October 20, 2015
Meeting called to order by King Lion Mel Thompson
Opening by Lion Pete Vander Linden
1 guest: Ed Messervey
20 members present
Mel’s Questions
- On October 18, 1781, who surrendered and where? British General Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown.
- In 1914, the U.S. Port Office did what? They started using their own vehicles for delivery
- In 1803, the U.S. Senate approved what? Louisiana Purchase
Rain Derby
The final 11 days are upon us. There are over 5800 tickets out. If they are all sold, we will experience a banner year. SELL THOSE TICKETS.
Program
Jeani Shofner, lay pastor for Hoquiam Presbyterian Church spoke of the church hosting the River Campers. Catholic Community Services began the camping program at Amazing Grace Lutheran Church during the months of June, July and August. Churches by law, are allowed to host such encampments for a period of 90 days and must wait 12 months before hosting the camp again. Campers must make application to live in the camp, allow a background check and be voted in by the membership of the camp. There are specific rules that must be followed or the camper is not allowed to remain.
Catholic Community Services provides the fencing around the encampment, the tents and living essentials. The church provides water and a safe environment.
The past two months has provided quite a journey for the church and her. She noted that they were approached to host the camp just 2 weeks prior to having to move from Amazing Grace Lutheran Church in Aberdeen. This provided a great deal of animosity within the community that this was intentional in order to slip it past the citizens. The initial meetings concerning the camp were very hostile. During the next few weeks, many of the communities concerns were found to be without base. This was due to several factors. The Hoquiam location was much further from the original riverside locations and therefore, drew less of a transient population in for reasons other than living in the location. The tarps on the fencing provides a measure of security for both the campers and limited visibility to the community.
The church has received a great deal of support from Organizations such as Cosmos Fiber in the donation of pallets, local citizens for food donations and local organizations for services.
Mrs. Shofner in no way candy coated the subject, but emphatically stated that benefits of hosting the camp far and away out weighed the problems.
The Pot: Pete Hegg – The Lucky Guy. Maybe he will buy additional Rain Derby Tickets.