The meeting was started with a greeting from Kirkland Rotary President Rick Walter.
John Pruitt led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Greeters were Don Dicks and Scott Becker – Front Desk was John Pruitt and Rick Ostrander.
President Rick used the Rotary Moment to quiz the membership on who the first four Rotarians were who attended the very first meeting in Chicago – of course there was Paul Harris – nobody knew Gustave Loehr, Silvester Schiele or Hiram Shorey. However, the club did know the next four Rotary Chapters that opened after Chicago – San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle and Los Angeles.
Guests at our meeting were Chris Rusnak, former member and husband of DeeDee. We had Kristin Olson, an attorney in Kirkland who knows many of the Rotarians and is interested in joining. Joseph Castleberry, President of Northwest College came to the meeting as a special guest of our speaker.
Rotary International Foundation presentation by both Dave Aubry and Brandon Honcoop the co-chairs: Dave started out by informing the chapter about RI’s WASH imitative (Wash, Sanitation, Hygiene). This is an education campaign to teach the basic necessities for a healthy environment and productive life. Rotary Foundation has invested in more than 1,000 WASH projects in more than 100 countries. Brandon discussed Rotary Foundation Month and all of the good works of the Foundation and encouraged members to use their “Treasure” to help others around the world – and at home thru District Grants.
Announcements – Dave Mutal caught us all up on the December 15th Santa event for kids – thru the generosity of some of our chapter members we can assist more needy kids with toys – breakfast – and a visit with Santa (the club’s Dan Bartel).
The Club’s Holiday gathering is on December 3rd at the Heathman Hotel – we have 42 confirmed attendees and would like to reach 50 – please contact Amy Mutal if you want to attend.
We awarded the Rotarian of the Month to our C0-Treasurers John Pruitt and Rick Ostrander for stepping in when needed and cleaning up the mess from the prior Treasurer – they handle the front desk and all the backroom money issues, and we appreciate them both.
Our speaker was Patrick Nyambura (Kimani) – Kimani is an international student from Kenya and is currently attending NW University here in Kirkland. For most of his young life, Kimani picked coffee beans with his mother for $2 a day and believed that this was going to be his life – but dreamed of a better life. School was free until you reach high school, so Kimani studied and was a good student – thru the assistance of the Hilde Back Education Fund, he was able to attend high school. During his time in Kenya, he was featured in a documentary “A Small Act” which tells the story of Hilde Back, a Swedish resident who fled Germany during WWII. Hilde had very little money, but she sent $15 a month to help with kids going to school. This became the foundation that has helped thousands including Kimani. Patrick Kimani Nyambura is an ambassador for the Hilde Back Education Fund and speaks to the importance of everyone finding “A Small Act” that they can do.
All our visitors and guest were thanked for attending – Joe, Kristin, Chris and Kimani.
Oprah Winfrey tells us “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more – If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.
Megan Nakanishi had the winning ticket but her attempt to draw the joker failed as she came up the 7 of diamonds.
Meeting was adjourned with wishes for all to have a Happy Thanksgiving.