Opening:  President Duane Clark opened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. 

Minutes:  Don Lapworth made a motion, seconded by Gary Walter, to approve the August minutes.  The motion passed.

Golf Tournament:  Duane handed out thank you photos to members who were sponsors of the golf tournament.  Duane said he greatly appreciated the help of members who volunteered at golf tournament including those who helped before the tournament.  Duane said he knows Cora greatly appreciates the help we get from the Kisakata exchange students and their parents.

Olive Oil Case Purchase Thank You:  Duane had offered a boat ride to the 17 members who bought a case of the Croatian olive oil, which we sold last year.  There will be one trip on September 12 around Fidalgo Island on Duane’s boat and one on September 26 when the Kisakata visitors are here.    

Treasurer’s Report:  Mark reported checking account balances as $15,724.40;  savings account balances of  $3,134.60 in the general reserve, $19,581.26 in operating reserves, and $19,103.68 in dedicated reserves for a total of $57,543.94 in assets; and custodial funds of $3,241.80 belonging to the Kisakata student exchange. 

Significant events this month was a $10,000 grant from the Richard and Lois Worthington Foundation.  Lois had been anonymously donating to the student travel fund before she passed away last year.  Lois had talked with Duane about starting a travel fund for students and young people, who are not members, but who would like to travel internationally.  She gave a donation for that purpose, and the student travel fund began.  After Lois passed away last year, Duane asked her family if he could reveal Lois’ generosity to our members.  The family agreed, and we subsequently renamed the fund the Lois Worthington Student Travel Fund. 

Vice President:  John Lovric – no report

Lomonosov Report:  Don Lapworth said that the five students and their chaperone have returned from their trip to Lomonosov.  Everything went well.  The students have established relationships with students in Lomonosov, whom they are e-mailing.  They will be making a presentation about their trip.  Duane said we need to remember to let students know that they need to make a presentation after they have participated in one of our exchanges or received funds from the student travel fund. 

Kisakata Report:  Kyoko Honma and Kazueko Kato will arrive Friday, Sept. 25.  Hisako Rooney and Setsuko Amburn will pick them up at the airport.  There will be a welcome party that night at 6 p.m. at the Skyline cabana.  Cora passed around a sign-up sheet and asked everyone to bring a main dish and a side dish or dessert to share.  Cora will ask Jo to send out an email about the welcome party.  On Saturday, the visitors will go on the boat trip, and then go to a night market in Richmond, BC.  Anne Martin McCool and Carol Cunningham will be taking the visitors to a Mariners game on Sunday.  Rudy Gahler will take the visitors on a hike on Guemes Island on Monday afternoon.  Tuesday and Wednesday will be free days.  The Lijeks will homestay the visitors Friday through Sunday nights, and the Davidsons will homestay the visitors from Monday through Wednesday nights.  The visitors will depart on October 1.

Vela Luka Report:  John Lovric said the 6th annual Croatian Fest will be on Saturday, Oct. 3 and Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Seattle Center.  It’s free.  On Saturday night there will be a concert and dancing from 6 to 9 p.m.  There will be more activities on Sunday from 12 to 8 p.m.  The theme is honoring Croatian women, who are the tradition bearers.  There will be dance groups from Seattle, Anacortes, and Canada, talks, authors, and booths from Croatian-American communities, such as Rosslyn, Cle Ellum, Anacortes, Bellevue, etc.  The vendors in the food court will serve Croatian-like food.

There will be a Croatian dinner at the Anacortes Croatian-American Club on Sept. 19.  Fried smelt will be served. 

Hospitality Report:  Stan thanked everyone who worked on the golf tournament food committee.  Stan received a request for us to provide food as a fundraiser for the hedgehog convention.  Cora is going to check with her students to see if anyone wants to take this on.  Stan said our next event will be Christmas dinner. 

Future Programs:  Kevin Steen, who went to Brazil on a Rotary exchange, will make a presentation at our November program.  Kevin said that one of the greatest parts of this experience is being able to share his experiences.  Maddy Crowe said they are looking for people to tell about their experiences.

A Sidney Sister Cities Association member, Leslie Nichols, will be giving a presentation about her trip to Cairns, Australia at one of our spring meetings.

Presentation:  Maddy Crowe, who spent a school year in Spain on a Rotary exchange and whom received a student travel fund scholarship, made a presentation about her exchange experience.  Maddy became interested in the Rotary program when a friend told her about it.  When she found out that Karisa went to Spain after completing high school, Maddy decided to apply.  Maddy applied to both Rotary Clubs and was accepted by the morning club.  She originally went to Palencia, which is a small town several hours north of Madrid.  However, on the day she arrived, she learned from the local Rotary President that she would be going to Madrid instead.  The daughter of the family Maddy was supposed to stay with had gone to Canada, but was so homesick that she returned home after less than a month there.  Maddy spent one week in Palencia, so got to know the family and their daughter.  Then she went to Madrid where she first met the 50 other Rotary exchange students in Spain.  Forty-five were from the US, three were from Canada, one was from Brazil, and one was from Sweden.  Maddy homestayed with a family with three brothers.  The father was a dentist.  She became very close to the family, especially to the brother who was the same age as Maddy.  She also became close to their housekeeper of eight years, who was from Brazil.  Maddy enjoyed the fiestas that are in all the little towns around Madrid with dancing all night and includes people of all ages.  Maddy showed us lots of photos of the host family, her friends, and places she visited.  She loved the architecture in Spain.  Meal times were very different from here.  They ate breakfast, a snack, lunch at about 3 p.m., and dinner between 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.  Everyone was expected to come home for dinner.  Maddy especially enjoyed paella, which includes rice, sausage, shrimp, and vegetables.  She also had the opportunity to travel to Italy with the Rotary.  Maddy will be starting at Western Washington University this semester.  She hopes to return to Spain next year from July to November.

Adjournment:  Duane Clark adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,
Cora Lijek,
Substitute Secretary