President Brad began today's meeting after a rousing chorus of "God Bless America" by greeting the assembled group.
Announcements:
HELP!! Website Sponsorships are still available at $250 each. There is room on the website for 13 sponsors, and it's a great way to advertise your business to members. Check out our Home Page on the Website for an example of what they will look like. They also show up on the Tattler home page. Contact Sandee for sponsorship information.
President Brad announced the Rotary Night at Mount Baker Theatre, September 24, at 7:30 p.m. The show is "Little Shop of Horrors", and Rotarians can purchase tickets for one-half price, which includes the performance and a social event in the Black Box theatre. The Entertainment Committee reminded us that the opening night of “Little Shop of Horrors” was “County-Wide Rotarian Half-Price Ticket” night. In light of the blatant advertisement and promotion of this event, the Entertainment Committee fined itself $5.
Board Meeting Briefs for September 11, 2014
Treasurer, Bob Sytsma, reported that $10,544 has been sent to Rotary International for the Ugandan Water Project.
Bill Gorman, Assistant District Governor, attended the meeting to ask our club to participate in a new District program called YES (Youth Engaged in Service).It was initiated by the Burlington Sunrise Rotary Club a few years ago. It is a program to encourage youth to volunteer in their local community and internationally for 11th graders. Students must commit to a minimum of 80 hours of meaningful service during the year, participate in YAIL (Youth Adventures in Leadership Training) in January and attend a retreat in October. They also hold one meeting per month for planning their trip. Villagers at International service sites are provided with much needed assistance and develop positive relationships with Americans and Canadians. This year a group of 6-10 students went to Guatemala. High school students in grade 11 are chosen to participate by a panel of Rotarians after completing an application and interview process. Each Rotary Club that sponsors a student contributes $2,000 towards total program expenses - $1,000 towards the student and $1,000 towards projects. The student is responsible for $1,500 towards program and trip costs. Rotary mentors assist students in fundraising and budgeting to meet their goal. Applications for this coming year are due September 19th. Bill is asking our club to sponsor at least one student at $2,000, provide expertise in the interview process and be mentors for the students. This discussion will continue at the October 9, 2014 Board meeting.
Yvonne Cartwright and Byron Manering attended the meeting to request that the RCOB encourage Rotarians working with or around children on a Rotary-sponsored project to attend a 2-hour Darkness to Light Stewards of Children training. This training would teach us to recognize & react responsibly to child sexual abuse. This would include Rotarians who are meeting with scholarship recipients, Rotarians helping out at the Family Fest and Rotarians working around children in Uganda. They would like the club to cover the cost of $10 per member and the aim would be to have all members take the training. After a discussion it was suggested that all of the Board attend and encourage other members. Bill Gorman, Assistant District Governor for our area, mentioned how much he loved the project. He would like to see it become a collaborated effort with all of the Whatcom County Clubs.
Guests of Rotarians:
Tim Farris introduced John Dunne with Seattle Children's Hospital
Bob Nicholl brought his wife of 63 years, Lois
Cleary Cone introduced his wife of 67 years, Aleen
Dan Powell brought his wife, Heather
Del Vandekerk introduced John Moffett
Presentations:
Greg Baker has completed all the requirements of membership and received his membership certificate and the Four-Way Test in a brief presentation.
Program:
Phil Gubbins introduced one of our favorite program topics today, "New Member Talks". Welcome to Dan, Steve, and Lynda.
Dan Powell, the CEO of the Whatcom Family YMCA told the club about the long path that took him from his roots in Wisconsin to his work in Bellingham, how he came to work for the YMCA, and what the organization represents to him, to his family and to his community. He emphasized the theme of service over self in all levels of his life.
Steve Gray, senior real estate loan officer at People’s Bank explained how an epiphany in a Redmond, Washington grocery store parking lot led to his decision to move somewhere beautiful with less traffic. So he sold his share of the company and moved the family north to Bellingham, and hasn’t regretted his decision.
Lynda Hinton, a managing broker at Windermere Real Estate never had to make the decision to move to Bellingham. She is a 3rd generation resident who told the club that she takes great pleasure in introducing people who would love to live here to the homes that would help make that a reality.
In conclusion, Brad told the members that club membership dropped below 150 active members last month. “We need to focus on club growth.” He said. He encouraged us to review our contacts and bring in top-quality people who are “leaders in their field” as potential new club members. “Bring someone to lunch in the next 1-2 months.” And with those comments, President Brad rang the bell and the meeting ended.
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