Poverty Bay Musical Line Up for 2012!

Win Two Tickets to The Poverty Bay Wine Festival!

Here's your chance to win Two Free Tickets to the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival in March!  Simply text message dmrotary to 90210 and you'll automatically be entered into the drawing!


Please click here for more information about the Poverty Bay Wine Festival.

Poverty Bay Wine Festival Posters Are Up All Over Town!

You don't have to look very long before you see the striking emerald green posters in the shops and offices in Des Moines, Burien and Federal Way advertising the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival.  And you won't want to miss the wine, music and fun!  Tickets are on sale now - so don't delay!

For more information and to purchase your tickets,  please visit our website at www.dmrotary.org or Brown Paper Tickets.  

Poverty Bay Wine Festival Welcomes Fivash Cellars

Scott and Margaret Fivash, Co-Owners

The Rotary Club of Des Moines is delighted to be able to offer a new winery to the stellar list of wineries that will be showcasing their wines at the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival.   Fivash Cellars of Sammamish will now be pouring at the event.  Ric Jacobson, the wine chair of the festival and owner of Corky Cellars, is excited to have them on board, "Fivash Cellars has a great offering of Walla Walla wines and is receiving good reviews from our customers at Corky Cellars."

Owners and winemakers, Scott and Margaret Fivash, got their introduction to the Washington wine industry by featuring the “Best of Washington Wines” in Washington CEO magazine, which they owned and operated for more than 15 years. In 2006, Scott and Margaret moved to Walla Walla to learn more about the wine business. While there, Margaret earned an AAAS degree in Enology and Viticulture at Walla Walla Community College Institute for Enology and Viticulture, Scott attended the Wine Executive program at UC Davis, and they both worked at various wineries for 3 years to gain experience.  When the couple’s 11-acre home in Sammamish wouldn’t sell in the down economy, it seemed close to crushing their dreams of opening a winery in Walla Walla.  However, for Scott and Margaret, the dilemma lead to an even better idea; they chose to turn their sprawling estate into a winery.  A wood shop was converted into the winery, holding dozens of the iconic oak barrels, and giving Margaret plenty of space for her wine chemistry.

While the wine is priced for executives, the winery is as relaxed as visiting a friend’s home.  Starting the business has been work, but it’s also been fun. “When I got into the wine business, I got into it because of how much fun everyone was having, not realizing how much work it really is and how much time it takes to produce a final product, but all good things take time,” Scott said. 


Come to the Poverty Bay Wine Festival on March 2-4, where you can meet Scott and Margaret in person and and sample their 2010 Walla Walla Chardonnay or their 2007 Workshop Red.  For more information about the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival, please visit www.dmrotary.org.

Powell Homes to Sponsor 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival

Co-Owners, Brooks and Todd Powell

The Rotary Club of Des Moines is proud to have Powell Homes as an Event Sponsor of the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival.   Since the inception of Powell Homes in 1909, this family of builders has made quality and integrity their watchwords.

Great-grandfather H.H. Benton started it all in 1909, building new homes as Seattle boomed. During the Great Depression, he built Benton Court Apartments, still in use today. He persuaded son-in-law, Cecil Powell, to join the business and together they created Barton Square Apartments, Normandy Duke Apartments and hundreds of single family homes, all serving owners and tenants today.

Third generation Monte Powell learned from his father and grandfather as he worked his way through college. His special interest was retirement homes. In 1967, he created the nationally acclaimed Huntington Park Retirement Village, which is still serving the community of Des Moines. His sons followed his example, building homes as they went to college. Two of them, Todd and Brooks Powell, now head the company. They have added a new emphasis on remodeling and renovation as the next generation moves into Seattle’s aging housing stock.

When asked during a recent interview why Powell Homes chose to return as the event sponsor for the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival, Brooks said, "Since my family's move to Des Moines in the 1960's, we have always felt it was important to participate in the community.  Our primary goal is to have a positive impact in Des Moines, so partnering with the Rotary Club of Des Moines just makes sense". The Powell family has had a long history of giving back to their community. This can be seen in their involvement in the Fireworks Over Des Moines, the Poverty Bay Blues and Brews Fest, the Des Moines Waterland Festival, and many other local events.

You can meet the co-owners of Powell Homes at the Poverty Bay Wine Festival on March 2 - 4th.  Both Brooks and Todd will be on hand hosting a booth at the festival and will be happy to tell you how their company can meet your home renovation or new construction needs.

For more information about the Poverty Bay Wine Festival or to purchase tickets, please visit http://www.dmrotary.org/ or call Corky Cellars at 206-824-9462.

Making a Difference One Paint Stroke at a Time

Someone once said, "Working together, ordinary people can perform extraordinary feats. ".  This was certainly true last weekend when 52 people gathered together to make a difference in Des Moines.  On Saturday, January 7th,  members from Taproot Church, Des Moines Gospel Church, Normandy Park Christian Church, Sterling Savings Bank and the Federal  Way High School Honors Society met at the Federal Way  Multi Services Center Homeless Shelter on South  Military Road.  Their mission was simple: to completely repaint five homes as a part of the  Family Shelter Unit Project adopted by The Rotary Club of Des Moines.  

When asked about the success of the day's event, Steve  Swank, the Committee Service Chair of the Rotary Club of Des Moines, remarked, "It was amazing to see the way that all of the volunteers bonded together as a team for the purpose of creating a quality living environment for future residents of this shelter.  We committed to painting five homes and we didn't stop until the work was done!"

The Family Shelter Unit Project is funded by the Rotary District 5030 Homelessness Grant. The Rotary Club of Des Moines applied for the grant and contacted Federal Way Multi-Service Center (MSC) to determine that there was a need.  The center oversees the transitional housing shelter in Des Moines with the goal of helping homeless families get off the street and eventually into more permanent housing.   The shelter serves over 800 people each year and has a waiting year list of 1,400. With the rapid turnover of families moving in and out of the shelter, there is a constant need to completely repaint the units and replace furniture.  For more information about the Family Shelter Unit Project or to get involved, please contact Steve Swank at sfsaustin@comcast.net .

For more information about the Rotary Club of Des Moines, please visi our website at www.dmrotary.org.

Photos courtesy of Steve Swank.

Des Moines Students Recieve The Gift of Words!

Each year, the Rotary Club of Des Moines hands out dictionaries to all of the 3rd grade students in the city of Des Moines, as a part of a larger Rotary International program called Dictionaries by The Dozen.  This year was no exception. Over 360 third graders across Des Moines recently received a hard bound copy of the Scholastic Children's Dictionary.  The dictionary is full of illustrations and photographs which help increase children's vocabulary and language skills.

North Hill Elementary

Parkside Elementary

The members of the Rotary Club of Des Moines have found this project to be one of the most rewarding experiences, particularly when they see the excited expressions on the students faces as they write their names in their very own dictionary.  Each year the club receives dozens of letters and thank yous from students, parents and teachers for the dictionaries.  From time to time, the club members will also encounter past 3rd grade students who remember the experience and still own the dictionary! 

Des Moines Elementary

"Supporting education is one of the most important ways we can make our community strong. Early reading skills are closely linked to success in school all the way through high school. Giving a dictionary to a third grader not only supports their reading skills, but tells them there are people in their community who want to help them do well in school", said Catherine Carbone-Rogers, the Rotary club's New Generations Committee Chair and the Director of Communications and Community Relations for Highline Public Schools.

For more information about this program, please contact Catherine Carbone-Rogers at Catherine.Carbone@highlineschools.org.