The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting on February 6, 2023 at SOI Thai Restaurant & Bar.
Past-president Rick Walter, subbing for President Amy Mutal, called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m.
Brandon Honcoop came up with a flag on his phone and led us in the pledge.
Attending were David Aubry, Scott Becker, Donald Dicks, Jocelyn Ellison, Doug Evanson, James Feek, Rashmi Garimella, Brandon Honcoop, Alan Hoviland, Jim Meniketti, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, Steve Shinstrom, Karin Quirk, Patti Smith, Alice Volpe, and Rick Walter.
Guests:
We had quite a few guests also: Lake Washington High School Student of the Month Elena Ferry brought her parents Doug Ferry and Caroli Pohl-Ferry, and was also accompanied by Nichole Swanger, career specialist at Lake Washington High School. Visiting Rotarians included Beverly Jacobson from Duvall Rotary, and former Kirkland Rotary President and now-South Everett-Mukilteo Rotarian John Woodbery.
Greeters:
Jim Meniketti manned the front table; Rick Walter did much greeting. As everyone paid for their own drinks and meals, no money was collected. We had 19 members present!
Rick Walter thanked Jim Meniketti for manning the table and “taking roll”.
Announcements, Club Business, Committee Reports:
Rick Walter gave us a brief Rotary Moment by recounting the story behind the old Women’s Auxiliary, the Rotary-Anns. This dates from when Rotary was an all-male organization.
John Pruitt announced that the Kirkland Rotary Foundation had just concluded a board meeting and introduced board members to the attendees. We will shortly have a form available to club members who wish to join the foundation. John informed club members about last fall’s Foundation auction results and plans for the distribution of the auction funds. He stated that we have a tentative date of October 7 for our next foundation auction.
Happy Bucks:
There were no Happy Bucks collected during this meeting.
Student of the Month:
Student of the Month Elena Ferry told us a bit about herself, her activities, and her interests. She is a Kirkland native, loves it here, and resides near Forbes Lake. She has visited many countries and states. She is currently involved in a program that monitors Forbes Lake water quality and the health of the surrounding wetland. She is also involved in other outdoor conservation activities, and is looking at a career in that kind of field. She thanked her parents for their support and guidance, and introduced her career counselor.
Program:
Scott Becker introduced our speaker, Cherese Bourgoin of the Greater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce, who is subbing for Beth Gale because Beth had to cancel at the last minute.
Ms. Bourgoin discussed how Rotarians are like the chamber – both advocate for and grow the community. She congratulated the club, which, like the chamber, has been able to ‘keep it together’ for these past three difficult years.
We need to foster another generation of leaders and entrepreneurs with diversity. The chamber has an ‘open umbrella’ to broaden membership and broaden what the chamber supports. This is necessary to assist and broaden the base of people and organizations as they make progress in society.
The Chamber Gala is coming March 18 – they are looking for volunteers and donations. Twenty-three percent of the chamber’s annual revenue comes from the Gala. The money comes through ticket sales, live and silent auctions, dessert dash, etc.
There have been a number challenges and changes post-COVID in trying to return to meeting in-person – continuity, increased expenses, etc. Their experience has been similar to ours in that regard. Fortunately, membership has been stable and solid; 80-90% of businesses who had to drop out during COVID have returned.
There were several questions from Rotarians, including about the proposed closure of Park Lane to vehicles. The Chamber has been supportive of the businesses there who fear permanent closure will cause real harm.
Rick reminded us that next week, February 13, will be a Zoom-only affair. In person will be 1st and 3rd Mondays, and the 20th is a holiday, meaning no meeting.
Rick thanked President Amy and Gary Cohn for establishing the system of text meeting reminders of upcoming meetings. He then thanked our Student of the Month and guests for their attendance.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 6:51 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dave Aubry, Acting Scribe