Northwind October 6, 2011

Called to Order:  President Gary called the meeting to order at 12:30 and led us in the Pledge.

Invocation:  The invocation was given by Winton, (or was it Jake?) who somehow worked in Pixar, fall’s Children, and Steve Jobs, but never-the-less, we are grateful.

4-Way Test:  Another new Wallace rule in effect…we did well following Scott’s lead.

Returning Rotarians:  (Or as Gary says, Roturning Ratarians)  Gary T. himself returned from Douglas lake where the fishing was great and the weather bad, but the Scotch, meals, and friends were fantastic.  Tim V. returned from Cinnamon Lake where the fishing was good and the whiskey, better.

Visiting Rotarians:  George T. from Vancouver, B.C.,   Bill Kirby from Carson City, NV,   Shannon (The Beer Man) Terrell from B’ham Bay and Jeannie M. from Mexico.

Birthdays:  Paul Cooley was the Birthday Boy.  Dan Baker also celebrated his 7 year anniversary with WCNR.  (Neither was present to hear our warm congratulations.)

Announcements:  Tim C. announced there will be an International Projects meeting on the 13^th after the regular lunch meeting.  Also, he is still selling WCNR   t-shirts.  Randy announced his annual Oktoberfest scheduled for this Saturday around 3:00.  There will be beer and brats, (the sausage, not kids) and all are welcome.  Gary T. announced the meals payments are due, Julie will be sending out invoices shortly.  The “Foundation Dinner” will actually be an upscale lunch on Nov. 17^th.  We need good attendance for this! Dick Donahue and Mike Kent will be on KGMI on Sat. @ 10:00 to discuss the Gateway Project.   Gary T. updated us on Mel’s progress and while he is feeling better, he is under orders from Fontene to stay home and rest.  We hope to see him soon, but in the meantime, he is in our thoughts!

Happy Bucks:  Starting with Randy’s table…no happy $, ingrates, all!   (Marlene’s table):   George T. was $10.00 happy for the delicious soup served today!  Bill G. sorry he had to leave early for a car show, but he will be happy if it doesn’t rain.  Jerry L. was happy for an NRA auction and Sharon’s winnings.  Chuck was happy the Huskies won. (Tyler’s table):  Brian covered his IOUs and also happy re: Huskies.  Nick was happy for the Cougars and Fall sports.  Winton had a “whale of a day” fishing the Skagit.  Tyler was happy to see everyone except Brian.  Tim V. happy about the fish he caught and Rollo was not happy, so there!  At Tim C’s table; Tim C. was happy that Shannon Terrell and Bill Kirby have better attendance at our club than most members and he ratted out Dick D. for his comment comparing Winton’s invocation to something Jake would do.  Gary T. was sad about one of his teams losing, but Huskies winning. And Rocky, who was not at a table, was happy about a 49er victory.

Finemaster:  Greg T. was the finemaster today and started with Randy for emailing him to go out for drinks.  Randy should know for important occasions to text him!  Brian was fined for turning Greg down for drinks and for his “lame excuse”.  (He was home with his little girl.)  Gary T. was fined for making up words such as Roturning, Ratarians, and Morlene.  Dick and Norm were fined because they were dressed like twins.  Greg then went “occupational “on us with a glimpse of how his week went.  Fines were collected if you are in Insurance or Banking.  Anybody in Construction was fined.  If you had been an Administrator of an Estate or in a dispute over an estate, you were fined.  And any attorneys were fined $3.00!  Tyler was fined for a Cuisinart promotion and tiny game pieces.

Banners:  Today’s banners represented the anniversary of when WCNR was chartered; October 4, 1973.  Happy Birthday to us!  (Thank you, Stan!)

Program: We had “new member” talks from Norm and Rollo.  Beginning with Rollo Van Slyke:  Rollo was born in Oxnard, CA, where he went on to be an overachieving paperboy.  Attending a 2 year program (for 6 years), and majoring in cooking, wine and scuba diving, he went on to try his hand at Marine Biology.  Instead of becoming a Marine Biologist, he cashed in on his lethal penicillin allergy and met a woman named Rebecca.  Evidently, this did not frighten her away and she married him. They spent many years travelling and building a wine collection and they now have a 16 year old daughter who is driving, but well insured.  (My old English teacher would have a fit over that sentence!)  In 1987, Rollo entered the Insurance business and as he feels service is an important part of who he is, he joined Rotary.  WCNR is better because of this. 

Norm Vigre:  Norm has lived his whole life in B’ham and reports to have been an Altar Boy and a Boy Scout. As a kid, he knew such dignitaries as Randy and Brian and yet neither ever invite him for drinks.  Norm went to WSU where he rowed, minored in History, and met Meg.  They married and moved to Walla Walla for her teaching job and there he made some wine connections. (He was not a fast learner and proved this by leaving a 1988 Leonetti Cab on top of the fridge for years!)   Later, tired of not being on water, they moved back to B’ham where he began working for a start-up company:  Brambleberry.  He has been there 11 years and the business still has a stellar reputation.  Norm likes to travel and get in touch with the culture by utilizing alternative transportation such as busses and trains.  Recently, Meg, Norm and their 6 year old son, Jorgen, went all over San Diego by bus, etc.  Norm sees Rotary as a chance to serve and he comes from a Rotary family with both parents, an uncle and a cousin all being Paul Harris fellows.  His mother will be President of Fidalgo Island the year before Norm becomes President of WCNR.  Due to F.I. Rotary rules, their President attends the International Convention after serving.  This works well for the Vigre family to go to Portugal together in 2013.  We are happy to have both Rollo and Norm in the club!