The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting online on May 17, 2021.
Attending were James Nevers, Dave Aubry, Dave DeBois, Joanne Primavera, Mike Hunter, John Woodbery,Amy Mutal, Jim Meniketti, Brandon Honcoop, Rich Bergdahl, Kristin Olson, George Anderson, Don Dicks, Gary Cohn, Patti Smith, Steve Shinstrom, Bill Taylor, Bob Auslander, John Pruitt, Margie Glenn, Bella Chaffey, Dwight Olson, and Rick Ostrander.
President James Nevers rang the bell at 6:17 p.m.
John Pruitt recited the Pledge.
Rotary Business:
Gary Cohn announced that we will have a number of students joining us next week for the awarding of scholarships. We awarded 16 scholarships! Students will be introduced by members of the interview teams. We will do the Duck Dash, Oktoberfest or no. It is thought that the city will reverse itself and reinstate some summer events. Amy Mutal reported that at the May 12 Duck Dash Committee meeting they discussed how to run a race if the city does not reverse the decision to cancel Oktoberfest. The race will be September 25, with branding September 20 at Lee Johnson’s. Ticket sales will be at many of the usual venues including QFC and the Wednesday Market. We are still planning to be back at the Woodmark for our June 7 meeting.
Happy Dollars:
There are a lot of Happy Rotarians, as evidenced by Happy Dollars. Thank you to Dave Aubry, Rich Bergdahl, Dave DeBois, James Nevers, Dwight Olson, Kristen Olson, Rick Ostrander, John Pruitt, and Steve Shinstrom for your generosity.
Program:
Gary Cohn introduced our speaker, Kristie Neklason, Youth Eastside Services [YES] Director of School-Based Behavioral Health. She is a former Rotary Student of the Month! She has been involved with YES in this role, at various levels, for 30+ years. The organization supports kids to age 22 in all situations and issues relating to their lives. Her primary topic was support for youth wellness in a remote environment, as occurred this past year.
Part of the effort to support kids involves all community organizations working together to assist youth in navigating their life challenges. A virtual environment has made their efforts especially challenging. Services delivered are school, agency, and community based. Most efforts are centered on one-on-one contact. They support middle school-based and secondary school-based behavioral health. The focus is to try to connect and coordinate all organizations that can assist in the nurturing of school-age kids. Virtual support has been especially challenging where there is a risk of suicide.
Suicide prevention has been evolving; in the past the issue was placed in the lap of parents. The pandemic has created new stresses in children’s’ lives – financial stress, lack of social connection and support. YES has quickly evolved to meet these challenges. [Some kids actually liked remote learning as it removed some of the anxiety the comes with a school environment.] Going back to school is presenting more challenges to some kids.
There were a number of questions from Rotarians following this detailed exposition.
We adjourned at about 7:26 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry - Acting Scribe