President Paul uses a light touch on the bell – ever notice that? After calling to order the meeting, he talked a little on World Kindness Day and how it relates to Rotarian lives. He referred to the 4-Way Test and to the first area of Rotary focus – Peace. Then former president Peter Theisen built his invocation on the same theme. And they claim there was no collusion.
An ad-lib wine auction took place with Larry Halgren selling a couple of bottles donated by Dave Blair. And to my surprise, the chardonnay sold for $5 more than the sirah.
Club and Committee Announcements:
Up Coming Events - Additional information and registration is available in Events on the bellinghamrotary.org website
November 27, 2022: Wreath Making at Garden Spot 4:30-6:00 pm
December 3, 2022: NSEA (Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association) Work Party
WE MOVED TO THE SYRE STUDENT CENTER - SYRE THEATER AT WHATCOM COMMUNITY COLLEGE. HERE ARE THE DIRECTIONS.
The buildings address is 235 W Kellogg Rd. But this is not where you park. There is no parking off of Kellogg Road. You must enter parking off either Eliza Ave or Cordata Parkway. You are looking for the YELLOW lot (look on light poles for Y2 or Y3).
Enter from Eliza Ave: the driveway between Kellogg Rd and Westerly Rd has a driveway into the campus, follow that about 200 yards until it slopes down, park in the area between the three buildings.
Enter from Cordata Parkway: Just north of the WTA station and Cruisin Coffee before the round about is Orca Lane, take Orca Lane around the first two buildings until you find a large parking lot between three buildings.
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 n 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 cannot do 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.
Lunch will be $22 for a buffet meal. We must notify them by Monday at NOON the week prior to the Monday meeting as to the number of members attending. We are sending out meeting "Invites" 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 the 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.
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 di ctly 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 scan and simply click 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 belling mrotary.org first. In order to login you need t know your user name and password in your Clubrunner account. The user name is Your first name.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
Ward Naf introduced Heidi Farani, Josh Norton and Katelyn Upson with the WCC Food Panty
Doug Cole introduced his wife Margie and Bill Day
Scott Wallace introduced his partner Marge Laidlow
Arizona guests on Zoom, Gary Goldfogel and Dale Rings
Members attending on Zoom: John Moffat, Rob Olson, Loch Trimingham, John Dunne and Fred Kaiser
Presentation:
Scott Wallace introduced Marge Laidlaw to present a service grant to the Coffee And Sandwiches Together, a collective that produces a meal of sandwiches and coffee etc four nights a week. The location is the Arch of Reconciliation on the NE corner of the Bellingham Public Library block. This is a bootstrap operation composed of about 70 volunteers and a yearly overhead of +/- $39,000.
Another presentation was to the WCC Food Pantry, sponsored and presented by Ward Naf. Our rotary club donated a few hundred pounds of foodstuffs and a check for $635. This operation provides food for students who are having trouble making ends meet. Another valuable service we assist.
Program:
With an entrance hearkening back to his New Member Talk, Doug Cole strode to the podium. Wearing a pilot’s hat, aviator sunglasses, and a leather jacket, looking every bit an airman. This was the start of the program. He titled it “A Career Up in the Air”.
A photo showing a skinny very young man standing next to a plane and a nattily dressed man in his 40’s introduced us to the story of Doug. This was the start. In seventh grade he was offered a plane ride by his Sunday school teacher. By the time they landed, Doug knew what he would like to do. He increased the number of lawnmowing jobs he had to earn money to pay for flying lessons. As his 16th birthday approached, he ramped up his flying lessons so he could solo, later earning his private pilot’s license at 17. Then it was a question of how to stay up in the air.
In high school he offered classmates plane rides if they would agree to help out with the plane rental and gas. He ran out of takers after 20. He did collect hours in the air however. Then came college, and no time for flying. That life was just not what he wanted. So, Doug went to flight school again, this time in California, to get his commercial, instrument, sea plane, multi engine and flight instructor’s ratings. This allowed him to get back to the wild blue yonder. Not all a bed of roses though. Doug showed his first instructor’s time sheet. For the eight-hour day he got paid for 3.5 hours. Pre-flight inspection, gassing up, meeting with the student for pre-flight and the post-flight debriefing didn’t count. Only the time the propeller was turning counted toward pay, and that was $5 an hour.
Soon Doug was down in Arizona flying customers into the Grand Canyon and other destinations, then to Colorado for fire patrol and support with the BLM. I guess he missed the great PNW because he figured out how to return, coming to Bellingham to fly for San Juan Airlines. Remember them? A great little airline that flew from BLI to SEA and other destinations, like the islands and the peninsula.
Finally, Doug got the opportunity to fly with the big boys. He started in the right seat (co-pilot) in DC-9s with Republic Airlines. Republic got swallowed by Northwest Orient Airlines, offering Doug the opportunity to fly to the far east on a regular basis. With the great airline consolidation, NWA merged with Delta. During his career, he moved from flight engineer to copilot and eventually to captain, flying DC-9s, 727s, Airbus A-320s, 747, 757 and finally the 767 flying a combination of domestic and international. Of all of them Captain Cole liked the 757 best.
The Six Woes of Airline Flying: Mergers, Strikes, Bankruptcy, Commuting, Divorce and Furlough. Doug got to experience all but the last one. Then there was the unexpected, such as 9/11. The closest thing he had to anything exciting was that he departed from LaGuardia in an Airbus 320 on January 14, 2009 and nothing unusual happened. Sullenberger departed the following day, also in an A-320, with a slightly different outcome.
Doug remembers fondly the golden age of flying, when passengers dressed up fancy to fly, real meals were served, and passengers were treated well. But he thinks that the smoking ban was the best thing to happen to commercial aviation.
