Rotary Minutes, May 21, 2012, submitted by Pat Dye

The Rotary meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm by President Brandon Honcoop.  The pledge was led by Prez Brandon.  D.V. Hurst gave an impromptu inspirational moment, although he was entirely prepared, telling us why the number “13” is amazing, citing numerous facts about how the number shows up on our $1 bill.

Brandon thanked Rick Walter for greeting and Pat Dye for scribing.

Guests:

·         Jason Overleese, introduced by Rich Bergdahl

·         Neil Johnson, soon to become a member

·         Deb Soleson, friend of Jerry Campo

·         Pam Going, wife of Jim Going

·         Charlotte Cronanweth, Student of the Month from LWHS and her family

Announcements:

·         Patti Sims announced that we have 2 more weeks left for Miracle League, June 2 and 9.  Please contact Patti if you wish to sign up for these last 2 games.  We had lots of help from the fraternity last Saturday.

·         Ann Hamilton said that the Nourishing Network program is booked up through the end of the school year and thanked all who participated.

·         Megan Nakanishi announced that the Duck Dash Kick-Off will be on Monday, June 4th, beginning at 6:00 pm at the Wilde Rover in downtown Kirkland.  Dinner price is $22 at the door.  Tickets will be available for club members in 2 weeks, and the LWHS Drill Team will begin selling this Saturday.

·         Steve Shinstrom asked for everyone to sign up for Scribe and/or Greeter duties.

Rick Walter mentioned that he won $1,000 on a straight flush in Las Vegas – said it was a matter of “attitude”, as he had just taken the seat of a disgruntled player who left after doing nothing but complaining.

Charlotte Cronanweth, our Student of the Month from LWHS introduced her Mother, Step-Father, older sister, and Aunt.  She then shared with us her background as a student and volunteer.  After serving as the co-captain of the Cheer Squad, being part of the Band Club, the National Honor Society with a 4.0 average, she also took 5 AP classes.  She plans to enroll in Loyola Marymount in California where she will pursue pre-med courses, hoping to return to Seattle for medical school at U.W.  Her goal is to become an OB/GYN.  We wish Charlotte the best and hope she will return to visit us in the future.

Rich Bergdahl then inducted our newest Rotarian, Neil Johnson.  Neil’s sponsor is Chuck Brockway and his mentor is Rich B.  Neil is the COO of Evergreen Health.  After an inspirational induction, which stressed Service above Self, the Club gave Neil a standing welcome.   We are happy to have Neil join us as the 11th new member this year.

Our speaker this evening was introduced by Jim Going.  James Donaldson, former center for the Seattle Sonics, spoke about “Standing Above the Crowd – A Success Roadmap for High Achievement in Sports and Life.”

James didn’t begin playing basketball until his junior year in high school in Sacramento, CA, the oldest child of a career military father.  He then went on to play for WSU, graduating in 1979.  He spent his first year playing in Sienna, Italy, then returned to the states to play for the Sonics under Lenny Wilkins for 3 years.  His career than took him to the San Diego Clippers where the team was so bad their goal was to be #30 in a field of 82.  After that, he played for the Dallas Mavericks , the New York Nicks, and finished his 20 year playing career with the Utah Jazz.

James shared some startling statistics with us about NBA players: fewer than 20% have college degrees.  They enter college and immediately go on to play pro ball after their first year (“one and done”).  Within the next 10 years he projects that there will be fewer than 10% of NBA players with college degrees.  95% of those who go for the NBA don’t make it, and those who do have an average career length of 3 years.  Additionally, there is a 95% divorce rate within 5 years of retirement.

Retired NBA players have a desire to “stay in the game”, and James has found that there is a market in China for basketball, with more than 500 million basketball fanatics who love the game and the players.  He is currently working to set up an infrastructure in China with camps, clinics, exhibition games, and coaching in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).  He told the story of an exhibition game in which Dennis Rodman played which drew a crowd of 10,000 people.

James said that retired players need a roadmap for success, with mentors and education.  Currently, 70% of African American players come from single parent households, and can’t balance a checkbook – they lack skills for life after the game.

During the Q&A session, James mentioned that there are 400 retired players and 350 active players, enough so that there could be mentors to help them develop skills.  But the retired players are seen as competition by the NBA which is a $10 billion a year industry.  There is currently a new association called the Professional Alumni Basketball Association, and he is working in China outside of the NBA efforts to grow basketball in that country. 

James introduced his book, “Standing Above the Crowd”, and offered to autograph it for anyone wishing to purchase a copy.  He gave a signed copy to our student of the month, Charlotte, to thank her for her inspiration.

The Joker Pool raffle was won by Chris Morgan, but the joker remains elusive.  The pot is somewhere around $3,600!!!

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 pm with a reminder that there will be no meeting next Monday as it is Memorial Holiday.  See you all on June 4th at the Wilde Rover.