President Mike Pollen 2014-2015 Volume 15, 16 Welcome to the Club Meetings: Thursday’s at 12pm Westmark Hotel 813 Noble Street Fairbanks AK 99701 May 14, 2015 Rotary Club of Fairbanks - PO BOX 72114 - Fairbanks Alaska 99709 - 907-458-4222 - [email protected] NID Trip to India Leslye Korvola & Althea St. Martin Leslye Korvola was born in San Francisco on April Fools' Day a LONG time ago, which could make this bio very long and boring. So I'll cut to the chase and simply say I earned my B.S. degree from the University of California in Berkeley in 1961. I was engaged, married and widowed within one year and ready to call it quits in life until I had a serious automobile accident and cut off one ear; that knocked some sense into my head. I decided to come to Alaska December 30, 1963, but before traveling to Alaska I spent a year in Europe living with relatives and going to the Uni- versity of Marburg in Germany. Okay, I arrived in Fairbanks August 25, 1965 to begin the German program at Lath- rop, but got sidetracked by the French teacher, Dick Korvola and married at the end of the school year. In 1968 we spent 52 days traveling on the Trans-Siberian and in the Soviet Union to get to France, where we both studied at the University of Besan- con. Upon our return I spent one year teaching at the newly opened Ryan Junior High School and then retired from the classroom to raise our two daughters, Kate and Hilkka. As my children grew up I became increasingly involved in a variety of volunteer activi- ties in the community and ended up with a Master's Degree in Resource Economics from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in 1986. That enabled me to become the Manager of the Community Research Center at the Borough and that opened up the opportunity for me to be invited to join the Fairbanks Rotary Club. I enjoyed the inter- national aspects of Rotary from the beginning eagerly attending International Rotary Conventions and visiting Rotary Clubs at every opportunity-- in Germany, Finland, Togo, Ghana and wherever my planes took me in the U.S. So many Rotary Clubs, so little time! In 1992 I was eased out of my position at the Borough through the process of budget cuts and accepted an invitation to participate in an "Economic Development" confer- ence in Yakutsk arranged through the Sister Cities connection between Fairbanks and Yakutsk. Aha! Since I had no job in Fairbanks I offered to teach at Yakutsk State University under an appointment from UAF that stipulated no financial commitment from the University of Alaska, and in the spring of 1993 my husband and I ventured to Yakutsk mid-winter when it was minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit. I had the privilege of teaching in the highly disorganized new "World Economy" program. They put up with me for three years, during which time Russia's economy deteriorated through no fault of me, but what a fantastic adventure it was to experience with the people there. (I don't know if a bio usually includes such commentary, but surely our experiences were more important what I might list in a factual bio.) With the confidence and support of Jack Randolph I helped start a Rotary Club, which was chartered in the fall of 1994. I went on as District Governor Steve Yoshida's "Secret Weapon" to start Rotary Clubs in the Russian Far East with Ambassadorial Teaching Scholarships, which no longer exist, but enabled me to work in numerous communities in the Russian Far East including Petropavlovsk, Khabarovsk, Nyurba and Neryungry. Starting Rotary Clubs It was the blind leading the blind since I had never been an officer in the Fairbanks Rotary, but what I lacked in experience I made up for with idealism, enthusiasm, a deep respect of the people, and a genuine love of those with whom I worked. So now you understand why I am so committed to Rotary in Russia. Continued on Page 2 May Birthdays Ronnie Ashbach 2nd Mike Kelly 6th Bill Wright 11th Krista Stamper 13th Jeffrey Zuckerman 14th Uriah Nalikak 16th Gretchen Gordon 23rd Theresa Bakker 24th Bob Boswell 26th Shelley Ebenal 26th Ron Davis 28th Judy Kleinfeld 29th David Kilbourn 31st Lorna Shaw 31st Vivian Stiver 31st Club Officers (Below) Vice President Doug Schrage President Elect Aisha Tinker Bray Secretary Wayne Clark Treasurer Michelle Maynor Treasurer Elect Bill Wright Past President Jo Kuchle Sgt. At Arms Mike Shultz Deputy At Arms Mike Ferguson Club Service (Below) Structure Bill Satterburg Operations John Ringstad Fun & Recognition Emily Drygas Community Service Lisa Gentry Vocational Service Tim Jones International Service Karen Lundquist