Rotary Recap, 7/13/2016
Posted By Scott Jones
Happy Wednesday, Rotarians.
Apologies for not getting last week’s newsletter out, even though I was at the meeting. I’ve tried to cover both last and this week’s meeting in this newsletter.
Need to Know:
- Thank you to Sara Herren and Don Stockton and their spouses for all of their hard work on our Installation Banquet.
- ATV Raffle Tickets are now available for purchase and for members to sell. Tickets are $10.00 each. Please contact Debbie Wiese to check out tickets. Ticket sales are slow so sell, sell, sell.
- Upcoming speakers: Next week, Mayor Robert Williams will be here to discuss the upcoming ballot issues. On July 26th, Jim Mayes’ grandson Nathaniel will be here to discuss his experience at RYLA.
- The next board meeting is this Thursday at noon at Southern Missouri Bank. All members are welcome.
- Rotary traditionally works the kitchen on Friday night at the Webster County Fair. We need volunteers to work on Friday, July 22nd. A sign up sheet will be available at next week’s meeting, and should be available on the club website soon.
Meeting Recap
Our guests last week: Mayor Williams, Molly and Charlie Thomas.
Our guest this week: Jerry Morgan.
Happy July birthdays to Stan Whitehurst and Chan Crooker.
Virginia Bareis, wife of the late Dr. Bob Bareis (a charter member of our club), passed away over the weekend. Her funeral is Thursday at 10:30 AM at Fraker Funeral Home.
Our speaker last week was John Benson, the new City Administrator for Marshfield. Mr. Benson grew up in Iowa and has worked in various planning and development capacities over the years, including as planning director for Platte County, and for the past 14 years, for the City of Raytown, Missouri. Mr. Benson gave us some updates on various community projects. New bike lanes have been completed on Jackson Street, which tie into state and national bike routes. Capitalizing on Marshfield’s location on major cycling routes is a big economic opportunity for the community. The new activity center is going into phase 3 for final design this month. The city is also investigating partnerships for operation with YMCA, Cox Health, etc. The new “streetscape” project for downtown is waiting for MODOT approval of the contractor. The square will remain open for traffic during the project, although there may be some lane closures. The city is also working with MODOT to make a new I-44 interchange a priority when funds become available. Mr. Benson is very impressed with Marshfield’s vision for growth and the alignment between the city, county, school, chamber and civic organizations.
Mayor Williams briefly mentioned 2 ballot issues involving the city. He will elaborate on the issues at our next meeting. First is the vehicle sales tax. The state already collects the tax, but if the city doesn’t pass this ballot issue, that source of revenue for the city will go away. The second is a bond issue for transportation projects.
Our speaker this week was Breanna Harris with Jordan Valley Health. Jordan Valley has over 500 employees and provides various health services to Springfield and multiple area communities, including Marshfield. It provides general health, OBGYN, family medicine, dental, optometry, and at certain locations, mental health services. A new project is “Telehealth”, where certain diagnoses can be done over the web via an ultra high-def camera/tablet. Jordan Valley is looking at expanding it to school nurses. Basically with the tablet, a nurse would be able to communicate with Jordan Valley medical staff to diagnose ear infections, etc. Ms. Harris would like to reintroduce the mobile unit to Marshfield. Jordan Valley recently broke ground on a new Lebanon Clinic. The clinic will have all the usual services, plus mental health services, WIC, and a satellite Walgreens pharmacy.
Final Thoughts
I’m late in posting my America-themed Muppets videos to honor Independence Day, but better late than never.
Marshfield Rotary Club: Raising the bar through leadership, giving and education.
Yours in Rotary Service,
Kristin Grace Krebs