January 7, 2008 Spokesman

Visiting Rotarians : 

John Hunt from the Rotary Club of Mercer Island attended with his wife, Marge, to hear their granddaughter, Helen, give her speech as the Student of the Month.  Helen was also accompanied by her mother, Dana.

Guests : 

Jerry Marsh introduced his wife, Patty. 

Pascal Weber went skiing at Whistler over the winter break.  This was his first long road trip since he has been here.  He also commented on the different style of Christmas than what he is used to in Switzerland.  Pascal went to the Seattle Symphony with Patti Smith.  Afterwards, he ate a big meal at the Brooklyn, which included eating twelve raw oysters.  Pascal thanked the club for his ITune Christmas gift.

Induction:     Eric Olsen, Chief of Police for Kirkland was inducted by Pat Dye.  His sponsor is Patti Smith and his mentor is Rich Bergdahl.   Eric brought his wife, Teri.

Announcements :

·         On the morning of March 29, Rotarians will join Kamiakin Jr. High students to put together kits for persons who are providing caregiving for AIDS victims in Africa.  This project is in conjunction with World Vision.  Miriam Gilbert is spearheading this project and will bring sign-ups closer to the event.

·         There will be a meeting on January 21, Martin Luther King Day.

·         Rachel said that Dick Weston reported we earned $2462 for the Salvation Army during our three week stint as bell ringers at the QFC.

·         Pat Swenson announced the "Reading Buddy" program will start again on January 14.  It will last for six weeks and each Rotarian spends 30 minutes with a group of four or five fourth, fifth, or sixth graders at John Muir.  If anyone wishes to sign up, email her at pat.swenson@comcast.net or call her at (425) 451-7919.

·         Rick Ostrander gave the first Duck Announcement of the year.  (It was also Rick's birthday and we sang him a pitiful Happy Birthday song.  We all definitely need to keep our day jobs).  Rick would like anyone who has a lead for an outside sponsor for the Duck Race to call him at (425) 822-9505 or email him at scribelimited@verizon.net

·         Bob Webb indicated the Kirkland Reporter wishes to have a Rotary Insert that will be published on January 30.  That means we will have to raise $8,000 worth of advertisements and write copy by January 19 or so.  If you wish to write an article please call Bob at (425) 454-7382 or email him at bob_webb1@msn.com  

Program :

John Fleming, AIA, Senior Associate with MITHUN architectural firm, talked about Sustainable Housing.  John and his colleagues won a competition from the Cascadia Group to showcase sustainable housing.  John showed two examples, one that utilized empty cargo containers, and the other that utilized pre-fab housing.  Both examples encompassed urban farming, energy savings, and density.  His talk was fascinating and there were many thoughtful questions.

Honeypot:  

The Student of the Month, Helen Hunt, had the lucky ticket for the honeypot.  There were five ducks and Helen continued to try to draw the #4 duck.  She finally was successful on the last duck and was given $15 for her efforts. 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:02 P.M.

Joanne Primavera, Scribe