This week's meeting will have another exciting program! Dr Anshu Chandra with Global Eye Clinic has worked in Haiti for the past 15 years building and advancing eye care for the poor. She works to end disparities in eye care by bringing this service to remote areas. She leads the efforts in Haiti and has built a clinic in Fond-de-Blancs which provides care and training for local residents. Dr Chandra obtained her optometry degree and did her residency at SUNY College of Optometry in New York. She has also provided eye care to communities in Nepal, Peru, Lebanon, Tanzania, Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Indonisia and India.
I am sorry we haven't sent the bulletin out for about a month. That's why this week's edition has several articles that recap the meetings of the last few weeks.
Our girls Scout Troop is having another Mulch Day this Saturday! Read the article below if you want to order some mulch. The girls will even spread it for you if you want.
The District 5050 Conference is coming up in three weeks. Have you registered yet? It will be at Harrison Hot Springs Resort in British Columbia. You do not want to miss this one. After this year the annual District gathering will look much different.
Members- please make sure your profile is up-to-date on ClubRunner. Log into your ClubRunner account and click on Profile to make the changes. You can upload your own photo or we can take one of you to upload. Your Membership Committee thanks you!
The Scholarship Committee Members have been receiving quite a number of applications over the last few days. Look for more info soon on scoring and preparing to decide who will receive this year's Scholarships!
It's never too late to keep getting those sponsors in!!! The updated 2025-2026 LSR Sponsorship portal is available to you at our website. You can also send the form directly to sponsors. Click this link to download and start collecting sponsorships!
The link to our YouTube Channel is now available on our website and our weekly bulletins. You can view recent online meetings. If you watch any of them, you can count it as a makeup. Just let our Co-Secretary, Christine Egelstad know.
As he prepares to move permanently to the Boise, ID area, Mayor Brett Gailey, a member of our Club was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow framed certificate by President Brian Rewis. The award was a result of a generous transfer of points by Rand Southam. The award was given for his support of our Rotary Club and his work on behalf of the citizens of Lake Stevens. Congratulations Brett!!
Our guest speaker on Friday, April 3rd was Melanie Ryan, the Founder of Beck's Place. The non-profit removes pet related barriers to human health, safety, and security. Beck's Place fosters temporary pet boarding while Snohomish County families access essential services like housing, medical care, or domestic violence support. The program ensures families can focus on achieving stability while knowing their beloved pets are cared for and will return home to them.
Who do they Serve: the average Beck's Place family is a household of three persons, two pets and an average income below $16K. They are currently looking for an organization in Lake Stevens that Beck's Place can partner with.
There are several ways that individuals can help Beck's Place: Get involved. Volunteer which are the heart and soul of our community. Corporations, local businesses and civic organizations are an integral part to developing a community that is connected and a key to sustaining operations for our life changing services and programs. Donate today is another needed resource.
This week's program included an update on the Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue. Jim Steinruck, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners introduced Chief Brian Park. On his first day in the community, Mayor Brett Gailey took him on a walking tour of the lake. The Chief congratulated the Mayor who is resigning on April 13th to relocate to Idaho for his work on behalf of the community.
SRFR is a multifaceted organization. In 2023, SRFR became the first accredited department in Snohomish County reflecting a commitment to continuous improvement. The Chief stated that accreditation focuses on enhancing service delivery and business practices, which may help lower citizens insurance costs.
SRFR delivers services beyond firefighting and EMS, including highly specialized rescue operations. Teams are trained in swift water rescue, hazmat, technical rescue, drone operations, wildlife firefighting and paramedics.
SRFR operates as a community partnership and prevention. Likewise, SRFR is fiscal responsible by being good stewards of taxpayers dollars. The department maintains a balance budget, ensures adequate staffing and provides modern, reliable tools. SRFR has 35+ years of clean audits from the Washington State Auditor's Office.
At the end of the SRFR presentation, Chairman Steinruck presented the Mayor with a Challenge Coin in appreciation for his partnership with SRFR and his work in the community. Both individuals are members of our Rotary Club.
Our guest speaker on Friday, March 20th was President-Elect Lance Morehouse. He began is conversation with stating that at the Leadership Symposium, Rotary announced that the number of wild polio virus cases in the world is 0. Surveillance mode over the next two years. This could be the second time in history that we have eradicated polio.
During his lifetime, Lance has attended many, many leadership conferences. But, Rotary has the best leadership program of all and something that is worth attending when you are the President-Elect. Like the slide above, Rotary is a Leadership Organization and Rotarians are People of Action. A video followed that was all about sharing our knowledge, vision and connection and turning ideas into action. You can see his presentation on our YouTube Channel-Lake Stevens Rotary.
On Friday, March 13th, Mayor Brett Gailey, a member of our Club provided our members an overview on the State of the City. The Mayor started his presentation by stating that the city was going to honor former Councilman Marcus Tageant by naming the pond by the new City Hall complex in his honor. The Mayor said that Marcus often commented that he got fish in the pond when he was young, The city has embarked on the City of Lake Stevens Learn Center of Excellence Mission Statement which is a 14-16 person course.
The State of the City started with commenting on the relationship with their community partners and the Leadership Roundtable held monthly. These partnerships have provided the drive on the city's mission statement and showcased a thriving community. Other topics outlined was the 2026 City Events, the new City Hall Municipal Services campus, the ribbon cutting and building underway for the new Lake Stevens Historical Museum, Capital projects completed in 2025 and 2026 goals. Continuing on with discussion about the Transportation Benefits Program, Park and Recreation accomplishments (which stirred some discussion about the cost of park rentals), moving on to the Informational and Technology accomplishments, HR accomplishments, Finance accomplishments and how the city is funded. More topics included City Administration accomplishments, 2025 grant accomplishments and so much more. All these topics ha numerous commentaries too much to include in this article. If you want more information, reach out to the City for this presentation. With such a growing community, each year's reports will be much more involved and detailed with important information. Stay tuned for the next state of the city in 2026-27.
Each week at our weekly meeting, Ilene provides our members with a thought for the week. Here are the two most recent thoughts. This “thought for the week” was mentioned at our meeting on Friday, April 03.
A couple of weeks ago, the “thought for the week” was "Lemonading: a way of approaching problems or challenges in life involves remaining positive and optimistic and seeing them as opportunities for growth or improvements". The members look forward to Ilene's thought of the day each week, enjoying the positive messages that just make your day.
Our Club has been a sponsor of Troop 88 since its beginning. Time to order your mulch from a great organization of Scouts in Lake Stevens, follow the order request above.
Interact is a service club for youth ages 14-18. The name is a combination of the words international and action. We join Clubs in over 120 countries around the world. The global youth network is dedicated to community and international service. Every Interact Club project, great or small, has a lasting impact on society worldwide.
Club Meetings are held at Lake Stevens High School. Contact Mrs. Odegaard for more information!
Our regular Rotary Club Meetings are at the Lake Stevens School District Educational Service Center lower level Community Room located at 12309 22nd St NE. We start at 7:30 am. Click here for the online link. There will not be any breakfast served. However, coffee will be available. Visitors are always welcome.
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