The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting on January 24, 2022 at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel.
President Dave DeBois rang the bell at 6:30 p.m., calling the club meeting to order.
Scott Becker and Shelli Gehring “co-led” led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attending were George Anderson, Pete Anderson, David Aubry, Scott Becker, Rich Bergdahl, Matthew Colpitts, David DeBois, Donald Dicks*, Shellie Gehring, Margie Glenn*, Brandon Honcoop, Michael Hunter, Jim Meniketti, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, Steve Shinstrom, Patti Smith, John Storbeck, Bill Taylor*, Brian Tucker*, and Rick Walter. *Attended the meeting online.
Guests:
Mike Hunter introduced his wife Sharon, just to prove she has almost completely recovered from recent surgery. Joanne Primavera introduced Isabelle Kalisa, whose membership has been approved by the club’s board, and should soon be a member following the 10-day membership review period.
Greeter:
Our greeter this evening was Jim Meniketti, who manned the front desk.
Announcements & Club Business:
President Dave announced that at the recent club board meeting board members discussed how in-person meetings are going, and how members might feel about attending in person. Dave Aubry was requested to email members and survey their views on meeting attendance, etc. Members are requested to respond to him by Saturday, January 29. He will assemble the results and report to President Dave. Results will be made public.
Steve Shinstrom announced that he will be hosting a Bunco party in late winter or early spring. Watch for the announcement. We do need a bit of cheer and frivolous fun.
Scott Becker was presented with a Certificate of Distinguished Service for his unflagging work raising sponsorship funds for the Duck Dash. His efforts have ensured that all the money raised by duck sales goes to good works and not to event expenses.
Happy Bucks:
There were no Happy Bucks collected during this meeting.
Student of the Month:
Our Rotary Student of the Month was Owen Barry from Lake Washington High School. With his parents behind him, he spoke to us on Zoom. He is recovering from COVID-19. He was honored to be selected. He is a Kirkland native but has traveled and this has shown him how many opportunities his current situation has made possible.
He has been a lifeguard at Peter Kirk Pool and is leaning toward a career in public service. He is considering a wide range of service from avalanche safety to government service. He has applied to a number of colleges and has received a number of positive responses, including Gonzaga and the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Program:
Our speaker, Joseph Bogaard, talked to us about the efforts of various conservation groups, including Save our wild Salmon, to ensure that migrating salmon and steelhead have acceptable migration paths to and from their spawning grounds. He spoke particularly about the obstacles created by many river dams on the Snake River. There are efforts under way to remove four of these dams, but there are a number of issues, including transportation, power generation, irrigation water, etc., that will have to be solved as part of this process.
Fish stocks have declined over the past several decades, and these fish are a vital part of Northwest culture, Indian culture, and food for a number of wild animals.
Rotarians had a number of observations and questions following his talk, and we all came away with a better understanding of many of the issues involved.
Joker Pool:
There was not a Joker Pool this evening.
Adjournment:
President Dave rang the bell at 7:35 p.m. to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted
Dave Aubry – Acting Scribe