The Rotary Club of Kirkland held its regular weekly meeting online on December 14, 2020.
Attending were James Nevers, Dave Aubry, Rick Walter, Dave DeBois, Bill Taylor, Terry Cole, Don Dicks, Margie Glenn, Bob and Gail Auslander, Gary Cohn, Monica Fratita, Gary Cohn, Mike Hunter, Steve Shinstrom. Dave and Amy Mutal, John Pruitt, Rich Bergdahl, Rick Ostrander, John Woodbery, and Brandon Honcoop. Let me know if I missed anyone.
We participated in Zoom breakout rooms before the meeting started, giving everyone a chance to catch up socially with fellow Club members.
President James Nevers rang the bell at 6:20 p.m. Dave DeBois recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
An honored guest this evening was Assistant District Governor Dave Spicer.
Announcements:
Rick Walter announced that he will be at the new Kirkland Rotary Pavilion on the Cross Kirkland Corridor at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 15, to smoke a cigar and toast the Pavilion. He invited other club members to join him.
Rick reminded everyone of the virtual Happy Hour on Zoom that he has organized for the club on December 28 at 7 p.m. There are 20+ folks signed up. Email Rick if you want to participate.
Student of the Month:
Mike Hunter introduced Soniyah Boun, our very accomplished Juanita High School Student of the Month. Soniyah is a senior and participates in Running Start classes at Lake Washington Institute of Technology. She described her family as low-income. She wants to attend college in Washington to pursue a career in bio-ethics. Soniyah participates in several civic groups at Juanita working for social justice, and is passionate about access to education. She is in a Justice/Education project studying opportunities and outcomes.
Presentation:
Don Dicks presented a Paul Harris +3 award to David Aubry.
Program:
James Nevers introduced our speaker, Dr. Teresa Cheng, D.D.S., founder of ‘Everyone for Veterans’. The organization is now in 30+ states across the U.S., providing free dental service to, especially, combat veterans.
Dr. Cheng gave a presentation on the program, the services provided, and the people served. She pointed out that in WWII and WWI, the whole community was involved in the war effort and the vets returned essentially en masse; now veterans return singly and anonymously, increasing the difficulty for vets reintegrating into a society that has no involvement with the military. Vets tend to suffer not just from PTSD, but from what amounts to culture shock, as vets have difficulty adjusting to civilian culture.
Over the years, her organization has expanded the range of services offered. Primarily, ‘Everyone for Veterans’ recruits professionals [dentists, counsellors] who agree to provide services, and connects vets in need with service providers.
Dr. Cheng pointed out that the Veterans Administration provides lots of needed services to veterans, but cannot be everywhere for everyone. A true community effort will in itself help vets transition to a successful civilian existence. Very thorough presentation!
Assistant District Governor Dave Spicer reminded us that District 5030 is sponsoring a blood drive. He encouraged Rotarians to donate to Bloodworks NW.
We adjourned at about 7:35 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry - Acting Scribe