The Rotary Club of Kirkland held an in-person meeting on December 4, 2023, at the Madison House Independent and Assisted Living Community in Kirkland’s Totem Lake. Members gathered beforehand to socialize and enjoy refreshments. Some members attended via Zoom. Due to staffing issues at Madison House, the meal was provided by The Catering Company.
John Storbeck along with Rick Walter greeted members, and John collected money for the meal.
John Storbeck along with Rick Walter greeted members, and John collected money for the meal.
Past President Rick Walter called the meeting to order at 6:23 p.m.
Kristin Olson led us in the pledge.
Attending were Pete Anderson, David Aubry, Michelle Cazeau, Gary Cohn*, Donald Dicks*, Sandi Ekins* (Honorary), Jocelyn Ellison, Doug Evanson, Rashmi Garimella, Isabelle Kalisa, Kate Koslosky, Jim Meniketti, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Peter Peaquin, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, Josephine Shi, John Storbeck, and Rick Walter. *Attended via Zoom.
Rick Walter gave us a Rotary Minute with a story about how the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills flew a young girl to the U.S. for successful surgery to restore her hearing.
The club’s guests included our Rotary Student of the Month Brooke Lewis, father Michael Lewis, mother Sarah Lewis, and Lake Washington School District College and Career Specialist Nichole Swanger.
Announcements:
Dave Aubry announced that several current and former Rotarians joined Anna and him for the December Kirkland Wine Walk on December 1. The weather was dry for the first part of the event – after that, we dodged raindrops. Nevertheless, everyone appeared to have a good time tasting wines, beers, liquors, etc., and checking out the various downtown Kirkland shops where the tasting stations were set up.
Dave Aubry also announced that the club treasury is richer by about $47 because he and Rick Ostrander, and Rick’s truck, recycled about 1,200 lbs. of leftover steel from the section of original rails installed at the site of Rotary Central Station Pavilion on the Cross Kirkland Corridor.
Jim Meniketti announced that he needs more shoppers for the Dec. 16 Rotary Holiday Shopping Event at Fred Meyer, starting at 7:30 a.m. This is when the club purchases holiday gifts for the families whose list of wishes are provided by the staff at John Muir Elementary. We are waiting for information from the school. We will wrap the gifts and celebrate the holidays on Monday, December 18 at a gala and dinner at St. John’s Episcopal Church on State Street in Kirkland. The gifts will be delivered shortly after that. Volunteers will be needed.
Doug Evanson announced that we will have a gala celebrating Valentine’s Day at the Kirkland Women’s Club. Members and guests are encouraged to come and celebrate, mingle, etc. Watch for an email.
Rick Walter announced that our next meeting, December 11, will be via Zoom. At this meeting, we will vote on a revision to our bylaws that will authorize a reduced-rate membership for spouses or partners of existing members, residing at the same address as the original member. Members should read the revisions to the bylaws as sent out by President Gary to all members on November 30.
Committee Reports:
Rummage Sale Steering Committee chair Pete Anderson reported that we are finalizing arrangements for the Great Rotary Rummage Sale with Kamiakin Middle School this week. The date will probably be July 13. Start saving goodies to sell!
Student of the Month:
Youth Service Committee chair Jocelyn Ellison introduced Rotary Student of the Month Brooke Lewis and her associated guests listed above. She is a senior at Lake Washington High School with a 4.0 GPA, is involved in athletics and various volunteer endeavors, and is a National Honor Society member. She spoke to us for a few minutes and thanked her parents and school career specialist, all of whom were in attendance. She wants to go to college in California and study biological science with an emphasis on human biology. She also wants to do creative writing.
Program/Classification Talks:
Rick Walter introduced new member Josephine Shi, who then gave us her Rotary Classification Talk. Besides discussing her work as director of community relations at MorningStar of Kirkland, she also recounted something of her personal history. She was born in China, in a city near Hong Kong, and came to the U.S. to study at the University of Washington, obtaining at degree in psychology. She has worked on the eastside for 12 years and is focused on assisting senior residents navigate through life with joy and contentment. Personally, she enjoys reading, yoga, exercise, and Chinese calligraphy. She sometimes plays video games. In response to a question, she discussed how she had to adapt to a different social environment in the U.S. Public transportation is not as complete here, which compels her to drive a car to many destinations. She wants to grow and participate in the club’s efforts at service.
Rick Walter then introduced new member Peter Peaquin, who gave us his Rotary Classification Talk. He was born in New York City, grew up in Massachusetts, and went to law school in New Orleans, at Tulane University. He fell in love with the greenery, water, and mountains of the Northwest, and has lived here with his wife and daughter, now grown and gone, for 33 years. He watched Perry Mason as a child on TV, which inspired him to go into law. He likes the trying-to-help angle of law, whether it is in private practice or government. He learned to love the defense side of court room law at Tulane. He has also worked as a judge pro-tem, and last week was appointed by the county council to the bench as a District Court Judge in Redmond. He has been married for 32 years, and his daughter is now studying at the London School of Economics. He likes the service component of Rotary.
Our speaker at the virtual [Zoom] December 11 meeting will be Dietra Clayton of Helen’s Place/The Sophia Way.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:59 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
David Aubry, Acting Scribe