August 30, 2021 Spokesman

The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting online on August 30, 2021.

 

Past President James Nevers rang the bell at 6:15 p.m., calling the club meeting to order.

 

Terry Cole led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Attending were George Anderson, Bob Auslander, Rich Bergdahl, Gary Cohn, Terry Cole, Monica Fratita, Margie Glenn, Brandon Honcoop, Jim Meniketti, Amy Mutal, James Nevers, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, Steve Shinstrom, Patti Smith, Bill Taylor, Brian Tucker, Rick Walter, and John Woodbery.

 

Guests:

 

There were no guests present as the meeting was a club assembly.

 

Announcements:

 

Past President James reminded attendees that each year the Rotary Club of Kirkland holds a club assembly to concentrate all members’ attention on the major objectives for the year, to commit to committee assignments, and to improve the collective effort of the club membership. He described the structure of the meeting, and noted that we would be addressing meeting location before the conclusion of the agenda.

 

Program:

 

Break Out Sessions

 

Members broke out into Zoom meeting rooms dedicated to Committee Programs of Work for Vocational Service, Club Service, and Community Service. International Service did not need to meet, and a Program Committee meeting was foregone in favor of the discussions on the student of the month and scholarship programs. After the general session that followed, two more breakouts were conducted, one on Membership Growth Strategies and one on Surfacing Meeting Venue Suggestions & Preferences.

 

General Session: 1: Report on Committee Priorities

Vocational Service reported on the new cycle of student of the month interviews and selections, and the inclusion of Emerson High School with Juanita and Lake Washington. Students will be selected from each school for each of the months from October through May. Students will be invited to attend one meeting with guests, then other meetings during that month if they wish. The application process has been revised and converted to the online application management system used for scholarships. The questions and criteria were designed to pull more students from a diversity of backgrounds. The scholarship program will get underway as soon as the students of the month are selected. Suggestions were made to broaden the reach of both programs across the student population, and to increase the amount of the scholarships, hopefully without diminishing the number of scholarships. Programs were discussed and several suggestions offered for topics.

 

General Session 2: Report on Priority Growth Strategies

Breakout groups returned from discussions and reported on the major concepts members discussed. There is considerable concern about the decline in membership, and the club’s ability to retain and build membership with another return to online (Zoom) meetings. The point was made that other local clubs and other Rotary clubs in the region (esp. the district) have been able to maintain or build membership during the pandemic. Discussions transitioned from the lack of clarity around the new members process, to the lack of structure for welcoming and supporting new members during the first year or years, to the strategies (or lack of strategies) for connecting with business leaders in the greater Kirkland area, especially in areas of significant growth like Totem Lake.

 

General Session 3: Report on Venue Preferences

The breakout rooms devoted time to surfacing ideas on venues, and reported out somewhat similarly in the third general session. Suggestions were offered to:

There was not a Joker Pool this evening.

 

Adjournment:

 

Past President James rang the bell at 7:30 p.m. to adjourn the meeting.

 

Respectfully Submitted

 

Gary Cohn – Acting Scribe