May 11, 2020 - On-line meeting of the Rotary Club of Kirkland.
 
The meeting began a bit after ~6:00PM, as arranged by James Nevers, using his Zoom account.
 
Attending were – James Nevers, Dave Aubry, Steve Shinstrom, Margie Glenn, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Stefan Landvogt,  John Pruitt, Joanne Primavera, David Debois, Rich Bergdahl, Mike Hunter, John Woodbery, Terry Cole, Patti Smith, Monica Fratita, Gary Cohn, Darcia Tudor, Rick Walter, Don Dicks, George Anderson, Scott Becker, Dan Bartel, Jim Meniketti, Brandon Honcoop.
Let me know if I missed anyone
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6:05PM – Dave Debois introduced Curtis King of Restor-ear, our speaker.
 
6:11PM - President John Woodbery rang the bell – Mike Hunter led the Pledge of Allegiance.    
 
Rotary business:
  • Gary Cohn – we have a number of scholarship applicants, from all the normal schools except the International School.  We will hold interviews in a variety of formats.  The LWSD is thinking about allowing Zoom to be used on school equipment for this process. 
  • We also have a couple of nominees for Outstanding Educator.
  • Dave Aubry – reported that our Cross Kirkland Corridor Pavilion project has encountered a glitch – the bids received by the City for erecting the Pavilion were way over the City’s estimate.  Dave has expressed grave concern about any delay, as we have money allocated that needs to be put to work.
  • Don Dicks thanked everyone for their responses to his appeal for donations to the International Foundation.  More money is needed because the current pandemic has disrupted immunization efforts.
SPEAKER:
Our speaker tonight is Curtis King, CEO of Restor-ear, a startup developing high-tech ways to assist those with hearing loss.  They are also involved in helping to prevent hearing loss.
We live in a world that is much noisier than the one our ancestors lived in.  Damage to hearing can come from exposure to noise over a period of time.
He discussed the significance of sound to our connection with the world around us. The mind can filter out the ‘non-relevant’ sounds so we can ‘hear’ the words or sounds that we want to hear.
Apple has installed a sound meter in one of its latest versions of the Apple Watch.
Discussed the physiology of the ear and the necessity of using ear muffs and ear plugs to reduce the level of noise we are exposed to when necessary.
His company is working on the use of hypothermia – cooling – which helps reduce damage due to hearing restoration surgery.  Cooling also shows promise in reducing the damage one might expect from excessive noise.  They are focusing on tests with military personnel.
There was no further business, and we adjourned at 7:23PM.
 
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry
Acting Scribe