September 9, 2024 Spokesman

The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a virtual meeting on September 9, 2024 using the Zoom platform. Past President Gary Cohn presided at this meeting and called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m.

 

Doug Evanson led us in the Pledge, and Jocelyn Ellison led the recitation of the Four-Way Test.
Attendees were: David Aubry, Bob Auslander, Cody Baker, Gary Cohn, Sue Cohn, Sandy Ekins (Honorary), Jocelyn Ellison, Doug Evanson, Rashmi Garimella, Margie Glenn, Rick Ostrander, John Pruitt, John Storbeck, and Rick Walter.

 

 

Announcements/ Committee Reports:

 

The recent death of actor James Earl Jones was noted.

 

The next two club meetings are in-person meetings. On Sept. 16, we meet at Kabab House; dinner money will be collected at the door, so the Club can pay the restaurant directly. On Sept. 23, we’ll be back at the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Kirkland, where we will further discuss where we will meet going forward in the near future. On a related note, Terry Cole is investigating meeting at Kitchen Market; they are not ready for us yet. On another related note, be reminded that we may not use the Eagles bar area without a sponsoring member present. Kristin Olson and Doug Evanson are already Eagles members, and Gary Cohn was inducted this past week. Rick Walter is in the application process. It would be a good idea if another couple of members who are in Kirkland during the winter also joined the Eagles. See Gary if you are interested.

 

Rummage sale results have been posted in the Documents section of the Organization area of ClubRunner. The rummage sale organization revision will be posted shortly.

 

Rick Ostrander and Gary Cohn are substituting as treasurers, well mostly Rick is. Gary plans to propose Rick for the vacancy at the upcoming club board meeting.  The vacancy occurred because Michelle Cazeau has received a grant to return to Harvard University to complete her MBA and will be unable to fulfill her responsibilities as treasurer for the rest of her term.

 

We still need a few past-presidents to sign-up for meeting leadership, and we need meeting duties commitment sign-ups for several meetings throughout the year. With a president out for medical treatment and a number of us pitching in to carry that load, it is even more important that members make commitments to ensure each and every meeting runs smoothly.

 

Dave Aubry reported that the city is proposing the Kirkland Way bridge as a location for a mural such as exists on the NE 68th Street overpass. Dave has communicated with the city manager and council supporting such a project, and asked that the restored Northen Pacific logos not be disturbed. The logos are part of the club’s recent pavilion and history project on the Cross Kirkland Corridor.

 

Community Service – Rick Walter reported that club volunteers worked on Hero House’s recent 5K run.  He is working on getting a work party date assigned so we can volunteer with Nourishing Networks.

 

Club Service – Doug Evanson reported that the Salmon Bake was a success – and we could use more attendees.  He thanked Bob Auslander for his hospitality in providing his yard as the beautiful setting for the event.

 

Kirkland Rotary Foundation – Dave Aubry reported that the Kirkland Rotary Foundation will be evaluating October 7 as the date for the Annual Gala and Auction – we are soliciting items to auction.

 

Membership & Rummage Sale – Cody Baker reported that the club has been in contact with Lake Washington High School as a new site for the Rummage Sale.  We have applied to move the event to LWHS.

 

Programs & Speakers – John Storbeck reported our speaker Sept. 21 will be from the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island, and will be talking about their long-running and successful Rummage Sale & Auction. This person is their project lead, and is very knowledgeable.

 

Rotary International Foundation – Liaison John Pruitt reported that the club members are at 100% with donations to Rotary International Foundation. There is still time to make an additional donation.

 

Gary Cohn introduced our speaker, Betsy Brill of HandUp Congo. Ms. Brill is a former journalist and business editor who has spent more than a year traveling, studying, and writing about microfinance approaches in Egypt, India, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.

 

She spoke to us about a Rotary clubs and districts grant for Obstetric Emergency Training in the Congo. HandUp Congo is a small, non-government organization based in Australia and registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission. It was created to make a difference to the health and well-being of Congolese communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC] – a country that ranks at the bottom of the United Nations Human Development Index.

 

She and co-founder Lucy Hobgood Brown started HandUp Congo to help women, especially mothers with very young children. Mortality rates are high for newborns, pregnant women, and women who have just given birth. One of the projects being implemented is assisting women in spacing childbirth, so that mothers can focus on one infant at a time. Local doctors are being trained in responding to emergencies.

 

HandUp Congo has received awards from the UN and Rotary International. She gave us some statistics on the amount of poverty in the DRC.

 

There were several questions from Rotarians.

 

Gary Cohn and Bob Auslander contributed some Happy Dollars.

 

Gary thanked the speaker for joining us on the virtual meeting, Dave Aubry for taking meeting notes, the Avenues of Service Committee chairs for their reports, Cody Baker for his leadership with the rummage sale and membership, and Rick Ostrander for stepping up to fill the treasurer void.

 

Acting President Gary Cohn rang the bell to adjourn at 7:10 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

David Aubry – Acting Scribe