The annual Barn Dance hosted by the Rotary Club of Monroe is one of the Monroe community’s favorite events and is the club’s only fundraiser. This year the club surpassed all previous records for money raised to enable so many worthwhile local and international community projects. The preliminary tally of net proceeds is around $85,000. To see photos, click this link. |
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Martin Perrin ended his exchange year with the Rotary Club of Monroe July 1st with a BBQ attended by all of his host families, club members, friends, and Martin’s entire family. The Perrin’s flew into Vancouver and visited the city for several days before coming to Monroe, where they stayed with Greg Starup and Annette Shannon and visited people and places that Martin got to know during his stay.  The BBQ included an exchange of club banners by incoming Monroe President Bob Martin and incoming Rotary Club of Chaumont, France President Vincent Perrin (Martin’s dad).  The Perrins left Monroe July 2nd to travel for a week on Vancouver Island. On their way to Victoria, host parents Jill and Mitch Ruth treated the family to a San Juan Island cruise on their boat.  The Perrin family...Frédérique, Martin, Florine, Vincent, Bérénice and Joséphine |
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The Rotary Students of the Month Program is in full swing! We’re so proud of each year’s classes and the current group of students is working hard at the Food Driver Project. This has been a long standing project for our Students of the Month and brings in thousands of pounds of food, for both Sky Valley and Sultan Food Bank. The Rotary Club of Monroe will be proud to award $8000 in scholarships at the Monroe High School Senior Awards Night and $4000 in scholarships at Sultan High School’s Senior Tea.  |
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Beginning on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 we are moving our meetings to Brookdale Senior Living facility, 15465 179th Ave SE, Monroe, WA. |
 The money raised at the barn dance each year supports multiple local and international projects. This past year the Rotary Club of Monroe has assisted Take the Next Step, the Women’s Gospel Mission our local food banks in Monroe and Sultan and many other organizations. These programs help low income and homeless families in our community to get the housing and services they need. Without the support of The Rotary Club and other community organizations, these families would not have access to housing, food, counseling and valuable children’s programming. The Rotary Club was able to accomplish a dream come true when they opened Rotary Field in Monroe. This is a fully handicap accessible baseball field which is now home to the Miracle League. This program brings children from communities near and far to make their dream of playing baseball a reality. The money raised at this event will also help organizations such as the Monroe Boys and Girls Club, Monroe YMCA, The Monroe Library and the Monroe Public Schools Foundation. Thank you for your support. |
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Our regular Wednesday meeting will be held at Collector's Choice, Wednesday January 18th, at Noon. Our speaker will be Elizabeth Grant, Executive director of the Snohomish Food Bank.
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Board meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, 12:00 Noon at Ixtapa. All are welcome!!! Please come to share ideas, present proposals, or just to listen to hear what is being planned.
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We have changed our meeting place to Tuscano's Italian Kitchen in Monroe. We meet every Wednesday at noon, but feel free to come a few minuets early to mingle and say hi to all the awesome folks!
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A short report and a few pictures were sent by Megan recently. She writes: "Life in Germany is wonderful and I'm having an amazing time, but missing home is really hard. My host family has been really comforting through it all though and they are all so awesome and I like my host family a lot."
.jpg) The 32 inbound exchange students in District 1860.
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The Rotary Club of Monroe will return to it's regular site of meetings for this coming Wednesday, July 29 2015 at noon. Location is Adam's Northwest Bistro 104 N Lewis St, Monroe, WA 98272.
We look forward to meeting you there!
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The Sr. Center is hosting their annual BBQ today. In place of our regularly scheduled Rotary meeting, we will be joining them for the BBQ lunch, beginning at 11:30AM. The Sr. Center does so much for the residents of our community and it will be great for us to show up in support of them.
276 Sky River Parkway, Monroe (directly in front of Rotary Field)
We look forward to seeing you!
We will return to Adam's NW Bistro next week.
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The Rotary Club of Monroe celebrated the beginning of a new Rotary year with the induction of new Club President Sally Petty.
Also inducted were the new Board of Directors including: Tod Johnson, Melissa Keating, Aaron Marks, Rob Prosch, Jeff Rasmussen, Jamie Silva, Phil Spirito, Greg Starup, Una Wirkebau-Hartt, and Samuel Wirsching.
Special gratitude went to Greg Starup, our Club President for 2014 - 2015.
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Monroe Rotary Seeking Exchange
Student Candidates
Students will Study Abroad for One Year The Rotary Club of Monroe seeks to sponsor a student from the Monroe School District that will travel to and live in a foreign country from August 2015 until July 2016. Students will spend a year living with host families, attending school and participating in youth activities customary to the culture of the host country. They will learn a new culture, a great deal about themselves, and quite likely a new language. They will be an ambassador to people they meet, sharing our country’s culture and ideas. Rotary Youth Exchange students help bring the world closer - and make good friends in the process.
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6th Annual National Night Out Against Crime at Lake Tye Park in Monroe National Night Out is a gathering of communities all across the nation that bring citizens, businesses, churches, law enforcement – everyone in the community - together for a fun and relaxing evening. In Monroe it has traditionally been held at Lake Tye Park in early August. Police, Fire and over 40 vendor booths address all forms of crime prevention . Free hot dogs, pizza and water are provided as well as fun events for all, including bouncy houses and face painting for the kids, fire and police demonstrations, and K-9. National Night Out is designed to:
The Rotary Club of Monroe is proud to partner with the City of Monroe and local police and fire departments to host the annual National Night Out event locally. Organizing and supporting the annual National Night Out Against Crime has become a tradition at our club. We have formed a solid partnership with the MPD and have embraced this program as a key component of the success our Rotary club’s contributions to the community. 2500-3000 citizens join us each year…a real highlight in Rotary’s quest to give back to the community! For information regarding this event or for an application for a community booth, please contact Sally Petty at sally.petty@amfam.com. Booth application deadline is July 22 nd, 2014. |
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Each year the Rotary Club of Monroe honors high-achieving and service oriented students of both Monroe and Sultan High Schools. This year over 40 students applied, and through a vigorous screening and interview process the top 13 in Monroe and top 8 in Sultan were chosen to be recognized at one of three lunches in January, March and May, as Monroe Rotary Students of the Month.
At the January 29th Rotary meeting were (L to R): Siera Straus, Hannah Risenmay, Amberly Khamsaly, Jamie Kisela, Kealoha Alexander, Chloe Cory, Christa King. The remaining students will be honored at a meeting in May. Students are required to help organize and participate in a food drive project. The student's performance in that activity is combined with their community involvement and civic engagement, leadership, academics, response to peer pressure and their future plans to determine who will be awarded scholarships at the end of the year. Last year a total of over $10,000 was awarded. This year's Student of the Month are: Monroe Jamie Kisela Sultan Siera StrausAmberly Khamsaly Hannah Risenmay Shelby Ruiz Anna Biddle |
In Panama, one of the leading causes of illness and death of children in the indigenous Guaymi population, is gastrointestinal infections often traced to polluted drinking water and unsanitary practices. To help alleviate this problem, the Healing Fund has partnered with several Rotary clubs to drill wells and install water catchment systems in remote communities which have little or no outside humanitarian aid. They also provide medical & dental clinics, facilitate community health training, teach English and make kids smile with face painting, balloon animals and pictures. Over the last 10 years Healing Fund has established working relationships, trained teams and supplied materials and funds so that well drilling can continue year round in their absence. They are slowly turning the well drilling operation into a ‘cottage business’ that can be sustained without direct involvement. Trip participants pay for all their own travel as well as for much of the tanks, wells and medicines expenses. The Healing Fund has no administrative fees and allocated donations go directly to covering the costs of the well and tank materials. The Healing Funds goal is to provide for all whom they serve a new, more hopeful outlook on life while providing trip participants the immeasurable benefits of helping others. They are always grateful for the support of like-minded individuals and groups that help them to serve the many underprivileged of Panama. |
DG Denis Boyd addressed the members of the club at its meeting September 11, 2013 with an inspiring and motivating message about the work Rotary does World-wide. He congratulated the club on the work it has done and encouraged us to work to bring new members to Rotary, people
Denis also recognized three outstanding members of our club. Two members were recognized for their silent, constant, invaluable service to our club as Unsung Heros. Sally Petty for her work with High School Scholarships and National Night Out, and Tod Johnson for chairing and managing last year's Barn Dance/Auction (center of picture). Ric Carlson – the "Father" of Miracle League and Rotary Field, was named as The Heart of the Club, recognized for being an all-around Rotarian who is a key fellowship, and go-to member (left of picture). |
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With a small building swinging to the ground from a crane, 11 years of dreaming and working was finally complete for the Monroe Rotary Club. What began as an idea formed by a Rotarian perusing a magazine, and which grew to become a $1.5 million baseball field for disabled children, was finally complete with the installation Aug. 7 of wheelchair-accessible bathrooms. “We came up with this hare-brained idea in 2002,” said Collette Reams, who worked on the project from the start. “It all came from [Rotarian] Ric Carlson having coffee and reading Rotary Magazine about a field like this, and saying, ‘We could do that.’” It was a long stretch from saying to doing. To build such a field would take at least $1 million. The entire annual budget of the Rotary Club was less than $30,000. There were only about 25 members. Raising that kind of money would be tough. But they got started. They also got started having baseball for special needs kids right away. The Rotary Club organized a baseball league called Miracle League for disabled kids and started playing at Lake Tye in 2002. Volunteers helped kids every step of the way, swinging the bat and pushing wheelchairs around the bases, but conditions were far from ideal. “The first games we played were on dirt, and some kids, they wanted to get down out of their chairs, and they’d get dirty,” said Sue Skillen, who was a lead organizer of the league. “One girl said, ‘Don’t tell Ric, but I’m going to get a grand slam.’ The girl, who had no legs and only one arm, requested that her volunteer take her wheelchair over to her mother. “She popped out onto her trunk and she pulled herself around the bases with her one fist,” said Skillen. That girl has since gone on to the Special Olympics, where she is competing in swimming. The Rotary Club worked hard to raise money, and it came in a piece at a time. One child had a penny drive. “One girl gave us a jar of coins she was saving for Disneyland,” said Reams. But in six years, the club had only raised a quarter of what was required. Then the state stepped in with a $750,000 grant, and the field was built in 2009. It is a handsome field, with special turf cushioned by grains of recycled soles of Nike shoes. The field is entirely flat, the baselines marked by colored turf. The dugouts are level with the field, and wide enough to allow wheelchairs to enter. The entire field is laid over a system of drainage ditches so that the field is always dry. But one thing was missing; the field had only portable toilets. “We accommodated their recreational needs, but we got schooled in their biological needs,” said Reams. “The parents didn’t complain, but it was that one thing that was missing to have a complete experience.” The Rotary Club kept raising money. Then, in April, the city of Monroe funded the final $127,000 that was needed to install the restrooms. Ric Carlson, who had overseen much of the field’s construction, had already made sure the necessary plumbing was in place. All the club had to do was find a manufacturer. Aug. 7, a company that builds prefabricated structures delivered the restrooms, swinging them into place with a crane. Thursday, Reams and Skillen opened the doors to the restrooms for the first time and peeked inside. The smell of fresh paint was pungent as the two exclaimed over the hand rails, wide doors and push button door control. When they sat back down on the bleachers and looked out over the field, it was with a sense of accomplishment. “We’re done,” said Reams. “We are the little club that could.”
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Our club is hosting the New Zealand GSE Team from May 15th through May 20th. The Team will be home-hosted by Monroe Rotary members, and a full slate of fun and informative activities is being planned. Tod Johnson, our International Chair is finalizing the schedule and will be publishing it soon. Some of the activities that are being planned are a day in Seattle seeing the sights, along with a Sounders game, vocational activities, wine tastings and potluck dinners. Please let Tod know if you have suggestions or would like to be involved.
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The Monroe City Council voted unanimously at their meeting on April 2nd, to fund the remaining amount necessary to complete the restroom facility at Rotary Field! Mayor Robert Zimmerman and Parks Director Mike Farrell found the funding and presented a strong case. Many Rotarians and Miracle League players and parents have worked hard on this project, and were in attendance at the meeting to support the proposal. Thank you to all! The prefab building will be ordered immediately and will take approximately 90 days to be delivered. In the meantime the site will be prepared for its delivery and installation. It is expected to be operational sometime in early summer.
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District Assembly is a great opportunity for all Rotarians to enhance their Rotary experience. The Agenda will include breakout sessions that are designed to incite all levels of Rotary knowledge. Download the Agenda here. Sessions are informative, fun and interactive and are geared to newer Rotarians and also include specific sessions for our incoming club’s officers and committee chairs. There will be sessions on local initiatives as well as some of our International efforts and will feature a Key Note Address by Stew Martin who is a representative of WASRAG (Water and Sanitation Rotary Action Group) and will inform and inspire our members on Water and Sanitation efforts that evolved from projects that are water-only to holistic water, sanitation, hygiene and education/promotion/ behavior change. The day will include lunch and the opportunity to meet new Rotary friends who also have a desire to learn more about relevant Rotary topics. Important! It is a District Policy that all of our clubs are billed for 5 attendees, so lets get our money's worth! Location: |
Thanks to the Monroe Monitor for the following article. Gerrie Gardner is a board certified Providence Medical Group cardiologist who sees patients in Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Monroe and Everett. She spoke to the club about women’s heart health issues at our meeting on March 6th. Think about the following statistics:
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In 2009 the Rotary Club of Monroe completed a baseball field specifically designed to accommodate the special needs of kids with disabilities, at a total project cost of $1.5 million. Sufficient funding for completion of the restroom and concession area was not available at that time requiring that portion of the project to be postponed. It is now time to complete the project. Rotary Club of Monroe and Rotary Club of Monroe Foundation are embarking on a capital campaign for construction of a bathroom and concession stand at Monroe Rotary Field. The type of structure currently slated for this facility is a pre-cast concrete building with full ADA accessible bathrooms and attached concession stand. Our goal is to complete the project started in 2002, providing disabled kids and many other users with the remaining facilities required for a quality baseball experience. We are in-process of raising the remaining funds required to complete this effort through solicitation of individual donations, grants, and fundraising activities or events. To date we have secured $100,597 toward the preliminary project cost estimate of $283,251.37. Join us after each regular Wednesday meeting to work on this important project.
The existing "restroom" at Rotary Field, and at left, an example of a pre-fabricated building being installed at a similar location.
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Rotarians understand the importance of our community’s youth. Guided by this understanding the Rotary Club of Monroe recognizes achievement, leadership and service to others demonstrated by outstanding students of both Monroe and Sultan High Schools. These selected students are honored during a general membership meeting and are invited to speak. Each receives a Student of The Month certificate, and two Sultan students, and four Monroe students will be selected by the Club to receive a $1,000 Dave Woods Memorial Scholarship granted by our club
Sultan Students of the Month for 2012/13: Makayla MacNaughton Monroe Students of the Month for 2012/13: Forrest Arnold |
The Rotary Club of Monroe has for the last five years proudly supported an education initiative in Nicaragua, called Vecinos, that annually provides school supplies to children in rural Nicaragua. Vecinos (roughly translated “neighbors”) also offers dental health education and anti-parasite medication to the farm animals near the schools. (From the Vecinos Website) |
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Don't miss this week's meeting, Wednesday November 21st! Our own Polly Kearrry describes the Vecinos program she helped originate. This project assists school children in Nicaragua, and is one of our club's international service projects. See the story below for more detail.
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Enjoy rewarding fellowship, fantastic barbeque, drink and dance! The Rotary Club of Monroe's Fifth Annual Barn Dance fundraiser is Saturday, December 1, 2012, from 5:30 to 11:00. This is the Club’s primary fundraiser to benefit and support all the worthy causes we work with throughout the year. Enjoy delicious home-cooked barbecue and other mouth watering delicacies, craft beers and fine wines. Dance to both kinds of music...country AND western! Take a chance on predicting where the chicken will.... well, you can guess! We also provide you with the opportunity to make a big dent in your Christmas gift shopping list! Come join the fun! This year we are focusing on the completion of Monroe Rotary Field by raising the remaining funds necessary to build the restroom facility. The club has nearly $80,000 committed to this project so far which puts us over half way to reaching our goal! This fundraiser will move us much closer. The field was designed and built to |
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United Way provides tax preparation services worth $2.8 million annually, to individuals who otherwise would could not afford professional services. The service results in tax refunds and Earned Income Credits to people in need who would otherwise forfeit these funds. Volunteers are needed to perform these services. They are trained and certified by the IRS. The tax season runs from January 22nd through April 15th, and volunteers are asked to commit to 3-4 hours per shift, once a week for 12 weeks. Ian Nelson of the United Way presented at our meeting of October 10th. Contact him at United Way for more information. |
Youth Build is a 10 month construction training program for at-risk youth. It is an initiative of the Workforce Development Council in conjunction with Edmonds and Everett Community colleges and Housing Hope. Amy Persell, Director of Service Delivery presented the program to the Club at our meeting on October 17th. The goal is to teach trade skills, as well as life skills and to obtain a GED. They take classes in financial education, job search, flagging, first aid/CPR and others. Housing Hope provides paid work opportunities in their self-help housing program. One of the requirements of the program is for each participant to provide 40 hours of community service yearly. They are offering their services to Rotary and other organizations, as they need community service projects in order to meet this requirement. For any questions, call Stacey Eberley at 425-366-9671 |
Next Step is a mentoring program designed to assist students in the process of applying for and selecting the college, or continuing education program, that is right for them, and gives them the best chance of future success. Taylor Gese was one of those students last school year. The Monroe Rotary assisted with providing part of the funding required for Taylor to attend a summer session of New York University. |
Tanya Price of the Monroe/Sky Valley Family YMCA shared several compelling success stories of Monroe Y members at the Club's regular meeting September 19th. Although the Monroe Y is only the 5th largest in Snohomish County, it has a huge impact on the lives of community members. Not only does it provide recreational opportunities, it also provides programs that help improve the lives of its members. |
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The most honorable and entirely enjoyable District Governor Sean Hogan and his wife Carol paid an Official visit to the club on Wednesday, September 12th. Assistant DG Linda Murray introduced Sean, and the club presented him with a framed memento of Monroe Rotary Field, and made a generous donation to the Foundation for Polio Plus.
DG Sean presented special awards to two of our members for inspirational service in recognition of the year's theme, "Peace Through Service". Polly Keary for her project called "Vecinos", working with rural schoolkids in Nicaragua, and Neil Watkins for his work and leadership in the Skykomish Valley with food banks in the area, and his work in Africa on Rotarian missions.
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Assistant Chief Steve Guptill of Monroe Fire Dist. #3 spoke at our meeting of July 25th about the importance of passing the proposed Maintenance and Operations Levy, August 7th.
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Mike Farrell, Director, Monroe Parks and Recreation presented an overview of the Monroe Parks and Recreation Department at our meeting of July 11th. The department oversees and maintains 12 parks and landscaped areas within the City, and 10 miles of trails. Part of the department’s function is to advocate for recreation. Given limited resources and increasing economic pressure, they have had to prioritize and cut back in many areas, in spite of increased usage of the parks. To help fulfill their mission, they try to partner with other organizations, utilize volunteers, and are always seeking to be as efficient as possible. Notable is the effort to partner with Monroe Public Schools to develop three new all-weather fields. Neither organization has the resources to do this on its own, but by partnering, they have managed to secure a $200,000 grant towards the $600,000 cost of development. The Monroe Rotary Club is also a prime example of a partnering organization. Monroe Rotary Field was a vision of the Club, and it lead the campaign to design, fund and build the field which is now maintained by the Parks Dept. and is used practically every daylight hour, by a diverse constituency. The Club is now renewing its efforts to raise funds to complete the next phase of the field, which will be the building of bathrooms and a concession area. The City has allocated $50,000 toward this project and the Monroe Rotary Club has raised an additional $38,000 designated for this project. Watch for more on this! As the City grows, the demand for Parks will increase. We are fortunate to have a strong and innovative Parks Department that will facilitate the best recreational opportunities possible for Monroe residents and visitors alike.
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With a new Rotary year, The Rotary Club of Monroe installed new officers and gave sincere thanks to outgoing President Neil Watkins and his Board members at a dinner celebration Wednesday evening, June 27th.
   Assistant District Governor Lyle Ryan presided over the installation of President Bob Martin, President Elect Collette Reams, Vice President Ken Hoover, Secretary Kim Overton (hiding), Treasurer Ruthann Tobiason, and Board member Tod Johnson. President Neil inducted our newest member, Marta Miller into Rotary as one of his last official duties. President Bob unveiled the 2012/2013 Rotary Theme of RI President Sakuji Tanaka, "Peace Through Service".  |
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Monroe Rotary Field is a state-of-the-art, all-weather baseball complex built especially to accommodate children with disabilities. It is also used extensively by other members of the community making it an important and appreciated asset for Monroe. Thank you to Cadman management, employees, customers and suppliers for all that you have done over the years. This field would not exist without your support! .  . |
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National Night Out, 2012, is Tuesday, August 7th, 6PM at Lake Tye Park, Monroe, WA. Join us for free food, bouncy houses and face painting for the kids, fire and police demonstrations, including K-9.
Want to volunteer? Interested in reserving a booth for your business, church, club or charity? Click on National Night Out 2012 for more information. |
Student of the Month Program
who aspire to Rotary ideals and desire the opportunity to serve. 
The Rotary Club of Monroe is sponsoring Hannah Lunstrum for the Group Study Exchange that will be travelling to New Zealand in April and May, 2013.
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accommodate children with disabilities, so that all kids have the opportunity to enjoy the thrill of playing baseball, no matter what their limitations may be.
