Thank you, Christian Bryant, for your leadership in organizing our “Pay it Forward” fundraiser last Saturday evening. By all indications, it was a great success. The room looked beautiful, checkin and checkout was smooth, dinner and wine were great, and the fellowship excellent. Thank you, Lauren Gutierrez, for countless hours of preparation, especially in the past month. Thank you, Leilani Slama and Brenda Kidder, for lending us your time and talent. Lisa Mance, the silent auction items were beautifully arranged. Claudia Vorse and Christine Whiteside, great job with the facilities. Scott Larson, Brenna Baucum, David Deckelmann, Ron Kelemen, you were all major players in creating this success.
A large number of committees and individuals contributed to the silent auction items. International Service had a cool display, as did the Peace Committee and Youth Exchange. Salem Rotary Foundation contributed a “summer” themed package, and another team enthusiastically led by Tammy Dennee created a “winter” themed package. A special thank you to Michelle Lehr, an employee of the H Group, for being a Rotarian-in-spirit and helping so much with procurement. The number of other generous donors to the auction are too many to name, but the Club is grateful for each and every one of you. We are also grateful to Rotaractors Samantha Hanrahan and Dennis Musli for your support at checkin and checkout.
Not to mention the good financial outcome we’re hoping for.  Attendance was at near-record levels, and the bidding seemed to go well. Auctioneer Brian Bice, Rotarian from the Lake Oswego Club, did a great job engaging the audience. And emcee Nick Williams was your usual classy self. (Thank you to your daughters for lending you to us for the evening). Our incomparable Treasurer, Chuck Swank, seemed to be everywhere taking care of details, and he has promised us a financial report as soon as feasible.
A Club President like me has a bird’s-eye view of the experience, but may not always be aware of the million small-but-important details it takes to put on a great event. Therefore please forgive me if I have overlooked the mention your special contribution.  Thank you to one and all.
And now, we take a deep breath and begin looking forward to next year. To make our event better every year, we invite your feedback and suggestions on how to improve. Please email me  or Christian. Next year, we will need even more active helpers to share the huge number of tasks it takes to create success. Next year, when we call for volunteers, won’t you please step up?
This week’s meeting: Congressman Kurt Schrader. Congressman Kurt Schrader will update us on what is happening on the national legislative front, with special emphasis on issues affecting the Mid-Willamette Valley and Oregon.
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