Northwind June 23, 2011

June 23, 2011

WHATCOM COUNTY NORTH ROTARY CLUB

NORTHWIND

MEETING TO ORDER:  President Marlene called the meeting to order at 12:32.  Rick gave the spontaneous invocation.  Mel led the recitation of the 4-Way Test, without looking.

GUESTS:  Regrettably, there were none.

VISITING ROTARIANS: George Tsakumis and Jeanne McGee.

RETURNING ROTARIANS:  None again.

BIRTHDAYS:  Laurie has a birthday June 29^th.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:  Graham Harris is beginning preparations for a visit to his New Zealand club by members of WCN.  Goal is for this to happen approximately February of 2013.  Apparently anyone who goes will be required to go bungee jumping; Carly’s chickens are now priced to sell at only $2.29 per pound; if you haven’t signed up for the Installation Dinner on the low-tech paper pad being passed around, please call or email Chuck to let him know if you will be attending, and if so, how many.  The process is simpler this year since you do not have to pick an entrée – both salmon and steak are available.  Feel free to dress nicely – jackets and even ties are appropriate for the occasion.  Remember, these are our new leaders we will be inducting, and they deserve our respect and appreciation; the Joe Moser film about WWII piloting will premiere on July 16^th at the Mt. Baker Theatre.

HAPPY BUCKS:  Marlene for moderating her last official meeting and a graduation in the family; Maureen for something at the Boundary Bay Brewery; Bill for summer and a New Zealand anecdote; George for a visit by his daughter, Sandra, from Arizona with news of another grandchild.  George also mentioned that the temperature in Arizona was 111, and in Vancouver it was 11.  Presumably the latter was some kind of metric measurement.  Hope the Arizona one was not; Greg I. for his and Jill’s 33^rd anniversary; Jeanne for the opportunity to go photograph a rodeo in Livingston, Montana; Laurie donated $64 but it was unclear for what; Gary T. for the opportunity to repeat his program, and his baby (50) sister getting married for the first time; Mel for something; Rick for our version of the Pledge of Allegiance which did not redact “indivisible” and “under God” as did NBC”s version; Chuck for family graduations to lawyer and Marine; Ken to point out that we didn’t need more lawyers or Marines (Ken did not explain himself, but don’t think badly of him about the Marine comment – he being a diehard Army guy); Scott for catching his first halibut in Washington.

FINEMASTER:  Paul (the “Interviewee”) Cooley took up the cudgel and immediately denied knowledge of the Wallace Rule, which let him segue to Wallace, Idaho and its historical claim to fame besides mining; this led to some excruciating diatribe about hayrides, sewing and parachutes; fines were allotted if you didn’t know what a pie iron was (not a golf tool); also fines for tweeting while cooking your wiener; park discover cards; a reminder that your refrigerator should be no warner than 40 degrees (presumably that is Fahrenheit, not Celsius); Carly’s chickens should be cooked to at least 135 degrees (let’s go with Celsius on that one); fines for spanking your kids, or not; Finnegan for looking like Paul’s dad (who was being insulted on that one?); Tyler and Derek for looking young; and George for tipping over a police car and setting it afire during the Vancouver hockey riots.  

BANNERS:  ATLAST Summer.  (Let us hope it is not “Suddenly, Last Summer”

PROGRAM:  In a rerun of last week’s aborted program, incoming President Gary told us about his attendance at the International Conference in New Orleans.  He enjoyed the music and cuisine, and gave us some vital statistics about N.O. and the conference center where the convention was held.  (For more details, see the website for the N.O. Chamber of Commerce).

18,500 Rotarians attended the conference.  There were four plenary sessions composed of entertainment and speeches.  Of interest was the Friendship House, where Rotarians displayed their interesting wares.

The entertainment was provided by nonRotarians professionals, as well as Rotary related groups, including our district’s ukulele ensemble.

An interesting speech was given by McQueen about the culture of young people and how to attract them to membership in Rotary.  Apparently young people are committed to community service and enjoy it; the trick is to figure out how to tap into how young people function (how about that, Tyler and Derek?).  Interestingly, young people don’t relate to the fuss about polio.

Bill Gates spoke about polio eradication.  It seems that it may cost as much to wipe out the last 1% as it did to wipe out the first 99%.  It is essential that the eradication be successful so as not to deflate efforts to eradicate other diseases.

Attendees were introduced to Edwin Futa, the new R.I.  General Secretary.

Ray Klinginsmith finished his tour as R.I. president, and is being succeeded by Kalyan Bannerjee of the Vapi, India Club. His theme is “Embracing Humanity from Within.”

DRAWING:  No big winner.

Scribe this week:  Tim Carpenter