This week's speaker is Amy Chinnery-Valmassei, DGND, Annual Fund Chair. Her topic is: "The Annual FUNd."
Amy C-V has been a member of Rotary for over 12 years and is an active member of the Rotary Club of Lee’s Summit. She is a past-president and currently serving as District Governor Nominee Designate (DGND) for District 6040. She will be the District Governor 2026-27.
Youth Programs are Amy’s favorite Rotary program - especially Youth Exchange. Their family has hosted 6 exchange students. The Eradication of Polio is a Rotary Cause her entire family embraces.
Amy serves her community beyond Rotary as past-president and 10 year board member of the Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation and current President of Lake Lotawana Parks and Rec.
Amy is married to Scott, and they have 2 children. Daniel, 24, is a PhD. candidate in Physics at Virginia Tech. Annica, 20, is a junior at Davidson College studying Chemistry.
Teaching is Amy's passion. In addition to being an RLI Instructor, she is a Registered Yoga Teacher, teaching 3-5 classes per week on her patio, weather permitting. (We are inside this week!) She also teaches water skiing and sailing in the summer. You will find Amy judging Show Waterskiing all across the country in the summer as her way to stay active in her favorite sport.
The meeting began with a welcome by President Tom Davis and everyone standing to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag. Member David King went to the podium to provide today’s invocation, which was a sort of long story about “The Arc of Life”, ending with a request that everyone in the room turn to a person nearby, shake their hand, and say, “Thank you for being alive in my world.”
After things settled down, since there were no guests, we moved on to the recognition of the following club anniversaries: Maggie Dotel, 1 year; Marc McCarty, 5 years; Madaline Walter, 36 years; Jeff Hornsby, 28 years; and Rick Halterman, 26 years.
Member Tim Tholen went to the podium to report that our long-term member, Carl Bolte, has been admitted to hospice care and is not likely to remain with us much longer. (Later in the day Mandy sent a memo to the club members to report that Carl had passed away. Funeral arrangements were not available at the time of this writing.)
Moving on with the meeting, the following items were mentioned:
The Women of Rotary were thanked for being Greeters for today’s meeting.
The Bagel Run Volunteers were thanked for their service.
A report that Jessica and Nathan Stewart have a baby boy who was born on January 19th.
Fireside events at the homes of Linn Mills, Jane Lee, and Pete Sotta are coming up in a couple of weeks, with a few spots open at each. Check with Mandy or the BuzzSaw for details.
On February 29, instead of a lunch meeting, there will be a Rotary Roundup at the Rotary Youth Camp, starting at 6 pm. Registration is open. See Buzzsaw for details.
Member Dan Nenonen introduced our speaker for the day, Lindsey Rood-Clifford, President/CEO of Starlight. Her topic was “The Future of Starlight in Kansas City.” Ms. Rood-Clifford has held this position since April, 023, after serving in numerous positions at Starlight and other community service organizations.
She reviewed the conditions that are challenging the survival of theater around the country. Starlight is both a musical theater and live music.
One challenge is the decline of music and theater in public schools.
Online opportunities to view all forms of performing arts compete with a venue that requires leaving home and sitting outside.
The years of the pandemic had a major impact on all forms of entertainment.
Starlight is in the midst of a $40 million dollar campaign to fund numerous improvements at the Starlight venue.
Ms. Rood-Clifford reviewed these and many other topics affecting the survival and growth of the Starlight experience. More information can be found in the meeting’s recording on its website.
Pres. Tom Davis returned to the podium to review coming events and offered the following quote from the Grateful Dead: “Look up there at those stars. It was beautiful and so is it for the Starlight..”
After we recited the 4 way test, the meeting was adjourned.
Ray Klinginsmith, the 2010-11 Rotary International president who made it his focus to help clubs become bigger, better, and bolder, has died at the age of 86.
Klinginsmith first became involved with Rotary in 1960 when he was a Rotary Scholar to South Africa, an opportunity sponsored by his hometown club, the Rotary Club of Unionville, Missouri, USA. It was during his eventful year in Cape Town that he first heard the phrase “wind of change,” which referenced the rapid advances in society and would go on to shape his thinking about Rotary’s need to adapt.
His presidential theme in 2010-11, Building Communities — Bridging Continents, sought to capture what Rotary is best at doing and what it needed to continue to do to embrace change in the world.
Klinginsmith joined Rotary in 1961 and was a member of the Rotary clubs of Unionville and Macon, Missouri, before joining the Rotary Club of Kirksville, Missouri, in 1974. He served on the RI Board of Directors from 1985-87 and was a trustee of The Rotary Foundation from 2002-06 and again from 2012-16. He was trustee chair in 2015-16. He was the first Rotary Foundation program alumnus to become RI president.
He received The Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service in 1983-84 and the Distinguished Service Award in 1995-96. He and his wife, Judie, were Major Donors, members of the Bequest Society, and Paul Harris Fellows.
Klinginsmith received his law degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia and practiced law in Macon and Kirksville for more than 50 years. He also served as general counsel, dean of administration, and business professor at Truman State University in Missouri. He was the founding member and first president of the Chariton Valley Association, a nonprofit that provides services to people with developmental disabilities in northeast Missouri.
Klinginsmith himself was fond of using the phrase “cowboy logic” to explain his simple approach to problem-solving, taken from country singer Michael Martin Murphey’s song by the same title. At the 2010 assembly, Klinginsmith entertained incoming leaders with versions of the song and his interpretations of its application to Rotary.
These photos are of a visit to hospitals in Lusaka and Ndola Zambia by an assessor from Project C.U.R.E. The assessor will return to the US and right up a report on the needs at each facility. This global grant is targeted at neonatal and post natal care in Zambia. Its goal is to reduce infant deaths.
Please join the Rotary Book Discussion Group for the discussion of the book West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. 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; however, Zoom will be available for those you cannot attend in person.
Date: Monday, February 5, 2024, 6:30 PM
Location: J. Wilbur Company
3242 Roanoke
Kansas City, MO 64111
About the book:
Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.
It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.
Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.
Our bowling league met up last Wednesday for our weekly roll, and a great time it was! Kind of a slow night for 200 games and splits and spares though.
200 games
Matt Ho-269
Chris Grimsley-230
John Lawrence-242
Peter Ho-212
Henrik Andersen-222
Splits and spares
Peter Ho-5/7
Henrik Andersen-4/9
Henrik would like to credit his third game to Dennis McKeehan, as he is using Dennis’s old shoes and bowling ball….
CONGRATULATIONS!
Jessica and Nathan Stewart welcomed their baby girl Tamsyn Annilee Stewart into the world at 12:19p on Friday the 19th.
6lbs 11oz
19 1/2”
"Mom and baby are doing great, dad is a Rockstar at taking care of us!"
Rotary Youth Camp Update
By Laurie Mozley
The “cripple boys session” became an officially recognized Boy Scout session in 1957. This session continues today. The Rotary Club has used Boy Scout leaders and staff to run the sessions at the Rotary Youth Camp through the years. If you know of a young man who is disabled and would like to have a camping experience, have them contact the camp office.
Please join the Rotary Book Discussion Group for the discussion of the book West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. 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; however, Zoom will be available for those you cannot attend in person. 
Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.
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