The Rotary Club of Kirkland held an in-person meeting at Sparrow Restaurant in the Juanita Bay area of Kirkland. Past President John Pruitt presided at this meeting and called the meeting to order at 6:25 p.m.
Michelle Cazeau greeted members and guests and collected the meal money, Rick Walter sold tickets for the prize raffle.
Gary Cohn led us in the Pledge, while Bob Auslander held the flag.
Attendees were: David Aubry, Bob Auslander, Cody Baker, Michelle Cazeau, Gary Cohn, Terry Cole, Donald Dicks, Jocelyn Ellison, Rashmi Garimella, Margie Glenn, Kate Koslosky, Jim Meniketti, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, Daniel Sada Caraveo, John Storbeck, Manassey Tetteh, Alice Volpe, and Rick Walter.
A number of Rotarians and guests—those who physically volunteered at the rummage sale—gathered at 6:00 p.m. on July 29, 2024 to discuss how our recent Great Kirkland Rotary Rummage Sale fundraiser went on July 13 at Kamiakin Junior High in Kirkland. Cody Baker moderated the discussion as we examined our experiences as to what worked, what did not, and what could be improved. The conversation covered a wide range of subjects and tended to jump from subject to subject at times. For improved clarity, these notes are grouped by subject, without regard to chronology. [Ed. Note: The notes of two recorders have been combined in this record of the meeting.] Topics discussed included whether to continue with the event, marketing of the event, location of the event, set-up, donations, staffing, pricing, etc.
In the next few days, each Rotarian will be sent two simple SurveyMonkey questionnaires. One will ask you your preference for continuing or replacing the club's major fundraising effort, the Great Kirkland Rotary Rummage Sale. The other will ask for your choice regarding the best venue for the club to use for regular meetings, and to select from among the three venues at which we've met for trials. Please respond to the surveys so that the club's leadership may move forward with planning for this year and next.
As a scholar and athlete, Brooke Lewis devotes her time to being impactful within her community. At Lake Washington High School, Brooke helped create Kang Connections—a student-founded and run peer-to-peer mental health organization. Through this program, Brooke was trained by the Department of Health in disaster behavioral health response and uses her training to mentor students. Beyond her school community, Brooke is a 2023-2024 National Alliance for Mental Illness Eastside Youth Ambassador. This provided a platform to increase mental health literacy within the greater Eastside community. She presented mental health research at the 2024 NAMI Eastside Youth Mental Health Conference.
Registration is now open for the 2024 Rotary Salmon Bake. Register using the invitation sent to past, present, and prospective club members this week, or click on the bold, blue type above, or go to the club's Club Calendar of events. Again this year the salmon bake will be held at the Auslander Home on Yarrow Point. The Catering Company has been engaged for the event and the menu will be repeated this year. Similar to last year, Rotarians are invited to bring side dishes. Please coordinate those items through this year's club services chair, Doug Evanson. Due to overwhelming popularity, the frozen margarita bar, courtesy of our host and our immediate past president, will be offered again this year while supplies last. In addition, a selection of other cocktails, beer, and wine will be available.
During the year past presidents are stepping up to preside at meetings while our president is away from club activities. Thank you to those all of the past presidents who've volunteered to lead meetings during the year. There are several other roles that are necessary for smooth conduct of our meetings, whether in-person or virtual. Please sign up for several "open" meeting responsibilities for this year.Our club needs your contribution to make the meetings effective and enjoyable for all of our membership. The meeting responsibilities matrix is available to you in the "Members" drop-down menu on the home page of the club's website. Like the committee table, the responsibilities table is updated regularly as club members add their names to the duties throughout the year. You may click HERE to jump to the table from this article.
Many club members responded to a paper survey distributed at the Leadership Transition Dinner and volunteered for both club committees and rummage sale teams for 2025. A few more responded to committee chairs who followed up with members to build committees. Eleven committees, not including the board, are active in the club. The listings below show how 22 of our 37 members, or 59% have made commitments to our avenues of service and club operations committees. Fifteen members have yet to complete the committee selection process.
For the past several years, the Rotary Club of Kirkland's Annual Bunco Night has been graciously hosted at the home of Steve and Patty Shinstrom, typically around the month of April. With Steve's retirement from the club, we will need to identify a new host and venue for the event. It is typically held in a member's home on a Saturday in the evening. There is no cost to attend; members just come and have fun. Rotary members contribute heavy appetizers, often refreshments. If you are interested in hosting the event this Rotary year, please contact Rick Walter to coordinate the making of plans!
Rotary dues statements were sent to active members on June 1, 2024, and were due by June 30, 2024. Reminder statements were mailed on June 15, 25, 29 and August 1 to all Rotarians with outstanding accounts. As of August 5, 85% of continuing club members had fully paid their dues, and five accounts had outstanding balances. Dues may be paid by credit card or debit card using the online Dues & Billing System link in the June 1 invoice, or using the link in the reminder statements, or by logging into your account on the website. Members may also pay by check through the U.S. Mail.
A number of Rotarians and guests—those who physically volunteered at the rummage sale—gathered at 6:00 p.m. on July 29, 2024 to discuss how our recent Great Kirkland Rotary Rummage Sale fundraiser went on July 13 at Kamiakin Junior High in Kirkland. Cody Baker moderated the discussion as we examined our experiences as to what worked, what did not, and what could be improved. The conversation covered a wide range of subjects and tended to jump from subject to subject at times. For improved clarity, these notes are grouped by subject, without regard to chronology. [Ed. Note: The notes of two recorders have been combined in this record of the meeting.] Topics discussed included whether to continue with the event, marketing of the event, location of the event, set-up, donations, staffing, pricing, etc.
In the next few days, each Rotarian will be sent two simple SurveyMonkey questionnaires. One will ask you your preference for continuing or replacing the club's major fundraising effort, the Great Kirkland Rotary Rummage Sale. The other will ask for your choice regarding the best venue for the club to use for regular meetings, and to select from among the three venues at which we've met for trials. Please respond to the surveys so that the club's leadership may move forward with planning for this year and next.
As a scholar and athlete, Brooke Lewis devotes her time to being impactful within her community. At Lake Washington High School, Brooke helped create Kang Connections—a student-founded and run peer-to-peer mental health organization. Through this program, Brooke was trained by the Department of Health in disaster behavioral health response and uses her training to mentor students. Beyond her school community, Brooke is a 2023-2024 National Alliance for Mental Illness Eastside Youth Ambassador. This provided a platform to increase mental health literacy within the greater Eastside community. She presented mental health research at the 2024 NAMI Eastside Youth Mental Health Conference.
Registration is now open for the 
Many club members responded to a paper survey distributed at the Leadership Transition Dinner and volunteered for both club committees and rummage sale teams for 2025. A few more responded to committee chairs who followed up with members to build committees. Eleven committees, not including the board, are active in the club. The listings below show how 22 of our 37 members, or 59% have made commitments to our avenues of service and club operations committees. Fifteen members have yet to complete the committee selection process.
For the past several years, the Rotary Club of Kirkland's Annual Bunco Night has been graciously hosted at the home of Steve and Patty Shinstrom, typically around the month of April. With Steve's retirement from the club, we will need to identify a new host and venue for the event. It is typically held in a member's home on a Saturday in the evening. There is no cost to attend; members just come and have fun. Rotary members contribute heavy appetizers, often refreshments. If you are interested in hosting the event this Rotary year, please contact Rick Walter to coordinate the making of plans!
Rotary dues statements were sent to active members on June 1, 2024, and were due by June 30, 2024. Reminder statements were mailed on June 15, 25, 29 and August 1 to all Rotarians with outstanding accounts. As of August 5, 85% of continuing club members had fully paid their dues, and five accounts had outstanding balances. Dues may be paid by credit card or debit card using the online Dues & Billing System link in the June 1 invoice, or using the link in the reminder statements, or by logging into your account on the website. Members may also pay by check through the U.S. Mail.
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