The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting on September 12, 2022 at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel.
President Amy Mutal rang the bell at 6:23 p.m., calling the club meeting to order a bit later than usual due to computer issues.
Doug Evanson led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attending were George Anderson, David Aubry, Bob Auslander, Jocelyn Ellison*, Doug Evanson, Mekonen Giorgis, Margie Glenn, Brandon Honcoop, Michael Hunter, Isabelle Kalisa, Jim Meniketti, Amy Mutal, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, and John Storbeck. *Attended via Zoom.
Guests:
President Amy introduced Monica Le, a friend and employee at Prevail Wealth Management. We also hosted Julie Tochterman, our speaker’s wife.
Greeters:
Our greeters this evening were Margie Glenn and Jim Meniketti, who were at the front desk to greet members and collect dinner fees.
Joanne Primavera announced the recent death of former club President G.G. Getz.
Dave Aubry reminded everyone that the Kirkland Rotary Foundation Social and Auction is coming up, October 22, at St John’s Church on State Street in Kirkland. Dinner and wine or beer or soft drinks – only $10 per person plus one item to auction! This is a great deal – and always lots of fun, plus we will make a few thousand for a good cause.
We will probably be doing Duffy Electric Boats in Kirkland next Monday evening – watch for an email. The overall cost will be about the same as Monday night dinner.
Happy Bucks:
There were no Happy Bucks this meeting.
Program:
John Storbeck introduced Dr. Tom Tochterman, our speaker. John also gave us a brief outline of his own experience with rhinos, recounting information about a couple of groups working to save rhinoceri.
Dr. Tochterman is the chair of the Rotary Action Group for Endangered Species - RAGES, and former President of Lake Chelan Rotary Club. He gave us a brief outline of Rotary Action groups and how they work to make our world better. There are 27 such Action Groups in Rotary. Anyone in Rotary can start an Action Group. Dr. Jane Goodall is the patron of this group.
RAGES works mainly in South Africa to save rhinos from poaching and habitat loss. Included in the effort is a group of females, the Black Mambas, who are unarmed and search for evidence of poaching. Evidence is then turned over to the authorities for follow-up. Women have proven to be more professional and less prone to absenteeism and squabbling than males. Currently there are 36 women in the group; they are relatively well-paid. The pandemic has curtailed South Africa’s ability to allocate more funds to this effort.
RAGES has a broad reach and supports numerous approaches to saving endangered species. This includes working to improve food-security so people will not be inclined to hunt wild animals for food. The group also prepares veterinarians to help with various endangered animals.
Dr Tochterman has lived in South Africa and spent time building networks to address various aspects of the problem. He has tried to build a sense of “environmental patriotism” among residents of the region, especially among young people.
He gave a brief overview of the size of the poaching industry – rhino horns can bring $250,000 and the items can be moved from Africa to Asia in 24 hours. It is a very large industry. Databases have been developed to help target and allocate anti-poaching resources.
This Rotary Action Group has received a UN “Champions of the Earth” award.
Adjournment:
President Amy rang the bell at 7:31 p.m. to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted
Dave Aubry, Acting Scribe