April 26, 2010 Spokesman

Posted by Sarah Brooks 
 

President-Elect Pat Dye called the April 26, 2010 Kirkland Rotary meeting to order at around 6:30pm

D. V. Hurst led the Pledge of Allegiance.  Because it is Rotary Scholarship Night we have many visitors, we just announced our guests:   Bob Damen from the Redmond Rousers group.  Selis, our International Exchange student gave us an update on her activities which included that school is going very well.

Thank you to Debbie Gregorek for greeting and Sarah Brooks for scribing.

Announcements:

Sarah Brooks with the Duck Dash Committee announced the Duck Dash Kick-Off Party will be next week's meeting- Monday May 3rd.

  • Wilde Rover, 6-8pm
  • Cost is $15 per person (sponsors are free)
  • No host bar
  • Menu includes: Hummus & Pita, Kale & Dubliner Cheddar Dip, Assorted mini-quiches, Salmon Boxty Cakes, Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Potato & Leek Pasties
  • We will be presenting the Duck Dash sponsors with certificates of appreciation and during the party and we would like the members to be sure and take the opportunity to introduce themselves to the sponsors (and thank them for their support).

 

Mary-Alyce Burleigh, the Community Service Chair, reported on the "Rotary at Work" day.  We helped with Earth Corps Day at the park at Juanita Beach. Mary-Alyce wants to recognize members that helped out: Don and Merrily Dicks, Mike and Sharon Hunter, Joanne Primavera, Dave and Anna Aubry, Bob Webb and Mary-Alyce Burleigh.

John Woodbery of the Kirkland Rotary Foundation Board reported that the Rotary Club auction on April 24th was attended by 37 members and raised $6,000 for Northwest Harvest Baby Corner. Pat Dye commented that for those who missed this fundraiser and social event it was a "hoot and a half!" (Baby Corner is part of the Cherry Street Food bankand provides infant formula and jarred baby food to NW Harvest youngest clients. Diapers are also distributed, when available.  Cherry Street is the busiest food bank in the state, serving over 2,000 people on full-service days.)

Pat Swenson announced that there was now a winner of the pool for the time ands weight of Patty Sims baby.  Patty's baby was born at 6:40pm and weighed 7lbs 8oz. The winner wasn't present so the club voted to give the runner up the prize of $100- if present.  Pat Dye was the runner up!  She donated the money to NW Harvest Baby Corner.

G.G. Getz passed around two cards, one for Gary Bruhner's wife, Ingrid who has recently lost her brother and one for Ingrid's mother, Betty for the loss of her son.  As you can imagine this is a very difficult time for the Bruhner family.  Also, G.G. is going to set up a schedule for club members to bring meals to John Overleese's home.

Chuck Brockway announced that Miracle League ready to start this Saturday May 1st at Perrigo Park in Redmond.  They only have 7 volunteers and need 25 for this week.  Can he please have a show of hands?  Thank you to those that are able to volunteer!

Program

Tonight's program is our annual Scholarship Awards night, where Rotary awards college scholarships to local students. Brandon Honcoop, Vocational Service Chair, opened the program by speaking about how difficult the committee's job would be without the help of the school counselors. They help them get into the high schools and recognize the Students of the Month that come to the Rotary meetings, and especially to find the outstanding candidates for the Scholarship Awards.  He would like to recognize the following : from BEST High School Principal Christine Thomas, from Cascadia Community College counselor Amy Kennedy, from Juanita High School counselor Mike Navalinski, from Lake Washington High School counselor Julia Madsen and from Lake Washington Technical Academy counselor Sara Linnertz.

Dave DeBois introduced Jessica Gutierrez from BEST High School.  Jessica started her first year at BEST when she was 16 and pregnant.  After graduation she will be attending Lake Washington Technical College.  She brought her husband as her guest.

Elizabeth Rusnak introduced Amy Kennedy from Cascadia Community College.  Amy was a stay home mom with 3 children for 17 years and recently got divorced. She brought a new college friend as her guest.

Dave DeBois introduced Eliot Low from International Community School.  He is an honor student and focused on environmental science.  He brought his parents as his guest.

Amanda Ly from Juanita High School was introduced. She is a 4.0 honor student and volunteers at Evergreen Hospital.  She will be attending Berkeley after graduation.  He brought her father as her guest.

John Woodberry introduced Ruchi Loomba from Lake Washington High School.  Ruchi play tennis and piano and volunteers at Evergreen Hospital playing the piano. Ruchi will be attending UW.

John gave a very moving testimonial about what a difference she will make in the lives of the people she will meet and I believe that can be said for all or our award recipients!

Debbie Gregorek introduced Natasha Palatova from Lake Washington Technical Academy. Natasha is part of the "sandwich generation" she cares for both her 3 year daughter and her elderly mother. Natasha is not even 21 and only 1 year away form getting her BA. She has been accepted to Seattle Community College, she has completed 3 internships and volunteers with Hopelink.

Shirley Metcalf introduced Elizabeth Long from Lake Washington Technical College. Elizabeth is a nursing major and a single mom. She works part time at Evergreen Hospital, organized a fundraiser that raised $1,200 for domestic violence prevention and wants to be a nurse and teach by getting a Masters in Education.

In Closing

We ended with the Raffle Drawing. Eliot Low from International Community School had the winning ticket and also won the drawing by guessing a number between 1 and 1!