June 30, 2016 - Our guest speaker was Gerald Ray, who has survived 3 bouts of skin cancer and speaks to people about how to avoid and detect these cancers and what to do to reduce the risk of developing them.  He said that one person dies every hour of every day from skin cancer.  We can develop it in places that are not exposed to the sun so it is important to have our entire skin checked at least semi-annually for signs of cancer. 

Seventeen club members,  current Lt. Governor, Teresa Venne and Lt. Gov. Elect Marty Phanco  attended the meeting.  We discussed volunteer scheduling for the upcoming rodeo parade cotton candy sale and getting volunteers and sponsors for the Blackhawk/Kiwanis golf tournament.

June 23, 2016 - Dr. DaBell, a new orthodontist in town, spoke about the developments in orthodontia including digital x-rays, paperless charts and scanning teeth to make a virtual model.  He explained that first molars and some permanent teeth start coming in as early as age 7 and by age 12 all permanent teeth are usually in place.

June 16, 2016 - Doug LaBar, owner of The Mason Jar, spoke about sustainable food to eighteen club members.  Sustainability looks at how to maintain our lives with a growing population and expanding food needs and how food production impacts the environment and water.  Modern farming has focused on single crops and this doesn't provide soil replenishment that can be accomplished by rotating different crops.  In the US about 40% of food that is produced is thrown out in the garbage.  Some of this is done by grocery stores that are currently required to throw out food past expiration date even if the food is still safe to eat.  He also talked about the difference between natural and organic items and briefly discussed GMO issues. 

June 9, 2016 - Eighteen members heard a presentation from State Representative Jeff Holy who is running for re-election.  He talked about the long term impacts from the future medical school in Spokane and the completion of the North-South freeway.  He also spoke about the industrial development prospects in the West Plains and the money being earmarked at state level for improvements to the Medical Lake and Geiger freeway interchanges. 

Our scholarship recipient, Callie Hollingsworth, and her parents attended our meeting.  She will be attending a university near family in California and plans to study social work and minor in Spanish.

June 2, 2016 - Seventeen members heard a presentation on time shares by Woody Latoor.  He explained that timeshares began in the 1940s in Europe where people returned to the same location year after year.  When timeshares started a bit later in the US, people wanted to go to different places and that led to timeshare exchanges.  Originally the timeshare was a right to use a location for a specified number of years but now they are deeded.  Timeshare maintenance fees can exceed what the resort owner may charge a 3rd party user to rent a unit, so getting rid of a timeshare can be difficult.

May 26, 2016 - Our scheduled speaker was unable to attend.  We had 15 club members present and discussed our Cheney High scholarship and the plans for the summer Blackhawk/Kiwanis golf tournament.

May 19, 2016 - We had three people from the Alzheimer's Association speak to us. 

May 12, 2016 - Our speaker was from Lutheran Foster Services and told us about their program to help unaccompanied minors come to the US, become self sufficient and gain US citizenship.  Prospective participants go through security and medical screenings before being accepted into the program.  US foster parents receive some financial help and there are regularly scheduled meetings with program case managers. 

We had several guests:  Carol Beason from Cheney Outreach and Betz K-Kids and their school advisor were our guests.   The K-Kids will be having a car wash fund raiser at Banner Bank on June 4. 

May 5, 2016 - Our Speaker was Joe Dumalo from the Spokane Veterans Center.  It is separate from the VA Hospital and provides counseling for combat vets, military sexual trauma survivors and bereavement counseling for family members of deceased veterans.  They have 11 full time employees and 1 part time employee.

Tony asked club members to consider volunteering to be the Food Bank Manager; the current manager has done it for many years and would like to turn it over to someone else.

Members planned the flower planting at the Care Center and reported on the Special Olympics lunch packing.