President Chuck welcomed us and reminded us that on this day in 1689 King William III and Mary II were crowned in Westminster Abby. They are the namesakes of The College of William and Mary. There were no Rotarians present who have attended this college.
President Snyder reminded the membership that major awards nominations (Will J. Griswold Club Service, David C. Morse Sr. Community Service, Michael K Mischaikow International Service and the Karen W. Morse Vocational Service Awards) are being accepted by the executive committee for several awards. More details are available on the website, from Sandee or Click Here
Announcements:
Joe Coons reminded the Club of the upcoming Langley Ukulele Concert April 24th. Club members can participate by buying a ticket for themselves, friends and family, or purchasing a youth ticket at $10 to provide to high school students.
The following Membership Proposals were approved by the Classification Committee and the Board of Directors. They will be eligible for membership on May 2, 2016 unless written objection is received by Executive Secretary Sandra Lindhout, 2200 Vining St., Bellingham, Wa. 98229 on or before April 24th
a. Richard Bowers proposed by Monty McAllister and Catherine Riordan to fill the classification “Community Services – Land Preservation”
Andrew Day proposed by Tim Farris and John Stewart to fill the classification “Fire Department"
A donation request from District Governor Bill Robson was received asking club who are not participating in the Student Exchange Program to help cover costs to send our current students to the District Conference. The Board approved a donate of $100.
The Board unanimously elected Del VandeKerk to be our voting delegate at the upcoming R. I. Convention.
Sunnyland Memorial Project – there will be a May 21st cleanup with the local Girl Explorers. Save the Date! More details later.
Environment Committee: Tim Fisher - regarding the BP Birch Bay Heron Center. A photo of the sign we are sponsoring was submitted and the cost will be around $950. Also, the RCOB work party for the rain garden and sign installation has been put off until after June, 2016
Guest of Rotarians:
Larry Halgren introduced Past President, Dan Brown.
Nathan Twining brought Pat Hughes with Hi Tech Services
Monty McAllister introduced his wife Donna and Exchange Student, Giovanni Malley from Italy.
Rogan Jones introduced his wife Wendy and Daughters Lela and YAIL Student Sophie
Presentations:
Katherine Deets introduced two YAIL (Youth Adventures in Leadership) sponsored by our club, Jordy Bridges and Sophie Jones (Rogan’s daughter). Both students valued the time they spent in the program, noting the important lessons of open and inclusive communication, valuable lessons in leadership and both are thankful for the hands on opportunity. Katherine appealed to the membership noting that the RYLA program still needs mentors.
Program:
Our program today was a presentation of our re-involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Monty McAllister introduced Giovanni Malley from Italy, a Rotary exchange student in Bellingham this year. Giovanni recounted how successful the exchange program was for his brother, who left home as a boy and returned to Italy as a man. This led Giovanni to successfully enroll in the Rotary Exchange program this year. He cited the maturity gained, the cultural sharing and understanding, the building of character and improving language skills among the benefits of the exchange program. He has enjoyed both host families and made plenty of friends.
Lori White from the District 5050 District Committee for Rotary Student Exchange detailed the process by which we can initiate a Rotary Club of Bellingham Student Exchange Program. She wanted to stress that the District Student Exchange Committee is a great resource and really helps solve any issues that might come up in the running of this great program. The mission of the program is to learn and understanding of cultural tolerance and promote international bonds.
We will need to form a committee to distribute the responsibilities. Roles are available for Host families, counselors, liaisons with the High Schools, promotion of various activities and outings etc. The cost for the program will run from $6000 to $7000 per exchange student, This is a program we have run in the past and Monty is excited to get it going again in the coming year. He and incoming President Del will be looking for volunteers for this committee. Be sure to contact them if you are interested.
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