President Elect-Elect, Jared Campbell, welcomed all to the Club with the Camp for Kids at the Kill Devil Club. We stood for the Pledge of Allegiance followed by a prayer of “intentional gratitude” for Rotary by David Hanzlick. Three guests of our members were introduced, and Jared recognized the following Club anniversaries: Sally Bibb (28 years), Gary McEachen (28 years), and Steve Dicus (26 years). Jared thanked the International Committee for serving as greeters and then welcomed Jane Lee to the podium to promote the March 14 social event at Do Good Co., a not-for-profit consignment shop which donates all proceeds to Wayside Waifs and Kids TLC. There will be no regular meeting that day due to the Big 12 tournament downtown.
Past President Eric Bubb then announced the Greater KC Day events which begins with a kick-off at the Granfalloon on the Plaza on March 6 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. followed by a bigger event to be described later at the Negro Leagues Museum on May 15. The celebrity chairs for the event are well-known Chief, Christian Okoye, and popular actor, Eric Stonestreet. Eric encouraged Club members to sponsor the Greater KC Day and noted that Club members will be provided an opportunity to sponsor either or both GKC Day and the Rotary Regatta at Lake Jacomo on September 13-15 in special recognition of the Youth Camp’s 100th Anniversary. On behalf of the Entertainment Committee, Mary Kingsley encouraged sign-ups for the New Theatre show on April 16, “Elvis: Aloha from Vegas.” Other upcoming community service events include Geek for Kids Build Day on March 2 and Sleep in Heavenly Peace build event on April 13.
Scott Holsman then introduced our guest speaker, Gail Worth, the well-known local purveyor of motorcycles. Scott described Gail as “fearless, a force, and full of heart.” Gail started by thanking our Club for allowing her to find her speaking voice when she first started in business. She then presented the chronological history of her story as a woman selling motorcycles and couched it within the quote she attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
She bought her first dealership from her parents in 1999 after working there for the greater part of 16 years. She was confident in her ability to be successful as a Harley-Davidson dealer, because she knew people and what motivated them. She moved the dealership to a larger building in Grandview and invested in developing a “Wow” factor there. Business took off, but the recession in 2008 was difficult. As the economic climate improved, things got even more difficult as MODOT took 22 months to demolish and rebuild the bridge and access points to the dealership from the west, north, or south during the conversion to Interstate 49. She cited the “Hog Chapter” as being single-handedly responsible for cash flowing the business by trading up on cycles early. After I-49 opened, business rebounded. Flying high, Gail bought a dealership in St. Louis but promptly sold it after discovering commuting on I-70 was a grind. Thereafter, she purchased Shawnee Cycle & Powersports which sells Honda, Kawasaki, and other brands of motorcycles and utility vehicles, and quickly turned it to the #1 shop in the Midwest. In 2019, Harley-Davidson announced that it wanted all dealers to own five or more dealerships. That didn’t jive with Gail’s business model, and she sold her coveted dealership in October, 2020, but kept the Gail’s location in Grandview converting it first to Gail’s Powersports, then to the Gail’s American Motorcycles. Business is once again, booming! Gail says everyone wants to tell her how to run her business, but the key to her success is that she has always been true to herself. She has learned if she feels the power inside, it will work.
Past President Eric read an apt quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” We collectively said the 4-Way Test together and the meeting adjourned.
Come browse through a collection of high quality contemporary and vintage clothing for both men and women while enjoying an assortment of wine, beverages and hors d’oeuvres – all at no charge!
It’s all happening at our Happy Hour from 5 to 7 pm. Thursday, March 14, at Do Good Co., a unique sustainable boutique at 413 E. 18th St., Kansas City, Mo.
Chris Garrett, boutique manager, will give an overview of Do Good Co. and its mission: to create a more mindful world. Do Good, a non-profit, donates all proceeds to its charity partners, Wayside Waifs and KidsTLC.
You’ll have a chance to ask plenty of questions and socialize with fellow Rotarians and their guests. And shop!
This Happy Hour takes the place of our regular March 14 noon meeting, canceled due to tournament traffic.
“It’s that time of the year again! District 6040 will partner with District 6080 and Buckner International to improve the lives of underprivileged children worldwide, in the USA, and in our home communities. A new pair of shoes protects a child's health, supports the opportunity to improve their education, and provides hope.
The Kansas City Club 13 International Committee will end it’s 23rd year of the Shoes for Orphan Souls Campaign in April to get ready for the Shoes Caravan on the weekend of April 19-21, 2024. Our district efforts will culminate alongside the efforts across the state of Missouri at a Joint District Conference at the Margaritaville Resort at the Lake of the Ozarks! District 6060 has already begun a “Let’s Bury Larry (in shoes)” campaign. The shoe goal this year is to collect 50,000 pairs of shoes across the state of Missouri this year
We were thrilled with our first and second annual pickleball tournament last year, but we still need support to past lasts year's 1,009 shoes & 516 pairs of socks. We need your help to support this shoe drive so we can reach Linn Mill's last record shoe and sock counts. Tiny Shoes will be on lunch tables for our Rotary lunch on March 7th so remember you cash!
Please join the Rotary Book Discussion Group for the discussion of the book The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn. The book is available at Rainy Day Books and the discussion will be led by Vivien Jennings. All Rotarians and guests are welcome. The group will meet at J. Wilbur Company.
Date: Monday, March 4, 2024, 6:30 PM
Location: J. Wilbur Company
3242 Roanoke
Kansas City, MO 64111
About the book:
One blustery night in 1928, a whale washes up on the shores of the English Channel. By law, it belongs to the King, but twelve-year-old orphan Cristabel Seagrave has other plans. She and the rest of the household—her sister, Flossie; her brother, Digby, long-awaited heir to Chilcombe manor; Maudie Kitcat, kitchen maid; Taras, visiting artist—build a theatre from the beast’s skeletal rib cage. Within the Whalebone Theatre, Cristabel can escape her feckless stepparents and brisk governesses, and her imagination comes to life. As Cristabel grows into a headstrong young woman, World War II rears its head. She and Digby become British secret agents on separate missions in Nazi-occupied France—a more dangerous kind of playacting, it turns out, and one that threatens to tear the family apart.
Join us on Tuesday, April 16 for Elvis, Aloha from Vegas! Tickets are $55 each. We have reserved center dinner/show tickets. Reservations must be secured by March 14 for these great seats!
Did you know that you could adopt an area at the Rotary Youth Camp? Tom Woolwine has claimed the flowerbed by the comfort station (Tom’s Triangle) and Phil Kinney has taken on the day lily area by the pool. There are many flower bed areas that can be adopted if you or a group of friends want to do some gardening. We also have program areas to be adopted, the Leawood Rotary Club sets up and takes down the Auxiliary Tent Camping area each year and a local Boy Scout Troop does the same at the Out Post tent area annually. IF you love to mow and/or weed eat, we can set up a schedule and let you try out our zero steer mowers. Contact Laurie at the camp if you want more information or have an area you want to adopt.
Please join the Rotary Book Discussion Group for the discussion of the book The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn. The book is available at Rainy Day Books and the discussion will be led by Vivien Jennings. All Rotarians and guests are welcome. The group will meet at J. Wilbur Company.
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