The Rotary Club of Kirkland held an in-person meeting on January 27, 2025 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Club in Kirkland.

 

Past President Rick Ostrander acted as president for this meeting.  He called the meeting to order at 6:12 p.m.

Jim Meniketti led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Rashmi Garimella served as Greeter.  Jocelyn Ellison led us in reciting the 4-Way Test.

Members Attending: David Aubry, Cody Baker, Terry Cole*, Sandy Ekins (Honorary)*, Jocelyn Ellison, Doug Evanson, Rashmi Garimella, Isabelle Kalisa, Kate Koslosky, Jim Meniketti, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Rémy Pairault, Angela Pritchett, John Pruitt, Daniel Sada Caraveo, and John Storbeck. *Attended via Zoom.

Music for Charity at the University of Washington is a group of musicians who have a passion for music and giving back to the community. They perform at various locations in the Greater Seattle area and also make recordings for the public to enjoy (see several performances on the YouTube Music for Charity channel). Four musicians from Music for Charity are very excited to perform on February 3rd, in support of the Music4Life program presented by the Lake Washington School District: Kane Selapack on the Trombone, Sarah Feng on the Flute, Alex Fraley on the Bassoon, and Vic Bulbon on both the Saxophone and Thai Flute. Thanks are due Prof. Jocelyn Ellison for underwriting the Music for Charity students' visit to the club.

Registration is open until noon on February 5 for the club's almost annual Rotary Valentine Dinner for Rotarians, past Rotarians, and prospective Rotarians to gather in celebration of the Valentine's Day holiday.  The event is Monday, February 10, in place of a virtual club meeting.  The location is St John's Episcopal Church at 105 State Street in downtown Kirkland, and the cost is $50 per person. Committee chair Doug Evanson is leading the planning for the event and he needs volunteers. If you can help with setting up the event, or will bring some refreshments to add to the dinner, please click on Doug's name above and let him know you'll assist. Just click on the image in this article to jump to the event in the Club Calendar. At the time this edition of The Spokesman was published, eight members and three guests were registered.

During the year past presidents are stepping up to preside at meetings while our president is away from club activities. Thank you to those all of the past presidents who've volunteered to lead meetings during the year. There are still a few meetings that need a presiding officer, especially January 27 and February 3, which are just around the corner.

 

There are several other roles that are necessary for smooth conduct of our meetings, whether in-person or virtual. Please sign up for several "open" meeting duties for this year. Our club needs your contribution to make the meetings effective and enjoyable for all of our membership. The meeting responsibilities matrix is available to you in the "Members" drop-down menu on the home page of the club's website. Like the committee table, the responsibilities table is updated regularly as club members add their names to the duties throughout the year. You may click HERE to jump to the table from this article. You may click HERE to send an email volunteering for meeting leadership and other duties.

The club’s board of directors met on Thursday evening, January 16, 2025 at the Banner Bank branch in downtown Kirkland. Highlights included acceptance of the club president's resignation from his officer position; appointment of the vice president to serve as well as president-elect; discussion about the status of event registration for the Valentine Dinner; approval of the club's level of scholarship funding for 2025; renaming of, scheduling for, and the sponsorship plan to support the rummage sale; and receiving reports from various officers and committee chairs.