In the spirit of Rotary, we would like to offer our members a way to assist with relief efforts associated with Hurricane Harvey through a tax deductible gift. We ask that you consider making a contribution to United Way of the Flint Hills, after which all monies accumulated will be forwarded to assist with relief efforts. Our local United Way, as well as the United Way of Greater Houston, have guaranteed that 100% of all donations will go towards recovery efforts – no administration fees will be withdrawn. Checks, with Emporia Rotary notated in the memo line, should be made payable to United Way of the Flint Hills, 702 Commercial Street, Suite 2E, Emporia, KS 66801. Please make your contributions by the end of September.
Rotarian Shirley Antes, who is the executive director for the Emporia Community Foundation, pinch-hit for the Never Let Go Fund. This fund started in 2013 by Sandy Solano to help families of children diagnosed with cancer from $538 earned from a garage sale. The fund received a boost of over $8,400 in 2014 from a donation from the Dirty Kanza organization, and the fund now offers to assist families across a seven-county area for medical, travel and lodging expenses. The maximum grant per family is $2,000 over a 12-month period.
Bill Barnes, Chairman of the Board of the Emporia Community Foundation, announced that Shirley Antes will be retiring as Foundation Executive Director effective this fall after a new Executive Director is named. During her tenure, Shirley doubled the number of funds held at the Emporia Community Foundation. The past year, $90,000 of scholarships were paid out. Under her leadership, Match Day was started and has grown in funds raised from $61,000 in 2014, to $120,000 in 2015, to $180,000 in 2016. The 2017 Match Day is on November 13 with the largest number of organization participating - 25.
Bill announced that the Fund for the Future was also started to raise funds for the operations of ECF. The goal is to raise $2 million by 2025.
Funds collected from Happy Bucks during our July, August and September meetings go to the Emporia Community Foundation's Match Day activities. Contributions toward this have resulting in attracting growing contributions every year since Match Day started. Please contribute!
Emporia High School head football coach Corby Millison scheduled less this summer, but accomplished more with his team. Millison encourages three-sport athletes, and encouraged them to enjoy participating in other sports this summer in addition to EHS football. Sixty returning players and a roster of ninety-six compares with 70, 65, and 60 respectively the last three years. This year's team will have more size than in recent years as well.
Coach Millison established a leadership council for the football team, whose members studied leadership principles this summer. He introduced to our Rotary Club two of his seniors who are among the team leaders: Sawyer Clayton, offense, and Brent Haster, defense. They commented on the leadership skills that they have been learning, including "speaking up when something isn't right", and "yelling is not leadership". They both said to expect a fast tempo, no huddle spread offense, and a fast, up-tempo defense.
Coach Randy Wells leads the team's weight training among a total of ten coaches who work with the team. The EHS football schedule is very tough again this year, competing against some of the best teams in the state.
Rotarian Kent Heermann, President of the Regional Development Association of East-Central Kansas, has been in Emporia at the RDA since July 1993. He explained about the history of the RDA, and the RDA's role in economic development in the Emporia area for many years. A city half-cent tax was voted in place in 1994 with a ten-year sunset for the purpose of land acquisition, land improvement, and the funding of the RDA to make our community more successful in recruiting new industry. Since then the tax has repeatedly been re-instituted by a wide margin of votes. The results have been undeniably successful. In 1993 the average wage for production workers was $5.57-$5.74, and today it is $16.44. In 1950, Emporia population was 15,669. In 2010, it was $24,916. Twenty-three manufacturing plants have chosen to call Emporia home.
Retail recruitment has been more active since 2006 due to the economic downturn in our country. The result is a new Hobby Lobby that opened in August.
Kent provided some of the past code names for potential plants used for plants looking for a new home:
Taho - Caterpillar
Sweetness - Mars Candy plant that located in Topeka (2013)
Sleeve - Chinese sausage casing company (2012)
J.T. - Menards that located in Lawrence (2015)
Block - Fertilizer plant
Jacob - Hill's Pet Nutrition that invested $200 million in Emporia and hires 200 workers (2007)
What are the challenges facing Emporia's future recruiting efforts?
Labor availability, especially for entry-level workers
Public transportation
Housing availability, especially for the high-end home
Our Rotary Club is a is the chartered organization for the outreach Pack for the kids in SummerScape, a camp program held during the summer at Camp EE.
At the end of July, the youth at the SummerScape Program came to the Girl Scout Camp Double E for day camp. About 80 boys and girls came to the day camp this year despite the heat. While it was hot, the kids stayed cool and had great camp fun! The day camp was put on for them by the Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts. During the day, they sang songs, made solar ovens, planted seeds, and hiked in the trails. The Boy Scouts came to demonstrate how to make rope and tie knots. In the afternoon they stayed cool by playing water games.
The Boy Scouts were able to put on the Day Camp thanks to the Rotary Club of Emporia, who is the chartered organization for the outreach Pack for the kids in SummerScape.
Alex Mosakowski
District Executive
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Jayhawk Area Council - Sojadi District
Our Rotary Club donated $50 as a sponsor for the Cardboard Regatta, a scouting event for scouts in our area this summer. Below is a thank you note for our contribution and the success of the event for the kids.
Please let the Rotary Club know how much the Boy Scouts appreciate them for helping us put on the Cardboard Regatta. We had 50 people show up for the event on Friday, July 28 – Scouts, siblings, parents. We had 6 teams of cardboard boats ready to race and only one boat sank. The sun went down quickly in the evening, but that didn’t stop us! And afterwards the Scouts and their families got to enjoy the water park. It was a wonderful evening!
Alex Mosakowski
District Executive
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Jayhawk Area Council - Sojadi District
Emporia State University Coach Garin Higgins will be on hand to update us on Hornet football for this season. 
Rotarian Shirley Antes, who is the executive director for the Emporia Community Foundation, pinch-hit for the Never Let Go Fund. This fund started in 2013 by Sandy Solano to help families of children diagnosed with cancer from $538 earned from a garage sale. The fund received a boost of over $8,400 in 2014 from a donation from the Dirty Kanza organization, and the fund now offers to assist families across a seven-county area for medical, travel and lodging expenses. The maximum grant per family is $2,000 over a 12-month period. 
announced that Shirley Antes will be retiring as Foundation Executive Director effective this fall after a new Executive Director is named. During her tenure, Shirley doubled the number of funds held at the Emporia Community Foundation. The past year, $90,000 of scholarships were paid out. Under her leadership, Match Day was started and has grown in funds raised from $61,000 in 2014, to $120,000 in 2015, to $180,000 in 2016. The 2017 Match Day is on November 13 with the largest number of organization participating - 25. 
Coach Millison established a leadership council for the football team, whose members studied leadership principles this summer. 
Our Rotary Club is a is the chartered organization for the outreach Pack for the kids in SummerScape, a camp program held during the summer at Camp EE. 
The Boy Scouts were able to put on the Day Camp thanks to the Rotary Club of Emporia, who is the chartered organization for the outreach Pack for the kids in SummerScape.
