The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting on November 7, 2022 at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel.
President Amy Mutal rang the bell at 6:17 p.m., calling the club meeting to order.
Don Dicks (whom we welcomed back to a live meeting again!!) led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attending were George Anderson, David Aubry, Gary Cohn*, Don Dicks, Jocelyn Ellison, Isabelle Kalisa, Amy Mutal, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, John Storbeck, and Rick Walter. *Attended via Zoom.
Guests:
This evening’s guests were introduced by Rick Walter introduced Olivia Koelsch from Jefferson House, a Kirkland memory care facility. Olivia told us a bit about the Jefferson House facility. Karin Quirk, a former club member, joined us on Zoom.
Greeters:
Rick Ostrander manned the front desk.
Announcements, Club Business, Committee Reports:
Joanne Primavera told us that the 54 warm coats the club bought for kids at John Muir Elementary were distributed by the school on Oct. 31. The timing was good, as the weather promptly turned cold.
For Thanksgiving we have 20 families to help. Members will receive bags with a shopping list for each family. We are shopping to each family’s dietary wishes instead of just buying the usual American Thanksgiving staples as before. Joanne encouraged us to add appropriate additional items or gift cards, as the spirit moves us. Bring the filled bags to the Nov. 21 meeting and Doug Evanson will deliver them to John Muir for the connection to the recipients.
Sign-up sheets for potential sessions of bell-ringing for Salvation Army are on the tables. See also the club’s website. Club participation will be gauged by the interest shown by members; the activity is slated to begin during the first week of December at QFC Kirkland Urban. We will be required to fill out a volunteer form – should appear on the club’s website if there is sufficient interest.
Holiday gift-buying will commence as soon as we receive the wish-lists from John Muir Elementary. It is expected that we will be shopping for 15 families. There may be some in-person gift shopping (with the recipients) on Dec. 17. This is entirely financed by Duck Dash proceeds. People will be needed to help deliver the gifts. The combination wrapping session and catered Rotary Holiday Party will be Dec. 19 at St. John’s Episcopal Church on State Street in Kirkland. This is the same location as our very enjoyable Kirkland Rotary Foundation Gala & Auction last month.
Dave Aubry will be checking with Hopelink for a possible Monday in January for a food-packing and pizza-eating meeting. He will let Amy and Scott Becker know what day is chosen for this event.
Rick Walter thanked all the Rotarians and spouses who assisted at the club booth at Pumpkins in the Park on October 19. A great time was had by all, especially all the costumed kids who joyfully scooped up candy from Rotary booth, and all the other booths.
President Amy asked all club members to look in your email box for a survey on next year’s meeting formats. The board is gauging members’ preferences. Please complete the survey by Nov. 11 so the board can discuss the results at its next meeting.
President Amy noted that we need a speaker for next week’s (11/14) meeting. If no speaker is found, we will do a social event. Watch for news.
There will be no meeting on Nov. 28, the Monday after Thanksgiving. On Dec. 5, the District Governor will attend and give us an update on District 5030’s activities. We need to have a good showing attendance-wise.
Happy Bucks:
There were no Happy Bucks this evening.
Program:
President Amy then introduced our own John Storbeck, who gave us a brief history of the evolution of Veterans’ Day. Mr. Storbeck is a Vietnam veteran, so definitely has an interest in how veterans have been perceived – and treated – in the past.
Veterans’ Day evolved out of Armistice Day, which originally commemorated the cease-fire in the first World War. Since WW I did not turn out to be the war-to-end-all-wars, November 11 was eventually redesignated as a day to remember and honor the people who sacrificed so much in the service of our country.
He gave us a brief history of how he came to be a veteran; after finishing college, he was about to be drafted. He had no wish to join the military, but believed that he had a duty to serve if called.
In his recounting of his experiences, he explained how younger generations have no concept of a draft or of a mandatory obligation to serve. The Vietnam war did not represent an immediate threat to this country and so many people did not consider that the U.S. participation was in our best interests. Thus, there was a good deal of social and political friction and conflict over all aspects of the war. This also manifested itself in the often-terrible treatment of returning veterans by some segments of the American public.
He developed a great bond with his classmates at Officer Candidate School, to the point that many of them are still in touch, and many get together occasionally. He served on the ground in Vietnam, and takes pride in the fact that no one under his command died there. He also is proud to be a veteran.
We recognized the other veterans in the room.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
Dave Aubry, Acting Scribe