There were guests a plenty at the meeting. An interclub from Kamiakin, consisting of Steve Fischer, Earl Hall, Chuck Uber, and Bob Brown, got things going. CHRIS CRISTMAN brought Christine Neill, STEVE PPICKETT hosted Denise LaBarr, RUSS DIX accompanied Louise Tabayoyan, and BRIAN BLOUNT brought wife Barbara.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

SWIM MEET
JOHN BENSON is still looking for timers and cooks. June 27-29 are the dates. Cooks work mornings, from about 6 -10. Timers can sign up for shifts Friday evening or throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. Contact John or CORKY MATTINGLY if you can spare some hours.

FOURTH OF JULY
The sign up sheet was passed around for 4th of July Bingo.

KIWANIS/CAMP FIRE BBQ
AMY NEAL passed the sign up for the combined BBQ are her home, July 12th. The festivities will begin at 3:00 PM, and all attending are asked to bring something to share and something for the grill.

KIWANIS GOLF DAY
Next meeting will be at the Elks for our annual Kiwanis Golf Day. Contact DAN MARPLES with dress code questions or MARK HAMPTON if you want to sign up. NO GOLF EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!

KIWANIS CHARITABLE TRUST
DELMAR PEARSON gave a brief report on the trust. We started the year with $818,000 and ended with $854,000, after distributing money to Perry Tech and Camp Roganunda.

INTERCLUBS
Steve Pickett will be calling/e-mailing in an attempt to get a couple of interclubs before the end of the month.

PETE PETERSON’S SERVICE
DON DAVIDSON reported that there were six Kiwanians at the Memorial Service for long-time member Pete Peterson held this past Saturday.

SERGEANT
DAN FISHER returned to our meetings and his duties as Sergeant. He made the administrative budget very happy.

PROGRAM
GENE ROSVOLD introduced Denise Nichols and Tami Andringa from the Yakima Parks and Recreation Department. They brought us up to speed on a number of parks programs. The department oversees 320 developed acres, 5 swimming pools, 32 tennis courts, and a senior center. They are also responsible for the trees downtown and “just about anything that grows”. The 27 employees are joined by up to 60 seasonal employees during the summer months and the department operates with a $3.5 million budget.
SENIOR CENTER
A new senior center is under construction on Summitview Avenue. This Center is being built with a $3 million donation from an anonymous donor. It will be 17,000 square feet when completed and has been designed with the aging baby boom population in mind.
CHESTERLEY PARK
The finishing touches are going into this westside park. Two new soccer fields, bringing the total to six, have been constructed, the skate park is in constant use, and a new parking lot is being laid. This park will be totally completed in about 45 days.
KISSEL PARK
The dedication of this newest park will be this Saturday. The 12 tennis courts that were removed from Larson Park have been relocated here. The site, at the corner of 32nd and Mead, was an Eastern Washington test site for environmental cleanup and received approximately $600,000 in Federal funds that aided in soil clean up.
KIWANIS PARK
Near and dear to our hearts was the progress at Kiwanis Park. After considerable public input, ground will soon be broken on two new premier softball fields. These fields will use similar materials to what was used at Safeco Field and will have the best lighting available and feature a beautiful concession/restroom building. This will be the first of many phases. Eventually, the park will hold five adult softball fields and either three Little League or two soccer fields. Games should be played on the new fields in early 2005. Denise made a special point of thanking our club members who helped make this project possible by the purchase of land.
LARSON PARK
Through a partnership with YVCC, changes are taking place at this park as well. New restrooms should be built in the next year and upgrades to the fields are taking place right now.
Denise left us with some sobering thoughts about where the Parks Department will be able to go in the future. They are out of developable land and short on money. They spend upwards of $200,000 every year on vandalism and graffiti removal. She said without the partnerships they have forged with local agencies, there would be fewer parks and services for city residents.

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