The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting online on March 1, 2021.
Attending were James Nevers, Dave Aubry, Dave DeBois, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, Rick Ostrander, Scott Becker, Rick Walter, Amy Mutal, Jim Meniketti, John Woodbery, Brandon Honcoop, Bella Chaffey, Mike Hunter, George Anderson, Kristin Olson, Margie Glenn, Brian Tucker, Don Dicks, Rich Bergdahl, Monica Fratita. Let me know if I missed anyone.
The members joined breakout rooms to start, and discussing what we have been doing, the hunt for vaccinations, and what we will do once things open up.
President James Nevers rang the bell at 6:15 p.m.
John Pruitt recited the Pledge.
Guests:
Our guest this evening was Beatriz Soriano, another banker friend of Scott Becker and a potential Kirkland Rotarian.
Announcements:
Amy Mutal announced that the Duck Dash is scheduled for the 26th of September, with branding taking place on the 20th. Amy asked members to think about businesses for coupons at the bottom of the Adoption Tickets – Scott Becker is working on this. We also need sponsorship dollars to defray the costs of the event. We have ordered 8,000 ducks. The race will be about 2:30 p.m., after the Wiener Dog race.
Gary Cohn reported that we have $24,000 available for scholarships this year, with 18 scholarships to award. There are 11 applicants so far through our website. Gary will set up interviewer training on Zoom so everyone is on the same page. Dave DeBois added that a local business is sponsoring an additional scholarship.
Student of the Month:
The first student of the month for March is Makena Weber, a senior at Lake Washington HS. She has learned about Rotary over the past few months, especially how involved Rotary is. She does 60-70 hours of community service per year. She wants to be a surgeon. She has been in AP classes and has written several research papers.
Program:
Joanne Primavera introduced our speaker, Ezra Teshome. He has been very involved in Rotary for more than two decades – club president, district governor, and has many awards both in and out of Rotary. He has attended our Club’s meetings a number of times in the past.
Mr. Teshome spoke about Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio worldwide. He gave a brief review of the history of polio, the development of vaccines, and the progress made over the past 30+ years in reducing the presence of polio to two countries, and about the eradication of polio from Africa. In 1988, in 125 countries, 350,000 children per year were paralyzed as a result of polio. So far this year, there have been a total of 4 cases combined in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the only places where polio is still found.
There were a number of informed questions from Rotarians, and discussions with Club members who have participated in vaccination campaigns.
We adjourned at about 7:20 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry - Acting Scribe