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New Generations Service Exchange

Reece Carpenter, District 5050 NGSE Chair, was our speaker on May 15. She is the former president of the Bellingham Rotaract Club.  Reece was also an exchange student through RYE, living in Austria.  She spoke at our club about her experience as a participant in a new District program, New Generations Service Exchange (NGSE), and as the District chair of the NGSE.

NGSE is a program for young adults aged 18 to 30.  It offers a short-term international exchange  (2 weeks to 3 months) under a tourist visa.  It can be a vocational exchange or a service project for international purposes.  It is a unique opportunity for professional growth, new skills, broadening horizons, and building confidence, while promoting peace among nations.
 
Reece's field is project management.  She shadowed a company in Trieste, Italy, that fabricates parts for large marine engines, gaining hands-on insight into industrial projects, including sustainable energy solutions.  While there, she also engaged deeply with local Rotarians and Rotaractors.  She says, "This journey strengthened my commitment to Rotary and inspired me to stay actively involved.
 
Reece has moved to the Bend, Oregon, area, where she expects to get involved as a member of Rotary.  
 
To learn more about the program, go to its website by clicking HERE.

Bright Child Foundation

Partnerships with Rotary

When you are raised in a Rotarian family, you have spent a year as a Rotary exchange student in Japan, and you are a teacher, it should not be surprising that our program presenter gravitated towards serving the educational needs of girls in India. Marianne Jacques Pauley is the daughter of Leroy and Carol Jacques.  At the time of his death, Leroy was a member of our club and a Rotarian for nearly 50 years.

Marianne Jacques Pauley

Marianne is a CTE teacher at Marysville's Legacy High School.  It is an alternative school, much like Weston High School in Arlington.  She is the Director of Finance of the Bright Child Foundation.  It provides computer facilities to teach computer skills to Muslim girls in India, where the caste system creates a disadvantage for such girls. Many of the girls served have never seen a computer.  Computer skills not only give the girls a powerful learning tool, but they can also lead to a vocation. 
 
Here is a recap of the impact of the program in 2024:
 
 
Dawn Bechtholdt, the Dean of Students at Lakewood's English Crossing Elementary, joined Marianne in giving the presentation.  Dawn is the Program Director for the Foundation.
 
One of the schools served involved was the Government Girls High School in Hussaini Alam, India.  Rotary helped fund and facilitate the setup of a fully equipped computer lab.  To learn more about the Bright Child Foundation, go to its website by clicking HERE.
 
 

Amazon Fulfillment Center

Arlington is the Largest in the State!

On May 1, our weekly program was presented by Ryan Doll, the Site Leader for the new Amazon Fulfillment Center located south of the Arlington Airport.
Ryan Doll
 
Amazon's fulfillment center in Arlington is the largest in Washington state, processing tens of thousands of orders daily.  The building is approximately 3 million square feet of storage, allowing it to store up to 40 million items.  The facility is known as PAE2, as it serves Paine Field in Everett.  It receives inventory and stores it on the top four floors. As soon as an item is purchased, workers will pick it up, pack it, and load it into a trailer to deliver it safely, efficiently, and as quickly as possible to your door.  Although robots handle a significant portion of the sorting and processing of orders, they currently employ approximately 2,500 workers.
 
If you would like to hear Ryan's presentation, click HERE.  He did not include any photos of the plant in action. To learn more, King 5 News did a story, which you can review by clicking HERE.

Outstanding Students Recognized

Eight outstanding middle and high school students from the Arlington, Darrington, and Lakewood School Districts were recognized April 24 by the Rotary Club of Arlington for making a difference in their respective schools. The Rotarians wanted to identify students who stand out in different ways in their schools. The Rotary Club also donated $100 to an organization or charity of the student’s choice. [credit content Gary Sabol ASD]

Dinner Meeting Experience Continues

We had a fun time at our second dinner meeting experiment.  Here are some highlights:
 



Madyke with Her Mom and Dad

Madyke, Karin Fennema, and Harry de Groot

We met our exchange student's parents, who are visiting Madyke from their home in Nunspeet, Netherlands. They will spend two weeks in the area, including venturing up to British Columbia.  There was no shortage of shared glowing messages from those who have helped Madyke fulfill items on her "bucket list", an idea that originated from Peggy Rae.  Scott Baldwin, at the end of his classification talk, presented them with playoff tickets for the Everett Silvertips.
 
 

Lyanne Gronning 

A former club member, Lyanne Gronning, now a member of the Rotary Club of La Conner, visited us to sell tulips.  Each spring, her new club sells tulips as its primary fundraiser.  Another former club member, Doug Jones, who is now deceased, was the annual visitor for many years.  Lyanne reports that she sold 72 bunches of tulips.  Members of the La Conner club are always generous when we visit their meeting at the Farmhouse to sell Duck Dash tickets.
 
Because the purple tulips were not selling, it was suggested that members should buy them and take them to Gene Chase, an avid Husky, who had just gotten out of the hospital.  Some Cougs delivered:

Thanks to Carol, Marianne, and Dave

Scott Baldwin

Scott shared his background with a classification talk. He is the General Manager at Dwayne Lanes Arlington Chevrolet and has been a club member since October 2023.  Dwayne Lane's and Lee Johnson's Auto Families have merged, bringing the total dealerships to 15.
 
Originally from Oklahoma, Scott has worked in some aspects of automobile sales and service for most of his working life. He started my auto career in 1984, was a tech for 6 months, then moved to car sales, then F & I manager, went back to service as an advisor, progressed to service manager, then moved to sales manager, and was promoted to General Manager. He has only worked at four places his entire career. In Nov 2019, he moved to Washington to start as GM at Dwayne Lane’s Arlington Chevrolet, following their kids who had moved here.
 
Scott married his high school sweetheart, Marylynn, whom he met at a Speed skating team competition. He was at a mixed relay event when his partner got sick and couldn’t compete, so Marylynn got added to his team. Each had to do 100 laps of roller skating. Scott went first and had to push her to start her 100 laps. They took third place, and the rest is history.  They've been married now for 41 years.
 
They have three children, Jennifer, Jalyn, Jacob, and two grandkids, Emma and Sawyer. His son-in-law Jimmy, is an orthopedic sports medicine surgeon at Skagit Hospital. He and his wife live in Burlington.  As a Masonic Lodge and Shriners member, he was drawn to Rotary for service.  
 
Athletics has played a big part in Scott's life. He was a three time high school state wrestling champion who went on to wrestle in college. Although an avid Oklahoma fan, he seems to have transplanted some of his allegiance to the Huskies. Scott referees football, including some small college games. He loves to barbeque competitively, Oklahoma style, and hunt birds. We must try his award-winning barbequed bologna (it sounds like a fireside!).  
 
Our club was well represented at the Oath and Badge-Pinning Ceremony for Dave Kraski, the Fire Chief of North County Fire and Rescue. Congratulations, Dave!
 

Dave's Wife Denise Pins on the Badge

For more photos of the event, check out the photo album HERE.

Pacific Rim Tonewoods

Eric Warner, Manager 

Did you know that a luthier is a person who makes stringed instruments such as guitars and violins? Our program on April 10 was about a company in Birdsview near Concrete, Washington, that has been milling wood for luthiers for over 35 years.  
 
The Manager of Pacific Rim Tonewoods was our program on April 10.  He explained that the company was founded by Steve McMinn when he bought a kit to build a guitar.  As the son of a forester and working in the industry, he decided he could find better wood.  He turned to salvaged spruce from logging operations.  He started in his garage when he learned of the demand and decided to make it a business.  With an increased demand for his product, he moved the business to Birdsview.  Here is what the plant looks like today:
 

Pacific Rim Tonewoods-Birdsview in the Skagit Valley

Club Information
Welcome to our Club!
Arlington

Service Above Self Since 1970

We meet In Person
Thursdays at 12:00 p.m.
Arlington Boys and Girls Club
18513 59th Ave NE
(Hadley Community Room)
Arlington, WA 98223
United States of America
Club Executives & Directors
President
President Elect
Vice President/President Nominee
Secretary
Past President
Membership Director
Public Relations Director
Club Administration Director
Director Youth Services
Community Funding Director
Service Projects Director
Youth Exchange Officer
Program Chair
Sergeant-at-Arms
Duck Dash Chair
Service Projects Associate Director
 
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Speakers
The Impact of the Duck Dash over the years.
May 22, 2025
Tickets Handed Out
Sid Logan
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PUD new building
Open
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Dave Duskin & Don Richards
Jun 12, 2025
55 Years of Club History
Scholarship luncheon
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Scholarship awards- BPAC
Evening Meeting
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Duck Crawl
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Duck Crawl
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Jul 03, 2025
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Dave Kraski
Jul 17, 2025
North County Levy
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