The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting on January 10, 2022 at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel.
President Dave DeBois rang the bell at 6:25 p.m., calling the club meeting to order.
Don Dicks led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attending were George Anderson, Pete Anderson, Rich Bergdahl, Gary Cohn*, David DeBois, Donald Dicks, Michael Hunter, Jim Meniketti, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, John Storbeck, and Rick Walter. *Attended the meeting online.
Guests:
Isabelle Kalisa, who works for HERO House, was back for another visit, her third to the club. A new potential member, Rashmi Garimella, attended this evening. She works for Microsoft, is a Kirkland resident, and has submitted a membership application to the club. Club members welcomed both guests. Jeanine Nordeen from the Capital Centennial club was a guest, and discussed working with Mercy ships. She works at Smiles Dental and will be in Kirkland for a few weeks. Mike Hunter introduced Student of the Month Koumudi Thanda, who will speak later in the meeting, and her sister Kundavi Thanda, who is currently attending Utah State University.
Greeter:
Our greeter this evening was Jim Meniketti, who manned the front desk.
Announcements & Club Business:
President Dave announced that the club purchased eleven families gifts for the holidays, and that the families were very grateful for the club members’ generosity.
On Friday, Feb. 25, the Rotary Club of SODO is holding its Hearts & Wine event to benefit Harvest Against Hunger, one of our club’s community service investments. The project will provide food for the needy, and there is a wine auction!
Happy Bucks:
There were no Happy Bucks collected during this meeting.
Program:
The speaker this evening was Catherine Endicott, with the North Cascades Institute, and who is a fellow Rotarian from La Conner. NCI is located near Lake Diablo amid the Cascades 519 glaciers. It’s a conservation non-profit that aims to provide visitors a transformative experience. NCI staff believe nature is a source of inspiration, and use education to promote conservation. NCI was founded in 1986, and the organization built the Environmental Learning Center in 2005.
NCI has three lodges, a restaurant, lab, library, and amphitheater. They provide Lake Diablo boat tours, with indoor and outdoor seating in boats for summer tours. NCI holds field seminars in a variety of subjects, and offers youth leadership adventures.
COVID forced changes in their activities, with more virtual than in-person, and they hope to return to normal in 2022. They chose to adapt to the moment, rather than putting everything on hold.
If Rotarians would like to join NCI, we can visit their website (www.ncascades.org) and sign up for newsletters, sign up for various programs, and find a link to make donations to the Institute’s work. Their funding comes from paid programs (50 percent), government grants, and private donations.
Student of the Month:
Koumudi Thanda is the Rotary Club of Kirkland Student of the Month for January 2022 from Juanita High School. Koumudi is a senior, and participates in the Running Start program. In her remarks, she noted that the Rotary club has provided many scholarships at her school. She is impressed with the club’s work, and noted that the student of the month application process helped her with her college applications.
Joker Pool:
There was not a Joker Pool this evening.
Adjournment:
President Dave noted that there is not a meeting next Monday, January 17, due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday, and there is a meeting on January 24, and he rang the bell at 7:24 p.m. to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted
Pete Anderson – Acting Scribe