Chris Kobdish - Way StationChuck Snyder Book Review
Sara Maloney & Lynda Hinton - Service Grant to Boy's & Girl's Club
Dennis Williams - Minister of Fun
September 20, 2021
Opening Welcome:
President Peter Theisen called the meeting to order at 12:30 PM. This is the 4707th meeting of RCOB, the 64th virtual and 10th hybrid meeting during the pandemic.
Book Review: Chuck Snyder on Zoom: "Why We Swim" by Bonnie Tsui
For anyone who has ever swum for recreation, exercise, competition or just out of necessity, this book is for you. It is a philosophical look at swimming with a generous dose of practical knowledge and a bit of romanticizing of the joys of being in the water and it is written well and entertainingly.
It begins with the tale of Guolaugur Frioporsson, an Icelandic fisherman who, at the age of 22, snatched life from the very jaws of a frigid North Atlantic night when the trawler he was on capsized. His feat of swimming while wearing work pants, a flannel shirt, and a thin sweater for over three and a half miles, once having to turn back from shore because of the steepness of the cliff at the shore over the course of six hours is still celebrated in his village with a swim in the open ocean.
There was more than sheer determination in this feat. His body was, in some ways, more like a seal’s in that it had fourteen millimeters of fat under his skin, two or three times that of most humans and with a solid consistency. He was a quirk of nature, perhaps as much marine mammal as human, with insulation and buoyancy needed to survive such an ordeal. The author concludes that we are not so far removed from the sea.
Interestingly, the first known record of swimming lies in the middle of the desert in Egypt, near the Libyan border, where cave paintings depict people swimming when he Sahara was green and water abundant.
Most mammals have an instinctive swimming ability from birth, but humans and other large primates do not. We, and they, have to be taught. Yet fish fins and human limbs all start from the same group of cells. The human trait of cultural learning, where we can use the knowledge imparted by others to our advantage, influences evolution. Swimming, it turns out, is one of the skills learned independently of instinctual behaviors.
The social aspect of swimming is well chronicled in the chapter about a swimming club organized in Iraq during the war there. A soldier, Joseph “Jay” Taylor was a regular swimmer in the pool at the Republican Palace in Baghdad, the very palace used by Saddam Hussein for guests. Incredibly, what began as a few swimming lessons for friends evolved into regular lessons for all types of people stationed there – from Peruvian guards hired to protect US facilities to Iraqi staff working for USAID. Here a swimming pool became the bridge between cultures and people suspicious of each other – in the middle of a war in the middle of a desert.
Competition swimming is also a topic in this book, ranging from Gertrude Ederle, one of the most famous athletes of the 1920s to current Olympic athletes. The drive and effort needed to succeed is clearly something that is common to all elite athletes. And in this class are the open water swimmers, who undertake (like the author) to swim from the edge of San Francisco Bay to Alcatraz and back, across the English Channel, or from Florida to Cuba. The mentality and thought process of the open water swimmer is uniquely human but also deeply individual. The author draws a clear parallel between this and Samurai philosophy as the book draws toward its close.
There is something more than athletic about swimming, she concludes, but also something spiritual. All in all, a good read, and not too long!
Club and Committee Announcements
Mike Plenkovich has kicked off the Football Pool with sign-ups at the door - buy 2 squares for $40 and the first games will start early October. If you can't attend a meeting please let Sandee and/or Mike know and we will get you signed up. Mike announced that there were still open squares for the football pool and urged those on Zoom to participate. The first game for the pool will be UW v. Oregon State on Oct. 2.
Volunteer Mentorship Opportunity:
This fall Whatcom Community College is launching its first bachelors of applied science (BAS) in business management degree. This degree is specifically geared for the workforce needs of businesses that make up the majority of Whatcom county's employers. Bellingham Bay Rotary is leading a mentorship program with the college, and is asking for volunteers. Mentors will work with students in an Organizational Leadership & Teamwork class winter quarter 2022. The mentorship program will be approximately 8 weeks long, occurring between January-March 2022. Details about the time, days, and topics would be mutually agreed upon between mentor and student.
If you are willing to participate in this short, vocational service mentorship program, please contact Mike Bate (mikebates9@aol.com<mailto:mikebates9@aol.com>), past-president for Bellingham Bay Rotary or Tresha Dutton(tdutton@whatcom.edu<mailto:tdutton@whatcom.edu>), past-president and current faculty at Whatcom Community College, by the end of September, 2021.
Please also contact President Peter or Sandee if you are interested!
You will still receive an email from Sandee each week prior to the Monday 12:30 meeting if you are unable to attend in person (you can start logging in at 12:00 for short socializing) with the link for that privacy protected meeting. If you have not done so, please download the Zoom app on your computer (you need a camera and microphone on it), iPad or phone. There is no cost to you. If you do not have either, you can also call in. On the invitation, there are US phone numbers you can call and enter the meeting ID number also indicated on the invitation. HERE ARE ZOOM INSTRUCTIONS.
Four Points is not requiring a Contract thru 2021 and need only 72 hours to cancel an event. We will continue to evaluate other locations for a permanent location. Lunch will be $22 for a sit down meal. We must notify them by Wednesday at 4:00 pm each week prior to the Monday meeting as to the number of members attending. We are sending out meeting “Invite's” weekly and members are asked to sign-up ASAP. You can also sign-up by going to the event section of our website at bellinghamrotary.org. If you sign up for a meal at the meeting, you will need to pay the $22 even if you don't wind up attending the meeting after numbers are turned in. If you plan to attend but not eat, PLEASE indicate that on your sign-up so we don't overorder meals and still make sure there is enough seating.
Four Points also will not collect the payment weekly, so the Club will collect payments prior to the meeting or at the door.
We urge members of the RCOB has set up a Venmo account for ease in payment of Meeting lunches, Happy Bucks, Minister of Fun, Dues or donations to the club. Our account is @RCOB-Bellingham. If you do not have a Venmo account you can set up an account with your computer then download the app. on your phone (just Google "Venmo" and you will find all the information you need) You then attach it to a debit or credit card (a fee on your end) or attach to your checking account at no cost. Payment will be sent directly to the RCOB checking account. When you use it for the first time it may ask you the last 4 digits of the RCOB phone number which is 0282. Give Sandee a call if you need help. 360-734-5532
Other payment options are to bring a check in the correct amount to the meeting made out to RCOB or cash in the exact amount to speed up the payment process. There is also the PayPal option as usual and we are set to take payments at the meeting. We have a QR Code that you can simply click on to pay thru paypal also.
Website and Phone App instructions:
Here is a tutorial on how to login for the first time. (Click here) In order to login you need to know your user name and password in your Clubrunner account. The user name is Yourfirstname.Lastname.264 unless you have changed it. Example: Sandra.Lindhout.264 The password is initially set by Clubrunner at 264 unless you have changed it. Sandee can see your Username from my computer but not the password. She can also change your password for you from her computer at your request if you run into problems.
Once you have originally created your User Name and Password you can download the ClubRunner Mobile app on your phone:
Please contact Sandee at 360-734-5532 or rcob@comcast.net if you run into any trouble.
Guests:
John Harris introduced his wife Patricia
Dale Rings and Chuck Snyder zoomed in from Arizona.
Other members who were on Zoom: Sandy McIntire, Kathy Hughes, Mark Knittel, Doug Cole( with Steve Ban & John Pedlow) in New York State near the Erie Canal on a bike ride, Gary Goldfogel, Bob Morse, Jack Mulhern, Jennifer Moehl, Marty Haines, Michael Mallory, Robin Halliday, and Vinson Latimore.
Visiting Rotarians: Sarah Janigian, San Jose, California & Bill Kirby, Carson City, NV.
Presentation:
President Peter presented Paul Harris Fellowship pins to John Harris and Nathan Twining, a first award for both of them. President Peter noted that, through the generosity of Rotarians, such as John and Nathan, that the Rotary Foundation now has assets of $1.2 billion. Congratulations Nathan and John!!
The Service Fund award for $1,000 was given to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Whatcom County to support its Healthy Meals program. Lynda Hinton, who had nominated the organization for the award, introduced member Sara Maloney, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club. Sara described the program which has provided 124,000 meals countywide and has served 210 children each day since January 1. She also noted that the Club serves 500 children from infancy to 18 years old in their daycare program.
Program:
Brad Burdick introduced today’s speaker, Chris Kobdish, the Planning and Development Director for Unity Care NW. She Is also a member of Gov. Inslee’s Commission on Women’s Empowerment. Prior to moving to Bellingham to join Unity Care NW, she had her own marketing firm in Dallas, TX. She spoke about Unity Care’s Way Station program to support the area’s homeless population. The goals of the program are to have clients leave healthier and closer to finding stable housing. The program is modeled after the Urban Rest Stop program in Seattle. The Way Station helps connect people to services to help them find stable housing, provides health and dental services, including mental health and addiction services, provides hygiene services and connections to social services. They provide access to restrooms, showers and laundry. One of their most interesting hygiene services is a “hot room” where people can put their belongings to kill any insect infestations, such as body lice. She noted that approximately 3500 people in Whatcom County were homeless at some time during the year and that the Way Station serves about 750 of them annually. Some of their most important partners are PeaceHealth, the Opportunity Council, Whatcom Health Services and the Whatcom Community Foundation. PeaceHealth provides funding to support 15-20 beds for homeless recovering from medical treatments. The Opportunity Council provides a variety of support services. She talked about their plan to expand their program by renovating most of the space at 1500 State Street, a multi-million-dollar project, which will allow them to serve a greater number of clients. Dr. Gary Goldfogel, the County Medical Examiner, asked if they had plans to expand into the space currently occupied by the Medical Examiner’s offices. She assured him that space would not be involved in the remodel.
Covid Report:
Dr. Goldfogel gave his weekly COVID report. There are currently 27 patients with COVID hospitalized at St. Joe’s, down from last week, of which 7 are in the ICU and 2 on a ventilator. He continues to have the impression that most of the hospitalized patients have been unvaccinated.
Nathan Twining
