November 29, 2010 Spokesman
The Kirkland Rotary Club meeting of November 29, 2010 began at 6:35 p.m. (a little late because everyone was having such a good time talking) and was led by President, Pat Dye.
Pat thanked Rick Walter and Mekonen Giorgis for greeting.
Inspiration: Pat said her community service inspiration for tonight was Dan Bartel. Not only did Dan organize the Thanksgiving Baskets, collect and sort the items, but he and exchange student Jason Wang drove to the recipient’s homes on a very snowy and icy Tuesday morning to make sure the families had food for Thanksgiving. Thank you, Dan & Jason for braving the elements to get these baskets delivered
Guests: Karen Styner visited from Coeur d’Alene. Her husband, Jim, joined her. It was great to see them both. Bill brought his son-in-law, Dave Nakanishi, who wanted to hear the speaker.
Announcements:
NO MEETING ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, because the annual CHRISTMAS DINNER will be held at Lucia’s in Park Place at 6:00 p.m. on December 5. The cost is $50 per person. Please email John Overleese (joverleese@frontier.com) if you plan to attend. If you haven’t already paid, they will accept payment at the door.
Jerry Marsh is in Hospice (since the meeting, we have learned of Jerry’s passing. The memorial service will be at the Kirkland Performance Center at 11:00 a.m. on December 10.)
Rick Ostrander is scheduling Bell Ringers for the Salvation Army in two hour shifts. Put on your long woolies and sign up.
Chuck Brockway gathered $5 bills for a spot on the Rotary First Harvest Fundraiser. A donation for $250 will be given Rotary First Harvest, $25 to the numbers matching each of the first three quarters, and $100 to the game final match (Apple Cup scores will determine the numbers).
Bring food for Christmas Baskets on December 20. Sign-ups will be on December 13.
Brandon announced he will be starting an After Hours Social at a location to be determined. Put the first Thursday from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on your calendars. This is the time to bring a guest to a casual Rotary Function.
Don Dicks reminded members the club will give points for any donation made to the Rotary International Foundation through the end of December. At this time, 40% of club members have participated, but Don will accept whatever donation you can make, as long as you can help the club become an “Every Member, Every Year,” club.
Red to Blue Brandon announced Sue Greenfeld had finished her activities in record time and was awarded a blue badge. Sue gave her classification speech. Sue told about how she became a Professor Emeritus. Sue has moved to the Seattle area to be closer to her parents.
Program: Katy Ball is the Pharmacist at the Park Place QFC. Katy gave a very inspirational talk about how her parents escaped Vietnam to give her and her younger sister a better life. Katy called her talk, “A Journey to Freedom.” Katy was very lucky to make it to Hong Kong alive. The small boat they were on was lost and they were rescued by fishermen who took them to mainland China. From there, they begged their way to Hong Kong and the refugee camps.
Katy’s great-grandfather lived in Utah and sponsored her and her family. Once Katy got to the United States, she was determined to make her family proud and studied as hard as she could. When Bill Woods introduced Katy, he said he was so impressed by how Katy earned far better grades than he did and she had to learn English as a Second Language.
Katy is very grateful to live in the United States. Once in the United States, her father always worked (and still does) and the family never had government aid.
Al Hoviland bought the lucky ticket for the Joker pot, but didn’t draw the Joker. The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 P.M.,
Joanne Primavera
Scribe