Western Flyer for February 25, 2020 (Feb 17, 2020)

Feb 25, 2020

Dr. Brandon Whipple, Mayor

Dr. Brandon Whipple was elected as the Mayor of Wichita in the Nov. 5, 2019, election and was sworn in to office on Jan. 13, 2020. Prior to being elected Mayor, Dr. Whipple served District 96 in the Kansas House of Representatives for 7 years and was a professor at Wichita State University.

In December 2019, Mayor Whipple was honored to attend the biennial Seminar on Transition for Newly Elected Mayors at The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. Mayor Whipple participated in sessions on various topics including leading in times of crisis, supporting youth civic engagement, and effective policing. The seminar was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and led by current and former mayors, prominent scholars and policy experts.

Mayor Whipple graduated from Dover High School in Dover, New Hampshire, and also earned his Associate of Arts in liberal studies from Hesser College. He moved to Wichita in 2003 at age 21 in a year-long education-service mission with AmeriCorps. In that program he worked with at-risk youth at Wichita South High School, and ultimately made a decision to call Wichita home.

He graduated from Wichita State University where he earned a Bachelor of General Studies and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies with an emphasis on cross-cultural studies and public administration. Whipple also earned a Doctor of Arts in Leadership Studies from Franklin Pierce University.

Mayor Whipple is married to his wife, Chelsea, and they have three young children, Adrian, Tristan and Julian.

When not working, Mayor Whipple enjoys studying history, teaching martial arts and spending time with his family exploring all that Wichita has to offer. He is also a member of Vestry at St. James Episcopal Church

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WEST WICHITA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

GRANT REQUEST APPLICATIONS BEING ACCEPTED

Due to the success of the Rotary Club of West Wichita’s fundraising efforts for our West Wichita Charitable Foundation (WWCF), we occasionally have a limited amount of funds available for additional charitable or educational initiatives.

This year, a total of up to $7,500.00 will be used from our club’s Foundation fund; $5,000.00 will be spent on gift cards for Lawrence & Benton Elementary teachers to help them buy supplies at the beginning of the school year and up to $2,500.00 will be available for additional scholarships to fund worthy projects in support of an educational initiative. If a member of the Rotary Club of West Wichita would like to sponsor a project eligible to receive funding, that member should complete and submit the Grant Request form. A project must be sponsored by a member in good standing of the Rotary Club of West Wichita.The WWCF is under no obligation to disburse these funds if no eligible projects are deemed worthy of funding. All grant requests should be submitted to Diane by April 30, 2020.

SPRING SOCIAL

CROWN UPTOWN THEATER

DALE KENNY'S ROCK & ROLL REVIEW

3207 E. DOUGLAS AVE.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14

7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:00)

Our club members + 1 guest: No charge

Reservations due by March 6 - Sign up at the meeting or e-mail Diane

REMINDER: Reservations made and not kept will be charged

WIND SURGE BASEBALL OUTINGS

ROTARY NIGHT WITH THE WIND SURGE (an event initiated by the Wind Surge)

Come bring the entire family for an evening of baseball, good, fellowship and fun as we celebrate the 1st Annual Rotary Night here with the Wind Surge on Monday, May 18th. Rotarians are encouraged to come early and participate on the field during our pre-game recognition ceremony as we celebrate and honor all the work done by Rotarians for our communities!

For more details, contact: Nicke Schriever at 281-904-8620 or email at nschriever@windsurge.com

OUR WEST WICHITA ROTARY CLUB OUTING is scheduled for Friday, June 12, in the picnic area at the new stadium. No charge for our club members + 1 guest for the game and an all-you-can-eat buffet. Additional guests are $35 each. John Oswald is organizing this event.

DONATIONS TO AUSTRALIA DISTRICT

Thank you for your contributions for the Rotary District 9570 - Australia Drought and Fire disaster relief fund! A check for $1,075, along with a card of encouragement signed by our members, has been mailed to their District.

HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS

This year our Vocational Service Committee decided to target students who will be attending a Kansas Trade school to receive our $1,000 High School scholarships. Our club awards three $1,000 scholarships to a graduating senior from our area schools. For more information, see the application form on our website. Spread the word to anyone you know who qualifies. NOTE: It cannot be a family member of our Rotary members.

The Four-Way Test of the things we think, say or do:

Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and better FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Photo by Mark Chamberlin: Mark Hansen recruited a team to represent our West Wichita Rotary Club.

INTERACT DODGEBALL TOURNAMENT

Report by Brent Dome, Sunrise Rotary Club

We had a great dodgeball tournament! We had 8 teams, no injuries but I am sure some sore bodies the next day! A team called The Black Belts comprised of Bishop Carroll high school students won the tournament. Between participant entry fees, sponsors and some very unexpected, generous donors we raised $3,280. We want to say a special thank you to the Sunrise Club and West Club members that participated and sponsored teams!

Thirteen students and two sponsors, (Dalia Hale and I) leave for Panama March 15th, we are busy working with the Rotary Club in Panama City to finalize the schools we will visit. The next phase for the Interact Club is to gather school supplies that we will take with us. If there are any Rotary members who would like to donate school supplies, they can bring them to a club meeting and I will coordinate a pick up. All supplies, with exception of reams of paper or notebooks (they add a lot of weight to the containers we have to check with the airline) will be taken.

Thank you to all who support this group! It truly is a life changing experience for our students, not to mention the benefit to the underprivileged schools all due to the efforts and generosity of a small group of people in Wichita, KS. #RotaryRocks!

-->BRING SCHOOL SUPPLIES TO OUR CLUB MEETING FOR OUR INTERACT STUDENTS TO TAKE TO DISTRIBUTE TO SCHOOLS IN PANAMA WHEN THEY GO IN MARCH. (please no paper, notebooks, or anything that would be too heavy to transport.)

Member Birthdays

Zella Newberry

February 1

Michael Phipps

February 23

Grady Goff

February 27

Stan Krehbiel

February 27

Bob Broeckelman

March 28

Rotary Club Meeting
Rolling Hills Country Club
Feb 25, 2020 12:00 PM

Rotary Club Meeting
Rolling Hills Country Club
Mar 03, 2020 12:00 PM

Rotary Club Meeting
Rolling Hills Country Club
Mar 10, 2020 12:00 PM

Rotary Board Meeting
Downing & Lahey Mortuary
Mar 16, 2020 5:30 PM

STAR Class
Rolling Hills Country Club
Mar 17, 2020 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM

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MEETING INFORMATION

VISITING ROTARIANS (last week'speakers) Shannon Wedge - Downtown Deb Brinegar - East Rotary

ATTENDANCE & MEMBERSHIP Last meeting: 59% Membership: 61 Last year: 58% Membership: 57

FEBRUARY STAR CLASS ATTENDANCE: Mark Hansen, Jack Flesher, Diana Fredelake, Lori Taylor, Scott Hinderliter, Rod Brown, Grady Goff, John Mosley, DeAnn Sullivan & Dave Abbott.

HOLIDAY RAFFLE: Diana Fredelake won $9 in our raffle last week. The pot will be worth over $50 if an Ace is drawn. Proceeds from the raffle are used to purchase groceries for needy families at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

HAPPY BASKET: $9.00