December 24 and December 31, 2015:  There will not be Kiwanis meetings on these dates.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

December 17, 2015 meeting notes:  Eighteen members were present and our speakers were the Moberleys who spoke about the Just Serve organization. It is sponsored by the local LDS church and is designed to connect service organizations with volunteers.  Organizations have to promise that volunteers will not be used on political, fund raising or  profit making projects.


Our club has been invited to a Cheney Gardners' potluck on January 11 at 6:30pm.  This is to thank us for our service in the community.


Clara reported that Betz K-Kids have raised $450 for new playground equipment.  This amount has been matched by someone and the K-Kids will be selecting the new items.

December 10, 2015:  Eighteen members attended and heard a presentation on dental health by member Andy Martinssen.  He explained that healthy gums have tooth pockets of less than 3mm; pockets are measured at several places on inside and outside of each tooth.  Plaque is a bacterial infection that can be disturbed by brushing and flossing.  If plaque hardens it is called tartar and has to be scraped to be removed.  Tartar leads to bone loss.  He said the best cavity filling material is gold; a white composite is frequently used and silver amalgam is seldom used now.  For crowns, the best material is also gold but a tooth colored material is usually used.


We also had an update on the process for toy distribution by Cheney Outreach.

December 3, 2015 meeting notes:  Nineteen members attended and tried their skill at trivia and identifying Christmas carols from picture clues.  Maggie Crabtree from the Downtown Spokane club talked about the Chili Challenge at Luigi's on January 15.

November 19, 2015:  Our speakers were Michael and Linda McCollum.  They are both geologists and described the process they used to survey Eastern Washington geologic formations.  They described the changes made by the flood from glacial Lake Missoula and talked about the hypothesis that mima mounds are the result of subduction earthquakes. 


There will be no meeting next week -- Happy Thanksgiving!

November 12, 2015 meeting:  Lt. Col. Pape from EWU Army ROTC was our speaker.  He explained that ROTC is voluntary, about 50% of the students are female and it provides a way to cover some college costs and graduates enter the Army as officers.  There is emphasis on academic success and by their junior year over half of the students are on a scholarship.  ROTC participants sign a contract in their junior year and then receive a monthly stipend even when in school.  He was asked about physical condition requirements:  they vary according to function the cadet is expected to perform; both male and female cadets performing the same function have to meet the same physical condition standards. 


The EWU Circle K club met last week with 13 students attending.

November 5, 2015 meeting:  Our speaker was Bill Chaves, Athletic Director at EWU.  He is very proud of EWU winning the Big Sky President's Trophy for the second time in 5 years.  The trophy is awarded based on both athletic and academic performance and reflects the emphasis that is placed on athletes performing well academically, graduating and being leaders.  He was asked about the proposed Gateway project - it is being funded entirely by donations and is being worked on daily. 


The Harvest Festival at EWU was a success - about 450 kids participated and Kirk, our club organizer, thanked club volunteers for their help.