Visiting Rotarian: Michael Baker, RC of Santa Barbara; Kirk and Jann Greene, RC of Seattle 5
Call to Order: President Sandra called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. Luz Maria Ortiz Smith gave the invocation and Judith McCaffrey led the flag salute.
Raffle: Sandra said we will start having a raffle and she provided a $50 gift certificate to Opal Restaurant for take-out. Last year’s raffle money has been transferred to the Club’s Foundation. The raffle brought in $350; your ticket cost will be added to your next Rotary bill. Oscar won the raffle.
Calendar:
5/28 Happy Hour by Zoom BYOB
6/3 Club awards meeting
6/10: Coffee and Connection by Zoom
6/16: Joint Board Meeting
6/17: Club meeting with speaker
6/24: Step Down
Community Service Committee: will meet June 11th. Judith gave an update on the masks distribution. She learned that people sewing are called “sewists.” The sewists are now working on the last of the fabric.
International Service Committee: Hannah Rael indicated the next meeting is next Wednesday, May 27th, when there will be updates on Nicaragua and a discussion on parameters for determining when to give funding to other clubs.
RI Convention: Sandra announced that the RI Convention planned for Honolulu will not be happening but there will be a virtual convention starting June 20th and will run for a number of days, with three sessions per day.
Membership Committee: Eric Ryan reported that the committee’s focus is on member retention and engagement. They are calling members who have not been attending Zoom meetings to find out if they need technological help. They are planning to do a socially distanced gathering of some sort in a private setting, such as Elings Park or Camp Whittier, for those who are comfortable doing it. Members would sit in a circle at a distance and bring their own food/drink.
Joanne suggested that we go back to a former idea of drawing club member names from a hat and having them have lunch or a meal together to get to know each other better. It could be done in a back yard where a member could host another member and their partner and sit apart.
Fundraiser: Scott Burns talked about “Thank You First Responder” yard signs that Westlake Village RC has been selling as a fundraiser. Our club is considering doing this.
Program: Kirk and Jann Greene gave a craft talk. Jann went first. She joined Rotary in May 2008, two years after she became a widow. Her late husband had been a Rotarian for many years. When she retired, she decided she wanted to give back to the community. Jann comes from Wheaton, Illinois. She had a great childhood, then attended Bowling Green State University where she studied to be a special education teacher. She moved to Tacoma, Washington when her ex-husband was transferred for his job.
Jann spent 22 years in a Kitchen Design career where she enjoyed dealing with clients and going to job sites. She married her boss, the owner of the company, in 1988. Jann has one son and three grandchildren. When her husband, Bob, died he was honored with Bob’s playground at the Boys & Girls Club in Seattle. In her spare time, she likes to play tennis, hike and go biking.
Kirk grew up in Goleta where he attended five different elementary schools, at a time when there was much new school building. He was in the third graduating class at Dos Pueblos High School and spent two years at SBCC before transferring to Seattle University. Kirk spent 28 years with Northwestern Mutual, then founded his own firm, Greene Wealth Management. His office is on the 34th floor of Rainier Tower in Seattle.
Kirk has four sons, four lovely daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren. He likes to bike; has done over 5,000 miles. He loves speed and has driven race cars and a speed boat.
Kirk and Jann live in the Escala building highlighted in the “Five Shades of Grey” books. He loves Santa Barbara so, in 2012, he bought a home here as well.
Kirk has been a member of the Seattle 5 Rotary Club for 22 years. He knew Jann somewhat for a number of years but finally, on May 10th, 2019, they went out for a lengthy Happy Hour. Within a couple of weeks he knew this was a long-term deal. By December 5th he popped the question and gave Jann a ring. They had planned a wedding for April 25th but that was postponed because of the coronavirus. Instead, they married on March 26th.
Kirk thanked club members for welcoming them into the club. They plan to spend half the year here and half the year in Seattle.
Membership Director, Eric Ryan, said he was impressed by how Kirk and Jann have become involved with the club. As a result, Sunrise Club will recognize them as honorary members.
Joanne mentioned that Kirk is on the board of Lighthouse for the Blind Foundation where her daughter is the CFO. Lighthouse for the Blind now has a corporate membership at Seattle 5.
The meeting adjourned at 8:30 a.m.
