Club News

Two Corvallis eighth graders have been selected as Students of the Month for February by the Greater Corvallis Rotary. They are Allan Waite of Linus Pauling Middle School and Claire Richards of Ashbrook Independent School.

Allan’s teachers at Linus Pauling have nothing but praise to give when they describe their student. He is looked up to and respected, a perfect candidate “because of his mature
attitude and responsible behavior,” they say. Teachers appreciate his collaborative spirit – he is always willing to help others. He brings cheer and confidence
to the classroom and can always be counted on to do the right thing.

Claire’s teachers at Ashbrook are complimentary in their selection of Claire as a model student. “Claire brings a sparkle to the classroom,” they say. She shows
compassion in her world by saying kind words to others, helping new students
adjust, and demonstrating kindness and big sister wisdom to her two younger
siblings. Claire is described as dynamic, personable, and a pleasure to
know at school. Her interests are many, but they focus on her love of literature
and acting. Claire is viewed as a leader in the classroom with the ability to get others involved in the learning process.

Lee Eckroth, 2014-15 president elect for Greater Corvallis Rotary, was selected Corvallis Junior First Citizen and Susan Poole, Rotarian with Corvallis Rotary, was selected Senior First Citizen at Celebrate Corvallis Ceremonies held Jan. 18 by the Corvallis Chamber of Corvallis. Eckroth was won of three nominees selected for the award. He has been instrumental in community volunteerism, including fund-raising for $150,000 to re-build a picnic shelter at Willamette Park. The shelter was destroyed in a fire and never replaced.

Mrs. Poole has been active in numerous community activities include Puttin’ on the Pink, Leadership Corvallis, Financial Stewardship Services, and many other organizations. Her husband, Robert, is a member of the Greater Corvallis Club.

Other Rotarians nominated for distinguished honors were Dave Henderer Construction. Business of the Year; Lorena Reynolds, Junior First Citizen; and Al Hutchinson and Rick Schroff for First Citizen.

Five Greater Corvallis Rotarians will be recognized at the 2013 Celebrate Corvallis awards banquet on Friday, Jan. 18, for their service and leadership in the community.

Nominated are Dave Henderer Construction for Business of the Year; Lee Eckroth and Lorena Reynolds for Junior First Citizen; and Al Hutchinson and Rick Schroff for First Citizen. Susan Poole, a Rotarian and wife of Greater Corvallis member Robert Poole, M..D., is nominated for Senior First Citizen.

Celebrate Corvallis is sponsored by the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce to recognize individuals and business for their community service and leadership. The event will be held beginning at 6 p..m. at the OSU Alumni Center. Tickets are available at www.corvallischamber.com or by calling 541-757-1505.

Rotarians have been working in Gondar, Ethiopia to help bring clean water resources to this Corvallis sister city, explained Richard Raymond at the Greater Corvallis Rotary Club’s weekly meeting.
Raymond described a project to drill four wells in the Gondar community that was led and funded by Rotarians. The project, which costs approximately $16,000 per well, has brought fresh water to families and schools that had no ground water. Three of the above-ground wells have been completed.
The most recent well, Raymond described, was a tremendous effort that required digging an extra five to 10 meters to reach water. It also required an additional $8,000 in cost, but the end result was “celebratory” said Raymond. “Residents were gathering and doing happy dances at the first site of moisture from these wells,” he added.
Gondar is a Corvallis sister city of approximately 300,000 in population. It is a hilly terrain, 7500 feet in elevation. Erosion is a common environmental problem. The sister-city relationship between Gondar and Corvallis started in 2005.

Is Oregon Earthquake Country? Will we have a tsunami? Could the recent events in Japan occur here at home? There is a great body of evidence that gives us that answer, and the first clues we have come from our coastline. See how this realization came to geologists and what is being done about it on Friday, Nov. 30 at Greater Corvallis Rotary at noon.

Sheila Alfsen is a long-time Oregon resident who devoted many years to the local education as an elementary and high school volunteer. She is a former high school teacher and current community college instructor- teaching Geology for Linn Benton and Chemeketa Community Colleges, as well as Portland State University. Sheila is a registered geologist-in-training and has worked on several paleonotological (fossil) digs in the Western US. She stays current with local scientists regarding the ongoing research in this area.

The finest all-around scholar-athletes of Corvallis and Crescent Valley High Schools were honored at their respective sports dessert events in November by the Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis.
This fall, the most outstanding female scholar-athletes were Kristen Beamer (volleyball) from Crescent Valley and Jaclyn Zalesky (soccer) from Corvallis. The most outstanding male scholar-athletes were Layne Croney (football) at Crescent Valley and Travis Callahan (soccer) from Corvallis High School.
The seasonal sports awards are presented by the club to recognize Raiders and Spartans selected from nominations secured from the coaches of the fall sports programs of football, volleyball, cross-country and soccer. Rotarians selected the honorees based on athletic ability, demonstrated team and school leadership, academic excellence, and participation in activities in school and service to the community. The winning student athletes exemplify the type of student we see as role models for others. Plaques are awarded to the winners at the end of the fall, winter and spring seasons. The awards were recently pared back from recognizing scholar-athletes in each sport to one male and female student of the academic term at each school.
The Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis coordinates the awards with the athletics directors and coaches of the two Corvallis-based high schools.