On Tuesday, July 23, our lunch program will be autobiographies from long-time member Patty Dempsey, and new members Scott Parr and Scott Breon.

Come learn more about some very interesting fellow Rotarians!

We’ll be in our usual room at the Riverhouse – Deschutes South.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

Rotary Lunch Program: Environmental Sustainability – Sherry Auerbach

On Tuesday, July 16, our lunch program will be a presentation on Environmental Sustainability from Sherry Auerbach, co-chair of the Los Altos Rotary Club’s Climate Action committee. She’ll be talking about two environmental-related programs their club has put in place in their communities working with youth. The first is a Lithium Battery collection day and the other is for polyurethane plastic recycling.

We’ll be in our usual room at the Riverhouse – Deschutes South.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

Rotary Lunch Program: Bend Fire and Rescue

On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, our lunch speakers will be Melissa Steele and Heather Miller from Bend Fire and Rescue.

They will be sharing Bend Fire and Rescue’s new “Own Your Zone: First Five Feet” campaign that educates homeowners on how to protect their homes from the number one leading cause of wildfire destruction: Embers! The presenters will speak about wildfire safety preparation and prevention, and the emergency alert system.

Melissa Steele works in the Fire Prevention Division as a Fire Inspector with Bend Fire and Rescue. She is responsible for all commercial business fire inspections in the Southeast District of the city. She also serves as the Wildfire Mitigation Specialist for the department, and conducts all wildfire assessments for city and rural district residents. Before that, she was a Fire Captain with United States Forest Service on the Fremont-Winema National Forest for 5 years. She previously worked for Oregon Department of Forestry as an Inmate Fire Crew Supervisor, and before that she came from Paradise, CA and worked as a firefighter/EMT for CalFire. She has a total of 24 years in the fire service.

Heather Miller works for the Oregon State Fire Marshal as a regional Fire Risk Reduction Specialist for Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson and Wheeler Counties, and is based in the Bend area. She works with communities, structural and wildland fire agencies and local governments to identify and implement wildfire risk reduction and resiliency strategies. She started her fire career as a volunteer firefighter/EMT in the Eugene area in 2001 and was hired as a Fire Prevention Coordinator by that same fire department in 2003. Heather worked her way up to Fire Marshal and moved to the Oregon State Fire Marshal as a Deputy State Fire Marshal in 2011. She took some time off to start a family and volunteered at Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District for 7 years before assuming her current job.

Important location note: We will be meeting at the Convention Center, in the Cascade Room.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

Rotary Lunch Program: Incoming Presidents

On Tuesday, July 2, our lunch program will be a presentation from our new co-presidents, Sharon Gueck and Tyler Swanson. They’ll be sharing their goals and vision for our upcoming year.

We’ll be in our usual room at the Riverhouse – Deschutes South.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

Rotary Lunch Program: Dr. Kimberly Schlam – Personalized Dentistry and Technology’s Impact on the Future of Dental Health

On Tuesday, June 18, our lunch program will be a presentation entitled “Personalized Dentistry and Technology’s Impact on the Future of Dental Health” from Dr. Kimberly Schlam of Bend Prosthodontics. Dr. Schlam will share how dentistry is using technology to create a virtualized patient to collaboratively treat complex conditions. She will review where dentistry has been and where it is going and why the link between dentistry and medicine needs more attention. Location: Boys and Girls Club, 500 NW Wall St.

Dr. Kimberly Schlam recently opened the first private practice Prosthodontic office in Bend, Oregon. Her practice focuses on patient centric, multi-specialty, collaborative care. Her research has focused on patient reported quality of life outcomes of implant prosthetics. She focuses on using digital technology to improve techniques, communication, and enhance her patients’ experiences. She is an educator for SPEAR, a key opinion leader for Straumann implants and speaks internationally about her clinical care.

Dr. Schlam received her dental training from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and her Certificate of Prosthodontics and Master’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill. She has also served as an active duty US Army prosthodontist.

Note: This week, we’ll be at the Boys and Girls Club offices at 500 NW Wall St.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

Rotary Lunch Program: Norm Knodt – PeaceTrees Vietnam

On Tuesday, June 11, our lunch program will be a presentation on PeaceTrees Vietnam, from Norman Knodt. Norm will present a combination of photos that he took in Vietnam in 1968, as well as current photos of those same areas that he took in 2018 and 2023 while participating in Citizen Diplomacy Trips sponsored by PeaceTrees Vietnam. These trips include visiting the actual demining operations, meeting with staff from the US Embassy in Hanoi and visiting several cultural sites. PeaceTrees has been the recipient of a grant from the Rotary International Foundation as well as support from several Rotary Clubs’ local foundations.

This organization has been providing unexploded ordnance clearance and Mine Risk Education in Vietnam for 28 years. They also provide several types of support for families that have suffered death and/or injury from contact with unexploded ordnance.

About Norm Knodt:

Norm is a Financial Advisor with Cetera Advisor Networks, LLC, and lives and works at Eagle Crest.

In 1966 he enlisted in the US Army and became a helicopter pilot, and served in Vietnam from January 1968 until January 1969. He flew UH-1B & C armed helicopters (gunships) and participated in operations at the Battle of Hue, Khe Sahn and the A Shau Valley.

Norm worked in the civilian helicopter industry as Chief Pilot for the Pan American World Airways helicopter operation in New York, New York and as Director of Operations for Omniflight Offshore Inc. supporting the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico. He was also employed by Columbia Helicopters located in Aurora, OR, and was Chief Pilot for Columbia’s operation in Papua New Guinea.

While no longer an active Rotarian, Norm was a member of the Manteca Rotary Club in Manteca, CA and served two years as President (one for the Centennial Year). He also served as an Assistant District Governor and at the district level on the Rotary International Foundation Committee as sub chair for the Permanent Fund (now the Endowment Fund).

In 2015, Norm learned of the PeaceTrees Vietnam organization. He has made two trips to Vietnam as part of their Citizen Diplomacy Program and is now a member of their Board of Directors.

We’ll be in our usual room at the Riverhouse – Deschutes South.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

Rotary Lunch Program: Heather Ficht + East Cascades Works

On Tuesday, June 4, our lunch program will be a presentation entitled “The State of the Workforce in Central Oregon” from Heather Ficht, Executive Director of East Cascades Works. Heather is the Executive Director of the East Cascades Works, a non-profit serving the ten counties on the east slope of the Cascades Mountain range in Oregon including Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Wheeler, Gilliam, Jefferson, Crook, Deschutes, Lake and Klamath counties. East Cascades Works mission is to support the talent needs of employers, and maximize and align investments in the career goals of individuals to fuel a thriving economy.

Heather has over 25 years’ experience in workforce development in Oregon, ranging from direct service to working for local workforce boards. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from University of Wisconsin Madison and her Master’s in Social Work from Portland State University. Heather has supported the start-up of several organizations as well as programs and has extensive experience with youth workforce programming and re-engagement strategies that launch young people on to careers.

Currently, Heather serves as a member of the state’s Workforce and Talent Development Board and is immediate past Chair of her industry partnership in Oregon called Oregon Workforce Partnership (OWP), a collaboration of the 9 local workforce boards in Oregon. She also serves on the state’s oversight body for the public workforce system in Oregon along with state agency leaders called the Workforce System Executive Team (WSET) and as a member of the Oregon Governor’s Workforce and Talent Development Board.

We’ll be in our usual room at the Riverhouse – Deschutes South.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

Rotary Lunch Program: Bend-LaPine High Schools Athletic Directors

On Tuesday, May 21, our lunch program will be our local high schools’ Athletic Directors, giving us an update from the 2023/24 school year. Erik Tobiason will also make a brief presentation on the history of the sports program fundraiser for new members. Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

Don’t miss lunch on Tuesday, May 14th, for an enjoyable and inspiring program that promises to be one of the highlights of the year!

 

At this year’s Rotary Student Recognition Lunch, we will honor seven exceptional high school students who have been chosen by their respective schools as the epitome of the Rotary ideal of “Service Above Self.” This is an excellent opportunity for us to recognize these outstanding students and celebrate their remarkable achievements.

We hope that you will be able to join us for this special occasion.

We’ll be in our usual room at the Riverhouse – Deschutes South.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, our lunch speaker will be Brenda Comini, Director of the Early Learning Hub of Central Oregon at High Desert Education Service District (HDESD). She will be speaking about early learning and childcare in Central Oregon. Topics will include:

• Oregon’s Early Childhood System, led by the Department of Early Learning and Care and implemented by Early Learning Hubs, including Central Oregon
• Raise Up Oregon: Statewide Early Childhood System Plan, guiding strategic action
• Key demographics and data points guiding our work
• Effective strategies and partnerships: Early Literacy, Child Care, Home Visiting and early childhood workforce
• Impact examples
• How you can support Early Care and Learning

Brenda was named the first Director for the Early Learning Hub of Central Oregon (Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson Counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs) in April 2016.

In that capacity she works with cross-sector stakeholders to improve systems to ensure early health and developmental supports for all children, increase access to quality childcare and preschool and an educated, adequately funded early care and education workforce with emphasis on parent/caregiver voice and service to traditionally underserved communities.

Brenda attended Linfield College and the University of Oregon. She currently serves on the UpStream Prevention Workgroup of the Central Oregon Health Council, as a board member for the Central Oregon Chapter of the Oregon Association for the Education of Young Children (COCOrAEYC), and as Treasurer for the Oregon Early Learning Hub Association. State appointments include Joint Legislative Task Force on Access to Quality Affordable Care (2019-21), State Healthy Start Advisory Board (2018–present), and Oregon Early Learning Council Home Visiting System Committee (2021–present).
In addition to a passion for social change, she enjoys exploring Oregon and travel beyond with family and friends.

We’ll be in our usual room at the Riverhouse – Deschutes South.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.