For our first river cruise we chose an area that we had not previously visited: Eastern Europe. The Danube carried us to ports in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany. While we found all of the cities to be interesting, we were especially taken with Budapest and Prague and would like to return to investigate them more. Both of them are bustling, large cities, divided by the Danube River. Each has its own fascinating old town areas. The

town of Buda sits on a high hill overlooking the Danube, while Pest is on the plain and houses the gorgeous Parliament Building that glows along the river at night. The old-town area of Prague is divided by the river and the Charles Bridge. When we were there, there must have been at least six or seven Chinese couples on the bridge, attired in their wedding finery and trailed by a professional photographer catching their every move. The medieval Astronomical Clock, first installed in 1410, was an absolute marvel with all of the carved, moving figures, including a skeleton (Death) holding a lantern that struck the hour. The Danube itself is a lovely, smooth-flowing river, with numerous locks, a gorge (not nearly as majestic as our Columbia), and vistas that showed vineyards at unbelievable angles for farming. Our cruise ship itself was lovely with great food and wine and the staterooms were nice. Scenic Cruises is home-ported in Australia but has outlets in BC and the US. Consequently, we had a diverse population on board: Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, Brits, and Americans. The crew was also ethnically diverse: Serbians, Croatlons, Indonesians, Germans, and others whom we didn’t get to meet. It was a great trip and we recommend it as a comfortable and relaxing way to travel. Pete & Karen Pickett

Issue 19-43November 06, 2019

PEOPLE OF ACTION

Today’s Program:Club Meeting, Program

Classification Talks

Nov. 09, Early Edition’s BINGO for 80 at American Legion Hall

Nov. 11, Veterans Day

Nov. 13, Club Meeting, Program Steven Elliott: War Story

Nov. 16, Freedom Flags collected

Nov. 19, Club Board of Directors

meeting 5:30, Longview Country

Club, ALL Welcome

Nov. 20, Club meeting, Program: TBD

Nov. 27, Club meeting, Program:

Mark Schmutz

SAVE These Important Dates:

December 7, Walk & Knock

December 18, Holiday Party

December 9-22, Rotary Angels

CALENDARWelcoming Steve Taylor

Cruise The Danube Through Eastern Europe

Former Kelso City Manager and Kelso Club Rotarian, Steve Taylor, was inducted into our Rotary club on October 30th. Since July 1st, Steve is the Cowlitz PUD Director of Regulatory and Regional Affairs. He will focus on energy issues, and advocate for other PUD interests. Taylor was appointed Kelso’s City Manager in September 2012. Before managing Kelso, Steve was elected to the inaugural city council of the newly incorporated city of Spokane Valley

and then served as City Administrator in Connell, Washington. He has worked in a variety of positions in public, private and nonprofit organizations throughout his career. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force, and holds both a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Eastern Washington University. Steve lives in Longview with his wife and two children. Welcome Steve!

Issue 19-43November 06, 2019

LongviewRotary.com

facebook.com/LongviewWARotary

Helpful Links: Printed by:

Flowers for the Rich and Famous Next Week’s Program - Steven Elliott

November is the Rotary “Foundation Month”

Freedom Flags

November Birthdays

Rotary helps to provide food to the hungry; to heal the wounds of the ill; comfort those in sorrow; bring peace to those living in areas of unrest and never knowing the individuals impacted. Rotary truly is a premier international service organization. As Rotarians, we seek solutions to challenges in our communities, and we take action to bring those ideas to life. One of the benefits of being a Rotarian is access to funding from The Rotary Foundation to create meaningful grants both in your community and elsewhere in the world. Rotary International has a special partnership with The Rotary Foundation

(Note: This birthday listing is taken from ClubRunner information. If it is incorrect or your name is missing, please correct in our official club records. Thank you.)

Cindy Smith, a local floral designer and author of the book, Splendid Flowers for Every Day, described her career and adventures with many of the top names in the entertainment industry such as, Bob Hope, Heidi Klum, Shaquille O’Neil, Bruce Springsteen, Nicole Kidman, Oprah and many, many others. Cindy revealed how you can attain that elegant “star look,”

Steven Elliott is a veteran who served in the elite 75th Army Ranger Regiment which fought in Afghanistan. In 2004, he was deployed to the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. During an enemy ambush, he is one of four Rangers who mistook NFL player Pat Tillman’s position for that of the enemy and fired there. Steven is one of

with unique containers such as ceramic pots, glass vases, baskets, bowls & tea cups. From amazing centerpieces to floral birthday cake stands, to hanging votives with colored water to tangerine topiary trees, Smith gave us an inside peek at luxurious celebrity events, with photographs.

two Rangers considered likely to be responsible for firing the bullets that killed Pat Tillman. The shooting aftermath plunged him into the depths of guilt, shame and addiction, until unlikely hope emerged. Steven has shared his story in the book, War Story. Today, he is the president of Capstone Trust in Olympia. Steven has served as a volunteer veteran’s court mentor and continues to speak about his experiences in an effort to advocate for change in how the unseen wounds of war are recognized and treated. Note: Books will not be for sale at this presentation; however, if you bring a book, Steven will be happy to autograph it.

11/01 Dave Spurgeon11/01 Ray Vandervalk11/06 Jerry Gibson11/09 Chris Searing11/10 Jon Trussell11/10 Neil Zick11/18 John Paul11/20 Jordan Burns11/20 Dan Zorn11/21 Melissa Diaz11/27 Van Youngquist