Announcements from the president

Please welcome David Haack as the newest member of Portland Pearl Rotary. Dave is a retired public school teacher and administrator whose career took him from Beaverton to Bend (from where he retired 15 months ago)...and internationally, from Lima to Bangkok. Dave and his wife, Joy, live in Northeast Portland on Siskiyou. He joined Pearl Rotarians for an orientation session Thursday, Aug. 20, and will be inducted Aug. 25.

Giulliana Moncada Vasquez ("Giu" is her preferred name) is scheduled to arrive from Lima, Peru, Sunday, Aug. 23. She will be our long-term exchange student and will enroll at Lincoln High School. Giu's first host family will be Steve and Violet Schad, a name that may be familiar to you: The Lincoln parents were the first host family to Bara Kloubova, Czech Republic, two years ago. Dave Bangsund is the club's youth exchange officer; Yelena Girich is her counselor.

Background checks are now required by Loaves and Fishes for volunteer deliverers of the Meals on Wheels program. I await the forms which I'll then share with Rotarians. There's no cost and you simply bring the form plus your driver's license (one time) on your next service turn. But if you're new to Oregon in the last six years, or you've lived away from Portland for 90 days during that period, fingerprints are also needed. That will cost $8. I'll share the forms as soon as they arrive.

Kudos to Past President Don Barney. This week he's serving as a counselor and mentor during the Step-Up program's five-day camp. Through our Bet on the Pearl fundraiser last year, we adopted Open Meadow as our signature project. Several Pearl Rotarians are combining their talents to be mentors for O.M. students, beginning this fall. See Community Service Director Stan Swan for ways you can help.