The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting at The Woodmark Hotel on August 2, 2021. Rotarians attended in person; online attendance has been paused for the summer.
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, Bob Auslander, Rich Bergdahl, Gary Cohn, Dave DeBois, Don Dicks, Brandon Honcoop, Alan Hoviland, Mike Hunter, James Meniketti, Amy Mutal, Ernie Norehad, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, Steve Shinstrom, Patti Smith, Bill Taylor, Brian Tucker, and Alice Volpe.
Guests:
President Dave called on Rotarians to introduce two guests: Julie Natali and Jane Hicks.
Announcements:
President Dave offered several announcements. With great sorrow, he announced that Rotarian Gail Auslander passed away this morning, and extended the club’s and his condolences to Bob Auslander. Members offered Bob condolences and support as well. Later, Dave also announced that Scott Becker would begin “Joker Pool” again at an upcoming meeting.
President Dave called on Vocational Service Chair Mike Hunter, who announced that he had a great time selling Duck Dash tickets at the Kirkland Wednesday Market, and invited others to join him this week. Kristin Olson volunteered. Mike also reminded members he is forming the Rotary Student of the Month committee to plan for, interview, and select students of the month from Juanita and Lake Washington high schools, and that an email was sent to members this morning. In person interviews are planned in September. So far, Scott Becker, Terry Cole, Brandon Honcoop, James Nevers, Kristin Olson, and Brian Tucker have volunteered for the teams. A couple more volunteers would be very helpful.
President Dave called on Head Duck Amy Mutal to update Rotarians about key Duck Dash events. She reminded members that ticket sales will occur at the Kirkland Wednesday Market from 3 – 7 p.m., and at the Kirkland Waterfront Car Show on August 7. She also reminded members that outside of the meetings, tickets and supplies can be picked up only at Prevail Wealth. No longer are tickets and supplies available at Shinstrom Insurance or the Kirkland branch of Banner Bank. Rotarians were reminded that all of the volunteer dates are on the Rotary Calendar, and Rotarians can now sign up to volunteer using the Rotary website.
President Dave called on International Service Chair Joanne Primavera, who announced a trip to Mexico in January 2023. There is no limitation on member sign-up for the one-week trip that will involve a golf tournament and daily (morning) project work at area sites in need of Rotarians’ support. There are two hotels available, one attached to the golf course (quieter) and one in the town (more energetic).
President Dave called on Patti Smith to inform members about the upcoming Nevers Baby Shower planned for August 23. Patti described the event, noted that the club has held baby showers for members in the past, and distributed a voluntary gift sign-up sheet. The baby is due in September, and there will likely be a name suggestion pool and an actual delivery date pool (even though the date is planned already). Patti will send an email to the members with more information and the sign-up sheet.
Program:
President Dave introduced the speaker, Officer Dan Hopkins. Dan and Police Dog Leo comprise the Kirkland Police Department’s K-9 Unit.
Dan described growing up as a kid in West Seattle, and noted his wife did as well. After serving in the Honolulu P.D., Dan moved to the University of Washington P.D. and then joined the Kirkland P.D. He’s been with the Kirkland department for 13 years.
Dan described the beginning of the department’s K-9 unit, which started in the early 1960’s with three handler-dog teams. He recited a bit of the police dog history, beginning with “Jake” who was credited with 300 captures, then “Zeke” followed and racked up 300 captures, then came “Max” and then “Thor” and now “Leo”. Dan described Thor’s retirement in Dan’s family home; he’s become a house dog ... albeit a very big one).
Leo’s sire was an Olympia P.D. police dog, and many of Leo’s siblings are K-9 dogs. Breeding the dogs is a very specialized business, and Leo, who is now two years old, cost $14,000 to acquire. New patrol dogs and handlers must undergo 400 hours of training to be certified, which is about the same as a police officer new to the job. Leo was able to be trained and certified in 200 hours because of Dan’s exceptional experience level with K-9 units. To-date, Leo has 28 captures and only one bite at the conclusion of the pursuit. The K-9 team must be recertified every two years, and the Kirkland department chooses to acquire both state and association certifications.
Dan described the "track and find" mission for the K-9 unit, and noted that rarely are they called out for anything but felony (serious crime) pursuits. There are occasional missing person searches. Leo is almost always deployed with a long (30 foot) lead, which provides for greater safety and a considerable amount of athletic requirements for his handler. Dan also distinguished Leo’s training and work from that of drug dogs, bomb dogs, cadaver dogs and such. His work is mostly night shift work, and he coordinates closely with the Bellevue and Redmond K-9 units … they often cover for one another and work as a team of four officers and four police dogs.
There were several questions from members, and Dan and Leo patiently responded to all of them. Well, Dan was patient. Leo was a bit energetic, and sought ear scratches and other attention during the Q&A.
President Dave thanked Officer Hopkins and Police Dog Leo for a tremendous presentation. A veteran racing duck will be presented to Dan, and gift of 600 pounds of food will be made in his name to Harvest Against Hunger. Dave rang the bell at 7:25 p.m. to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted
Gary Cohn – Deputy Acting Scribe