  Five applications, all women, for the exchange group going to Japan, were sent in to region.  Betty suggested that we have parties and Mountain Room Bar get-togethers, and offered her house as a potential party location.  Moving the wine tasting from spring to fall was discussed.  Ray, the event coordinator, will speak with Alice Harten, manager of the Wawona Hotel, to see if it is a possibility for this fall. It is thought that perhaps we will get a better attendance in the fall since we have been rained out in the spring for the last few years.

The club will be hosting another barbecue tonight at the El Portal Community Hall at 5:30 along with a Rotary Bargain Sale.  It is hoped that with the additional advertising and signage and with lessons learned from the last barbecue held for the community, we will have a very successful event. Norma Wunderlich, once again, cooked up her now famous "Norma's Pulled Pork," and many repeat customers have expressed their interest and support.   Bernice Dommer coordinated the event with the help of Tracy Rogge for food service and Jonathan Bayless at the grill and Bill Wunderlich and Steve Medley serving.  Bud and Betty will pitch in with Norma to help Ray set up the displays, tables, and merchandise for the Bargain Sale.

Members attending: Bernice Dommer, Gary Rosenfeld, Norma Wunderlich, William Wunderlich, Mike Tollefson, Steve Shackelton, Deb Schweizer, Jonathan Bayless, Jerry Mitchell, and David Stone

Guests: Craig Fults, Newport Beach Sunrise (California), Mark Hall (Stockton East) and his wife Susan, Parag Sheth (Gujarat, India) and his wife Punam

Jonathan Bayless kicked off the meeting due to President Steve Medley's absence.  Steve Shackelton tag-teamed with him. 

Discussion regarding the Friday, August 11, 2006 club hosted BBQ at Yosemite Institute at Crane Flat.

A decision was not made, but there is a general consensus to go dark on August 17, 2006 so that everyone can concentrate on the El Portal BBQ.  An idea was presented to start the servings earlier in an attempt to catch some of the To-Go dinners for commuters attempting to make the Hwy 140 bridge opening time.

 Guests Mark Hall and Parag Sheth gave an informative presentation on the projects and successes of Rotary projects in District 3060 in India.  Local Rotary Clubs have built multistory hospitals, colleges, a graduate school of business,  and dams for both irrigation and drinking water.  They also discussed the "Rotary Friendship Exchange" which is similar to GSE, only all the members are Rotarians. 

If you know you will not be attending the next meeting, please send an e-mail to DStone@dncinc.com or call him at 372-8459 ASAP.  This will help David greatly in planning the luncheons with The Ahwahnee staff.

Members attending: Steve Medley, Ray Santos, Steve Shackelton, David Stone, Claudia Welsh, Jonathan Bayless, Kirstie Kari, Brian Grogan, Chris Stein, Bernice Dommer, Sue Reinold, and Jerry Mitchell.

Guests attending: Bob McConnell "Rotary Bob," Newman Rotary and Yosemite Association Volunteer; Harvy Cohen, Rotary Club of Hunt Valley, MD, and his son, Adam; Brian's guest, Ken Templeton, a visiting photographer from Southern California; and Christian Thoeny, Rotarian from Aegeri-Menzinger, Switzerland.

If you know you will not be attending the next meeting, please send an e-mail to DStone@dncinc.com or call him at 372-8459 ASAP. This will help David greatly in planning the luncheons with The Ahwahnee staff.

President Steve Medley presided. The program was postponed until a later date due to equipment failure.

Steve conducted some business regarding an upcoming event for the German Exchange Students at Crane Flat on Friday, August 11. 

A request was made to be more conscious about sending unnecessary e-mails to members when it is a one-on-one message.

Applications for the GES Japan trip were discussed, the deadline being on July 31.

The goal to have our members earn their Paul Harris status was discussed, with the reminder that the club matches the first $50 that each member contributes toward their Paul Harris account and also that all fines go into the member's account.

Steve Shackelton gave testimony to Brian's role in unifying the National Park Service Staff and El Portal community members, Brian being an immense help in getting things done in harmony between the two entities. All present wished Brian a safe journey and gave appreciation for his participation in Yosemite Rotary. Brian thanked the club for the experience of being a member, and he particularly thanked Bernice Dommer, who first invited him to luncheon meetings and then to become a member. This will be Brian's last meeting for a while though he will still be on our roles as a Yosemite Rotarian until he knows more of what the future holds for him in Virginia.

Best wishes, Brian, and we all hope that your journey is on a great path of discovery and accomplishments.

Next meeting will be conducted by Steve Shackelton, stepping in for Steve Medley, who will be out of the park. Treasurer David Stone will be covering the minutes of the next meeting for Ray Santos, who will also be out of the park.

Members attending: Steve Medley, David Stone, Jonathan Bayless, Ray Santos, Betty Williams, Gary Rosenfeld, Bill Wunderlich, Chris Stein, Jerry Mitchell, Claudia Welsh, and Tracy Rogge.

President Steve Medley led the meeting.

Steve briefed the members on the discussions the Board of Directors had in the 11:00 Board Meeting to get feedback and to bring the members up to date.

One of the thoughts mentioned was the changing of the time for our annual wine tasting from the spring to autumn due to the series of rainy or snowy weather we have experienced for the past four years of the event. Possibly due to the weather we have had less than expected attendance. This change could possibly encourage more people to attend the event. We will continue discussions for this event.

Gary Rosenfeld gave his bio, revealing that we have yet another Nebraskan in our midst. With a strong transportation background, Gary shared his experience with us.

The fund-raiser planned for this evening was also a topic of the meeting, discussing the amount of food prepared and the various types of food we'll be serving. Thanks to the hot, hard work that Norma and Bill did preparing the main dish, we'll have an unusual menu that is sure to attract the appetites of the Greater Yosemite Community. Bernice, Tracy, Brad, Norma and Bill are to be thanked for their continued hard work for this event.

Members attending: Steve Medley, Brad Anderholm, Tracy Rogge, Ray Santos, David Stone, Sue Reinold, Jerry Mitchell, Jonathan Bayless, Gary Rosenfeld, Claudia Welsh.

Guests of Jerry Mitchells' were Sam Traina and Andrew Scanlon.

President Steve Medley led the meeting.

Tracy Rogge gave her bio, going back to her roots as a 14-year-old business woman to the present.

David Stone gave a financial report showing approximately 6,300 in our account.

Next week we have a board meeting at 11:00 am before our noon meeting, and we also have a fund-raising event at the Clark Community Hall selling food to the community on "Pay-Day Week Thursday." We hope we have a good showing of support by our members. Bernice Dommer, Brad Anderholm, and Tracy Rogge are event coordinators. Thanks to Bernice once again for stepping up to the plate and helping our club pull off yet another fine event.
 

Members attending: Steve Medley, Mike Tollefson, Tracy Rogge, Bernice Dommer, Deb Schweizer, Chris Stein, Claudia Welsh, Bill Wunderlich, Brian Grogan, Ray Santos, David Stone.

Guests attending: From the South Ukiah Rotary Club Charlie Kelly, Joan Kelly, Tim Knudsen, Debbie Coate, and Roger Coate.

If you know you will not be attending the next meeting, please send an e-mail to DStone@dncinc.com asap. This will help David greatly in planning the meetings.


President Steve Medley led the meeting.

Steve brought up the current needs of the club.

We need a lead for the GSE Program, a lead for Memberships, and a Service Projects lead.

Steve established a time limitation for the presentations during our meetings to not exceed 25 minutes. The meeting to begin between 12:00-12:15, the program to be held between 12:30 pm and 1:00 pm, and then the Raffle to be held at 1:00 pm, closing the meeting. All agreed that this was a good time line to help people get back to work in a timely fashion.

Steve then announced the Board of Directors for the year 2006-2007:
President-Steve Medley, Vice President/President Elect-Betty Williams, Secretary-Ray Santos, Treasurer-David Stone, Immediate Past President-Claudia Welsh.

Also announced: Rotary Foundation Director-Sue Reinold, GSE/Youth Exchange Director-Vacant, Membership Director-Vacant, Public Relations Director-Tracy Rogge, Service Projects Director-Vacant, and Programs Director-Bernice Dommer.

Discussion also on the upcoming Student Exchange Group that are staying at the Crane Flat Campus regarding the barbeque on Friday night that the Club is hosting for the 60-plus group. Bernice will be the lead for the food for
this event.

The deadline for applications for the GSE going to Japan is July 21.  Is there anyone you know of that could be interested?

The next Fund Raiser will be on PayDay Thursday, July 20. The Club will be selling food while YEA runs the bar. Ray will be selling items from lost and found if all works out with the pickup of items, which is still yet to be determined.
 

Members attending: Sue Reinold, David Stone, Ray Santos, Gary Rosenfeld, Bernice Dommer, Steve Medley, Betty Williams, Bud Munch, Claudia Welsh, Bill Wunderlich, Mike Tollefson, Jerry Mitchell, Steve Shackelton, Brad Anderholm, and Tracy Rogge.

Guests included Andrea Canapary, Maya Canapary, Eliza Amstutz, Paul Amstutz,
Sylvie Amstutz, Lupin Amstutz, Cameron Moore, Kevin Lewis, and Dawn Canapary.

President Claudia presided.

Bernice introduced this week's program. Andrea Canapary, El Portal School music teacher and Librarian, had her students give the Rotary members a concert with the musical instruments that the Rotary, Lions Club, and Parent-Teachers Group helped purchase. Thanks to Bernice for bringing in such a wonderful program. We all enjoyed it and were inspired to contribute
more money to Andrea's endeavors.

Claudia handed over the gavel to the new president, Steve Medley, as it was her last meeting as President of our Club. We all gave her our appreciation for her dedication to our group.

Members attending: David Stone, Deb Schweizer, Michael Tollefson, Bernice Dommer, Kirstie Kari, William Wunderlich, Chris Stein, Steve Shackelton, Steve Medley, Brian Grogan, Gary Rosenfeld, Bradley Anderholm, Claudia Welsh, Jerry Mitchell, and Tracy Rogge.

The Rotary Club of Groveland visited, bringing 29 members.  They gave a program on their very successful international project, "Amigos de Guatemala."  (Robert Hatmaker, Director)

Amigos de Guatemala is a partnership of Rotary Clubs to provide quality international humanitarian service projects in Guatemala.  The program began with the Groveland, CA Rotary Club building a school kitchen for a small Mayan community (Jaibalito).  What Groveland Rotary began required the support and partnership of other Rotary clubs to continue.  Because many clubs - esp. smaller clubs - don't have ongoing international service projects, it was recommended by Rotary International, District Governors, and World Community Service Committees that Rotary clubs work together in partnership to develop quality international projects that make a significant impact on the needs of people in poor and underdeveloped areas.

Amigos de Guatemala was created to develop a multiple club partnership for International Service in Guatemala. 

The partnership is designed to:

* Minimize the financial burden on any one club.

* Increase the size and quality of possible projects.

* Involve more Rotarians in direct and indirect international service.

* Increase the chances of qualifying for Rotary Foundations grants.

 As of April, 2006 ten clubs are part of the Amigos de Guatemala partnership.  Each club contributes in accordance with its size and budget ranging from $500 to $2,000 annually.  The partnership clubs are as follows: 

Groveland Rotary Club
Twain Harte Rotary Club
Angels/Murphy Rotary Club
Sonora Rotary Club
Sonora 49er Rotary Club
Sonora Sunrise Rotary Club
Tracy Sunrise Rotary Club
Marina Rotary Club
Soledad Rotary Club
Blythe Rotary Club

 In 2004 Amigos de Guatemala began to focus the majority of their services in the area surrounding Zacualpa, Guatemala.  Although this area does not have a Rotary club, they do have excellent and welcoming municipal and nongovernmental service organizations.  In January, 2005 13 volunteers helped build a two room classroom in the aldea (village) of Tunaja.  We also furnished these classrooms and donated school supplies to this school and Jaibalito (where Groveland Rotary club built a school kitchen) with a Rotary Foundation Major Matching Grant.

Also in 2005 we began a scholarship/sponsorship program for Jr. and Sr. High School students.  We began with 9 students and now have 21 students sponsored to continue their secondary education.  Please refer to the sponsorship section of this web site for more information about the sponsorship program.

In 2005 two Rotary clubs (Marina and Groveland) sponsored District Simplified Grants in their respective districts (5220 & 5230).  One grant replaced the damaged water pump and electrical system for the water well at Fe Y Alegria Jr. Hi. School in Zacualpa, Guatemala.  The other grant supplied the Jr. Hi. School with a computer and printer system with email connection, to facilitate the Rotary Scholarship/Sponsorship program at the school.

 In January, 2006 ten Amigos de Guatemala volunteers helped build a classroom and kitchen for a small Mayan school, finished the building at Tunaja that we built in 2005 with the addition of a cement patio, and finished a stucco type school building in Las Joyas primary school that did not have a floor, doors, windows, or electricity.  Both direct (hands-on) service projects were a fantastic experience for all who participated.  It is our hands-on project policy to pay only for construction material where ever possible.  We expect the local population to supply all labor (skilled and unskilled).  We would consider helping with payment for skilled labor but, to date, that has not been necessary.

Finally, during each volunteer aided building project, we distributed a large number of high quality vegetable seeds from the Seeds of Hope project for school and community gardens.  The Seeds of Hope is directed by Mel Hansen of the North Stockton, CA Rotary Club.

In January, 2007 Amigos de Guatemala volunteers will again return to Zacualpa, Guatemala to work on a school building project.  Budget permitting we will build a fence around a rural school and repair damage done by Hurricane Stan in October, 2005 to two other school sites.

It is our policy that all money donated to Amigos de Guatemala by Rotary Clubs and individual members go directly to the people in Guatemala.  All administrative and travel costs have been paid for by the individual Amigos volunteers.  It is our intention to continue this record with future projects.

We welcome the addition of any Rotary Club partners to this exciting and meaningful work done by Amigos de Guatemala.  We also welcome any partner club members to join us in our hands-on work in January.

Please Note: If you cannot attend next week's meeting, please contact David Stone ASAP at 209-372-8459 or at DStone@dncinc.com. It will be much appreciated.

Members attending: Bernice Dommer, Jonathan Bayless, Kirstie Kari, Sue Reinold, David Stone, Ray Santos, Jerry Mitchell, Steve Medley, Deb Schweizer, Betty Williams, Bud Munch, Tracy Rogge, Brian Grogan, Claudia Welsh. Guests attending: Sam Wheeler, Sonora 49'er Rotary (Youth Exchange Officer), Linda Twehous, Jefferson City, MO, Magdalen Scut, Kingwood, TX, Mike Harding, Relford UK, Linda Cadwan, Retford Rotary Club 1220 UK, Ben Borok, Novato Rotary, Frances Borok, Novato, Bruce Tschion, Napa, CA, Thomas Jourdan, Brentwood, CA, Neil Stonum, Mariposa Rotary, and Susan A. Stonum, Mariposa Rotary.

President Claudia Welsh conducted the meeting.

Please Note: If you cannot attend next week's meeting, please contact David Stone ASAP at 209-372-8459 or at DStone@dncinc.com. It will be much appreciated.

The members approved the Rotary Bargain Sale to be held at the El Portal Community Hall whenever the Lost and Found rotation system falls to our club. If it falls to our club by July 20 and or August 17, we will hold the bargain sale while our club sells food on "PayDay Thursday" evening at the east end of the Community Hall. Ray is waiting to hear from the two directors of the hall to see if they are interested in becoming partners in the possible Malawi Project by providing a space in the PreSchool Room for bins to be stored there between the time of the Lost and Found pickup and the bargain sale. If they turn us down, I will be looking for a small area nearby to store a few large plastic tubs with covers. The community has been asking about this event that was held by the Lions Club until a few years ago, so it is expected that the Rotary Club will be greeted with enthusiasm by all. If people want to donate quality items for us to sell, we will accept the item. If someone wants to try to sell a high-dollar amount item and cannot afford to donate it totally to the Rotary, we will take a 20% commission on the item if sold. This will be just for items that are over $50.00. It is hoped that we will be able to fund the BedNet Project by holding the sale a few PayDay Nights. Kirstie said that the day care center made over a thousand dollars selling hamburgers last week. Kirstie is overseeing the food sales for the Rotary's nights.

Betty Williams introduced the speaker for today's meeting, Dr. Tom Jourdan of the FBI Lab in Quantico VA. The lab that he works out of is 500,000 sq.ft, and was opened in April, 2002 at an initial investment of $150,000,000.00. Dr. Jourdan gave an interesting program showing slides of the interior of the lab and some products that they have had to investigate as containing possible dangerous toxins or radio-active material. The question and answer segment of his talk was not about to close, so we continued to engage Dr. Jourdan with our interest long after some people had to leave. Thanks to Betty Williams we had a very interesting and eye-opening education during this program.

Sam Wheeler of the Sonora 49'er Rotary Club gave an update on the German Student Exchange Trip that will happen starting August 11, Friday night, through August 13, Sunday afternoon with approximately 60 students with host families staying at the Yosemite Institute Crane Flat Campus. Yosemite Rotarians will host a barbecue for the group on Friday night at Crane Flat. If anyone is available or has any resources to help make this a learning and memorable experience for the students while here in Yosemite, contact Steve Medley at 379-2646.

Next week we'll have our regular noon meeting and then again at 5:30 pm at Brad's house for the Kick-Out Barbecue. Bernice is overseeing the food service and menu. Thank you, Bernice!
 

Members attending: Bill Wunderlich, Norma Wunderlich, Gary Rosenfeld, Doc Wright, Ray Santos, Steve Medley, Brad Anderholm, Claudia Welsh, Sue Reinold, Tracy Rogge, Brian Grogan, David Stone, Steve Shackelton, Jerry Mitchell, Chris Stein, Mike Tollefson, and Jonathan Bayless.

Visiting   Rotarians attending the meeting were: Mike Maule, of the Santa Fe Centro Rotary Club, Kimlin McDaniel Keith, of the Santa Cruz Sunrise Club, and Christian Frees, all the way from his Rotary Club, Goslar-Nordhetz, Germany.  Included in our guests list for this meeting should be Rachel Stanton, an NPS Resources Management employee who is newly arrived form the Grand Canyon and is a member of the Grand Canyon Rotary Club. We look forward to getting
to know Rachel and welcome her to Yosemite. Rachel made some community announcements for upcoming El Portal events.

Claudia Welsh, President, presided over the meeting. Steve Shackelton graciously gave us the latest information on the Route 140 Road Closure due to a very large movement of earth that has wiped out one of the main roads into the park. Mike Tollefson also spoke, informally, and added information about the closure. The main message that the park would like to see encouraged is that our park is open, we have two great roads into our park and a third soon to be opened, that our waterfalls are full and breath-taking, and that people can easily get to the park from any direction. Steve mentioned the safety issue of the closure of Incline Road, the dirt pathway-part dirt road that is directly across the river from Route 140. There has been flying rock that has made it across the river and is a danger to anyone who might be there to watch the geological event that is occurring. He asked that we keep ourselves from being tempted and to honor the closure of that section of Incline Road for the safety and well-being of us all.  Incident website: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/236

After a rich raffle filled with many interesting and delightful items, we all had fellowship and a jolly good time it was!

A reminder that on the 22nd of June we will be meeting at noon and then again at 5:30 pm for the Kick-Out Barbeque. President Claudia Welsh will know the exhilarating feeling that Chris Stein had last year when he crowned her Queen Claudia as he left his President's post!

Members attending: Bill Wunderlich, Jerry Mitchell, Chris Stein, Brad Anderholm, Steve Medley, Tracy Rogge, Steve  Shackelton, Mike Tollefson, Brian Grogan, Kirstie Kari, Sue Reinold, Betty Williams, Bud Munch, Bernice Dommer, Ray Santos, Claudia Welsh. Guest attending: David Lindelow. Guest Speaker: Linn VanMeter.

President Claudia Welsh led the meeting.

Tracy Rogge and Kirstie Kari were inducted as members. 

Bill Wunderlich presented the guest speaker, Linn VanMeter, who spoke on the litigation process that involves user capacity within the defined boundary in El Portal and in the park, the issues that are described in the revised
Plan.  She spoke of the Ninth Circuit Appeal with Judge Anthony Ishi.  Judge Wunderlich added comments at the program's close, clarifying the state of case load in the Ninth District.

The Centennial Project from last year, the play park at the school yard in Yosemite Valley, will be recognized at the  "School's End" celebration at 5:30 today, June 1, generously hosted by Brad Anderholm of DNCINC, the park's leading concessionaire.  President Claudia Welsh will be present for the recognition along with many members of the Yosemite Rotary Club.

Park Superintendent Mike Tollefson gave a brief update on the Route 140 closure due to a large rock fall that continues to drop rock and corrode the road bank.

On June 22, the club will have it's regular noon meeting and then meet again the same day at 5:30 pm for it's "Kick-Out" barbeque at Brad's house and front yard facing the glorious view of Half Dome as the sun is setting.

Members present: David Stone, Ray Santos, Bernice Dommer, Jonathan Bayless, Claudia Welsh, Brian Grogan.

Guest speaker Rotarian Dr. Joe Serra and his wife Dorothy Serra, from Stockton.

Also present were guests Henk and Georgia Parson, extraordinary Yosemite NPS Volunteers in Park.

Bernice Dommer chaired the first part of the meeting with President Claudia Welsh stepping in mid-meeting. We discussed holding the "Kicking out" meeting later than June 8 or June 15, and we'll have to discuss this date at a future meeting to decide when we'll actually be able to schedule it. Bernice graciously accepted the responsibility of ordering the food for the barbecue event which is still planned to be held at Brad's home.

With the honored assistance of Dr. Joe Serra, Jonathan Bayless was inducted to the Yosemite Rotary Club by President Claudia Welsh.

Because many of our members were not able to be at this program, there will be an attempt to describe the program in more detail than the meeting minutes usually give.

The program presented by Dr. Serra focused on the current status and priorities of the Rotary's Global Polio Eradication program. His beautiful photographs and educational graphs highlighted his slide program with the narration of first-hand stories and experience of Dr. Serra. Dr. Serra's wife, Dorothy Serra, interjected welcomed information, observations, and texture to the program.

The significant decrease of polio cases world-wide from 1988 to 2003 was illustrated by graphics along with the graphs showing contributing entities, public and private, that have paid for the vaccines and other expenses. Extraordinary personal before and after photos were shown of young patients who underwent the short series of surgeries done by Dr. Serra and a team totalling eight doctors. We were shown photographs of patients who, called "crawlers" because of being paralyzed and unable to stand up, became "walkers" and preceded to live happy, healthy lives because of the corrective surgery. Children who had not been able to straighten their legs for many years had corrective surgery that enabled them to stand tall in a short time. There were photos of one 15-year-old boy, a former "crawler," who hitch-hiked many hundreds of miles for his corrective surgery. He later became good friends of Dr. Serra and Dorothy Serra and actually visited our country. He participated in a Rose Bowl Parade Rotarian Float with the theme of the Polio Eradication Program.The boy grew to adulthood to become a teacher with a lovely wife and two beautiful children, a boy and a girl both named after Dr. Joe and Dorothy Serra. Photos of this polio vicitim's life's progression were shown throughout the slide presentation.

Dr. Serra also advised us on how to create a successful delivery process of "Bed-Nets" to Malawi, and he described his past experiences in successfully getting donated items to the people in need. He advised us on preparing grant and matching fund proposals and gave us time-lines and partnering information.

The experiences that Dr. Serra shared with us brought tears to some of the members' eyes as well as gave us encouragement as he told us of the success of past efforts and possible success of future efforts of our club and of Rotarians world-wide.

A truly inspirational program was experienced by our club during this meeting. Thank you, Dr. Joe and Dorothy Serra, for traveling to Yosemite to help guide our club toward a successful international program.

A big thank you also went to Bernice Dommer for her persistence in the Malawi Project and her insightful invitation to Dr. Serra to speak to our club. We had a truly remarkable program during this meeting, and Dr. Serra left us all with the realization of what a small group of people can accomplish for the good of the world and its people.

Our thanks also went out to Chief Malawi Project Advisor, Dr. Ron Kapp, for all his hard work and never-ending pursuit of connections to give our club a chance to succeed in our possible "Malawi Project."

Meeting adjourned.
 

Members attending: Steve Medley, David Stone, Steve Shackelton, Ray Santos, Betty Williams, Bud Munck, Tracy Rogge, Brad Anderholm, Deb Schweizer.

Visiting Rotarian: Jim Phillips of the Rotary Club of Sacramento and long-time associate of Yosemite and guest Dotti Raley of Sacramento.

Steve Medley chaired the meeting.

A tentative date of June 8 at 5:30 pm was set for the Kick-Out Barbeque to be held at Brad's. An alternative date of June 15 is being held in reserve if June 8 doesn't accommodate President Claudia's schedule. Bernice is in charge with working with an Ahwahnee restaurant chef on the menu for the barbeque. Members expressed positive feedback on last year's menu. Betty emphasized that she would like to have an Ahwahnee cake, and members all agreed that last year's cake was excellent and enjoyed by all.

Members voted four to one to have traditional round badges for member identification. Three members present did not vote as they had no opinion on the matter

Treasure David Stone gave a quick financial report: We have $6,100 in account, with $1,336 in accounts receivable and $1,287 in accounts payable.

Ray will get together with Claudia regarding the June 1 dedication at the school playground event. Steve Shackelton is writing a short two-or-three paragraph on the project for a press release with Deb and Kirstie's assistance. Ray has been asked to take a couple of photos with the playground and children in foreground and the Yosemite Falls in the background during the event. This photo is planned to accompany the short article that is being written for press.

The Malawi Mosquito Net Project was discussed. Steve Shackelton had some points about security of the donated items and Rotary Clubs in vicinity. With the fact that Dr. Kapp is leading the way on connecting us to a partner club in or near Malawi and that Ray and Bernice have been working with Dr. Kapp now for several months, members were assured that we have established good procedure in setting things up for success. Once the pathway for delivery is secure and an exact amount for the expense of purchasing enough netting for the community is established, the club will decide if we will continue. Members now are giving positive feedback for this possible international project. Route 140 remains closed due to continued slides west of Savages. Meeting adjourned.

Members present: Steve Medley, Bud Munck, Betty Williams, Steve Shackelton, Sue Reinold, Kirstie Kari, Ray Santos, Jonathan Bayless, Tracy Rogge, Bernice Dommer and Ray Santos.

Rotarian guests from other clubs: Paul Vitali, Geoff Scorfield, David Kegebein, of the Freedom Rotary; Jon Chown, Watsonville Rotary; Don Driscoll, McCall Idaho Rotary.

Steve Medley chaired the meeting. He discussed the Rotary District Conference, the upcoming August 11-12 German Exchange group and their housing, and the potential growth of the exchange groups in the future amounting to hundreds of students in one season.

Alex Waheed and his family has been notified that his application for the short-term student exchange trip to Germany this summer has been accepted after all. Congratulations, Waheed Family!

Our guest from Freedom Rotary, Geoff Scorfield, presented our club with generous trays of fresh, ripe, juicy, large and DELICIOUS strawberries. Geoff gave a talk about the history of his family growing strawberries, the crossing of plants to achieve the strains they are looking for, and the trials and tribulations of being a mulit-national provider of strawberries. For example, after planting about 65,000 crosses of plants, in a few years they get one or two strains that have the qualities that they are looking for. We all sampled his delicious product while learning more about growing strawberries. Our visiting Rotarians gave us all a good "shot in the arm" with ideas and networking on future possible projects.

Due to a major road closure, our scheduled speaker was postponed until another meeting.

Members present: David Stone, Claudia Welsh, Tracy Rogge, Sue Reinold, Deb Schweizer, Kirstie Kari, Bernice Dommer, Steve Shackelton, Steve Medley, Brad Anderholm, Betty Williams, Bud Munck, Ray Santos, and guest Yvonne Radonovich.

Claudia presided.

Discussion on wine tasting. We had good attendance and good press coverage. The Mariposa Gazette not only printed our release with photos sent but had a reporter/photographer attend the event. Follow-up press was printed in the Mariposa Gazette immediately after the even with a beautiful photo of attending members and guests enjoying good fellowship. David Stone, Treasurer, will give a report once all the expenses are received.

Dedication of Play Park at the Yosemite Valley Elementary School will be held on June 1 at a time to be announced.

Short-term exchange student application for Alex Waheed did not go through for this year. We were encouraged to re-submit next year when Alex is a year older. We extend a thank you to the Waheed family for their interest and hope things work out next year so that Alex can be part of the exchange program.

A new membership goal was proposed by Steve Medley and voted in by members. The plan is for each member to bring in a new member by the end of the year. At the end of the year we will look at the results of our efforts and redesign our plan if necessary. It was also proposed that the induction of new members become more of an event that it has in the past. Steve Medley went over the meeting he had on Sunday with a District Rotarian  representative regarding Steve Medley's upcoming responsibilities as president of the club for the year June, 2006-June, 2007. Claudia and Betty were also present at this meeting and shared information they gathered with the members present.

Meeting adjourned.

Rotary Members Attending: Jonathan Bayless, Steve Medley, Ray Santos, Kirstie Kari, Bud Munck, Betty Williams, Brad Anderholm, Sue Reinold, Tracy Rogge, Deb Schweizer.

Guests: Jerry Elderbrock and Bob Hansen,Yosemite Fund; Heidi Brown, Yosemite National Institute; Brian Thysell, Carlos G. Murillo, and John French, Yosemite Institute; Cameson Wolfe, Jr., Niki Nicholas, Linda Dahl, and Kevin Cann, NPS; Tom Bowman, Yosemite Association.

Steve Medley chaired the meeting for President Claudia, Sue Reinold took on the Treasurer duties for David Stone with help doing the raffle from Ray Santos, Brad Anderholm, and Jonathan Bayless.

Niki Nicholas, Chief of Resources Management and Science for the National Park Service in Yosemite, presented today's program with her usual dynamic way of sharing her knowledge about and experience with our park's resources. Niki gave a breakdown of purpose for the climate change workshop series that she is holding in the park. Park partners have been involved in brainstorming with national park staff recently. Addressing the fact that this is could be a very political issue, care is taken to present ideas with an educational and scientific intent. Environmental testing continues throughout the year in this park, and we hope to show how Yosemite emissions compares to other national parks. Another of the many purposes that she'd like to see come out of the workshops is what one individual can do to help stop or reverse the climate changes that we know are happening at this time.

Niki fielded many questions by the members and gave us all a good shot in the arm to go out and make a difference in our world through science and education.

Ray gave a report on the Easter Egg Hunt last Saturday. Brad Anderholm was the Master of Ceremony and managed to control the line of kids behind the starting ribbon until it was time to run the field. Sixty-eight participants not including the parents ran out into the two egg hunt areas and hunted down every single egg out of over a thousand that President Claudia with her helpers had supplied, all filled with candy and prize tags. No one went home with an empty basket. A big thanks went to Claudia for all her shopping and egg filling efforts, coordinating another year's egg hunt.

Steve reminded everyone about the up-coming wine tasting this Sunday at the beautiful, historic Wawona Hotel from 2-5, asking everyone to try to bring at least one silent auction item with them. We've had great press so hopefully we'll draw a lot of people from the surrounding communities.

Meeting adjourned. See you on Sunday.
 

Members attending: Bud Munch, Betty Williams, Jonathan Bayless, Bernice Dommer, David Stone, Brad Anderholm, Sue Reinold, Ray Santos.

Guests from Yosemite: Gary Rosenfeld.

Guests from other Rotary Clubs: Arden Arcade from Sacramento: Tom Griffin, Maggie Griffin; Modesto Rotary: Royal Robbins, John Mensinger, Lee Means; and an English Student Exchange Group led by Jane Andres-Smith, the Interact and Youth Exchange Office from Bory St. Edmonds, Suffolk and Bernard Doughty from Mendleshom, England, with ten students from England and one student from Escalon. The students were: Tyler Head, Escalon, and Francesca Hails, Kayleigh-Cherish Marison, Marcio De Canha, Sam Steed, Emily Roberts, Kayleigh Woodrofe, Louise Conroy, Fiona Parr, Nicola Monksfield, and Lianne Stewart.

In the absence of our President, Bernice Dommer chaired the meeting.

After a short introduction by Modesto Rotarian John Mensinger, Yosemite Interpreter Julie Miller gave a program  introducing the various aspects of Yosemite National Park to the students and visiting guests. The exchange students' primary focus during this trip besides local politics is environmental concerns. Julie's talk closed with the issue of global warming and how it probably would effect one's visit to our park during the student's lifetime. Julie also sang a song written by local talent Gail Dreifus honoring John Muir's involvement with Yosemite becoming a national park. With audience participation encouraged, the sing-a-long made for a lively, fun time.

Reminders were made regarding the Easter Egg Event this coming Saturday and also regarding the need for items for the silent auction for the wine tasting the following weekend.

Meeting adjourned with much fellowship.
 

Members attending: Claudia Welsh, Ray Santos, Bernice Dommer, Norma Wunderlich, Bill Wunderlich, Brad Anderholm, Brian Grogan, Sue Reinold, and Tracy Rogge.

The meeting was held using the horseshoe table layout for the first time in quite a while, and it proved to be quite helpful in keeping our entire group involved in the meeting.

Ray read a poem written by Ranger Shelton Johnson while he conducted a "writing" Ranger Walk for visitors in Yosemite Valley.

Bernice spear-headed a discussion on the bed nets for Malawi. She said that Joe Serra from a Stockton Rotary Club is a good contact and has had personal experience there as a surgeon. He may be able to help us get the nets or funds delivered to the people of Malawi. We will continue discussion to achieve a positive result in being able to help fight the malaria problem that exists there. Thanks go to our friend and former member Dr. Ron Kapp who continues to be a support in this project, even from afar.

The El Portal Community Hall Table Project was voted on. Members approved the sponsoring of two tables at $80.00 each, a total of $160.00. Our club's name will be put on each of the two tables to indicate our donation and
support of the project.

Ray announced the content of the newly created menu for the wine tasting scheduled for Sunday, April 23, at the Wawona Hotel from 2:00 to 5:00.  Wawona Hotel Restaurant Chef Robert Stritzinger has made a tantalizing menu that consists of smoked salmon pinwheels with crème fraiche and dill, bay shrimp stuffed mushroom caps, Teriyaki beef bundles, vegetarian egg rolls with sweet and sour sauce, chocolate truffles, and a cheese and fruit
platter.

Thanks and appreciation goes to both Marilyn Williams, Event Coordinator for DNCINC, for helping to work out the menu details and to Alice Harten, General Manager of the Wawona Hotel, for over-seeing the total event plans.  Ray is the event coordinator with David Stone, Steve Medley and Sue Reinold
assisting.

Claudia brought in the Mariposa Gazette published this past Tuesday, April 4, that has our news release for the wine tasting printed along with two of the photos sent with the release. Member Sue Reinold's photo being served a tasty wine along with a photo of the entrance to the historic and beautiful Wawona Hotel were printed with the release. A big thank you goes to Editor Jill Ballinger and Publisher Dan Tucker for allowing us to promote this event in their paper and giving us a prime position in the paper's layout.

Tracy, with Brad's support, will contact Julie Miller, Lead Interpreter for Delaware North, to arrange for an interpretive program for a visiting Rotarian student exchange group next week.

Bernice opened a discussion looking at the possibility of a barbeque at the El Portal Community Hall. It was generally agreed that it should be on a night that doesn't conflict with Sal's every-other Thursday night payday event. No plans were finalized, but ideas were shared. Brian mentioned that it is too late for us to be at the Spring Fling, a recent annual event in El Portal, but we all agreed that it is something that we could plan on for next year. Discussion to be continued at another meeting.

A delicious shrimp over rice with sweet and sour sauce complimenting the dish was served; once again a great lunch prepared for us by the Ahwahnee chefs with a tasty apple pie topping it off, served graciously by excellent waiters.

Our meeting closed with a fun, candy-filling egg gathering with Bill Wunderluch, Norma Wunderlich, Claudia Welsh, Bernice Dommer, Sue Reinhold, Brian Grogan, and Ray Santos filling plastic egg shells to be used in our Annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 15. Claudia will be gathering more prizes this coming week for the little bunnies with two bikes being the main prizes for the lucky kids who find the eggs with the prize tickets. Claudia is the event coordinator with Ray assisting.
 

Members present: Ray Santos, Claudia Welsh, Steve Medley, Steve Shackelton, Mike Tollefson, Brian Grogan, Sue Reinold, Norma Wunderlich, Bill Wunderlich, Bud Munck, and Betty Williams.

Guests: Marilyn Williams, Rod Kennec, Charles Palmer, Jun Kinoshita, Jack and Jacque Burgess.

Program: The Yosemite Valley Railroad preservation and its history.  Jack A. Burgess, author of "Trains to Yosemite," presented an exciting program with visuals and commentary to our fascinated group. Jack has  released a 372-page book that is illustrated with over 400 photos, including many taken by Al Rose in the early 1940s. Those who are interested in learning more about this subject and seeing photos of Jack's model of early El Portal and its train system should go to www.yosemitevalleyrr.com.

Next meeting on April 6 will be a combination lunch and "work" meeting, with the enjoyable task of filling over 1200 Easter Eggs for our egg hunt for the children of Yosemite and vicinity at the Yosemite Valley Elementary School grounds on Saturday, April 15, at 10:00 am. Claudia is chair with Ray assisting.

Kari Kristi, Jonathan Bayless, and Tracy Rogge will be sworn in as new members.
 

Members attending: Claudia Welsh, Steve Medley, Bernice Dommer, Ray Santos, Jonathan Bayless, David Stone, Sue Reinold, Brad Anderholm, Tracy Rogge. 

Guests attending: Jay Primavera, Bill Moore, Kristi Kari.

President Claudia Welsh presided.
 

Alex Waheed's application for the short-term student exchange is moving forward.  More interviews are being held before a decision is made.

Tracy Rogge and Jonathan Bayless were announced as new members and will be sworn in next week.

The wine tasting event will be held on the veranda and in the room between the main lobby and the restaurant in the Wawona Hotel. The first of two news releases will be sent out this coming week. Details are being discussed with the general manager of the hotel. A letter requesting silent auction items is being sent out this week to our membership. Ray is chair. 

Bernice discussed the Malawi Project and will assist Ray in pursuing a viable contact that will enable the club to successfully donate bed nets to the hospital and community members.

Claudia put forth a motion to have a "U-Table" setup for our future meetings. Larger group meetings will go back to the 8-seat table format. Motion approved.

The El Portal Parent Teacher Group April 29th Fun Run request for a $50 donation was approved. In exchange for the donation the Rotary logo will be printed on the Fun Run Tee Shirt along with other supporters.

A big thank you goes to Brad Anderholm, who presented his fascinating biography during this meeting. His interesting background with his educational and business experience was both motivating and captivating.
 
Meeting adjourned.
 

Members present: Steve Shackelton, Steve Medley, Sue Reinold, Bradley Anderholm, Mike Tollefson, Bernice Dommer, David Stone, Ray Santos, Claudia Welsh, William Wunderlich, Norma Wunderlich, Brian Grogan, and Johnathan Bayless.

Rotarian Charter Members present: Wayne Shultz, Don Fox, Carl VanderKarr, and Lee Shackelton.

Attending as guests of Charter Members were Ti Shackelton, Linda VanderKarr, and Nancy Shultz.

Guests of current members were Kristi Kari and Eric Berlow.

Rotarians from other clubs present: Kevin Cann, Ben Borak, Gerald Severin, and Steve Thomas along with their guests.

President Claudia Welsh presided the 25th Anniversary of the Yosemite Rotary Club meeting with Bernice Dommer, Event Chair, and Steve Medley assisting.

Guest Speaker Charter Club President Wayne Shultz recalled how the club was started and the projects they focused on in the beginning years of the club's history. Included in some of the projects Wayne mentioned were the building of bleachers and bus stop shelters.

Bernice hand-crafted lovely, long-stemmed red-rose centerpieces that added an elegant touch to the already beautiful Mural Room at the Ahwahnee. The centerpieces were among many exciting raffle prizes. Check out our web site [pending] for a photo the raffle prizes and of the delicious cake made by the Ahwahnee bakers.

A very appreciative thank you went to Bernice Dommer for creating an event fit for the marking of twenty-five years of Rotarian service in Yosemite National Park.

The meeting closed with a photo session with the Charter and current members present.

Attending Members: Steve Medley, Mike Tollefson, David Stone, Bernice Dommer, Claudia Welsh, Brian Grogan, Bill Wunderlich, Steve Shackelton, Brad Anderholm, Sue Reinold, Ray Santos, plus three guests. President Claudia presided. No program was given as the scheduled speaker was unable to attend at the last moment.

The results of the survey Steve Medley gave two meetings ago were announced with Bernice Dommer and Bill Wunderlich clearing the most informed about current events. Bernice and Bill walked away with fun prizes.

25th Anniversary Meeting, March 16, members from the charter group will be present and will recall past projects and members. Group photo will be taken of current membership with charter members. Bernice is chair on this
project.

Date change for Wawona Wine Tasting Event: Now on Sunday, April 23. This change will accommodate two major conflicts scheduled on previously scheduled date. Ray is chair on this project.

New memberships were discussed involving three interested parties. We are all looking forward to having new community members joining in our Rotarian projects.

This summer's short season exchange student applicant Alex Waheed will know on March 19 if his application was accepted. We all wish him the best.

August-scheduled student exchange group housing was discussed again, possibilities for the overnight housing of approximately 25-member group is still an on-going topic.

A Rotary Club's letter was discussed that we received asking us to help them with their April 13th visit to the park. Steve Medley and Claudia Welsh will donate a Yosemite Association park guidebook and a park photo guidebook by Michael Frye to the group and are open to more suggestions.

Treasurer David Stone gave a treasurer's report. Account balance: $4,600;
Accounts Receivable: $2,277; Accounts Payable: $755; Total balance: $6,122.

Claudia reported on the Recipe Book project. She has gone through her elimination process to strengthen content and flow. Book is back in Steve Medley's hands for next stage. Discussed were possible illustrations and
photos for the book. With no unforeseen holdups, an optimistic possible date to have book ready for printer is October, 2006.

The Easter egg-stuffing fun event is scheduled to take place after the lunch meeting on April 6. This is in preparation for the Easter Egg Hunt that Rotary holds on the Saturday before Easter Sunday at the Yosemite Valley Elementary School Grounds. If possible to adjust your schedule to add some extra time on Thursday afternoon for this event preparation. If we can all stay for a short time, we will get a lot accomplished. Claudia is chair. 

Thanks to the excellent Ahwahnee chefs and service staff, a delicious lunch was enjoyed by all. See you all next week for a very special gathering on our 25th Anniversary.

Attending: Bernice Dommer, Steve Medley, Sue Reinold, Bud Munck, Ray Santos, Brian Grogan, Brian Thysell for Leigh Westerlund, and guest Jonathan Bayless.

Steve Medley chaired the meeting. No program was presented.

1. Ray brought up the sign needed for the bus stop on the Foresta Road next to the play park. Bernice had  mentioned it last weekend. We'll ask David Stone to order the sign when he returns to the park.

2. Brian has continued to contact people regarding the possible fence project. Liz Skelton has asked that Brian picks up the plan she drew up so that she could explain and discuss some ideas to Brian. Since Brian will be
presenting the project she feels that less is better. Brian will be meeting with Resources Mgt. Laura Kirn and Paul (didn't catch last name) sometime in the next couple of weeks at a roundtable meeting to discuss compliance
issues.  At this time the meeting date has not been set but should happen soon.

3. We discussed the conflict of the area wineries having an event the same day as our scheduled Wine tasting in Wawona. We all agreed with Steve's suggestion that we are open to change the date so that we can have local
wineries participating in our tasting. A date of April 23 was suggested and if the Wawona Hotel can  accommodate that day we would like to change the day to the 23rd. Sue has taken on the task of calling the contact at the Wawona Hotel and will get back to us when she has found out any information on that
day. Otherwise, if anyone knows about any other conflict for the 23rd or the 30th of April please contact the members asap so that we can do our best to have a successful event.

4. The account for Jim Chalmers at the El Portal Market has been successfully set up with Brian Grogan representing our group. Hugh Carter could not, however, extend a ten percent discount due to a very low profit
margin. The group asked that somehow it be announced at Sals that the Rotary has set up this account for Jim at the market and Brian said that he would take care of it and that it would be no problem.

5. Steve met with the Waheed family on Monday night and with them made corrections to the forms being submitted to the panel for the short-term exchange student program with Alex Waheed getting Yosemite Rotary's endorsement and support in going to Germany. The expense of the round-trip air fare to Germany is $1,329 and it is suggested that each student have between $300-$600 for expenses and spending money. Steve proposed that Yosemite Rotary contribute $650.00 toward the trip, $350 actually required to accompany the application forms. The motion was put to the floor and all approved $650.00 be given to Alex Waheed and his parents to help with his trip.

6. The accommodations for the exchange students (perhaps 20) from Germany in August were discussed. Bernice things that it is very important for the students to stay in individual homes, but it was also discussed that perhaps the Crane Flat Campus could be used for a one or two night stay. The days