May 18, 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, Patti Smith, Monica Fratita, Gary Cohn, Rick Walter, Don Dicks, George Anderson, Scott Becker, Dan Bartel, Bob & Gail Auslander, Bill Taylor, Patty Sims. Tricia & Russ Stromberg, Cheryl Guenther, Bella Chaffey, Amy & Dave Mutal
Let me know if I missed anyone.
6:07PM - President John Woodbery rang the bell – Bill Taylor led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Guests were Wilma Bartel, Anna Aubry, Janet Pruitt, Nanette Bergdahl, Sharon Hunter, & Patty Shinstrom
Rotary business:
- Gary Cohn – Our Club’s Cross Kirkland Corridor Legacy Project is now on the Club’s website. The information will also go out in a press release.
- Patti Smith will be voting tomorrow on the reopening plan. There will be no festivals before September 1.
- Don Dicks had sent out an email to Club members poling them for potential support for a second round of money-raising by the Chamber to support impacted small businesses. The Club’s Foundation Board members voted to provide a conduit for checks to the Chamber for this project. Don and Scott Becker will contact the morning Club, the Redmond Club, and Kiwanis to see if they will join us in this effort.
- James Nevers announced that the first joint Board meeting [this year and next] will be held in June. There will be a ‘virtual’ Board retreat. Details to follow by email.
Classification talks:
Cheryl Guenther – originally came here from Canada. Background is in music Therapy – a program called Music Mends Minds. She has been involved in senior care for 20+ years. She currently works form Jefferson House in Kirkland.
Bella Chaffey – used an impressive PowerPoint to illustrate her story. Born in Bellevue, college in California, lives on Finn Hill in a house she and her boyfriend fixed up, with her two dogs. Works in real estate sales with Windermere, partnered with her father reselling Chaffey-built homes, mostly in Kirkland & Bellevue. She founded ‘Alexander’s Hope’, named after her brother, to educate the public about organ donation and heart screening for youths. Her brother recovered from an undiagnosed heart condition. She is also involved in the Forgotten Children’s Fund and Gloryland Missions International. She and boyfriend are still fixing up their house, she runs marathons, does Iron Man. Loves Kirkland and non-profits.
SPEAKER:
Dan Bartel introduced our speaker tonight, Beth Bartel, his daughter, and a Geologist [about time we had some classy speakers here], who will speak about the eruption of Mt St Helens exactly 40 years ago today.
In a fascinating talk from Boulder CO, complete with pictures, she recounted the history of the 1980 event. How the mountain came to life in March, 1980 with a small steam eruption, and began bulging on one side. By the end of April, the north side of the mountain was bulging 450 feet. In the late afternoon of May 18, the north side of the mountain began to slide rapidly downward. This released the pressure of the overburden on the magma body, causing dissolved gases in the magmas to come out of solution, like removing a cap from a shaken bottle of soda. This resulted in a catastrophic eruption and the largest landslide in recorded history. The area to the north of the mountain was devastated in a matter of seconds, killing 57 people who were in the path of the blast.
Science has learned immensely about volcanos, eruptions, local earthquakes, and land regeneration due to the intense study of the mountain since it first began rumbling in early 1980.
There were many questions from Club members after a talk that really engaged everyone.
Don’t forget Scott Becker’s farewell on Zoom 5/21.
No meeting this Monday 5/25 – Memorial Day, when we should all be out recreating but will have very limited options to do so. Let’s hear it for the virus – not!
6/1 will be scholarship night.
We adjourned at 7:27PM
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry
Acting Scribe (and also a Geologist)