Service Above Self

Rotary Club of Tumwater

The Tumrotor

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Club Web Site

Editor: William McCarthy If you have any comments or questions, email the editor.

Future Speakers

Apr 21 2010 Mike McCarty: Dir WA State Assoc of Cities "Financial Condition of the Cities"

Apr 28 2010 Kim Wyman: Thurston County Auditor "Making do with Less"

May 5 2010 Jack Arend, Principal of Peter G. Schmitt Elem "Literacy"

May 12 2010 John Doan, Tumwater City Administrator "Condition of the City"

May 19 2010 Patricia Costello, County Assessor "Property Taxes & the Great Wolf Lodge"

May 26 2010 TENTATIVELY: Barbara Madsen, Chief Justice "Washington State Supreme Court"

Jun 30 2010 Installation of Club Officers 2010-2011

Nov 10 2010 District Governor Robert Martin "Official Governor's Visit"

Upcoming Events

Board Meeting Apr 27 2010 - Apr 27 2010

Club Meeting April 14 2010 by William McCarthy Meeting called to order by President Lorrie Henning. Visiting Rotarians: Clair Ferris from Capital Centennial, Denise Keegan from Olympia, David from South Puget Sound, and Rob Panowicz from West Olympia. Guests: Pam Berschauer introduced by Cheri Finger, and Adrian Stansifer introduced by Ron Nelson Brags & Fines: Last weekend Carmen Rowe-Hoogkamer had another dog win a show championship! Visiting Rotarian David Palmer's son participated in a Standup Comedy Night event at the UW which was sponsored by the UW Rotaract Club. Visiting Rotarian Clair Ferris had a birthday. Mike Andrews passed out the "bigger dance bracket." If you win you & a friend can go anywhere in the world to see a sport event free! Lorrie Henning paid for missing a meeting, but she was sick! Fred Hanson went back to the Trosper Road Cleanup site & added blocks, bark, & more plants. John Grimm paid for having a "senior moment" during the flag salute. Bob Solie paid for not telling John he was to do the flag salute, before President Lorrie announced it. Ron Nelson paid for doing a "lousy job" of introducing Adrian Stansifer. Jamin May had an anniversary. However, he paid because his family went to Seabrook while he stayed back to work ( tax season you know!) Announcements:

Rotary Point Volunteering: Site Clean Up May 22 2010 - May 10 2010

Other Bank YWCA Remodel May 22 2010 - May 22 2010

Board Meeting May 25 2010 - May 25 2010

Olympic Air Show Jun 19 2010 - Jun 20 2010

International Convention Jun 20 2010 - Jun 23 2010

Board Meeting Jun 22 2010 - Jun 22 2010

Installation Of Club Officers for 2010-2011 Jun 30 2010

Lakefair Jul 14 2010 - Jul 18 2010

Mushroom Festival Jul 24 2010 - Jul 25 2010

Board Meeting Jul 27 2010 - Jul 27 2010

Harbor Days Sep 3 2010 - Sep 5 2010

News

Quote of the week

Thought of the week

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Fred Hanson filled in for Crystal Zabala & thanked everyone who participated in the highway cleanup at Trosper Rd & I-5 on Saturday April 10th. Pictures are on the website. (home page, right side, photo journal) President Lorrie announced that OBEE Credit Union has set up an account to assist Interactor Kaycee Keegan in bringing Greg Mortenson to Thurston County. $6,000 more is needed to fulfill the Interact club's obligation. Olympia High School Senior & Interact Club member Kaycee Keegan spoke about the May 13th events surrounding Greg Mortenson's appearance in Thurston County. She has posters for your business, a video, and more tickets to sell. You can purchase tickets by going to either seatyourself.biz or to the (Thurston County) Community Foundation website. Please remember to bring your "pennies for peace" to the talk on May 13th to help build schools in Pakistan & Afghanistan. President Lorrie presented Vicky Churchill with her "blue badge." President Lorrie presented Adrian Stansifer with his "red badge" & new member packet. Program: Rob Panowicz; Owner of Panowicz Jewelers in Downtown Olympia on Operating a Small Business in Today's Economic Environment Panowicz Jewelers opened in June of 1948. It has been in downtown Olympia since the beginning. Before taking over the management of the Jewelry Rob was an Accounting Professor at the UW. He is also a retired from the Naval Reserve & is a member of the West Olympia Rotary Club. His dad opened the Jewelry store the day President Harry Truman visited Washington State. Rob started with a Chinese proverb: "may you live in interesting times." For small businesses these are interesting times. Rob sees the new reality for small business as rapidly changing. In the 1950's & 60's his dad, Anton, would go to see Joe, Hank, Larry, etc; they were his banker, doctor, & dentist. Things were personal. Then, in the 1970's, things began to change with the birth of malls & big box stores. Business is becoming impersonal. There was a time when you knew your banker by name & got a loan on a handshake. Now, that is not so. Rob cited the example of a young Dentist wanting to set up a Periodontal practice here. He had, references, education, and a good market niche. But he was turned down for a loan by the "local" bank. Small business is being buffeted by failures, consolidations, and rising costs. In Rob's business gold has gone from $300 to $1200 an ounce. Small family owned businesses are considered a dying breed. Rob's immediate goal is to have Panowicz become a 4th generation family business. He even has a desk for his granddaughter in the store.

He is constantly trying to balance the costs & broad based competitive forces (especially from the internet). One of the coasts affecting small business is health care insurance. Rob believes in doing right by his staff, but it is expensive. However, not having insurance is even more expensive. As an example, his sister, owner of Drees, had a liver transplant in 1994. Without insurance the procedure would have cost $1.2 million. Rob believes in giving young people a chance to learn business, and a little money as well. He hires high school students on a part time basis to help them grow financially. He is very proud of what some of his student employees have become. One is a retired Boeing Engineer & another is a Penn State tenured professor. Many return to say "Thanks." So, what does a small business do to compete? They must be distinguished from the other stores. There are 47 places to buy jewelry in Thurston County. To be successful & survive the small business must build relationships & take care of people. They must have an impact on the local community. Panowicz supports the community up to about 6% of its business revenue. We have seen a shift from local business assisting the community to the State & then the Federal Government. However, it is the businesses that still pay for community support by paying the taxes that the governments impose to provide service to the community. We have seen a shift in control, cost, & efficiency. The latter is not the same level of efficiency that we saw when businesses supported the community directly. The retail environment of the future will see a smaller market place (i.e. fewer bricks & mortar stores) less local inventory, less community support, higher costs, & more high tech marketing. Question & Answers : Jim Maw asked what does it take to be in business. Capital investment; location; building a team (staff); inventory; operating expenses; & marketing (about 8% of gross). In the jewelry business you would do well to have a before tax margin of 4%. You also must deal with regulatory factors such as business licenses, B & O tax, Sales tax, & applicable inspections. Mike Andrews asked if the current competitive environment & increased costs have affected the quality of goods available to be sold. That is a very important factor for a small business. You survive based on your reputation. Product quality must be high. Panowicz is constantly searching for new sources of supply. Customers will not comeback if the product is inferior. It is all a part of the relationship building mentioned earlier. Drawing:

Sharon Ferris came close, but the pot grows!

U.N.: Dirty water kills more than war by Norm Gerken

Report issued to mark World Water Day After walking in a muddy path that soiled their shoes and pants, a brother and sister clean off with water in a drainage canal in Kibera, a huge slum outside Nairobi, Kenya, on March 21.

Human beings are flushing millions of tons of solid waste into rivers and oceans every day, poisoning marine life and spreading diseases that kill millions of children annually, the U.N. said on Monday to mark World Water Day. "The sheer scale of dirty water means more people now die from contaminated and polluted water than from all forms of violence including wars," the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said. In a report entitled "Sick Water", UNEP said the two million tons of waste, which contaminates over two billion tons of water daily, had left huge "dead zones" that choke coral reefs and fish. It consists mostly of sewage, industrial pollution, pesticides from agriculture and animal waste. Water rights "Clean water for a Healthy World" is the theme for World Water Day on March 22. More than a billion people lack access to clean water for drinking or sanitation. more photos The report said a lack of clean water was killing 1.8 million children under five every year. Much of the waste came from developing countries, which dump 90 percent of their wastewater untreated. Diarrhea, mostly from dirty water, kills around 2.2 million people a year, it said, and "over half the world's hospital beds are occupied with people suffering from illnesses linked with contaminated water." The report recommends water recycling systems and multi-million or multi-billion dollar water sewage treatment works". It also suggests protecting wetlands, which act as natural waste processors, and saving animal waste to use as fertilizer. "If the world is to ... survive on a planet of six billion people heading to over nine billion by 2050, we need to get smarter about how we manage wastewaters," said UNEP director Achim Steiner. "Wastewater is quite literally killing people."

SEE THE PICTURES FROM THE FOUNDATION DINNER by William McCarthy Thanks to South Puget Sound Member & photographer Charlie Kirry we have a lasting memory of a great evening. Please look at "Photo Journals" on the right side of the home page & view the Tumwater Rotarians!

Update on Actions of the RI Board of Directors by William McCarthy Immediately following the International Assembly on January 25 through 29 the Rotary International Board of Directors met for their third meeting of the 2009-2010 year at One Rotary Center in Evanston. Interact Age Requirements Lowered To Age 12 (Jr High Schools Now Eligible For Interact Clubs). The Board Also Recommended Other Actions To Strengthen Rotary's Interact Program, Appointment Of A Committee To Recommend Changes To Our Vocational Service Model, Including The Adoption Of A Rotary Code Of Ethics, Establishes a new "Club Builder Award."

Palestine will be open for extension of Rotary clubs and will be aligned in District 2450. A search committee has been designated to replace General Secretary Ed Futa, who announced his retirement effective June 30, 2011. A new, streamlined, efficient, and lean Rotary International Committee structure has been adopted for 2010-2011. RI will place an emphasis on web conferencing to reduce committee expenses. Additionally, the board recommended the following actions: Report Of Committee To Review Meetings An RI Committee has been functioning this past year to review the following organization-wide meetings: District Conferences, Rotary Institutes, and The Council on Legislation. The board agrees with the committee assessment that there is a need to re-evaluate the purpose and structure of both Rotary Institutes and District Conferences. The administration committee of the board will review the committee's recommendations and recommend changes for the June 2010 meeting. Regarding potential changes to the Council On Legislation (COL): The board authorized the appointment of a COL trainer, whose duties will be to plan and provide consistent training for all delegates to the COL; particularly the first-time attendees. Long Term Strategy On International Offices The board requests the general secretary to create a recommended long-term strategy for RI's international offices, such strategy to include the recommended optimal service levels, office locations, their cost-effectiveness, options for purchase or rental of real estate, etc., for review by the Board at its November 2010 meeting. Adopts A Three Year Regional Election Complaint Pilot Project. The board adopted a three year pilot project for clubs in zones 4, 5, and 6 for district level elections after 1 July 2010 which authorizes a zone-level election complaint panel to take action on behalf of the board. This panel will be appointed each year by the RI President and will be the first adjudicator of district election complaints. Rotarian Action Groups (Rags) Pilot Project The Board referred this matter to the RAGs Pilot Ad-Hoc Committee for reconsideration and report to the Board at its June 2010 meeting.

Trosper Rd/I-5 Cleanup by William McCarthy Thanks to Alex Williams, Crystal Zabala, George Carter, Vicky Churchill, Fred Hanson, Larry Childers, & Bill McCarthy