TODAY'S MEETING: Betsy Reithemeyer, Northwest Arkansas Non Profit Center

Upcoming Programs:
Feb 17 – Rodney O Parks, Director of Development, Philander Smith College, Little Rock

Announcements & Important Dates:
*  President Rick Mcleod announced the proclamation by Mayor Womack of Saturday Feb. 7th as "Call To Service Day" for the City of Rogers. All volunteers will be given a make up.
*  Rick also recognized the efforts of the local utilities and called out Club members Mike Dodge, Chuck Easterling, and Darrin Chism thanking them for their companies service through the storm.
*  Wendy Kumpe announce the change of date for Tetrazinni Dinner to April 23, with April 22 being Tetrazinni prep day.
*  Hal Savage reminded Rotarians to verify their contact information for the Rogerote and announced the upcoming transition to an electronic email version and a reduced print version.

LAST WEEK’S MEETING:
President Rick Mcleod led singing of "America" and recitation of the "Pledge of Allegiance". Invocation was given by Biff Averitt. Singing of "In the Good Ole Summer Time" was led by Joe Mills.

Atta Boys/Atta Girls:
Jill Wagar x 2
Jack Counihan was allegedly spotted at a committee meeting

Visiting Rotarians:
Jonathan Moore welcomed visiting Rotarians and those with guest.

Rotarians with Guests:
Ryan Brawley and Dereck Eckelhoff were guests of Matt McCain
Chief of Police Steve Hamilton was the guest of Jerry Hudlow
Pearl McElfish was the quest of Allison McElroy
Judge John Scott was the guest of Doug Schrantz

Program Summary:
Sandra Keiser Edwards, Associate Director, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, updated the club on the progress being made at the site. She came to Northwest Arkansas from Penn St. where she and her late husband had 34 years of working with museums in all aspects of operation. She is happy to be a part of bringing the vision to reality. The park consist of 100 acres located virtually in the back yard of the Sam and Helen Walton residence in Bentonville. The buildings of the museum complex will occupy 7 acres, leaving the balance to remain as natural as possible with trails wandering throughout. "Group of Bears" is the very first piece of art to adorn the park. Renown architect Moshe Safdie was hired to bring a balance between the park and the beautiful natural springs with their wooded surroundings. Sandy gave the group a detailed tour through a computer generated layout of the facility highlighting the aesthetic and structural features of the buildings. She explained how the term "Crystal Bridges" came to be. An actual bridge feature is utilized to span two split level ponds created by the parks natural springs. Sandy then showed some of the collection of famous pieces already acquired by the museum. These include the portrait of a young George Washington, which is currently touring many of the world's premier museum's. The Levy/Franks family portraits, thought to be some of the earliest pieces of American Art. Finally featuring the famed "Kindred Spirits", whose purchase caused quite an uproar among the art community. Please visit the website at www.crystalbridges.org