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District Governor Craig Gillis did not disappoint in his Oct. 9 and 10 meetings with East Bremerton Rotary. He met for dinner with our board on Tuesday and then his speech and visit with our club Wednesday morning was inspirational, thoughtful, thankful and humorous. After hearing from Craig the whole district should certainly say "yes" to our question, "Will it be fun?"

Craig's message focused on a few themes: "Be the inspiration," he told us, with stories from the heart (a 73-year-old woman earning her high-school degree), from science (children in his class learning about opportunity in the world and the responsibility to give back), and from his own inspiration (Craig said, "Whatever you're doing do a little more of that," and encouraged everyone to take the stationary on the table and write a note to someone who inspires you.) He offered Lew Bruser, his fellow Canadian, a special pin as a thanks for his years in Rotary. He also took time to honor Sue Shipley for her time as assistant district governor, gave Past President David Nelson a certificate to thank the entire club for their Polio Plus efforts during 2017-18, and recognized John Armstrong and Vic Ulsh for service to the club.

Then it was our turn to offer Craig some thanks. Denny Smith presented Craig with a special t-shirt of fellow Canadian James Paxton, who's known here at "The Big Maple" with the Mariners, commemorating Paxton's no-hitter against the Blue Jays. And Jerry LeTexier built a special wooden shoebox for Craig, to replace the well-worn shoe box where he keeps special mementos that inspire him.

It was a great visit and we thank Craig for his leadership and commitment to the club's in District 5020, which includes Western Washington and Canada. Also a thanks to President Ken for his efforts in hosting Craig and setting up the special visit.

This Week in EBR History: Oct. 17

This year we'll occasionally publish stories or history from East Bremerton Rotary newsletters of the past, compiled and edited by club historian Lew Bruser. This week's edition is culled from years of archives to follow our visit from RI leadership. Writes Lew: All Rotary International Presidents since 1957 have had a theme for their year. It must get harder every year to think of one. Here they all are. In case any of you are ambitious, “Will It Be Fun?” is still available.

1957-1958 Enlist, Extend, Explore, Serve

1958-1959 Help Shape the Future

1959-1960 Visualize! Personalize! Build Bridges of Friendship

1960-1961 You are Rotary. Live it!

1961-1962 Act. Aim for Action. Communication for Understanding. Test for Leadership.

1962-1963 Kindle the Spark Within

1963-1964 Meeting Rotary’s Challenge in the Space Age

1964-1965 Live Rotary

1965-1966 Action, Consolidation and Continuity

1966-1967 Better World Through Rotary

1967-1968 Make Your Rotary Membership Effective

1968-1969 Participate

1969-1970 Review and Renew

1970-1971 Bridge the Gaps

1971-1972 Goodwill Begins with You

1972-1973 Let’s Take a New Look and Act

1973-1974 A Time for Action

1974-1975 Renew the Spirit of Rotary

1975-1976 To Dignify the Human Being

1976-1977 I Believe in Rotary

1977-1978 Serve to Unite Mankind

1978-1979 Reach Out

1979-1980 Let Service Light the Way

1980-1981 Take Time to Serve

1981-1982 World Understanding and Peace

1982-1983 Mankind is One-Build Bridges of Friendship Throughout the World

1983-1984 Share Rotary - Serve People

1984-1985 Discover a New World of Service

1985-1986 You Are the Key

1986-1987 Rotary Brings Hope

1987-1988 Rotarians - United in Service Dedicated to Peace

1988-1989 Put Life in Rotary - Your Life

1989-1990 Enjoy Rotary

1990-1991 Honor Rotary with Faith and Enthusiasm

1991-1992 Look Beyond Yourself

1992-1993 Real Happiness is Helping Others

1993-1994 Believe In what You Can Do - Do what You Believe In

1994-1995 Be A Friend

1995-1996 Act with Integrity - Serve with Love - Work for Peace

1996-1997 Build the Future with Action and Vision

1997-1998 Show Rotary Cares

1998-1999 Follow Your Rotary Dream

1999-2000 Act with Consistency, Credibility, Continuity

2000-2001 Create Awareness…Take Action

2001-2002 Mankind is Our Business

2002-2003 Sow the Seeds of Love

2003-2004 Lend A Hand

2004-2005 Celebrate Rotary

2005-2006 Service Above Self

2006-2007 Lead the Way

2007-2008 Rotary Shares

2008-2009 Make Dreams Real

2009-2010 The Future of Rotary Is In Your Hands

2010-2011 Building Communities - Bridging Continents

2011-2012 Reach Within to Embrace Humanity

2012-2013 Peace Through Service

2013-2014 Peace through Service

2014-2015 Engage Rotary Change Lives

2015-2016 Be a Gift to the World

2016-2017 Rotary Serving Humanity

2017-2018 Making a Difference

2018-2019 Be the Inspiration

Pretty, pretty sweet

The captain of the Love Boat, bearing a strong resemblance to Roger Finucan, was among the romance-theme guests invited by Donna Evans to our Sweetheart Auction program last week. Donna, John Armstrong and their auction committee organized a fun kick-off to get everyone involved well in advance of next February's big event. The 2019 Sweetheart Auction will be on Saturday, Feb. 9, at Kitsap Golf and Country Club and again done in partnership with Kitsap Cancer Services.

If you heard John's address to the club it's time to start thinking about auction donations. John set the bar for this year's fundraiser -- he wants to bring in $120,000 this year. A little math means our club needs to raise about $1,000 per member. That means everyone needs to participate, even folks who won't be around should think about ways they can contribute. Donations of auction items, sponsorships, buying tickets for friends who would attend and donate, maybe other ideas.

And to get us thinking, the committee toasted a few of the notable sweethearts from recent years -- thank you all for your involvement and we're looking ahead to next year! It'll be here before we know it!

Another Red Badge turns blue

Last week was Steve Treanor's turn to give a classification talk about himself, and our new member will now be promoted to a full-status blue badge.

Steve's a Bainbridge Island native and fifth-generation Kitsap resident who's laid his head around the world (Colorado, Berlin, Korea) through a military career that eventually led him to the IT field and his home in East Bremerton with wife Gale and children. Steve owns the Help Desk Calvary, proud owners of a new home at the corner of McWilliams and 303 (behind Walgreen's), and personally he runs a household that packs the extended family in for the holidays (even when they need to take out a wall). He likes to travel with his family, drive his Jeep, play golf once a year and watch the Seahawks. Look for a seat next to Steve at an upcoming meeting to get to know our newest member. Welcome to the club Steve!

A great day for golf

The return of East Bremerton Rotary's golf fellowship was a success on Sunday, with beautiful weather and three dozen golfers enjoying the day at Rolling Hills. Doug Fairbanks and his team of volunteers put on a great event that was capped with dinner and prizes at McCloud's Grill House, where amateur auctioneer Jerry LeTexier even raised $620 for Paul Harris with two special items donated by Wayne and Donna Evans.

Thanks to everyone who joined!

This week in EBR history: Sept. 5

This year we'll occasionally publish stories or history from East Bremerton Rotary newsletters of the past, compiled and edited by club historian Lew Bruser. This week's edition is highlighted by the initial message from 1978-79 Club President Mike McKinney, who stepped in when President-Elect Dick Wong had to leave to take classes at Central Washington University.

“The big question everyone asks when we start something new is: Where are we going now? We’ve just finished a very successful year with such programs as the Student Exchange Program, Club Growth, and Community and International Service Projects. As a board member I saw why these things took place, because of the dedication of Past Pres. Ron, his board, and each of you Rotarians. Our club is successful because each one of you became excited about our projects and our future and worked to see that each was successful. So where are we going now? The answer lies in the hands of myself, the board, but especially the hands of my fellow Rotarians.”

To quote D.P. Peggs, our new District Governor, ‘The only thing that goes by itself is going downhill’. To obtain the success for the next year we must reach out to new ideas, new fellowships, and new projects to keep our club active and growing.” (“Reach Out” was the R.I theme for 1978/89).

At his meeting with the Dist. Gov., Mike said that his strong and weak points were “Youth and Ignorance”. Youth brought the enthusiasm to make us work, and the ignorance he referred to he clarified as meaning “Ignorance of what we can’t do”. (Mike’s wife Carol looked so youthful that at the District Conference in Nanaimo she was mistaken for an exchange student and when she entered the hall was directed to where the students were gathering. A couple months later, Mike and Carol’s first child was born).

The Sept. 1978 bulletin announced our first big project of the year: The First Annual Kitsap County Rotary Golf Tournament. The entry fee was $25, and the net profit was $178.

Other fund raisers were our first casino night, which raised $720, and sale of fireworks, which raised over $2,000. What had become known as the Sam Anderson walk, from Silverdale to the meeting, raised $90 for the Foundation.

Among our community project donations were $350 to the YMCA handicapped swim program, $100 to Holly Ridge for new chairs, $500 the Kitsap Library for landscaping, $250 to 4-H for scholarships and awards, $500 to O.P.E. for a fire alarm system in their new facility, $55 to Campfire Girls to send one girl to camp for one week.

In April 1981 we held our second casino night and grossed $6,104.50. Casino nights (before legalized gambling) were hectic, fun but hard work. Most of the gamblers smoked, and dealing cards to half a dozen smokers was tough on non-smokers. They were also mostly drinkers, and as the night wore on some of them didn’t seem to pay attention to their cards and lost a lot of money. They didn’t seem to care; they loved gambling and often remarked that their losses were “in a good cause”. To a dealer it sometimes seemed that it was not beneficial to all concerned, but there was enough goodwill and friendship going around to more than make up for it; that and the bottle of Crown Royal that Dick Maurice passed around after all the dust had cleared in the wee hours.

From The Rotarian: “Montagu M. Bear joined the Chicago Rotary Club in 1905, the club’s charter year. He was a designer and engraver who gave Rotary its first symbol, a simple buggy wheel representing civilization and movement. Except for adding a cloud of dust, some streamers, and the words ‘Rotary Club’ the buggy wheel satisfied Rotarians until 1912. Then for seven years Rotarians experimented with redesigning the wheel. By 1919, except for one additional modification made five years later, the wheel as we know it today was officially adopted by the Rotary Board. The wheel is more a six-spoke gear than a wheel. The teeth of the gear are important, because gearing is essentially the way motion is transmitted from one portion of the machinery to another. Thus the Rotary wheel is symbolic of the way Rotarians mesh with the community, the businesses represented in the clubs, and the world. But the gear doesn’t transmit power if it isn’t locked to another rotating part. Thus in 1924 the groove, or keyway, was added to the Rotary wheel. The key is a small parallel-sided piece that fits into a groove and prevents relative motion between rotating parts. Thus the Rotary wheel is a working wheel.”

Mini-golf social 2018

Carol Loidhammer is the new owner of our EBR green jacket! She won the annual mini-golf tournament Friday night, after bringing her own putter for an added advantage and acing two holes! The group enjoyed dinner and fellowship after the event. Thanks to Dan DeMers for again organizing the fun event.

This week in EBR history: Aug 29

This year we'll occasionally publish stories or history from East Bremerton Rotary newsletters of the past, compiled and edited by club historian Lew Bruser. This week's edition comes from the club's first bulletin, "Olympic Views," which was introduced in 1978. John Dearing was the first editor. The entry below was his first article, and other selections were written during that first year.

From January, 1978:

THE IMPORTANCE OF GROWTH

Roberto Boccardio, director of Rotary International, in his address to the 1977 International Assembly, said, “Cardinal Newman…left us this definition of growth: ‘Growth is the only evidence of life.’ THIS CAN BE APPLIED TO ORGANIZATIONS. Once growth has ceased, decline is inevitable We must increase our numbers for two major reasons: First, a larger membership means more classifications filled, and more classifications filled means better opportunities for Rotary’s development of the public service for which it was created. If a Rotary club does not represent the present social structure of its country, it cannot attain its goals. Second, we must increase our numbers simply so there will be more of us, as this in turn will give us more authority and enable us to make our voices heard throughout the world.”

From February 1978:

For Valentine’s Day the club held its first “Sweetheart Dinner.” It didn’t say where, but the cost was $6.50 a couple, with all proceeds ($200) going to the Rotary Foundation.

From March 1978:

A Paul Harris quote: “The adventurous Rotarian - the person who responds to the ideal of service with purposeful action - finds his reward, like the sailor who loves the sea, in the journey itself.”

Breakfast dues were raised from $32.50 to $40 per quarter. In addition we paid $11.50 per year for District and R.I. International dues

From June 1978:

Outgoing Pres. Ron Pettygrove summarized some of the highlights of his year:

We started our meetings with five minutes of Rotary information.

Our big fundraiser, selling fireworks, brought in $1,800.

We held our first Installation/Outstallation.

Vern Andor gave District Governor Harold Woodland a tour of Kitsap County in his airplane.

As a community project we bought a reading-aid instrument for the new library on Sylvan Way where the visually impaired could sit and read.

We spent an evening at the Eastwynd senior citizens home, for whom we had contributed $100 toward the purchase of an organ.

Ron and John Loidhamer walked from Silverdale to the meeting (8 miles!). This began a tradition, later called the Sam Anderson walk, starting from Sonny’s house near the Fairgrounds, which lasted until there were too many of us and it became hazardous. When Ann Lawry was slightly bumped by a fender at an intersection we changed this activity to Lions Field. We had the choice of walking or contributing $5 to the Foundation.

There was another Mariners night, this time with the ladies. Progress.

TRADITION: January was designated “Take a Rotarian to Lunch” month. That didn’t last, but Ron Pettyrove and Lew Bruser have kept their Jan. 22 lunch date ever since.

At the end of Ron’s year we had 35 members, with 94 percent attendance.

A very special 'sayonara'

"Trying new things is the only way to improve myself," Maori Inagawa told our breakfast meeting last week on her last day in the U.S. as a Rotary exchange student. But she promised to return, because she loved learning English, seeing new places and experiencing friendship from our club. Her year began slowly, she said, but by this summer she was fully immersed in American culture and got to visit California (with her mother) and New York City (with a fellow Japanese exchange student). "These things will help me with my future," she told us, very grateful to have spent a year in Bremerton.

Maori also left us with gifts as well, distributing special Japanese Rotary pins and her homemade vegetarian sushi. How many of you tried it?

We also had a first last week -- Ken Hegvedt's first official meeting as club president! And the evidence below shows he was even smiling about it. Good start to the year for Ken, and his board's first meeting will be this Thursday, 5:30 p.m. at Ambrosia.

Scenes from the 2018 Installation Dinner

It was another night for the ages at McCloud's last Tuesday as we said thanks to President David and his board members and welcomed President Ken and the 2018-19 board. Donna Evans was named the Rotarian of the Year, Kitsap Sun reporter Josh Farley was caught by surprise as our Citizen of the Year and we saluted Sue Shipley for her three-year term as Assistant District Governor. The theme was M*A*S*H* and nearly the entire room was decked out, led by the duo of Jay and Barb Lovato channeling Hawkeye and Hot Lips Hoolihan (above with Bill Benson). A wonderful time was had by all, thanks to everyone who could attend.

Encouraged by RYLA

There wasn't a Rotarian in the room who wasn't impressed by last week's speakers, MacKenzie Puckette (left) and Dhjustine Cherrey. The juniors at Olympic High participated in this spring's Rotary Youth Leadership Awards weekend at Pacific Lutheran University, sponsored by our club and coordinated by Howard Julien. The two girls shared about their experience and how much it meant to them, and even expressed their interest in starting an Interact club at Olympic so they can find ways to get other students working in the community during their senior year. That would be in addition to their leadership positions in student government and sports, showing that these two already are great ambassadors for their school. Read below about Happy Bucks to see what kind of reaction their presentation drew.

This week we'll host 23rd District Rep. Drew Hansen, who's well beyond his school years but has focused on many issues in education during his years in Olympia. Drew is running unopposed this fall for his seat to represent part of East Bremerton, Silverdale, North Kitsap and Bainbridge Island.

This week in EBR history: Sam Anderson

"This week in East Bremerton Rotary history" is a new series for the newsletter, compiled and written by club historian Lew Bruser. Each week or so Lew is going to share a story from EBR's past to keep us familiar with the people and events that are part of our history. This week's submission is a tribute written by Denny Smith in 1983, after the passing of club member Sam Anderson, EBR's inaugural Rotarian of the Year.

Sam Anderson was a charter member of the Rotary Club of East Bremerton when it was formed in1976. For the past eight years his fellow Rotarians have enjoyed his friendship and benefited from his wisdom. Although about twice the average age of fellow club members, Sam’s young-at-heart mind and keen sense of humor enabled him to blend right into the club. The Rotary Club of East Bremerton in its infancy and growing years relied on Sam’s experience, know-how, and maturity as we developed into a real service club in every sense of the word. A group of young fellows soon learned from Sam that, in order to accomplish our goals, we not only needed to work hard but we also needed to work smart, and Sam always seemed to know how to work smart and shared his wisdom with us.

Sam wasn’t one to sit on the sidelines and be content to just watch the action. Sam was always there when it came to club activities. When it came time to name our first ‘Rotarian of the Year’, Sam was our club’s first recipient. Sam believed in leading by example. He led the pack of Rotary Foundation Walk-a-Thon participants on a four-mile hike before Thanksgiving to help raise money for international Rotary projects. Sam was always there. He enjoyed the district meetings of Rotary and the opportunities for fellowship and a round of golf with his Rotarian friends. He was faithful in attending the annual Christmas party that the club put on for senior citizen residents. He enjoyed bringing some ‘Holiday Cheer’ too those folks. Sam was a credit to Rotary.

To perpetuate Sam’s memory at the Rotary Club of East Bremerton, the annual ‘Rotarian of the Year Award’ will henceforth be known as ‘The Sam Anderson Memorial Award for the Rotarian of the Year’. Further, all members of the club, through memorial contributions, have made Sam a Rotary Foundation Paul Harris Fellow. Through the years Sam helped generate thousands of dollars for world service through the Foundation, and though he didn’t have time on this earth to reach the Paul Harris plateau, his fellow Rotarian friends honor Sam and have accomplished this for him.

Sam Anderson’s legacy to his fellow Rotarian’s will be different in our own individual hearts and minds, but to all he will be remembered as a Rotarian’s Rotarian.

Sweethearts and Valentines

The 2018 Sweetheart Auction is in the books, and a big thanks goes to everyone involved in setting up, donating, working through the event or cleaning up afterward. It was a team effort and we put on another wonderful event with Kitsap Cancer Services. It was a full house at the country club. Special thanks to Donna Evans and John Armstrong for their leadership. We'll announce the total amount raised when all the bills are tallied up.

More photos can be seen on our Facebook page, and if you post your own tag the club and we'll share them.

And don't forget that you can have another Rotary "sweetheart" date — wake your Valentine up early for tomorrow's club breakfast, it's February 14!

Christmas party fun

More than 80 Rotarians and spouses attend our annual Christmas party on Sunday, Dec. 17, held again at Gold Mountain Golf Club. Comedian Brad Upton was a hit and the dessert dash raised approximately $1,500 that will go to a good cause. Thanks to John and Sharon Armstrong, Gena Wales, Cris Larson, Eric Roberts, Ashley Armstrong and the others who played a role in putting on the event.

I Am a Rotarian --Five More Reasons Why

Posted on Dec 09, 2013

Past District Governor Ken Bose listed 17 reasons why he is a Rotarian. Here are few of them. More will be shared in future bulletins.