This week's speaker is Gail Worth. Her topic is: "Feel the Power - Her Story."
For 25 years, Gail Worth has lead the motorsports industry with vision and determination. In 1999, she founded Gail's Harley-Davidson in Kansas City. Through strong relationships and expertise, the dealership thrived under her guidance.
In 2020, Gail courageously relinquished the Harley-Davidson franchise. Seeking to evolve, she created Gail's American Motorcycles exploring new brands. After a year, Gail eliminated the other brands and remained solely with quality pre-owned Harley-Davidsons.
Ever the visionary leader, Gail expanded in 2016 by purchasing Shawnee Cycle Plaza in Shawnee, Kansas. Featuring Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha and CFMoto, Shawnee Cycles has risen to become the top selling Kawasaki dealer in the Midwest under Gail's direction.
Today, across two states, Gail's Motorcycles and Shawnee Cycle Plaza employ over 75 people. After 25 years navigating challenges with gutsy determination, Gail's fiery attitude and commitment to adaptation continue guiding her success in a changing marketplace.
Rotary 13 members and invited guests gathered in The Kill Devil Club at 14th and Main with select individuals participating remotely via Zoom and Facebook Live. President Tom Davis brought the assembly to order at 12:15pm with a ding of the bell and purposely introduced himself to aid newcomers and guests. The group stood for the Pledge of Allegiance, and Lainie Wilbur acknowledged the troubled times in our city and the appropriateness of the Golden Rule as laid out in Matthew 7:12.
Mandy Sheldon facilitated guest introductions. These included Kara Feitz’s co-worker from Shelter KC, Chloe; HOK colleagues of the featured speaker, Amy and Peter; and Linda Zesch's friend Nikki Staab. The group observed several member anniversaries this week: Blake Fry, 4 years; Francis Karanu, 2 years; and Julio Dotel, 2 years. Thankfully, no members were reported in Sick Bay.
President Tom noted that the door greeters today were the Club 13 membership committee and expressed his gratitude to them. Jane Lee then stepped forward to speak of the special event planned on March 14th between 5pm and 7pm, a social hour at Do Good Company. Located at 18th and Oak, this consignment shop will host the club for beverages and a presentation of its uncommon philanthropic mission. (There is no lunch meeting that Thursday.) Then Kara Bennett rose to remind the club of this month’s 5th Thursday activity, a Rotary Roundup at the Youth Camp on February 29th. At $30 per head, participants get raffles, line dancing, buffet BBQ, and a cash bar between 6pm and 9pm. The Lee’s Summit club will co-host the event; advance registration is needed for planning purposes.
Upcoming Club 13 activities include:
2 March, Geeks for Kids Build Day. Registration required.
6 March, Greater KC Day kickoff at Granfalloon at the Plaza.
13 April, Sleep in Heavenly Peace bed build
16 April, New Theatre production of Elvis: Aloha from Vegas. Signup required.
At 12:25pm, Kara Feitz introduced the featured speaker of the day, architect Lillian Cooper of HOK. Ms. Cooper is a native of Atchison, KS and completed her graduate studies at Kansas State University. Her design team leads the renovation project planned for Shelter KC in the Crossroads. The title of her presentation, “Trauma-Informed Design, A New Way to Shelter the Unhoused” speaks directly to nonprofits and populations served by rescue missions.
Cooper noted that neglected communities tend to live in neglected locations—and not just in Missouri or Kansas. Homelessness exists across the country in towns of all sizes. As with any humans, one’s general living environment shapes mental state, attitudes, and behaviors. Residing in poorly-resourced environments creates discouragement. But those physical spaces, when planned out, can heal and transform their residents. The dormitory-style, common room approach to sheltering does not nourish trauma effectively. Instead, shelters should be warmer and inviting, offer more privacy and safety, and support the development of identity, worth, and dignity. Multi-sensory spaces that allow for connectedness to nature, temperature control, comfortable noise levels/acoustics, laundry resources, and secure storage matter to all people, including the homeless.
The architectural challenges for creating shelter spaces come from the range of individuals and employees needing that special environment. They can include veterans, victims of domestic violence and trafficking, victims of substance abuse, those with mental illness, families with children, senior citizens, the chronically homeless, and persons experiencing financial strain. The staff who work with these clients remain exposed to secondary trauma, as a workplace risk, and require areas of respite, daylight, and quiet to maintain balance in their efforts. In toto, it is an uncommon design puzzle.
While few Kansas Citians deny a need for shelters and aid directed to the unhoused, consensus around how and where to do it is far from uniform. Concerns about Not In My Back Yard—NIMBY—influence most discussions of services for the homeless. As an architecture firm, Ms. Cooper and her team know that persuasive success in planning rescue missions requires time and effort. They must study the history and design of the area, form relationships with the existing property owners, communicate and educate openly about their project concept, and design with beauty and empathy. For example, because clients of shelters line up to gain admittance, a queuing area that is sheltered from rain or snow, and sized to the arriving groups, matters greatly.
Questions for Ms. Cooper included updates on the Shelter KC project and whether the whole location is moving (the design phase for creating an addition to the existing building is complete); the growth in Shelter KC’s bed capacity when the new addition opens (about 24%); and how she became interested in this architectural niche (she grew up in the church and participated in youth ministry, and worked on earthquake recovery design projects as a student.)
President Tom thanked Ms. Cooper for her ethic of service and her interest in the work of Shelter KC. His ending announcements recapped upcoming Club 13 lunch meetings and special events. At 13:00, he shared the following with the group:
“To save a life is a real and beautiful thing. To make a home for the homeless, yes, it is a thing that must be good; whatever the world may say, it cannot be wrong.” –Vincent Van Gogh
The 4-Way Test closed the session, followed by the bell.
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 7thso remember you cash!
If you wish to make a financial contribution by check, please make your check payable to Kansas City Rotary Club Foundation and note “Shoes for Orphan Souls” on the memo. Mail your donation to Tucker Clark: 5200 W. 57th St. Roeland Park, KS, 66205. This is the same location shoe shoppers will drop of for storage until the caravan in late April. Questions, comments, concerns, or know anyone high up at Nike or Adidas? Please reach out anytime at tucker.clark@rfconline.com or (913)707-1351.
Thank you from the International Committee for your support of the 2022 Shoes for Orphan Souls Campaign. And, one final shout out to Linn Mills for all her hard work as chair in the past.
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!
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.
Please watch your email for your invitation to this fascinating event!
Bowling News
by Tim Tholen
Happy Monday 13!
We met for our weekly bowling extravaganza last Wednesday, as usual. As of Wednesday The Strike Kings, Lon Lawton, Peter Ho and Matt Ho are in first.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 11, and join your fellow Rotarians to get the camp ready for our Centennial Celebration and the rest of the summer! There will be jobs for everyone no matter your “skill level”. Donuts and a BBQ lunch will be provided, as well as a little dirt and maybe cobwebs.
Many different groups used the Rotary Youth Camp over the years. Here is a BuzzSaw article from 1963 that highlights a few. (click on the photo to read a larger version of the article) The photo is of the original pool and shows the original pool house and “camp museum”.
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.
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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