President Teri announced the passing of Honorary Member Cleary Cone. His service will be Saturday, March 31st at 1:00 at Moles Funeral Home on Lakeway Drive.
After a moment of silence, we sang the national anthem accompanied by the able fingers of Don Anderson.
Announcements:
There is an upcoming Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, RYLA, Leadership Camp, May 24-27 in Washington State. This is open to friends and family of Rotarians, who are between the ages of 18-30. Please go to the www.ryla.5050.org for more information. These leadership camps are life changing for many.
There will be an MS Walk on Saturday, April 7th starting at the Bellwether. Talk to Dominique Zervas or Paul Grey for more info.
Our club has been awarded the Presidential Citation from Rotary International. The Citation is for clubs making a positive impact and is the highest RI award for a club.
In the words of Teri: “I believe no other Club deserves this recognition more than the Rotary Club of Bellingham. We have a very dedicated membership, committed to another 100 years of service to our community.
In addition to celebrating our Centennial, we have accomplished the following: Raised awareness of Rotary within our community though various media opportunities, updated our web site to reflect a vital, engaged membership, raised more than $469,000 to add to our Scholarship Endowment Fund, renewed a viable youth exchange program, nurtured our partnerships with Rotarians in Africa to support clean water and educational projects and supported the other four Rotary Clubs in Whatcom County.
I want to dedicate this award to Sandee Lindhout & Del VandeKerk. Sandee has served as the Rotary Club of Bellingham's Executive Assistant for over 50 years. We are grateful for her and her dedication to our Club. Del has been a member of our Club since 1998, served as Club President and as you know, Assistant Governor. We are grateful for his leadership. They both have been a tremendous support to me during my year as President. I would like to announce this at our next meeting on March 26, 2018.
Thank you Lindagene for all you do for Rotary, we are blessed to be part of District 5050.”
There will be a Rotary Happy hour this Thursday, March 29th, at Aslan Brewery at 5:15 PM. Everyone is welcome to attend with friends, family, and co-workers.
If you were not able to make it last Saturday, meet Brian Griffin this Saturday at 10:00 for a thirty minute stroll up Padden Creek to the estuary. Bring friends and family if you wish. Plenty of time for a walk in the woods before Cleary’s memorial service at 1:00. The tour leaves from Harris Ave, where the creek passes under the street at the bottom of the hill. It is an easy, level path up the stream. Contact Brian Griffin for additional information at <briangriffin1@me.com
Guests of Rotarians:
Scott Hume introduced Garrett Jeffery with Peace Health and Nathan Conant with Blue Kayak Marketing
Lynda Hinton brought Sara Maloney former Rotarian with Boys and Girls Club and her daughter Kirstin Hunt with Chicago Title
Cathy Buckley introduced her husband Stu, Bellevue Rotarian for 36 years and 7 times Paul Harris FellowBrad Hunt and wife Debbie Lynn, Doug and Donna Faulds.
Students of the Month - Theatre
Bob Morse introduced Bellingham High School's Student of the Month, Dominique J. Salas, his Mother Lily Salas and Grandfather Joaquin Salas
Greg Baker introduced Options High School's Student of the Month, Merrick Carlsen, his Mother Lisa Carlsen, Teacher Leslie Adamson, and Aunt and Uncle Teresa and Steve Carlsen
Brad Burdick introduced Sehome High School Student of the Month, Kennedy Garrison and her Parents John and Carmen Garrison
Presentations:
We were pleased to recognized John Pedlow for his first Paul Harris Fellow and Irwin LeCocq for his Paul Harris Fellow + 3.Our presentation also included the Students of the Month in Theatre. Dominique Salas was the student from Bellingham High School. Dominique considers himself a backstage performer, as he does the lighting and technical work for the productions. He serves as President of the Technical Entertainment Crew and was one of ten students honored by the Washington Thespians for technical light design. He is also a running start student and helps as a tutor in writing.
The next student was Merrick Carlsen from Options High School. Merrick is a Bellingham native with a passion for Zombie flicks. He was honored to be a lead actor in the inaugural production at Options High School (10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse). Merrick loves to act and perform, and has also been teaching himself special effects programs to edit videos. He aspires to be an actor and plans to attend Shoreline Community College to get and AA in Film. His life goal is to be an actor in a major film production (bonus points if it’s a Zombie film).
From Sehome High School, Kennedy Garrison, spoke to us about how theatre has given her confidence in herself to go outside of her comfort zone and take risks. She never imaged, as a freshman entering high school, that one day she would be on stage performing in front of her peers and grow to actually enjoy public speaking. In addition to Drama, Kennedy is active in other academic endeavors and athletics. She is community minded, having volunteered at the Humane Society, Brigadoon Service Dogs, and her local church.
Toby Bruce was the student honored from Squalicum High School. However, due to a conflict (Toby was performing at Western Washington University), he was unable to attend the meeting. He has extensive acting, technical, and musical abilities. Toby is planning to audition at Berklee College of Music.
Program:
Our program this week was by Wilfred Moshi, owner of Kili Treks Tanzania, and Jobmi Kivuyo, owner of Tanzania Outdoor Adventures.
Wilfred started by discussing what it means to him to own a business and share Tanzania. In 2011, after serval years as a porter and guide, he founded Kili Treks Tanzania. Wilfred takes great pride in being a businessman who is a leader and role model working to enhance conservation and guide people up Kilimanjaro. Trips range from 5 to 12 days (8 days is the recommended length), and hikers range from 13 to 80+ in age.
Working directly on the mountain, Wilfred sees many of the issues threatening Tanzania, including deforestation, litter and animal poaching. As an employer, he also directly sees the positive impact his business is having on these issues. Kili Trek directly employs over 100 porters, guides, and support staff, but they also indirectly support hundreds of other locals by purchasing goods and services. This provides stable, legitimate income which in turn reduces the need for damaging or illegal inco
All the guides are well-trained and understand the requirements and dangers of high-altitude trekking. Safety and comfort are paramount, and the extensive experience of the entire crew ensures that. Kili Treks has done extensive training with their staff as well as community organizations. They recently worked with the Mayo Clinic to research how human bodies react and respond in high-altitude environments.
In addition to the mountain trek, visitors participate in local activities such as coffee grinding and food gathering. Immersion in the local culture is an integral part of the experience and the conservation effort. The amenities, while hardly glamorous, are certainly comfortable. Clients have access to their own private toilet and small tent. Food is all provided from the local markets and cooked from scratch; no dehydrated rations here.
Jombi then spoke to us about his experience as a Safari guide. He is inspired to present the Serengeti and what it means to the outside world. Despite his extensive experience as a guide, Jombi still cannot put into words the experience of being on Safari. It is impossible to describe the atmosphere and impact it has on a person.
Jombi has served as guide to some of the worlds most renown wildlife photographers, such as National Geographic and BBC, which in turn has allowed him to help in sharing the Serengeti. In addition to the Safari tours, they also offer Gorilla treks to see the animals up-close in their natural environment. Being on safari with Jombi is more “glamping” than camping. Luxurious tents and dinner service, as well as community immersion, is all part of the experience.
On the same train of thought as Wilfred, Jombi’s take on conservation starts with People. Conserve people, give them jobs, income, and stability, and you can then conserve wildlife. Tanzania’s 150+ tribes have come together to avoid strife and warfare, share 1 language, and instead work together to take care of the people. Tanzania Outdoor Adventures has a strong emphasis on community to help preserve wildlife. Just by visiting, we all support that through job creation and investment.
Both Wilfred and Jombi have a deep passion for conserving Tanzania by sharing it’s treasures with the outside world and conserving it’s people and creatures.
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