April 18, 2011

April Meetings – Tom Wigley, Chairman:

Apr. 22 – Phil Oliver – The Capper Foundation

Apr. 29 –Ralph Hipp – Autographed Books From Famous People

CURRENT NEWS:

Congratulations to Nancy Foster, who is the Lt. Governor Elect. She will take office on October 1, 2011.

We are sad to report that our good and faithful member, Justin J. McGarity passed away on April 8, 2011. Justin’s wife died in July of 2010, but he is survived by two brothers, four children, and twelve grandchildren. Justin joined our Club in March of 1991.

President Ron Brown has announced that on May 6, our Club will not meet at noon, but instead will meet in the evening at the World Famous Topeka Zoo. The purpose of this meeting is to invite potential members to be our guests that night. Bill Kastens has graciously offered to provide the food for potential members. We will meet at the Zoo at 5:30 P.M.for dinner, which will be a fajita bar. At 6:30 P.M. there will be a short presentation for the potential members, following which we will be given a twilight tour of the Zoo by Zoo Director Brenden Wiley.

Cost to members and guests who may not be potential members will be $10.00. All guests are welcome whether potential members or not. So bring your children, grandchildren and anyone else who might enjoy the evening. There will be a sign-up sheet at Club meetings between then and now. You should sign up no later than April 29. One other possibility which will be considered by the Board of Directors is holding a silent auction with the proceeds donated to the mentoring class at Lowman Hill Elementary School. More about this later.

The latest report from Leland Denton was that Bob Holmes was continuing to improve, which is good news. We hope in time Bob will be able to come back to Club meetings.

Once again, Mike Akulow has updated the badge box. A number of changes have been made in badge numbers. So check the list to see what your badge number might be.

Meeting of April 8, 2011:

Our speaker was Marsha Pope, Vice-President of the Topeka Community Foundation. She disclosed that the Foundation was formed 28 years ago, with a grant of $10,000.00 from the Ladies Junior League of Topeka. Now the Foundation has accumulated $40,000,000.00 and administers some 350 funds. Many of these funds are endowments or are otherwise restricted. Marsha said that the Foundation maintains three types of funds:

1. Donor Services, where funds are provided for example: to help with the expenses of people who need funds to cover extra expenses involved with the hospitalization of a family member.

2. Grant Makers, whereby the Foundation contributed over $2,000,000.00 to organizations in Topeka. The grants seem to cover all aspects of activities in Topeka, from scholarships to youth activities or assistance to the elders. One of the requirements seems to be a 501 (c), (3) organization to be eligible.

3. Community Facilitators, by which the Foundation often brings together entities who, by cooperating, can achieve a greater objective than they could do individually. Many times these involved the arts or even housing for the needy.

Marsha stated the Foundation does follow-up with donees to insure that the funds are used in accordance with the intended use. The Foundation has a paid staff of four and a Board of Directors who are volunteers. Election to the Board of Directors occurs from within the Board with a Nominating Committee made up of Board Members. It appears that the Foundation has a very positive effect upon many organizations and areas of Topeka.

Another effort has been the formation of a “Women’s Fund” about five years ago within the Foundation, to be used to help women and children. Marsha said that the Foundation plans to make an announcement in the near future concerning this Fund.

When asked about the investing policy of the Foundation, Marsha disclosed that the late Mark Morris, who was very active with the Foundation, made arrangements with a financial manager in North Carolina which was most favorable to the Foundation. She said that the Foundation was very thankful for all of Mark Morris’ help and advice.

There were no guests. There were jokes by Jerry Bessette and Junior Elder. Tom Wigley shared $17.00 with the OI Foundation; Ted Heim’s badge number was called to share in the “prize to be determined”, but Ted was not present; and finally, Ron Brown’s sign-in number was drawn and he kept a couple of candy bars which were the President’s prize.

Meeting of April 15, 2011:

Gary Blitsch, Owner and Director of SouthWind Gallery at Framewoods here in Topeka, spoke about the many art shows held at SouthWind and also about art development in Topeka. After having a banking career for a number of years, Gary purchased Framewoods some nineteen years ago and has been involved in the advancement of art in Topeka ever since.

Because of his personal acquaintance with a Chinese sculptor named Kwan Wu, Gary was instrumental in obtaining the “Chinese Lantern Light” which has been installed on the campus of Washburn University. With help from Volume Shoe, which became Payless Shoes and now Collective Brands, a number of Chinese dignitaries and local officials the “Light” had a formal dedication on the campus.

Gary has held a number of very impressive art showings at SouthWind, many by well known artists within the art community. Recently, he hosted the Oil Painters of America’s Regional meeting in Topeka and entertained them with a trip to the Flint Hills. A coming attraction will be a showing entitled : “Savor Kansas” in June, 2011.

Gary is enthusiastic about developments of the art community in Topeka. He said there are seven galleries in Topeka and recently, as we know, the “North Topeka Arts District (NOTO) has opened, with four or five artists opening locations.

Art, Gary said, is a good thing for Topeka and urged us all to spread the word that great things are happening in Topeka. Which is what he did when he was instrumental in getting the “Chinese Lantern Light” and the meeting of the Oil Painters of America’s Regional Meeting in Topeka.

He noted that currently funding for the Kansas Arts Foundation is being questioned and indicated that in the future art funding might depend upon either Tax Increment Financing or Industrial Revenue Bonds. Either way, he said funding for the arts is very important, not just for Topeka, but for the entire country.

We had one guest, Grace Lancaster, daughter of Art Lancaster; Jerry Bessette departed from the usual joke and, instead, read an inspirational article. (Maybe we could use more inspirational comments now and then in the future. We could all use some inspiration in these times.) Bill Kastens’s number was drawn to share the pot with the OI Foundation; after several drawings, Misty Kruger;s badge number was drawn to share in the “to be determined” prize. And unfortunately, Rod Obermeier had to leave the meeting early and he took the sign-in sheet with him. So there was no drawing for the President’s Prize.