March 19, 2007 Spokesman
The meeting began at 6:20pm, with Duncan Sutherland leading the Pledge. President Steve then thanked Greeter Jack Bloodworth. Michelle Hnatowich introduced visitor Matt Maier, March student of the month, and his Mother Angie. George McAfee introduced Steve Gomes, PHD in International Business. Jack Danforth introduced Miriam Gilbert and Sarah LaLande introduced Pamela Wood of Remax. Pat Dye introduced Ole Turana who is with the Legal Dept of Amazon.com. And last but not least, Bob Auslander introduced his wife Gail.
A Special Presentation was given by Matt Meyer of Best High School. Matt is 17 ½ years old and plays the Scottish Bagpipes. Matt never saw himself as being Student of the Month and believes this has given him the motivation to achieve. Michelle presented Matt with his Student of the Month placque.
Steve Gomes asked us "What is the most serious problem facing the world today"? There were many responses. Steve educated us that Rotary has designated the most serious problem as "The Search for Peace".
Rotarians in CA have put together "Project Triumph" which targets teenagers. This has proven to be a domestic and international success and will be a continued program.
Jim Feek and Rich Bergdahl gave us an update on our Foundation Drive. We have achieved 100% of our Financial Goal and 50% of our Membership Goal. The next goal is to meet the 100% membership goal before District Rotary Conference.
Cheryl Bloodworth presented her classification. She was raised in Newport Beach, CA and attended UCSB. She studied Economics and earned a Graduate degree in Art History which led to teaching at High School level. Her long term goal is to become more involved in educational projects. She is currently working in Commercial Real Estate. Cheryl was honored to exchange her Red badge for her Blue badge with her sponsor Dennis Newell and her Mentor Joanne Primavera.
Announcements:
1) Northwest Harvest has sent a nice letter in appreciation of the 26 pallets of diapers and baby food Rotary donated.
2) Appreciation has been expressed by Tom Joslin for our sponsorship of the Adult Spelling Bee.
3) $250 worth of dictionaries have been donated to schools in the Cour d'Alene, ID area where the District Conference is being held. The opportunity to golf at the conference is still available.
4) The April 9th meeting will be held at Evergreen Hospital with a tour behind the scenes. A meal at the regular cost will be provided.
The St. Patty's party at Bob & Gail Auslander's was a huge success. Alice & Alan provided the supplies to decorate the hats, Ingrid Bruner was a great help in the kitchen. An evening of Karaoke was enjoyed by all.
Chuck Morgan then announced that JoMae Woods is progressing well and her speech is getting better.
Joanne Primavera announced the "Walk for Water" would be held March 24th, 11:00AM, Alki Point, West Seattle.
Katherine Kehrli announced there will be a Miracle League Program on April 2nd.
Bob Webb, Duck Race Chair, asked for anyone who knows of anyone wanting to participate in Group Sales to please contact him. President Steve indicated there may be a possibility of a boat ride as a thank you to the sponsors.
Dave Aubry reminded of the upcoming Auction on April 14th.
Patty Smith introduced our speaker of the evening, Sunny Kobe Cook, also known as the "Mattress Queen" for her company Sleep Country USA. Sunny has just released her book "Common Things in Uncommon Ways", of which all royalties are donated to the Kobe Foundation. Sunny encouraged us to "take our Rotarian Spirit into our businesses and communities".
In her experience with her company, they were constantly researching how customers became aware of her company. 25% did not come to her store because of her ads, they came because of the companies role in the community. Sunny started her company with $5,000 and didn't want to spend any of that money in hauling off customer's discarded mattresses. Therefore the idea to donate mattresses to the community needs was born.
She encouraged everyone to evaluate what problem in their business that could possibly be of a benefit to the community. She gave an example that was inspired by Closets by Design. As they installed new closet hardware, they encouraged the customer to sort items from their closet they didn't want to keep, to be donated to charity in the the bags they provided. Closets by Design then hauled away the discarded items, provided the customer with a tax receipt - making for happy customer and free advertising.
A Home TV Systems company that provides complete new TV systems to include VHS, DVD and game systems. To encourage their complete package sales, they have connected with Youth Organizations to accept donated customers discarded TV's, VHS and game systems. The customer is also provided with a tax receipt and their discarded items are hauled away for free.
Sunny's own Tax Accountant initiated a Food Drive every tax season and provided a tax receipt to Sunny. To take this to another level, Sunny suggested they encourage every office in the accountants office building to participate. The accountant's reward was a 20% increase in new business from extending this food drive to the entire building. The lesson here is "Give people the opportunity in a non-selling environment and you reap the return. People want to do business with people they like". People like #1 Recognition, #2 Sense of Belonging.
Sunny's final advice "Strive to improve your community, improve your work and improve your bottom line." President Steve presented a book to be donated to John Muir School for Sunny to sign.
Unbelieveable but true, Ev Cox won the pot for the 3rd week in a row. John Woodbery did not select the Rotary Blue marble, placing Ev in the 2nd Chance Group. President Steve closed the meeting with this thought "Why is monosyllabic such a long word"? Respectfully, Dianne Santeford, Scribe
Publishing again since both Spokesman came out the same day.
Three New Members proposed.
Jean Hernandez, sponsored by Sharon Chambers, classification: Higher Education
Ashish Lakhani, referred by District Governor, Mike Montgomery, classification: Technical Staffing
Miriam Gilbert, transfer from Duvall Club, classification: Executive Coaching