Fort Smith Rotary Club December 7, 2011 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE

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1 THIS WEEK IN ROTARY Dec 7 Ed Hardesty District 6110 Rotary Foundation Chair ***MEETING WILL BE HELD AT PHOENIX EXPO FELLOW ROTARIANS: PRESIDENT S MESSAGE This last week has been a very busy one, especially for Ken Efurd! The tree planting was going well until rock was hit so several trees could not be planted on Thursday until Ken found a backhoe with a jack hammer attached to it. On Friday the jack hammer was able break through the rock and all the trees were planted. Ken has worked very hard putting in the trees off the 540 exit to Rogers Avenue and it looks wonderful. This area will have Rotary s name so we must work as a club to take care of it especially the first year as they take root. Thank you to the city s park department for planting the trees, Arvest bank for their donation, Rotarians who showed up to help and to Ken Efurd who made all this possible. This week we will hear from the Rotary Foundation Chairman Ed Hardesty. Please try to attend this as you will see where your donations are being used. Don t forget Bell Ringing is coming up! Check the schedule for your scheduled time! Yours truly in service, Mark Myers

2 F.Y.I No meetings on Wednesday, December 21 and Wednesday, December 28 Like Fort Smith Rotary Club on Facebook at &v=wall Dates to Celebrate Membership Anniversary... Brenda Altman Dec 11 9 yrs Happy Birthday to You... Mark Anderson Dec 12 WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS INVOCATION SONG & PLEDGE CASHIER/4 WAY TEST ROTARY IN LESS THAN A MINUTE DEC 7 Sherry Sims Steve Mathews Dean Pitts Judy Bowen DEC 14 Sandi Sanders Andrew Harrison Ken Efurd Ken Pyle The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~Nelson Henderson

3 SERVICE PROJECTS Upcoming Programs ************* Bell ringing for Salvation Army, please contact Greg Davis if you would like to sign up Dec 14 Pen Pal Christmas Party - Northside High School Choir Dec 21 NO MEETING ************* Creekmore Express -- Please contact Linda Spradlin if you would like to sign up to hand out cookies and hot apple cider to the riders of the train at Creekmore Park. Live music and lots of fun. Dec 28 NO MEETING

4 Dear Fort Smith Rotary Club, I need your help in the following ways, please. 1. Our exchange student, Sina Gutzeit-Greth, is doing well in school and with her host family. Christmas time is a time when our exchange students really start missing their families more. I would appreciate some of you buying Sina some small Christmas gifts. 2. As you may venture off, remember that Sina would like to visit other nearby places. It would be wonderful if you would invite Sina to accompany your family. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please talk to Terri Vaughn or Ken Colley. 3. We have a host family for April, May and June. We need a host family for January, February, and March. If you know of a quality family, please let me know so that I may contact the family. Finally, I wish you would thank Cindy Gilmer, as she has opened her home to our exchange student. Cindy is awesome and deserves a big Thank You! Ken Colley Rogers Avenue/I-540 Tree Planting is Complete A major gateway to our city that for many years has been an embarrassing and bewildering symbol of apathy has been transformed by this Rotary Club, and is on its way to becoming a tremendous source of pride and beauty. Thanks to Mark Myers and Craig Rivaldo this project became a reality instead of just another missed opportunity. When Mark became president, it was apparent that he wanted this project completed on his watch, and he was

5 relentless. And as for Craig Rivaldo, he came to me immediately after hearing of the project years ago and said that Arvest Bank wanted to be a partner in the effort. And he was relentless. The other significant reasons that this project became a reality is the City of Fort Smith--- specifically the Parks Department, and two young ladies who love trees. Jenny Smith, Landscape Designer with Guest Reddick Architects, and Alison Lichy, Urban Forester with the City of Fort Smith collaborated on the design and selection of trees. I can t say enough about the effort put forward by the City Parks Department. Mike Alsup, Director of the Parks Department delivered the trees to the site and furnished dump trucks, frontend loaders, backhoes, and a group of very dedicated employees to plant the trees. The Parks Department could have completed the entire planting without our volunteers. Speaking of volunteers, I would like to thank the following Rotarians for their help in planting the trees. Cindy Gilmer, Nancy Brewer, Jonathan Fry, Bill Kirby, Sheri Neely, Warren Giss, David Armbruster, Larry Linder, and Mark Myers. We hit solid rock just one foot below the surface and had to halt the planting on the afternoon of the first day, but we brought in a jackhammer the next morning and completed the project. As I am writing this, the City Parks Department is going back to the site and staking several pine trees that were overcome by the wind and rain this past weekend. From this point forward, our club must insure that the trees are watered and properly maintained. A good partnership with the city on this project, and I have every reason to believe that our club will be responsible for the beautification of many more our gateway intersections. Thanks again to all those who participated in this project, and a huge THANK YOU to Arvest Bank, which donated $3000, and Rotary District #6110 who approved a $2000 grant. Submitted by Ken Efurd ***Don t miss the photographs following this article!

6 BEFORE:

7 LAYOUT:

8 HIT ROCK!:

9 THE CITY CREW:

10 NEARING COMPLETION:

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12 Mark Myers and Ken Efurd by Ken s favorite tree

13 Nancy Brewer, Ken Efurd and Mark Myers on Thursday, planting trees.

14 City Parks employee, Director of Parks Dept., Mike Alsup, and Ken Efurd

15 Monday night, December 5, Rotarians volunteering for the Red Shield Diner

16 MEETING MAKE-UP SITES (ALL MEETINGS BEGIN AT NOON UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED) TUESDAY FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE HOLIDAY INN OZARK MODEL CAFÉ GREENWOOD FARMERS BANK MEANS WILKINSON COMMUNITY CENTER WEDNESDAY ALMA 1ST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (24 OAK ST) PARIS GRAPEVINE RESTAURANT POTEAU EAST OKLAHOMA MEDICAL CENTER THURSDAY RIVER VALLEY ROTARY GOLDEN CORRAL, 7AM VAN BUREN VAN BUREN COMMUNITY CLUB FRIDAY BOONEVILLE FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH ONLINE MAKEUPS: FORT SMITH ROTARY CLUB FOUNDED 1916 POST OFFICE BOX 8193 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS DISTRICT 6110 CLUB # NEW DISTRICT WEBSITE: Rotary.org News on Polio fundraising:

17 PEN PAL LETTER SCHEDULE CHAIR: Mary Lynn Stevenson , Committee Members: Susan Krafft, Shana Hughes Cindy Gilmer, Ken Bell, TEACHER: Heather McGhee December December 7 December 14 December 21 December 28 January 2012 January 4 January 11 January 18 January 25 February February 1 February 8 February 15 February 22 February 29 March March 7 March 14 March 21 March 28 April April 4 April 11 April 18 April 25 May May 2 May 9 May 16 Students send last letters before Christmas & New Year s Everyone come to Pen Pal Christmas Party, Holiday Inn No letters Christmas break No letters Christmas break No letters, students first week back from Christmas vacation Rotarians send letters Students send letters Rotarians send letters Students send letters Rotarians send letters (Valentines coming up) Students send letters Rotarians send letters Students send letters Rotarians send letters (St. Paddy s Day & Spring Break coming up) Students send letters No Letter Spring Break Rotarians send letters (April Fools & Students Testing coming up. Give your Pen Pal best wishes on doing well in student testing.) No letter Student testing No letter Student testing Students send letters Rotarians send letters Students send letters Rotarians send letters Everyone come to Pen Pal Picnic Martin Luther King Park

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