The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting on August 29, 2022 at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel.
President Amy Mutal rang the bell at 6:23 p.m., calling the club meeting to order.
Mike Hunter led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attending were Pete Anderson, David Aubry, Bob Auslander, Gary Cohn, Terry Cole, Margie Glenn, Michael Hunter, Isabelle Kalisa, Jim Meniketti, Amy Mutal, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, and John Storbeck. (There were no Zoom attendees due to computer difficulties.)
Guests:
Mike Hunter introduced one guest this evening, Lake Washington High School Career Specialist Nichole Swanger, who is also interested in applying for membership. Terry Cole introduced our speaker’s mother, Ali Fialho, and our speaker and scholarship recipient, Drew Fialho.
Greeter:
Our greeters this evening were Margie Glenn and Jim Meniketti, who were at the front desk to greet members and collect dinner fees.
Announcements, Club Business:
President Amy announced that we will look at doing Duffy Electric Boats in Kirkland instead of a picnic for a Club Social Event this fall.
Kirkland Rotary Foundation President John Pruitt announced that there will be a KRF Board meeting at Dave Aubry’s house, 4 p.m., September 7, and wonderful French wine will be served.
Rick Ostrander reminded everyone to turn in any Duck Dash tickets to him as they ALL must be accounted for.
Happy Bucks:
There were no Happy Bucks this meeting.
Program:
President Amy introduced Drew Fialho, our speaker. Members will remember that he was the recipient of the club’s Charles O. Morgan Communication Scholarship last fall, as a junior, which is unusual for the club. He used this to attend a week-long event in Washington D.C., the Washington Journalism and Media Conference at George Mason University. Drew is also the Lake Washington High School ASB president as a senior this year.
Mr. Fialho gave us a presentation on his experiences at the Conference. The trip involved his first airplane flight on his own. He arrived at his hotel just before the Conference dinner event and so had to rapidly change into formal dress. The dinner speaker was an alum of the program, who went into detail about how the program worked.
Day 2 – Journalism in action. The conference speaker spoke about COVID vaccine development and about the fact that some people seem to have natural immunity. Attendees interacted online with other language speakers and practiced a bit in those languages. In the evening, attendees did a moonlight monument tour of the city – Drew loved it.
Day 3 – Journalism in Washington D.C. Attendees went to the National Press Club, where Drew was honored to introduce one of the speakers. A comparison was drawn between national, international, and local journalism. Attendees did some quiz questions as a team-building exercise. Drew noted that his team did not win.
Day 4 – Your Career in Journalism. There were more speakers; a simulation was done about being part of an actual newsroom. Attendees learned about decision-making and evaluating input. Next came break-out rooms where they learned more about the various roles in journalism. They then heard about college-level journalism classes.
Day 5 – Exploring Our Capital. Attendees visited many significant sites in D.C. Included were various museums and exhibits. Attendees then had some free time to explore on their own. That evening was the Washington Journalism and Media Gala. Everyone loved that – dinner, dance, photoshoot.
Day 6 – Farewell. Speakers advocated leaving one’s comfort zone, being yourself, etc. One speaker during the Farewell was Sam Wolfe, a Google Account Manager.
Drew felt that he learned a lot and made some life-long friends. There were many people there from different backgrounds and perspectives on life. He spoke about his school experiences here and how he can influence and incorporate various aspects into coherent wholes. He emphasized the importance of local journalism.
He is looking at the University of Oregon and the University of Washington for college.
There is no meeting next week due to the Labor Day holiday, but John Storbeck encouraged members to be here in two weeks for a wonderful speaker.
Adjournment:
President Amy rang the bell at 6:57 p.m. to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted
Dave Aubry, Acting Scribe