Posted by David Aubry on Mar 19, 2018
Rotary Meeting Minutes March 12, 2018
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM by President – Elect Rick Walter, as President Steve Shinstrom would apparently rather be in Hawaii than here leading his faithful flock. 
Scott Becker led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
John Pruitt manned the front desk.
Ernie Norehad regaled us with a humorous story, while not strictly an Inspirational Moment, certainly reminds us that humor itself can inspire us to have a better outlook on life. 
Visitors and Introductions:
Monica is here for her fifth visit.  There were several other guests.  However, your faithful scribe failed to get their names, and apologizes for the oversight.
Announcements:
Mike Hunter reported that there were about six Rotarians at Northwest Harvest this past Saturday and that we packed a bit over 13,000 lbs of apples in about an hour and a half.
Elizabeth Rusnak reminded everyone that Miracle League starts April 21 at Perrigo Park in Redmond, 10AM.  She emphasized us that the program requires volunteers to pair with the kids in order to work, so everyone is encouraged to turn out and to bring other folks with them so each child has a person with them.
Our speaker this evening was Samantha St John, the Executive Director of the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce.
Ms St John gave us much information about what the Chamber is, what it does, who belongs, how it is structured, etc.  She asked a series of questions of the audience to gauge how much we knew about the organization and to correct any mistaken impressions we might have.  She reminded us that the organization is self-financing, that it receives no money from the City, that there is no overarching state or national organization, and that because Redmond does not actually have a Chamber, and that a number of Redmond businesses belong to the Kirkland Chamber.  She also pointed out that our Club is a member and so we can attend any of the Chamber’s functions or meetings.
The Chamber actively solicits members among area businesses and promotes its objectives of Advocacy and Legislation on a local and state level, Economic Development, Education [as in promoting better citizen education], and Training and Leadership in the business community through classes and seminars.
President-Elect Rick regaled us with a humorous story and then adjourned the meeting at about 7:40PM
Respectfully Submitted
Acting Scribe - David Aubry