THE Weekend is finally here! AQUAFEST 2023 is upon us. The weather should be fantastic. Everyone will have a great time. We still need people to help out in the Corn Booth Friday evening and Saturday. Please register yourself, your family, your friends at the Club website. We also need folks to walk with our Grande Parade entry on Saturday. It really is a lot of fun. If you need help registering do not hesitate to contact myself or Tracy DeLorm.
The Friday morning meeting will be at The Buzz Inn. Afterwards, we will go over to the Food Court and set up our booth. Don't forget to explore the festival--when you're not helping out at the Booth--and enjoy the many offerings available. One of our goals this year is to talk to everyone about Rotary. Who we are and, more importantly, what we do for our community--whether that be locally, regionally and internationally.
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 Secretary, Gary O'Rielly know.
Each year, District 5050 encourages their Clubs in the District to participate in the Rotary International Youth Exchange program. This year, our Club is sponsoring Josie Mai Jarillo Odegaard. The program on Friday, July 21st featured Josie making a presentation in English and Norwegian as she prepares to leave for Norway on August 7th for a year as our Rotary International Youth Exchange representative.
En liten presentasjon om Josie. Her first host family in Norway lives in an apartment 30 minutes from downtown Oslo. The school she will attend has 1,000 students. Josie will be taking general studies. Classes in VG2 which is the equivalent to a senior year in the United States.
The host family has a set of twins, a boy, and a girl as well as an 8-year-old. Josie will only be staying with two families during her year long exchange. She will be looking for one of her favorite Norwegian bands, with ski competition on the agenda and she added that her school does have an Interact Club.
Our Club could not ask for a better representative of our youth than Josie. Ironically, she has family in Norway. We will be looking forward to reports from time to time telling us of her experience in Norway.
Each year for the past several years, the Rotary Club of Lake Stevens has selected a community member to be the Rotary Citizen of the Year. For the year 2022-2023 the Board of Directors and the Membership have selected Sophina Nunez.
Sophina has been heavily involved with the Lake Stevens Food Bank as President and ever vigilant at raising the funds to complete the new Lake Stevens Community Food Bank. Her tireless efforts in leading the organization helped fully fund the new building. Congratulations Sophina!! Presenting a Rotary Citizen of the Year certificate to Sophina is Club President 2023-2024 Don Iverson and Chris Vallo, Club President 2022-2023.
Accepting the Pinnacle of Service Award from Club President 2022-23 was Brian Rewis who was out of state during the Annual Installation and Awards Banquet.
During the summer Lake Stevens Farmers Market, the Rotary Club of Lake Stevens alternates every other Wednesday with the Lake Stevens Arts and Parks Foundation. Past President Chris Vallo visiting with Club member Bob Howe and his wife Ann on July 12th as they begin the second shift as Jak Thornton, Club Treasurer is getting ready to depart after working the 1st shift. Free water is extremely popular during the sweltering summer days and our Club enjoys giving them out to market attendees.
Attending the District Installation Banquet is Kristin Odegaard with Felicity Dye District 5050 Director of Youth Services along with other attendees on Sunday, July 16th at Tulip Town, Mount Vernon.
Addressing the District Installation banquet is District Governor David Lukov, MT. Vernon.
The program photo above was taken by Kristin Odegaard during the District Governor's Installation Banquet.
Saturday, September 9th, 2023 (with the 10th as a backup date) has been selected for the Lake Stevens Rotary “Island Getaway” event. Don Iverson had suggested we get a group together go to Lopez Island where we have the option to travel on-island by bicycle or by vehicle. Lopez is special due to its fine roads, very limited traffic, and incredible sights.
We will have at least one vehicle (sag wagon) on the island with tools and the ability to transport bikes or bikers with issues. This vehicle will also transport food, water and equipment for our lunch.
Don suggests the following schedule (need to confirm ferry times in September)
8:40am: Be at the ferry dock at Anacortes, which is about 1.5 hours from Lake Stevens. Ferry departs at 9:40 and vehicle reservations require arriving an hour early. Those not taking a vehicle should still be early to make sure you get parked, unloaded and ticketed on time.
10:30am: Arrive at Lopez Ferry Landing at the north end of the island.
First stop: Lopez Village. Drivers will have more time to explore this lovely island community than bikers.
Second stop: Shark Reef Park, about a 1-mile easy walk round-trip from parking area. Fascinating place to watch seals (if the sharks did not get them all), tidal rapids and boat traffic.
Third stop: Agate Beach County Park at south end of the island. Here we will have a BBQ lunch around 1:30 provided by the Club. After lunch you can remain at the park (lovely beach) or go on a beautiful 2-mile easy walk around Iceberg Point. Incredible views!
Fourth stop: Watmough Bay. This is where the first European explorers landed in the San Juans. An amazing place to just sit on the beach and contemplate. Otters, seals, boats at anchor, an amazing cliff, Mt. Baker in the distance, and sometimes eerie silence. This stop may not make sense for bikers unless you ride fast and can handle a few extra miles.
Last stop: Be back at the Lopez ferry dock by 6:00pm to catch the 6:20 ferry. A little earlier is not a bad idea if you want to make sure you catch that ferry. There is another ferry at 7:35pm as a backup. The ferry system has been having some issues lately with mechanical and staffing problems causing delays and canceled sailings.
For bikers, it is best to park at the Anacortes terminal and walk your bike on the ferry (no reservations required.) The round-trip bike ride on the island will be approximately 30 miles with very limited hills.
For drivers, you should get an online ferry reservation to get to the island (not needed for return.) Get the reservation on July 9th as they become available two months before the travel date and can book up quickly. Another batch of reservations will become available two weeks before the travel date. Go to the following site: https://secureapps.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Reservations/Vehicle/default.aspx
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.
The School Year has ended and so have our meetings, Club Meetings will resume in September. Contact Mrs. Odegaard for more information!
JULY 28th ONLY- Meeting at The Buzz Inn. 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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