The Rotary Club of Kirkland held its regular weekly meeting online on October 12, 2020.
Attending were James Nevers, Dave Aubry, Gary Cohn, Joanne Primavera, Steve Shinstrom, Rich Bergdahl, John Pruitt, John Woodbery, Stefan Landvogt, Kristin Olson, George Anderson, Rick Walter, Bill Taylor, Dave & Amy Mutal, Terry Cole, Scott Becker, Bella Chaffey, Margie Glenn, and Don Dicks. Let me know if I missed anyone.
President James Nevers rang the bell at 6:15 p.m.
Rich Bergdahl recited the Pledge of Allegiance, while the rest of us stood, mostly mute, in order to avoid ‘out-of-sync-problems’ with our audio.
Dave Aubry reported that the City has published, in its Capital Projects bulletin, that it is moving ahead with the Rotary Pavilion/Railroad History Project.
Guests were Susan Chang and Dibya Singh, who gave a short talk about Toastmasters and its new partnership with Rotary. Toastmasters promotes fellowship and public speaking. There is a local Islamic women’s group that allows women to uncover their faces since no men are present. This has allowed these women to increase their confidence. We are invited to attend at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays as guests. Rotary advocates the Rotary/Toastmasters partnership.
Rick Walter did a round of Happy Dollars, and led off, as he was fortunate on the golf course recently. There were a number of other happy Club members: James Nevers, John Pruitt, Dave Aubry, and Don Dicks.
Scott Becker introduced our speaker Anne Hess, publisher of Kirkland Living magazine. She spoke about how she has had to learn resilience through the many recent challenges of her personal and professional life. These challenges include the loss of financing for a business launch during the recession 12 years ago, the need to then relocate back to the Seattle area, the loss of her husband in a car accident, and the need to begin a new professional life.
She has apparently done very well with Kirkland Living magazine. She is about to launch a new website later this year, called BeLOCAL Kirkland. This website supports and facilitates patronizing local businesses during the age of COVID-19. She has volunteered with and supported local nonprofits and served on the boards of the Kirkland Performance Center, the Kirkland Downtown Association, and the Chamber of Commerce. She advocates ‘Being Fearless’ in getting involved in new things.
We adjourned at about 7:01 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry - Acting Scribe