We enjoyed a different kind of book report at this meeting. Noted local children's book author, Barbara Davis-Pyles (married to our own James Pyles), gave information to Club members and especially to those who are thinking about or perhaps planning to write a book for publication. Specifically, Barb shared a list of good books recommended for writers and would-be authors. By category, they are:
Screenplays and Novels:
Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody.
Memoirs:
Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir by Natalie Goldberg.
Children’s Books:
How to Write a Children’s Book and Get It Published by Barbara Seuling.
Nonfiction:
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Developing a writing practice:
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.
Regardless of category, Barb had a great summary of what makes a compelling story: “Trouble ensues….”. Without the trouble, there just isn’t much to hold the reader. Learn more about Barb and her work at barbaradavispyles.com
Opening Welcome:
President Gary then opened the meeting, which is approaching the 4,700th since the Club was founded over 100 years ago and continues a long string of virtual meetings, the last in person RCOB meeting being March 12, 2020, fully 15 months ago.
Club and Committee Announcements
President Gary Goldfogel announced the following:
1. We are looking for Website sponsors for the next Rotary year starting July 1st . It is a great opportunity to advertise your business and support Rotary; cost is $350 for the year. Check out the current sponsors on our website by going to Bellinghamrotary.org.
2. There will be NO regular meeting next week; we are having our annual Rotary Cruise, with 48 people signed up. Weather looks great, at least for now; no worries, though, since Marty Hanes has guaranteed perfect weather! :-)
3. Board Briefs June 10, 2021
This was the last Board meeting for Cathy Buckley, Lisa Saar and Bruce Clawson. We thank you for your service to the RCOB.
A Galbraith Mountain Major Project parking lot update by Eric Brown was given. They are breaking ground on the expanded project at the end of August and have raised over $420,000, close to their goal, although costs keep rising. A lot of the costs have been donated. The City of Bellingham will maintain.
Letters of Resignation were received and accepted with regret from Ruairi Ward (transferred to Annapolis, MD) and Bacchus Taylor (retired and going to be traveling extensively). Both of them are giving us contact information for their successors as potential members.
Breaking News:
After being informed by the Holiday Inn at the Airport that all of their meeting rooms have been leased out to Peace Health thru December 31, 2021, Sandee contacted Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham Hotel & Conference Center on Lakeway again. They are ready to open, and an agreement has been made to hold our first Hybrid meeting on July 12, 2021. This will be Peter Theisen’s first meeting as Club President. They are not requiring a Contract thru 2021 and need only 72 hours to cancel an event. 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 will be sending out a meeting “Invite” and members are asked to sign-up ASAP. If you sign up for a meeting, you will need to pay the $22 even if you don't wind up attending the meeting. Sheraton also will not collect the payment weekly, so the Club will collect payments prior to the meeting or at the door. We would like members to sign up for Venmo, which is an easy way to pay when you sign up for a meeting and generates no cost to the Club. The member will have a cost on their end if they use a credit card, but if the funds are transferred from a savings or checking account, there is no cost. Further Instructions are at the end of the Tattler Document under "Meeting Virtually".
We will be following CDC and state guidelines for meetings; though we suspect almost all Rotarians are fully vaccinated.
We are asking all unvaccinated people to wear a mask at our meetings and vaccinated people are free to not wear a mask if they choose.
Four Points by Sheraton requires masks in the lobby and other public areas of the hotel.
We will also be sitting 6 people to a table that usually holds 10 and have plenty of hand sanitizer available
RCOB Foundation Board assignments were renewed: Dennis Williams, Susie Thomson, Dave Blair and Mauri Ingram will serve through June 30, 2024. Thank you for your continued work for the Foundation.
The Major Awards presentation is scheduled for June 28th at the Changing of the Guard. Awards have been ordered. Be sure to attend to honor these members.
Peter Theisen – 2021-2022 Planning:
1. Board of Director Committee Assignments for 2021-2022
a. John Pedlow - Club Service &Meetings
b. Steve Hettick - Community Service
c. Shauna Naf – Vocational Service & Membership
d. Felicity Dye – International & Youth
2. Whatcom Community College mentor program with other Whatcom County Clubs is being organized for Winter Quarter of 2022. It will consist of one-on-one contact with students, and they are looking for a total of about 26 Rotarians, likely 4 or 5 from our Club. Peter will proceed and more information will follow.
3. Service Fund Grants requests have been limited, so the Board has agreed to roll over the remaining $3,000 from this year into next year, increasing the budget from $7,000 to $10,000. Paul Grey will be the committee chairman.
The Next Board Meeting will be at 4:30 PM on Thursday, July 15th.
Committee Announcements:
Steve Ban reminded Club members that the annual blood drive will be ending by the end of June. And that we are in competition with other District 5050 clubs. Please sign up if you are capable and eligible to give blood. O-Positive is the blood type most in demand.
John Dunne announced that Major Projects applications may continue to be submitted though the end of June.
2021-2022 Rotary Year Planning
Peter Theisen is working on planning his 2021-2022 Rotary Year as President. Regarding committee planning, he has announced that he will keep all chairpersons and committee members in place for next year, unless a member requests a change. Contact Peter or Sandee if you would like to be added to additional committees or want to make a change.
Ongoing Announcements:
Blood Drive:
Steve Ban reminds us that when we donate blood, they are still testing for and informing the donor whether or not he/she has Covid antibodies. He also reported that our blood drive will be open for the entire Rotary year, until June 30, 2021. We are participating, along with the other clubs in our Area G, in a District 5050 challenge against the other District Areas. He is encouraging friends and relatives to join in. Those who can't donate blood can donate plasma. Currently, the W. Bakerview office is the only donation location open in Whatcom County. Click Here for additional information.The minimum age for donating blood is 16 and those 16 and 17 would need parent’s permission to participate. Rumor has it that you can score a Bloodworks pair of socks for donating! You may schedule your donation appointment on the flyer in the above link or you can make an appointment by phone. In either case, when you are donating, please tell them that you are donating on behalf of RCOB.
Meeting Virtually
All Rotary meetings will be held Virtually on Zoom through the end of June, due to Covid-19 social distancing. You can look for an email from Sandee each week prior to the Monday 12:30 meeting (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.
RCOB has now set up a Venmo account for ease in payment of 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
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:
Bacchus Taylor introduced his successor at Explorations Academy, Jennifer Dowd. Bacchus announced his retirement and plans to travel extensively!! Best of luck Bacchus...
Assistant District Governor Christine Palmerton visited us.
James Pyles introduced his wife, Barbara Davis-Pyles. She did the book review today.
Pete Kremen, member of the Rotary Passport club, joined us.
Presentation:
New Member Induction:
Jodi Borrelli was introduced by Roland Trenouth as the RCOB’s newest member, under the category of “Inspirational Speaker”. Jodi gave an inspiring talk to our club last year, leading to an exceptionally rare standing ovation. She is a co-occurring behavioral health disorders counselor and a steadfast and energetic advocate for those suffering from addictions and other behavioral health disorders. Jodi has an AS from Whatcom Community College and is working on her BS from Western. Past President Dek Vankerkerk gave the formal induction and words of wisdom to Jodi as she enters the club. Welcome Jodi!
Program:
Doug Chadwick, Whatcom County Undersheriff, was introduced by Paul Grey and gave a presentation entitled Peacemakers, Police Reform and Pandemics, about the changes and challenges of public safety and policing in these times of heightened tension, brought about, in 2020, by the convergence of COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter movement (and the associated drive to defund and redefine policing), and rising rates of drug use, crime and homelessness.
Doug has a 24 year career in law enforcement, with both front line roles (patrol sergeant and lieutenant), detective work, swat team leader, field trainer, and now management within the Sheriff's Department. He holds a BS from WWU and is also a graduate in 2014 of the FBI National Academy.
Doug noted that, as one of the most essential of public services, law enforcement did not have the options of working from home or stopping operations in 2020. Instead, they adapted their procedures during the pandemic. He noted that the combined impact of 2020 events has led to significant vacancies in the Sheriff’s department, with 6 patrol vacancies, 10 corrections vacancies and a number of administrative openings. This is also a nationwide and regional challenge, as agencies are competing for the same pool of qualified candidates. While there was no reduction in the 2021 Sheriff Department's budget, these staffing shortages are requiring reduced services, although the priority remains on responding to crimes.
Beyond vacancies and adaptation to Covid, Doug listed some of the other impacts on policing by 2020’s large events and movements, including:
Modified patrol response
Booking restrictions
Increased mental health calls
Higher violent crime, increased gun use during crimes and more drug related crimes
Of particular note, Doug mentioned that, within Whatcom County, the murder rate doubled, there were much higher rates of property and violent crime and significant increases in the sale and use of hard drugs. These include Fentanyl imported from Mexico, and the rise of Meth/Heroin codependency as a new element of illegal drug use, and a resurgence of cocaine use.
Doug also outlined some of the highly impactful Washington State legislation that addresses police reform. Since early 2020, 13 major crime and police reform bills have been signed by Gov. Inslee, with many going into effect in late July, 2021. Collectively, they mandate a set of sweeping changes to police tactics and use of force, in areas such as use of surplus military equipment, use of choke holds, vehicle pursuits and K9 deployment. There is also some redefinition of the role of traditional law enforcement, such as if police answer a call and, upon arriving, there is no crime or imminent threat to person or property, then the police are required to leave the scene. Finally, the legislation calls for independent investigations, a process for the de-certification of law enforcement personnel for illegal behavior and mandatory use of body cameras. Doug added that many of these mandates require money for training and procedures, but, as is often the case, there was no additional funding made available by the State.
Doug answered questions after his presentation, and is warmly thanked for his service and his outreach to our Club.
Covid Report:
Club President Gary gave a quick update (and correction) regarding PeaceHealth’s recent COVID activity, and the news was encouraging. There had recently been a high number of admissions to the hospital for COVID cases, but none were among those residents who had been vaccinated. This is a correction of prior information. As of Monday, there remain only 6 COVID patients in St. Joe’s and the expectation is that this number would drop to two by the end of the day (from discharges, not deaths!) and could drop to zero by the end of this week.
Program Recordings: We are now recording the speaker portion of our meetings:
Missed a meeting? Remember a great speaker but want to revisit the content? You can catch the recording on our Rotary Club of Bellingham YouTube page:
