Presiding: Caitlin White
Humor: Todd Pearson
Professor’s Quote: Joe Steiner
Meeting Room setup/takedown and general problem solving: Tom Mangan and Ron Van Ekeren
Introduction of Guests: Jerrica Becken
John Bard introduced the Junior Rotarians
Junior Rotarians: Ramon Gomez and Corey Worden
Foundation Drawing: Jamie Terry won $10 with 12 cards in the deck and over $1824.50 in the pot.
O’Dwyers Drawing: Larry Struempf
won a $20 gift card from O’Dwyer’s.
Announcements:
• Bob Leonard had two announcements: 1 Suicide Prevention strategic planning meeting with a focus on what to do with county prevention funds on 2/25; 2) March 6 Sources of Strength program training at LHS. You can contact the front office at LHS to observe. Limited number of seats available.
• Rollin Abernethy announced the last Dine and Discover tonight – set up at 4:30 in the High School Atrium.
•Tom Mangan – MS Walk is May 11 in Cheyenne. You can register online on walkms website – enter WY, search for a walk, enter our zip code, click register. The name of our team is “Rotary Walks”. You can participate by signing up to walk, by sign up as a phantom walker, and by donating.
Rotarians of the Week: Shaun Bullock was nominated for coming up with the programs for Rotary Meetings.
Songs: Jan Lawrence Happy Birthday and America the Beautiful
Special Presentations: Tom Mangan had a birthday and donated a birthday check.
Upcoming Programs:
March 7 – Josh Watanabe – Wyoming Humanities Council
March 14 – Club Assembly
March 21 – Bob Beck – Wyoming Public Radio
THANK YOU JAMIE TERRY FOR TAKING NOTES FOR THIS ISSUE OF THE SPOKE!
Response: The Rotary Club of Laramie will make a donation to the public library children’s book fund in the speaker’s name.
NOTE: We Do Not Donate a Book!
Spoke Editor: Tony Hoch, 307-760-9386 or tony.hoch@lrcd.net
Introduction of Program: Amelia Kelso
Program: Tammy Comer, Eppson Center for Seniors
The first services offered by the Eppson Center for Seniors were meals and wellness. They celebrated 45 years in 2018. The expanded services offered today by the 29 employees (of which 4 are full time) and extensive number of volunteers are a great benefit to the community, reaching over 2400 clients.
Nutrition Program – Operates 5 days per week, offering both in-center and home delivery of meals. This past year, they served 12,105 meals, and made 17,066 deliveries. They serve an average of 66 clients per month for delivery. Cost for meals for folks over 60 years old is on donation. The cost for folks under 60, it is $5 for lunch, and $6 for dinner.
Transportation – The Eppson Center operates 3 wheelchair accessible vans, and 2 buses. They transport clients across town to run errands, as well as to events such as dinner theater and Rockies games. They receive grant money towards riders over 60 years old, so that is the target market, however all are welcome to ride.
Footcare Services – Also offered as part of the wellness now. Provided over 1400 footcare services for clients this past year.
In Home Services – range from helping pay bills, to cleaning, from assisting a client to a doctor’s appointment, to offering respite care. The Eppson Center for Seniors provided over 4500 hours of in-home services last year.
Equipment Loan Closet – The focus is on mobility equipment, such as walkers and canes. Clients can check the equipment out at no cost. They are working to increase the number of items available and community awareness.
Activities – The Eppson Center offers a wide variety of activities – coffee groups, music, crafts, bingo, exercise, excursions, swimming, computers, Medicare, AARP self-driving classes, etc. Last year, the center provided over 27,000 hours of activities.
The Eppson Center is proud to partner with many local business and groups to further improve the community. These partnerships include United Way, Downtown Clinic, Soup Kitchen, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Interfaith Good Samaritan, as well as several others.
Looking forward, some of the challenges include budget cuts, and trying to do more with less. There is also an increasing number of baby boomers, creating an influx of new seniors in our area. One of the biggest challenges is looking to reach younger seniors.
For folks who are interested, volunteer activities include home delivery and meal drivers, teaching classes, participating in intergenerational activities, maintenance, assisting with the fundraising committee. Additionally, there are a few open positions on the operating board, and they are looking to hire a new book-keeper.
Responding for the Club:Kerry Greaser