Rotarians on the move!! Sunnyland Memorial Park Cleanup
Galbraith Mountain Parking Lot ribbon cutting
May 23, 2022
Opening Welcome:
In the absence of President Peter (ill), President-Elect Paul (AWOL) and Mary (imaginary), Vice-President Doug Cole, overdessed in a suit and tie, rang the meeting to order at 12:30 PM and welcomed everyone to the 4738th meeting of the Club, the 40th in person and 94th virtual since the start of the pandemic.
Book Review by Rob Westford: The Complete Enneagram - 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge by Beatrice Chestnut, PhD.
Please raise your hand if you have ever heard of the Enneagram. Who here knows your Enneagram number? What number are you? Now, please pay attention and feel free to look at the handout I provided, because, at the end of this brief talk, I want you to vote what number you are. The book that I am reviewing today is called The Complete Enneagram by Beatrice Chestnut. But this will be more like Enneagram 101 than a true book review. To be honest, I prefer watching YouTube videos and listening to podcasts over reading about Enneagram anyway.
I am an Enneagram seven, the Enthusiast, although I’ve had numerous people think I was a three or an eight (which is one of my wings). Us sevens seek variety, stimulation and fun, tackling challenges with optimism and engaging with life in a future-oriented way. For example, if I’m sitting by the pool in Arizona, I’m often either planning my next trip to Hawaii, rather than enjoying right where I am at. One expert said that sevens are least likely to attend an Enneagram workshop, and most likely to speak like an expert on a subject when they only know the basics, so everything I tell you today needs to be verified and studied on your own for accuracy!
The word Enneagram comes from the Greek words “Ennea” which means nine and “gram” means what is written or drawn. There are nine different Enneagram styles, which are identified by numbers one through nine. Most Enneagram experts agree that you can only be one number; you were born this way and, your entire life, you will only be one number. Each number represents a worldview that resonates with your core motivation. This is the key: Enneagram is all about your internal motivation, not what others see on the outside.
Enneagram was brought to the United States in the early 1900s, but it is much older than that. It’s NOT a religious concept. It’s NOT astrology, numerology or New Age philosophy. I would be surprised if your kids or at least your grandkids are not familiar with it. Next time you see them, ask “what’s your Enneagram number” and they might be impressed!
There’s nothing magic about the numbers, other than each of the nine numbers denotes one type of person. You may have taken other personality tests such as Myers-Briggs or DISC profile. Or maybe you’ve done some kind of test to figure out which animal you are most like: I’m a dog, she’s a cat, he’s a dolphin, etc. I think the Enneagram is quite different, has much more depth, is very interesting, and a lot of fun!
If you look at the diagram, 7 has lines to 1, which is the number I go to in stress, and 5, the number I go to in health. Your wings are the numbers immediately adjacent on the diagram; so, as a 7, I have an 8 wing and a 6 wing.
So, why study the Enneagram at all? For me, its been very helpful to understand myself better in many different ways. I’ve been better at relating to my wife Rianna, my family, my employees, and my friends. Many professionals are using it as a tool for growth: family counselors, job coaches, consultants, and more.
So now, I want you to take your best first try at guessing your number. Please raise your hand if you are a 1? 2? 3? 4? 5? 6? 7? 8? 9? So now that you’ve heard the 101 basics, what are you going to do about it? You can take a free online test; there is a link at the bottom of the back side of you handout or there are other ones online. You can buy a book, listen to a podcast, or even watch a YouTube video. Or, most likely, you’ll do nothing. But next time you hear someone mention Enneagram you might think, hey, wasn’t Rob Westford talking about that at Rotary? And if that’s the case, I’m honored to have introduced you to the concept, and I wish all of you the best on your journey!
Support Rotary in Ukraine
Message from our District Governor for District 5050, Bev Harrington:
My Fellow Rotarians:
As the humanitarian crisis unfolds in Ukraine, we ask "what can we do from so far away?" Here is the most comprehensive information I have received to date.
Financial contributions are easily made online to The Rotary Foundation Disaster Response Fund. A link to view the projects that are already in place is also provided below.
You and I and Rotarians from around the world can make a difference.
All donations made online at Disaster Response Fund | My Rotary, including the use of available district designated funds (DDF), need to be received by April 30, 2022. Grant applications to take advantage of the funds will be available now through June 30, 2022. This will be the main avenue for Rotary Foundation support, but Rotary and Rotaract clubs are also encouraged to create their own responses to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
In addition to the support provided through the Disaster Response Fund, the Foundation is coordinating with partners and regional leaders, exploring effective solutions to the increased humanitarian needs. You will find a comprehensive list of projects at this link, with the contact details and websites.
Thank you for all that you do to promote peace
Club and Committee Announcements:
Doug reminded the members that there would be no meeting next week due to the Memorial Day holiday.
Teri Treat reminded everyone of the RCOB participation in the Memorial Day parade at 11:00 AM on Saturday, May 28. She encouraged everyone participating to wear their Rotary polo shirts. We should meet at the intersection of Cornwall and F Streets. More information will be coming out later in the week.
Sunnyland Memorial Park Cleanup May 21, 2022
The Rotary Club of Bellingham, in conjunction with volunteers from the City of Bellingham, cleaned Memorial Park in Bellingham just in time for Memorial Day. Teri Treat thanked club members who participated in the work party.
RCOB has numerous veterans in the Club and has been taking on this task for many years. The volunteers weed and clean the walkways and memorials. Along the way, Rotarians and volunteers reflect on the names of those lost while serving, dating back to World War I. In fact, the park started its existence in 1889 as Sunnyland Park. After WWI, the Mothers of World War Veterans developed a portion of the park to memorialize Whatcom County’s fallen soldiers, which has since been known as Memorial Park in the Sunnyland neighborhood. The park now houses large granite memorials, labeled for specific wars with the names of soldiers lost during each. There are also 30 species of trees on the property, some of which are also dedicated to fallen soldiers.
The Rotary Club of Bellingham is honored to recognize veterans for their sacrifice and we are privileged to be part of this worthwhile annual project.
Jack Westford said that he received 39 responses from the email seeking interest in a RCOB book club. There will be a discussion after this meeting about next steps.
Doug Cole noted that there will be another Whatcom County Rotary Days of Service on June 4th at 9:30, to enhance the WeGrow Garden. Click Here for the flyer and click here for signing up. Find tab "WeGrow Garden Special Events" to sign-up. Contact Doug Cole with questions.
The five Whatcom County Rotary Clubs are involved with the upcoming work party, which is in conjunction with the District 5050 “Day of Service.” There is a $5000 district grant to help cover expenses for the project. Along with Rotarians, it will involve Rotaract and Interact members as well as students from Options High School.
The project will involve installing support structures in a garden which is located across from the Food Bank, benefitting WeGrow. The garden’s vision is to bring to the forefront of the minds of youth and adults the increasing importance of food security and understanding the value of sustainable crops while providing a public space for intergenerational community engagement, education, youth programs, vocational training, and public encounter. The WeGrow garden serves as an educational space for school groups, non-profit youth agencies, and the public.
Paul Grey (in abstentia) reminded the membership to get the final block of Service Fund Grants in to him by the end of May.
Important Date Announcements:
May 28th – Whatcom Memorial Day Parade – The Club will be participating in the Memorial Day Parade, hopefully with walkers/marchers and a float. This is the 100th anniversary of the parade. Sign-up to march on the website at bellinghamrotary.org. The Club is a sponsor of the Parade.
May 29 - Ski to Sea Race We will be staffing a Rotary booth at the finish line in Fairhaven on race day.
June 2, 3, 4 Max Higbee Center "Toast & Tour"
Max Higbee Center is marking their first anniversary in their new facility (which our Club helped facilitate)! To celebrate, join them for a Toast and Tour on June 2nd, 3rd, or 4th.
June 8th – RCOB Youth Exchange Information Session
Have an adventurous youth in your life that would benefit from the Rotary Youth Exchange? Come to this information session or pass the information along. We are currently looking for youths interested in exchange during the 2023-2024 school year (short-term exchanges are also available).
June 16th: Base Camp Grounds Cleanup & Dinner Service Project
Come and join the Rotary Club of Bellingham for another inspiring service project! We will be doing some grounds cleanup along Cornwall Ave along with freshening up some of the planters. Some volunteers will also be needed to help serve dinner. Bring your gloves, dandelion pullers, and small shovels and let's make Base Camp look spiffy!
June 27th Rotary Cruise to Eliza Island at Dick Tucker's cabin.
Marty Haines reported that this year’s cruise will return to Dick Tucker’s home on Eliza Island. Limit will be 32 and you are allowed to bring one guest. BBQ cost will be $10 for a meal including water. You can bring other beverages of choice. Please pay Sandee ahead of time. Call Marty at (360)-739-0204 or email mghaines3@gmail.com to sign-up. Sign-ups will also be the tables starting June 6th.
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 now requiring a Contract thru March 2022. 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 to 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) Go to bellinghamrotary.org first. 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 her 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:
Former member, Kim Perry, joined us on Zoom while visiting Bellingham.
Dale Rings and Chuck Snyder also joined us on Zoom from Arizona!! Please send some sun......
Doug Cole introduced for the second visit, Chris Lopez and Mike Tausen, who purchased Susie Thomson's CPA firm now Northstar Tax and Accounting.
Members attending on Zoom: Bob Morse, Loch Trimingham, Corey Chaplin, John Moffat, Dennis Williams, Roland Trenouth, Nathan Twining, John Pedlow, Steve Ban, Monty McAllister and Scott Wallace.
Presentation:
Doug presented Scott Wilson with his first Paul Harris fellow award. Congratulations, Scott!
Program:
Dr. Bill Lombard, a retired Bellingham nephrologist, gave a talk on Prediabetes, which could also have been titled Hey Fat People, Listen Up. Bill founded Mt. Baker Nephrology in 1981. This was his third talk to our club in the last four years.
Prediabetes was first discussed in the medical literature in 2002. It affects people who have a blood sugar range just below the range for diabetes. Bill emphasized the potentially deadly nature of diabetes, and the need for people in the Prediabetes range to make themselves aware of that fact and take steps to reverse the escalating blood sugar range to avoid diabetes. Those steps involve:
changing the diet to emphasize fruits and vegetables, rather than high caloric-density foods
losing about 10% of body weight, if overweight
exercising at least 30 minutes a day
The statistics regarding the increased incidence of Prediabetes are alarming: In 1990, 3.6% of Americans (10 million people) had it. As of 2020, 11.3% of Americans (37.3 million people) have it, a 3-fold increase in 30 years. Worse, 23% of those who have it are undiagnosed and do not know they have it. Diabetes costs the country $217 billion in medical costs, lost wages, etc. It is the #1 cause of blindness in the country. It is the #1 cause of kidney failure and chronic kidney disease. It is a major cause of neuropathy, vascular disease and an increasing cause of stroke and heart attack.
The drivers for the increase in Prediabetes are the following:
obesity - 82% (no, that's not a typo!) of Americans are overweight, obese or severely obese
calorically dense diet
sedentary lifestyle
aging population (27% of those over age 65 have diabetes)
Although Prediabetes mostly affects older people, there is an alarming increase in recent years of people under age 20 having diabetes. There are health disparities in the American population which predispose certain parts of the population to getting prediabetes:
Ethnicity (only 7.5 percent of white people get it, ranging up to 14.3% of American Indians)
Access to health care
Access to health insurance
Food insecurity
Language barriers
Homelessness
In 2020, 38% of people over age 18 had Prediabetes, but only 10% of those knew they had it. 48% of those over age 65 have it. Prediabetes is defined as:
a fasting blood sugar (glucose) level of 100 - 125 mg/dl, or
a hemoglobin A1c level of 5.7 - 6.4, or
an oral glucose tolerance test glucose level at 2 hours of 140 - 199 mg/dl.
Levels above these numbers are diagnostic of diabetes.
Left unchecked, people with Prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years. Prediabetes significantly contributes to later vascular complications. Having Prediabetes nearly doubles the chance of having a major cardiac event. The sooner someone knows they have Prediabetes, the sooner they can make lifestyle changes and prevent developing type 2 diabetes.
Risk factors for developing diabetes are:
smoking
being overweight
being over 45 years of age
having a family history of type 2 diabetes
lack of exercise
history of Gestational Diabetes,
history of polycystic ovary syndrome.
The biggest risk factors are smoking and being overweight. Once you get diabetes, it is usually irreversible. That is why it is important to make lifestyle changes when you have Prediabetes, before it escalates to diabetes. There are Diabetes Prevention Programs to help people reverse Prediabetes, prevent or delay the onset of diabetes, and ultimately reduce the serious impact of diabetes on individuals, families and society. These programs help people learn to eat a healthy diet, lose weight, exercise regularly and stop smoking. One Diabetes Prevention Program locally is with Tara Marshall at the Whatcom Family YMCA (tmarshall@whatcomymca.org; 360-733-8630, ext. 1109).
People with additional questions can contact Bill at blflyfish@msn.com.
Final Announcement:
Vice-President Doug thanked those who contributed to the meeting and rang us to adjournment at 1:35 PM.
