6-21-2012 meeting of the Rotary Club of Chickasha

The June 21, 2012 meeting of the Rotary Club of Chickasha opened with a prayer, pledge and song.

Guests included Aaron Elyachar and Tanner and Logan Tibbetts.

Prayer concerns include Ann Harralson, Karen Zeisest's  and Bill and Janice McVey.

Announcements from President Michael Oberlender included:

-- He reminded Rotarians of the June 28 installation luncheon at USAO. Today is the deadline to make reservations.

--The club received a thank you note from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for a donation the club made to the organization.

--Kory Kirkland was successful in recruiting a high school junior to attend RYLA Camp. The young lady will speak to the club at a future date about her experiences at the camp.

Rotarian of the Day was Bill McVey, who introduced Rhoinda Large of Wildcare Oklahoma as our guest speaker. Bill became acquainted with Large when he brought an injured pelican to the facility for treatment a few years ago.

The mission of WildCare Oklahoma is to treat injured or abandoned animals with intention of releasing them back into the wild. 

Wildcare was started more than 20 years ago by Large and her husband. WildCare is located on 20 acres in a rural area of Cleveland County, east of Noble. Approximately 6 acres are enclosed by a 6 foot high chain link fence. Scattered with in the perimeter fence are several enclosures nestled between dense cedars trees. WildCare has in addition to 2,600 square feet of dedicated inside space, 13,400 square feet of outside mammal enclosures and 26,100 square feet of outside bird enclosures.

The facility is one only a handful of organization permitted to handle bald and golden Eagles. Four veterinarians volunteer to treat the animals and their are two full-time staff members, paid part-time interns and dozens of volunteers. Last year more than 4,500 animals were handled by the facility

Currently there are 643 animals being helped including 80 raccoons, six fawns and 200 songbirds. The baby songbirds must be fed every 15-30 minutes round the clock.

Because the contact with humans could jeopardize the animals returning to the wild, the facility is not open to the public. There are a couple of time during the year you can see Wildcare -- in April when they conduct a "baby shower" and in November when they hold a brief open house.

The facility is funded entirely by private donation. For more information, go to wildcareoklahoma.org.

The meeting adjourned after recitation of the Rotary 4-Way test.