Whatcom CountyNorth Rotary
Northwind
May 1, 2008
MEETING TO ORDER:
President Greg Thulin called the meeting to order at 12:35 and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Gary Tomsic gave the invocation.
VISITING ROTARIANS:
From BellinghamBay we welcomed Lynn Templeton.
GUESTS:
Paul Cooley introduced his guest, Keston Liberato.
RETURNING ROTARIANS:
George Scott returned from warmer climates. Jerry Landcastle returned from a business meeting in Pittsburg. Sharon Robinson returned from the east where she visited family.
BIRTHDAYS:
Happy Birthday to George Scott (April 28th) and Scott Piper (May 4th). Have fun!!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1.
President Greg announced a meal price increase, which the club will absorb. The District Conference is May 15-18 in Everett. On-line registration is available and some great activities are planned. May 8th rotary lunch meeting is cancelled! Everyone is encouraged to attend the Friday May 9th Auction.
2.
Tim Carpenter announced the Rotary Foundation approved a matching grant for the small business loan program in Honduras. Subbing for Dick Donahue, Tim brought us up to date on Bay 2 Bay. A big thank you to Ray George for his sign contributions.
3.
Brian Finnegan reminded us the auction is May 9th and everyone is encouraged to get donations to him by May 2nd. We are reminded to bring High School pictures and lots of friends.
4.
Randy Carr announced the Youth Services Awards will be our May 15th program. Nine schools will be represented and the students will be bringing their families.
FINEMASTER:
Max Legg fined Elizabeth Barnard for her BenBridge program. Ray George was not fined for his pleasing to the eye sign creativity. Brian Finnegan for claiming his assistant was working hard, but no one was at the office when Max stopped by for a visit. Roger Lehnert for his colorful story about his wife and a gecko. Scott Piper for sitting at the rowdy table. Ken Richardson for worrying about auction food details. Doug Thomas for insulting Maureen McCarthy. Gary Tomsic for Blaine's waste treatment plant. Scott Wallace because Max traded Finemaster duties with him this week and there is no meeting next week. Greg Thulin for cancelling the meeting. Calamari fans for not eating enough to allow the giant squid problem to develop. Scott Wallace for being a pilot like the pilot who forgot to put his landing gear down as he brought in a $136 million plane. Parents & Grandparents if they haven't participated in the Indian ritual of going to the top of the temple and throwing their newborns off for luck. Stockbrokers because Exxon didn't meet its profit expectations. Jim McKellar for complaining about gas prices and not knowing that gas in Sierra Leone is $18.42 per gallon. Dan Baker because he didn't know how much gas was in Venezuela - 12 cents per gallon. Phil Bratt for Allegiant profits. Jim Bliss because he wasn't appropriately thrilled about the North Cascade Highway opening today. Northwestern Alum's Gary Snyder and Nancy Tieman because NW pulled Rev. Wright's honorary degree. Former Boy Scouts for a story involving a Boy Scout who returned a lost wallet containing $800. When the police wanted to reward him, the kid turned down the $ and asked for pizza for his friends.
BANNERS:
May Day basket made of banners and the origin of May Day. Thank you Stan.
PROGRAM:
New member talks: Eric Nelson described himself as a "roaming gnome", after having lived in Fairbanks, CA and Iran and being in the Navy for 22 years. He is happy to have settled in Bellingham and after working for a while at Edward Jones (with Tim Villhauer) he is now at Horizon Bank. He and his wife have one son who is at UW. Eric is pleased to be a Rotarian and we're glad for his membership. Terry Lineaweaver is the co-owner/operator at Jerns and lives in SuddenValley. He and his wife have 3 children, with one on the way (Cute Pictures!). He comes to WhatcomCounty via San FranciscoBay area. Before buying Jerns, he worked in Lynnwood at Floral Hills. He enjoys his profession and finds it very rewarding when he's able to provide some relief and comfort for families in their time of need. We are happy to have him in our club. Ray George started out in Nebraska and had an exciting childhood as his dad worked for NASA. As varied as his experiences were, he took from each a value that serves him well today. Living on a farm, he developed a good work ethic as well as independence. Later, through the trucking industry he learned about large equipment, physics and buying/selling vehicles. This led him to SeaTac and a job at Boeing where he helped develop the "Black Box" and learned to smuggle liquor. Eventually, all these skills combined and today he is the owner of the SignPost, which he enjoys very much. He also enjoys Rotary and we, once again, are glad for his membership.
DRAWING:
Stan won, drew a four of hearts, so the pot grows!
Editor this week: Marlene Sexton