Rotary Minutes
Meeting Date: December 16, 2019. The meeting was called to order by President John Woodbery at 6:30 p.m. The flag salute was led by Rick Walter.
Inspiration Moment: The “inspiration moment” was introduced by John Woodbery. John discussed the poem “Winds of Fate,” which was a favorite of John’s father-in-law for the proposition that the “hardest part of any job in life is getting started.”
Introduction of Visitors: Mike Hunter introduced Stefan _______, who has been a frequent guest at our meetings. Our speaker, Teresa Valley, introduced her guest Fernanda _____.
Club Announcements: There will be a Board meeting on December 18 at Amy Mutal’s office. There will be no meeting on December 23 or 30; meetings to resume on January 6, 2020. There will not be a social event in January and Steve Shinstrom will reschedule Bunco for next year. Trish Stromberg and Mike Hunter described how much they enjoyed the purchasing and wrapping of gifts for the John Muir children on December 11. The breakfast on December 14 was a success. Thanks to Dave DeBois and Joe Getzendanner for organizing.
Special Announcement: Don Dicks presented the Paul Harris award to Rick Ostrander.
Happy Dollars: Rick Walter collected Happy Dollars to present to the Woodmark Hotel staff to thank them for their great service. The Happy Dollars were presented to “Joe” and another hotel employee.
Program Speaker: Scott Becker introduced Teresa Valley.
Program Topic: Teresa’s grass roots organization, “Girls Giving Back” (“GBB”).
About the Program: A former project manager for tech companies, Teresa started GBB in 2009 with her 9-year-old daughter. The focus of GBB was to empower girls to “give back” in our world. It started due to a crisis in Snohomish County with “puppy mills” and GBB was involved in saving many puppies who would have perished otherwise. Then in 2010, GBB was contracted by Hopelink to do a blanket and food drive. All of the participants are volunteers. Projects have included: 107 shelter transformations, transformation of teen centers and community centers, various “wish list” drives for food, clothing, school supplies and toiletries. GBB participated in the building of the playground for ATTAIN housing. Recently Teresa started “BeKind5” which focuses on “how we are kind to ourselves and others.” Corporate sponsorships are available for the GBB and BeKind5 auction which will take place on May 31, 2020.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. by John Woodberry after his story about “Forgiveness is the most important element of a happy marriage.”