Northwind March 13, 2014
Call to Order: President Norm called the meeting to order and led us in the Flag Salute.
Invocation: Rick
Four Way Test: In order to have more time for the speaker, we assume all are living by this.
Visiting Rotarians: George from Vancouver, Julie Speck from the Burlington Club, and a quorum from B’ham Bay, which included “Don Roberto” Moles, Shannon “the beer guy” Terrell and Stow Talbot. Welcome All!
Guests: Tim V’s lovely and loving wife, Pati and Brian’s lovely friend, Randy Carr
Returning Rotarians: none
Birthdays: Skipped this one, too.
Anniversaries: Who knows?
Announcements: Dale still has 2 slots to fill for the Career Fair on April 7th. (Web designer and a nurse.) Assignments and times have been e-mailed, but see Dale with any questions. A list for the Beach Clean-up has been sent around. Norm reminded of the board meeting which will be Tuesday, March 18th at 4:00…Metcalf/Hodges…all welcome! RLI will be next weekend in Surrey. All interested, let Norm know and a carpool can be arranged. There is a survey being sent from RI and only takes a few minutes to fill out. Our feedback is important, so look for this.
Happy Bucks: Norm had “happy Norms” because Brambleberry just bought another company and he is going fishing with Brian, Randy etc. Bill was $2 happy to see Randy Carr here and he had a “gotcha buck” for killing 2 spider plants and watering a plastic one. (Must be working, because the plastic one is doing fine.) Greg T. was $5 happy for the nice weather and winning against US Bank in court of appeals. Dale was happy that an employee heard his name on the radio (Rotary moment) and for no other reason. Rollo was happy it is closer to convertible season. Randy was happy that nobody had impeached Norm, yet. Tim was happy that Pati joined him, that Randy was here and the Edward Jones was once again voted in the top 10 of companies to work for. Brian was happy to see Randy back and for his fishing trip. Rocky was $1 happy to see Randy and $4 happy that Marlene got her voice back. Jake was $5 happy to see Randy, as was Rick, who was also happy about our spring weather. Julie Speck was happy to meet Randy and that she was going to Olympia to see her brother become a State Trooper. Maureen was happy to go cross country skiing and sad that there are so many fish out there living in fear of Norm and his gang. Stan was happy to attend his great-grandson’s first birthday party. Norm threw in another $ as he remembered he went to a Junior Achievement breakfast.
Finemaster: Tim V.: Jim S. was fined $3 for his $2 IOU as was Brian, who sadly argued with Tim and had his fine raised to $4. We were fined if we did not recruit a member this year. Julie was fined as this is her “happy time of year” and Max was fined for being retired. Greg T. was fined for not carrying a business card and Norm was fined for being an unreliable person. We were fined if we did not have a guest at our table and if we were not wearing a pin. Dale was fined and out of benevolence on Tim’s part, waived, because of the Career Fair.
Banners: Stan’s banners were all from Ireland representing St. Patrick’s Day and came with a reminder to get some corned beef and cabbage before Monday! Thanks, Stan!
Program: The program today was Captain Debbie Dempsey, Columbia River Bar Pilot. Debbie was the 1st woman to graduate from Maine Maritime Academy, as well as the 1st woman to serve as Commanding Officer of a cargo ship in International Waters. Debbie was the only woman among 9 ship captains to earn the US Navy’s Meritorious Public Service Award during the Persian Gulf War. She was pretty “matter of fact” and entertaining in describing her incredible experiences and accomplishments, and her stories are amazing! She has written about working in a traditional men’s environment in her book: The Captain’s a Woman. Currently she can be found helping at the Community Boating Center in Bellingham, a non-profit she helped found in 2006. If you missed Rotary, you missed a FANTASTIC program!
Drawing: Scott won the door prize of some beautiful tulips (donated by Bill G.) and Rollo stood in as Dale’s proxy, but sadly did not win with the King of Diamonds. The pot grows!
Editor: Marlene Sexton