The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting on April 11, 2022 at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel.
President Dave DeBois rang the bell at 6:20 p.m., calling the club meeting to order.
George Anderson led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attending were George Anderson, David Aubry, Bob Auslander, Rich Bergdahl, Gary Cohn, Terry Cole, David DeBois, Margie Glenn, Brandon Honcoop, Mike Hunter, Isabelle Kalisa, Jim Meniketti, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, Steve Shinstrom, John Storbeck, Bill Taylor*, and Brian Tucker. *Attended the meeting online.
Guests:
Guests this evening were the speaker, Susan Vossler, and her fellow volunteer, Margaret Schwender, for the city of Kirkland; Pat Ford representing the Rotary Club of Woodinville; and Rotary Student of the Month Maria Strathy and her father, Nick Strathy.
Greeter:
Our greeter this evening was Margie Glenn, and Jim Meniketti manned the front desk.
Announcements & Club Business:
Dave DeBois announced what a fun time everyone had at Bunco at the Shinstroms’ on April 9. Many thanks to Steve and Patty Shinstrom for hosting and making us all forget about viruses. Mr. DeBois also filled us in on the continuing work being done by Vital Solutions with Ukrainian refugees in Rumania. Ben and Flavius of Vital Solutions thanked us for our continuing support. Mr. DeBois reminded us that next week’s meeting will be on Zoom at 5 p.m., and will be about efforts throughout Rotary District 5030 to combat sex trafficking.
Pat Ford from the Rotary Club of Woodinville spoke to us about the upcoming Rotary Environmental Community Fair sponsored by Woodinville Rotary and other eastside clubs. She encouraged us all to get involved in the September 17 event, at a location to be determined in the Woodinville area. Part of the effort is to create a template that can be used across the country. One of Rotary’s priorities is a focus on the environment. We want to ensure that our children can live successfully on the planet.
A big goal is to inspire individuals to one environment-central change in their lives. They are looking for marketing and logistics help. The kick-off event is April 28, probably at the Woodinville Grange. They would like each of the eastside clubs to have a representative at the kickoff.
Margie Glenn noted that the long-awaited badges had arrived, and that they look really good on all of our Rotarians. She expressed thanks for the work it took to get the badge replacement done, and for how professional they look.
Student of the Month:
Our Student of the Month tonight was Maria Strathy, a senior at Lake Washington High School, gave us a short talk on what she has been doing and her future plans. She is passionate about getting involved with people to accomplish things. She has been involved in student leadership for three years. She has planned activities and is involved in sports – track & cross country. She is also involved in DECA. These activities have helped her confidence and her motivation. She has enjoyed a number of classes, including physical sciences. She works as an instructor in math at many levels. She is planning on attending the University of Washington College of Engineering.
Happy Bucks:
There were no Happy Bucks this evening.
Program:
Our speaker, Susan Vossler, together with Margaret Schwender, spoke to us about the city of Kirkland’s anti-idling program. Both are active as volunteers in Kirkland issues and activities. They are helping to promote the city’s goal of inspiring people to not let their cars run when they are parked or sitting waiting. It is not about shutting of the engine when in traffic at a stop light. This is part of the city’s effort to make Kirkland a more sustainable community. Idling contributes a lot of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. It is estimated that eliminating such idling would be the equivalent of removing six million cars from the roads. Turn off your engine when sitting waiting for someone or something.
There were a number of questions from Rotarians about getting the message out to businesses and especially to schools and PTAs, where parents often idle their cars while waiting for the school bus or to pick up their children.
Joker Pool:
There was not a Joker Pool this evening.
Adjournment:
President Dave rang the bell at 7:21 p.m. to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted
Dave Aubry – Acting Scribe