The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a virtual meeting on November 13, 2023, using the Zoom platform.

President Gary Cohn called the meeting to order at 6:17 p.m.

Attending were Pete Anderson, David Aubry, Rich Bergdahl, Michelle Cazeau, Gary Cohn, Terry Cole, Donald Dicks, Sandi Ekins (Honorary), Jocelyn Ellison, Doug Evanson, Rashmi Garimella, Isabelle Kalisa, Kate Koslosky, Jim Meniketti, Amy Mutal, Kristin Olson, Peter Peaquin, John Storbeck, and Rick Walter.

The club’s guests at this virtual meeting were: Kim Brenner, Lake Washington School District early learning director and potential Rotarian, and our speaker, retired Brig. Gen. Bob Reese.

 

Rick Walter presented a Rotary Minute in which he illustrated how, by making a difference by helping one person at a time, you can effectively help a family, a village, a country, and the world.

ShelterBox USA Rotary Relations Manager Bill Tobin invites our club membership to two exclusive ShelterBox events: one is virtual, and the other in person (in Las Vegas)!  The annual Evening to Experience ShelterBox Virtual event is on November 16 at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific time.  Kirkland Rotarians are invited to join Kerri Murray, president of ShelterBox USA and member of the Montecito Rotary Club, along with ShelterBox USA Response Team members online for an unforgettable evening.  Bill says we should prepare to be moved by inspiring stories of families rebuilding their lives, thanks to the support of clubs like Kirkland.  To register for Evening to Experience ShelterBox, click on this link: 2023 Annual Virtual Benefit: An Evening to Experience ShelterBox.

On Monday, greet the first Rotary Student of the Month for this year, Erisa Baba of Lake Washington High School. Erisa is a compassionate, involved, talented senior who plans to attend college to gain skills to design structures or technologies that will benefit people.  Erisa counts among her accomplishments achieving two Boston Architectural College Summer Academy badges, earning GPA Gold Level Awards her freshman, sophomore, and junior years, a 4.0 Honors Designation her freshman and sophomore years, and competing with the Lake Washington High School girls' varsity soccer team.  She's involved in her community as a soccer coach, Bellevue College Disability Resource Center contributor, and as a high school peer tutor.

Rotarians are reminded that the club's annual board nominating committee, this year comprising the president-elect, Pete Anderson, and past presidents Rick Walter and Joanne Primavera, has begun its work. The committee is responsible under the bylaws for organizing a proposed slate of officers and directors for the forthcoming year. The slate will consist of the president-elect, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and five members of the board of directors who are chairs of the avenues of service committees.

The Rotary Club of Montréal has invited the Rotary Club of Kirkland to join as a partner in implementing an international project that would bring water and sanitation to over 25,000 beneficiaries in Ghana.  To do so, they plan to join forces with 200 Rotary Clubs like ours, who would invest $300 each, or more if possible, for a total of $60,000.  This amount could then be used to leverage another $40,000 from Rotary Districts and The Rotary Foundation (TRF) for a project grand total of $100,000. The result would be that 200 clubs (without any responsibility, paperwork, or significative financial involvement) would be major partners in this high impact project. (Photo: Example of a repaired pump with a new concrete pad in Sunyani West District.)

The club held two meetings during September 2023. Overall club attendance for the month was 39%, a decrease of 14% over the prior month after a 12% drop the prior month compared to July. Note that July included attendance at the rummage sale and the annual leadership transition dinner. The club's membership in the month of September stood rose to 36 active (including honorary) members with the addition of three new Rotarians. 

Club members' readership of The Spokesman in September rose considerably compared to the past two months. Readership rates for the two editions were 75% and 81% respectively, and 77.8% for the month. Overall readership for the calendar year was 73% for nine months. A bulletin is "read" when the email containing it is opened by the recipient. In September, 36 members (including honorary) received bulletins.