Bonfire 4-H Club
On Feb. 8, the Bonfire 4-H Club met over Zoom. Colby Inman led the Pledge of Allegiance and Ezra Sapp led the 4-H Pledge. Lorelei McDonald led the song, which was “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.” Roll call was answered by naming a favorite snow activity. There was a short parliamentary procedure quiz. Jamison and Delany McDonald gave a dual project talk called “How to Make the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in the World.” Alena Wiebers gave a project talk called “Reclaimed Seeds” about how to save and use seeds from the previous year for planting. Lorelei McDonald showed how to make “Easy Peasy Kids’ Cupcakes.” The meeting adjourned.
Manhattan Lions Club
The Manhattan Lions Club met at 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 22 at Four Points by Sheraton with 20 members and three guests present. Lion President Dave Schafer called the meeting to order. Lion Duaine Sherwood led in singing “Home on the Range” followed by the Pledge of Allegiance before singing “Lions Roar.” Lion Preston Chapel gave the invocation. Birthdays and anniversaries for February were recognized. Long time member J.Lester Hooper was remembered in his passing.
Lion Carol Ott reported on Valentine cards sent to widows of former Lion members. Lion Joe Ott told about plans for Lions Easter egg distribution. Lion Duaine Sherwood reported on a grant received from College Avenue UMC for youth eyeglasses. Lion Chris Wilson updated plastic bag collection for a bench.
Following dinner, Dr. David Grieger played a guitar and harmonica with singing. Afterwards Lion Duaine Sherwood led in singing “Smile True Lions” before the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be March 8.
For more information about Manhattan Lions Club, contact Lion Dave Schafer at [email protected].
Manhattan Rotary Club
President Rebecca Gould presided at the Feb. 18 meeting and announced that the March 11 meeting will be on Zoom with an in-person meeting at 1880 Kimball Ave. She reported on meetings of the club’s board. Volunteers are needed to distribute 150 more masks to schools. The club has so far met 13 of the 25 challenging goals and has surpassed the club’s pledge to the Rotary Foundation. Work is to begin on the next strategic plan. Chris Culbertson introduced his daughter, Katherine, and mentioned her work with a tree-planting project in Madagascar. Cup money was for Shepherd’s Crossing directly or at Rotary, PO Box 331, Manhattan, 66502, for a 3:1 match.
Bob Shannon introduced Debbie Mercer, dean of education, and Todd Goodson, assistant dean for teacher education and accreditation at K-State. They noted that Kansas currently needs 157 special education teachers, 142 elementary teachers, 76 science teachers, 57 for math, 51 for English language, and others. The State Department of Education is giving schools advice on dealing with COVID-19. K-State now provides an online program for a Master of Arts in Teaching degree with 176 enrolled. KSU now offers the last two years of Bachelor of Science online. This started with nine students four years ago and will have around 250 in the next cohort, mostly including students who can’t move to a college town.
The club will give the book “Sim City” to a local school in honor of the speakers. The club meets via Zoom on Thursdays at noon. Visitors and guests are always welcome.
Solar Kiwanis
The Manhattan Solar Kiwanis Club met at noon on Feb. 22 via Zoom. Eleven members joined the meeting plus Kansas District Division 4 Lt. Gov. Cindy Cone. President Charlie Sargent led the meeting.
The program speaker for the day was Michelle Sink, area director for Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Sargent introduced her. For years, BB/BS had a Bowl For Kids’ Sake fundraiser in the spring but they are no longer doing Bowl For Kids’ Sake and instead are doing Trivia For Kids’ Sake. Sink indicated that this will involve both the general public and a Sunflower Throwdown trivia contest matching K-State and KU students. The general public contests will be the weekends of April 13 and April 20 and will involve teams of four (minimum $200 entry fee). Contestants can compete in person or virtually. Trivia Mulligans will be available for purchase.
Nominations for Solar Kiwanian of the Year have closed and club members will be voting for SKOTY based on the nominations received. Division 4 Lt. Gov. Cone said the Mid Winter conference is on March 6. It will be a virtual conference along with a virtual auction of donated items from clubs across the State.
The group will meet via Zoom at noon March 1. The program will be introduced by Solarian Dave Meusborn and will be someone from SPARK, a local business formed to ignite a dynamic culture of entrepreneurship in the Greater Manhattan region.
Manhattan Solar Kiwanis Club meets every Monday at noon, currently via Zoom. Guests and prospective members are always welcome. Advance reservations are not necessary. Contact Secretary Doug Ackley ([email protected] or 785-539-4945) to obtain the Zoom link code for a meeting. Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.
Town and Country Garden Club
President Sue White called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Feb. 22 via Zoom
Those present were President Sue White, Rebecca Stark, Greta Baack, Diane Potts, Laura Hall, Gloria Holcombe, Barbara Gatewood, Cindi Morris, Barbara Pearson, Judy Willingham, and guest Renata Goossen.
Gloria introduced the program “Houseplant Mania,” presented by Renata Goossen, a K-State senior in horticulture production. She got into horticulture early with 4-H projects. Her home farm is near Whitewater. Renata won national Make-it With Wool awards for her sewing. Wildflower hunting is another interest, and she has annotated all the wild flowers in an area near the family farm. As a teen, she created a micro-greenhouse business growing plants. Among her university experiences are internships and studies in Europe. She is employed remotely by Green Circle Growers to conduct consumer research and improve their horticultural marketing approach. She is conducting undergraduate research in houseplant consumer care techniques.
Minutes were approved as distributed.
The treasurer indicated that six have not yet paid dues. The club had an income of $278, expenses of $118.03, and a balance of $1,803.20. Gift cards for $25 are sent to speakers to thank them.
The club is recruiting new members.
Laura and Sue are working on revising bylaws.
The K-State inline Garden Hours were listed.
It was noted that past president and long-time member Lynn Rathbone has died.
Derek Devore from Blueville Nursery will be talking about “Signature Designs” in a Zoom program March 22.
The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m. The next meeting will be March 22.