December 10, 2012 Spokesman
Kirkland Rotary Meeting
Minutes for December 10, 2012
By Pat Swenson
The meeting was called to order by President, Patti Smith at 6:30 p.m. The flag salute was lead by Barbara Seaton. Greeters, Jason Overleese and Rick Walters were thanked by President Patti. An inspirational (joke/minute) was given by D.V. Hurst---subject to interpretation and discussion.
There were no visiting Rotarians and no guests, except our speaker.
Club Announcements:
· President, Patti Smith announced a nominating committee for our next slate of potential officers will be introduced next week. If anyone has any nominations, please notify her. Also, write-ins at the next meeting will also be accepted. (The slate was not announced at this meeting.)
· Pat Swenson reminded everyone of the first Gift Wrapping event at Barnes & Noble will be on December 13th. A copy of the sign-up list was distributed and an “all club members” reminder was emailed out. Please be sure to show up 15 minutes before your start time to make a smooth transition to the next group. Also, the next Gift Wrapping event will be on December 19th. If you were not sure of your availability, but wish to participate, just go ahead and show up for any of the time slots. The more the merrier.
· Pat Swenson also reminded everyone that the first groups of Reading Buddies and Math Tutors at John Muir are ending next week. School will close on December 19th for the holidays. New groups begin the week of January 7th. If you wish to be a Leader for either program, please let Pat know by email: pat@1brg.com A group will be assigned to you and you will be a Leader for approximately 6 weeks. Need more information, contact Pat. Thank you to those Leaders that are continuing with your same group of students---you are making a difference in their education.
· Anne Hamilton outlined the food program at John Muir for those families that are in need. If you can help with shopping and/or distribution of the food, please contact Anne at: anneham@microsoft.com These families are in desperate need of our help to feed their children.
· Dave DeBois distributed the list of gift items needed to fill the Christmas wishes for our selected families. An updated list will be out by email. Please let Dave know if you can help and what item you have selected. A “good supply” of gift cards has been donated, but items need to be purchased that are on the list. Please drop the gifts at Dave’s Banner Bank location. If you can help, please notify Dave at: ddebois@bannerbank.com
· Neil Johnson thanked everyone who participated in the Bell-Ringing for the Salvation Army. He especially enjoyed his time spent getting to know Gary Bruner. Neil felt this was a very worth well project and offered to head it up next year.
· Jerry Campo expressed special thank-you to Joanne Primavera for arranging for the name tags and for greeting at the Christmas Party on December 2nd. Jerry also wanted a “big thank you” to Alice Volpe for the beautiful holiday decorations.
Important Special Announcement:
President, Patti also asked each Rotarian to take out their cell phones and vote for the charity miles contest. MileagePlus is donating 10 million miles to charities. The more votes Rotary International gets throughout the giveaway, the more miles it will receive. Please vote each day and click on: http://10millioncharitymiles.com/charity/39 We are currently in 2nd place with The Shriners in the current lead. You can vote every day until December 25th and use every device you have—each is a separate vote! Click on the Rotary Image and Vote Daily!
New Paul Harris Fellows: Don Dix and Anne Hamilton presented several Paul Harris pins:
Brett Johnson: New Paul Harris Fellow received a pin, his certificate, and his “medal”.
John Pruitt and Patti Smith, received new pins with 1 sapphire each.
Makaylaa Powers received a new pin with 2 sapphires.
Chuck Brockway received a new pin with 3 sapphires.
Jim Feek received a new pin with 3 rubies. (Paul Harris plus 8)
Congratulations to all the Paul Harris fellows!
Program: The Decision of the Judge is Final! By Joe Breidenbach. Joe is a local attorney specializing in DUI defense. A very serious topic but handled in a humorous and entertaining way. Our members were divided into two teams, the ladies were the green team and the red team consisted of the men. Joe was the judge and asked the questions. The questions were in the form of multiply choice and each team selected their answer. Anne Hamilton (our own Vanna White) worked the score board. Each question covered part of the current Washington State law, including the penalties if you are convicted. Basically, the message is don’t drink and drive!
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.