The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting on December 6, 2021 at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel.

President Dave DeBois rang the bell at 6:30 p.m., calling the club meeting to order.

Steve Shinstrom led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Attending were George Anderson, Pete Anderson, David Aubry, Rich Bergdahl, Bella Chaffey, Gary Cohn, Matthew Colpitts, David DeBois, Donald Dicks, Margie Glenn, Michael Hunter, Jim Meniketti, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, and Steve Shinstrom. This was the second fully “hybrid” meeting operated by the club, with at least one member attending the meeting online.

The Holiday Gift Wrapping Party is Monday, December 20, 2021, beginning at 5:00 p.m. with gift wrapping. The club will meet at the Kirkland Woman's Club at 407 First Street in Kirkland. This is the last call for gift wrapping party registration! Club members may register using the "Rotary Holiday Gift Wrapping Party" event in the club's December Calendar. The fee is $50 per attendee, which covers venue, food, and drink costs, and must be paid at the time of registration. Holiday gifting supports John Muir Elementary School families. The John Muir staff identified 150 families whose circumstances make them eligible for holiday gift donations, and this event will serve a dozen of those families.

The Rotary Club of Kirkland Student of the Month program continues in January with two students of the month, one each from Juanita High School and Lake Washington High School. Koumudi Thanda is the January 2022 Rotary Student of the Month from Juanita High School, and will meet the club members on Monday, January 10. Koumudi is an involved community volunteer, as well as a Running Start student. Owen Barry is the January 2022 Rotary Student of the Month from Lake Washington High School, and will meet the club members on Monday, January 24. Owen is an accomplished public safety volunteer, and considers this a likely career.

This month the club bids farewell to long-time Kirkland Rotarian and past-president John Woodbery. John and his wife, Dee, moved to a new home in Snohomish in the not-to-distant past. This week, the club received word that John is transferring to the Rotary Club of South Everett/Mukilteo. John joined Rotary through our club in January 1990, accumulating almost 31 years of membership before transferring to his new club. John's calm presence and quiet leadership will be missed by all of his colleagues in Kirkland.