Northwind February 18, 2010

VISITING ROTARIANS: George Tsakumis visited from Vancouver, and Rich Wolmer, our speaker is a visiting Rotarian from the Mt. Baker Club. 

BIRTHDAYS:  Tomorrow is Greg Iwosaki's birthday.

FOUNDATION THOUGHT:  Jim Bliss spoke about the Annual Fund and EREY, which stands for Every Rotarian Every Year, and some of the programs that are made possible by these programs.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:    (1)Eric Nelson has resigned due to a change in job situations.  (2)  District Conference will be May 14-16, 2010 at the Tulalip Resort.  (3) Still collecting funds for Haiti earthquake relief.  (4) the extra ticket drawing resulted in Laurie and Sharon both receiving $25 gift certificates to Osaka Restaurant.

(5) CAREER FAIR: Tyler is working on career day presenters.  If you have someone lined up for a specific spot get that info to him today.  Next week he will begin assigning the unfilled slots to committee members for recruiting. 

(6)  GST Team:  Either Rick or Scott will be a home host, so we now have all of the hosting accounted for.

(7) Discussion of a recent article in the Bellingham Herald took place.  The article was about the Ferndale Boys and Girls Club, and it discussed in some depth the many generous donations they have received.   Many of our club members were dismayed and/or angry that our fundraising and substantial contributions were not mentioned.  President Chuck read a letter from Josh, who could not be present, which said the omission was not at all intentional, and that our work was definitely appreciated. 

(8) AUCTION/DINNER: Dick announced that the raffle license from the state has been received.  It's important to note that each ticket stub needs to have a name and address on it, not just phone number.  Checks for tickets should be made out to the club.  He will need to account for all tickets, whether sold or not.   Dinner:  Tim needs a head count - he's passing around a sheet for this, which also includes choice of dinner entrée.    All auction items and guest lists should be in by next week.  Ray needs the auction items ASAP - they should be delivered to Sign Post, at 2019 E. Bakerview.  Every member should bring a bottle of wine for the Wine Cellar auction item. Tim C. pointed out that screw-tops are now considered a sign of fine wine quality.

HAPPY BUCKS:  Scott presented $56 from Tricia Peterson in honor of Brad's birthday on 1/12.  Marlene presented $80 for Bob's 79^th birthday (she rounded up).    Pete R. cut his lawn already.  Rick apologized for spilling water all over Paul.  Laurie was $5 happy for the Sargent at Arms Table's extra fund-raising efforts.  George Tskumis brought several copies of the Vancouver Sun, in honor of the Americans' great showing at the Olympics, the headline states:  U. S. Eh?  Tim V. is happy to be leaving for Honduras Tuesday.   Doug gave some "frustrated bucks" about the newspaper article, but noted that we need to think about the ultimate goal of serving the kids.   Ray received a text from Randy that reported on the weather in Hawaii.  Tony is happy about the cell phone donations that have been coming in.  Scott was happy for his granddaughter's first birthday.

FINEMASTER:  Ken Richardson first fined himself for forgetting to do his Foundation Minute.  He fined those who were not watching the Olympics, Mareen for not communicating clearly with Lynden (huh?) Larry got a welcoming fine, and the people who did not sit in their "regular" seats at the corner table were fined, except whoever sat in Mel's seat was fined $3.  Everyone tall was fined.   Also anyone watching curling, as this is about as exciting as watching grass grow. 

BANNERS: were from all the countries that have won medals in the Olympics so far - except that we have no banners from Chech Republic, Estonia, Croatia or Poland.  Who's planning a trip soon?   Thanks for another good one, Stan.

PROGRAM:   Rich Waldmeyer from the Mt. Baker Club spoke about FFA and 4-H, and specifically about the livestock Auction.   He explained how the kids raise their animals and then hope to at least break even at the auction.  Their club's participation has helped to make sure that each child gets a similar amount for their animals, even if they or their parents don't have a lot to bid. 

There are various ways to participate without actually purchasing a live animal.  You can "turn" the animal, which is not really a hands on process, it means that you turn it over to the butcher who pays a "floor" price and you pay the additional amount over that set price per pound.  You can also just bid a certain amount per pound to be an add-on to a lower priced animal.

He shared some of the great thank you notes that they get, and mentioned several sources for buying this local meet, including Laura's Lean Beef.

DRAWING:  Pete R.'s number AGAIN!  But no Ace of Spades yet.