Bulletin for week of March 26 to April 1, 2010

  Senator John Valentine speaks to Provo Rotary Club.

Provo Rotary Club, Inc.
Bulletin for week of March 26 to April 1, 2010
2009-2010 Rotary Theme: Moral Literacy for Youth and Adults
   
Upcoming Luncheon Programs and Club Events
April 1: Past Rotary District Governor Wally Brown will speak about the upcoming Rotary Council on Legislation
April 8: Jeff Herring, Executive Director of Human Resources for the State of Utah, will speak about the advantages of the 4-day work week
April 15: Christina Davis, I-15 Project Communications Manager, and Dave Smith, I-15 CORE Communications Director, will speak on the I-15 expansion project through Utah County
April 22: Vance Checketts will speak on his recent conquest of Alaska's Mt. McKinley
April 29: Field trip to the Provo Library at Academy Square for lunch and a tour
May 6: Derek A. Marquis, Managing Director, BYU Broadcasting
May 13: Annual evening Rotarians and their girls social activity
May 20: Larry Duffin, BYU Director of Special Events, speaking about growing safety concerns in major public assembly facilities
May 27: Jan Scharman, BYU VP of Student Life

Report of the Provo Rotary Club meeting held March 25, 2010

The Rotary luncheon was held at the Provo Marriott Hotel. President Steve Sabins conducted the meeting. Doris Bullock accompanied and Steve Tolley led the singing of the Anthem and the Pledge. Merrill Hymas offered an invocation.

Guests attending today were:
   
    •Doc Hansen, guest of Strat Wendelboe
    •Paul Schwen, guest of Strat Wendelboe

RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) camp has been moved from late October to early September. Applications are now being accepted. If you know an active high school leader, please contact Kyle Tresner (801-361-4760) for an application.

The annual Utah District Rotary Conference will be held in St. George in May. See the note below.

Steve Smith welcomed Dan Ellertson as a new member of the Provo Rotary Club. See bio below.

Carl Belliston served as sergeant asking a few members to speak about the recently enacted health care legislation. Respondents were Robert Redd, Clark Merkley and Steve Smith.
Don Jarvis introduced today's speaker, John Valentine, a local attorney, current Utah State Senator and former president of that body. He reported on the recently completed annual Utah legislative session. This is the 2nd year of deep budget cuts. Last year they cut $1 billion from the budget and this year another $850 million. Budget cuts were roughly 22% for all departments except public education which sustained only a .9% cut. Higher education was cut 13%. There is still $239 million in the rainy day fund. Utah recently was rated by Forbes magazine as the best managed state in the country and the only state to still have a AAA bond rating.

Much of this year's session was devoted to discussion of ethics reform. There is already a $10 gift limit for law makers (imposed by the 2009 legislature). An independent ethics commission is now being appointed to review issues of questionable conduct among legislators.

By 2013 the recently passed national health care bill is projected to cost Utah an additional $400 million in Medicaid payments for low-income individuals.

Unemployment in Utah is 6.8% compared with 10.2% nationally.

Dan Ellertson New Rotarian 

Steve Smith (r) presents membership plaques to new Provo Rotarian Dan Ellertson

Dan grew up in Santa Barbara County on the central California coast, but returned to his family’s roots in Provo to attend BYU where he earned a BA in Economics and an MBA.
While at BYU Dan served an LDS mission church in Thailand. Upon completing school he worked in sales, marketing and general management for computer related businesses, first in SLC and later in Pittsburgh PA.

In the early 90’s Dan and family moved back to Provo where Dan and a partner founded and grew a global business manufacturing cables and connector systems in a Southern China factory for major computer and mobile phone clients around the world. Since selling the business in 2005 Dan has been involved in other business startups as well as commercial real estate and insurance in which he currently works with a Provo based independent agency, MultiServe Insurance.  

In addition to being a business owner in Utah County for many years, Dan has served on the Steering Committee of Utah County Republican Party, is on the board of the Springville Industrial Park and is chair-elect of the governing board for Mountain Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Dan and is married to Carol Frogley Ellertson.  Carol recently completed a PhD in Psychology and teaches part time at BYU.  Dan and Carol enjoy spending time with their six children (3 married, 2 engaged to be married in May 2010) and eight grandchildren, as well as traveling to places of interest around the world.
  

Parting Shot

The less people know about how sausages and laws are made, but better they'll sleep at night.
                                            ~Otto von Bismarck

Rotary License Plates for Utah

The Utah Legislature recently authorized the Utah DMV to make Rotary license plates available. The DMV will make them only if they get a minimum of 800 requests. Please consider changing your Utah license plates to those with the Rotary logo.

BYU Rotaract Club Sponsors Fund-raising Night at Orem Chili's Restaurant

Join fellow Rotarians and BYU Rotaract members for dinner this Wednesday evening, March 31, 2010 at Chili's in Orem. 10% of the sales that evening will be donated to Koins for Kenya, a local charity supported by Rotaract, to build schools in Kenya.

Annual Utah Rotary District Conference

The annual district conference will be held May 13-15 in St. George. All Rotarians and guests are invited. You may learn more and download a registration form at http://utahrotary.org/district_events/District_Conference_clr.pdf

This is an annual opportunity for Rotarians from around Utah to mingle and share ideas. There is a golf tournament associated with the event plus activities for spouses and children. Read the blog at http://www.utahrotaryconference.blogspot.com/

Annual Community Easter Sunrise Service

There will be a Community Sunrise Service held at 7am at the Provo Towne Center Mall in the Food Court on April 4th.  I have attached a flyer that I am hoping you could send to our club. 

The program will include scripture readings from the following local clergy and community leaders.

Rev. Daniel Hass

Chaplain Richard Green

Mayor John Curtis

Judge Thomas Griffith

Chaplain Tami Harris

Scott Daniels

Paul Warner

Chaplain Linda Walton

Music will be provided by James O'neal Miner, The Utah Valley Handbell Choir and solos from children who sing with the One Voice Children's Choir.

The entire community is welcome to attend this Free Community Event.

Dean L. Jackson

Lead Pastor

Local, Community Projects

Rotaract - Is still planning an early April concert to raise the majority of the needed funds for
their humanitarian project benefitting Kenyan school children. This large-scale project will
donate all net proceeds to the Koins for Kenya Project which builds schools and clean water
wells for children in Kenya. Our Club’s support is vital during the fund raising portion of the
project. We will be assisting with prepayments for performers and venues, advertising, and
organizing activities.

Provo Rotary Festival Classic Charity Golf Tournament - June 21, 2010 Riverside Country Club
We are beginning the planning for our annual golf tournament that benefits children’s charities. We will again be teaming with the America’s Freedom Festival at Provo to make our event one of the premier activities of the Festival. If you have a desire to be involved contact our Linda Palmer, Committee Chair, at linda.palmer@byu.edu.

Upcoming International Projects

We were contacted this week by BYU’s Club Bulgaria - will be donating fund raising proceeds to One Heart Bulgaria, a non-profit organization which works to create an acceptable standard of living for orphans living in Bulgarian orphanages.

We as a club are supporting our BYU Rotaract Club’s Koins for Kenya project, so we will not be able to participate in this worthy cause. This is an announcement to our club to donate on a personal basis, if you are so inclined.

If you would like to donate please contact Joseph Averill, President, Club Bulgaria at jhaverill@byu.net, or 970-443-3779.

Salt Lake Rotary Club is heading to Bolivia for a humanitarian project. The background is that the Salt Lake Club is actively engaged in a large 3-H Humanitarian Service project near Santa Cruz, Bolivia and has invited Rotarians, families and friends to join them on this trip to participate in hands-on service. The project has five components:

* "Simple technologies" = Community bathrooms, water supplies, etc.
* Basic literacy
* Education in how to start and run a business
* Micro-credit
* Education in human rights (the rights of Bolivian citizens under their constitution.

So here it is ...

WHAT: A great opportunity for hands-on, Rotary, international, humanitarian service
WHEN: April 18 - 26, 2010
WHERE: Santa Cruz, Bolivia
WHO: Any interested Rotarians, family or friends

If interested please contact Fred Berthrong: pdg5420@gmail.com or 435-760-2734.