The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting on April 17, 2023 at SOI Thai Restaurant & Bar.
President Amy Mutal called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m.
President Amy Mutal led us in the pledge.
Attending were Pete Anderson, Bob Auslander, Rich Bergdahl, Gary Cohn, David DeBois, Donald Dicks, Doug Evanson, James Feek, Rashmi Garimella, Margie Glenn, Brandon Honcoop, Isabelle Kalisa, Jim Meniketti, Amy Mutal, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, John Pruitt, Steve Shinstrom, Patti Smith*, John Storbeck, and Rick Walter. *Attended via Zoom.
Guests:
Our guests for this evening were Lake Washington High School Student of the Month for April Brady Rabuchin and his parents, Steve and Janis Rabuchin; our speaker, fellow Rotarian Rajiv Nagaich; and Rajiv’s guest, Saket Seugar.
Greeters:
Jim Meniketti manned the table with the sign-in roster, and both Jim and Amy greeted attendees.
Announcements, Club Business, Committee Reports:
Pete Anderson reported that the Rummage Sale Operations Team is scheduled to visit Kamiakin Middle School this coming Wednesday. Pete announced that an “all club committees” meeting for the rummage sale will be held on Monday, April 24, at 5:30 p.m. in place of the fourth Monday meeting that the club has been foregoing during the past two and a half months. The rummage sale teams will meet at Brezza Condominium in downtown Kirkland, and an email invite will be forthcoming. Members discussed food for the meeting and settled on pizza. The club will provide the pizza for this meeting, and some of the members will bring refreshments. Janis Rabuchin commented that their neighborhood garage sale will be held soon, and possibly the “leftovers” could be donated to the rummage sale. Dave DeBois noted that the rummage sale website (separate from the club’s website on ClubRunner) will be established with the help of one of Isabelle Kalisa’s associates, and that a staff member at Banner Bank is building an inventory management system for the event, and the system should be done by May 1.
Happy Bucks:
There were no Happy Bucks collected during this meeting.
Student of the Month:
President Amy introduced Brady Rabuchin, the Rotary Student of the Month for April from Lake Washington High School. Brady introduced himself and his parents, and thanked them for their support, and thanked the Rotarians for the honor of selection as a student of the month. He described some of his community service work with the Kirkland Youth Council on various service projects, and with Athletes for Kids. He is an avid basketball player and is now competing with the lacrosse team.
Brady described his plans to attend Cal Poly and major in AgriBusiness, and possibly switch to general business as he gains understanding of the fields. He complimented Rotarians on their impressive service project track record, mentioning clean water, parks, and food drives in particular. When he concluded he fielded questions from several Rotarians, and received some advice on changing college majors (from at least one Rotarian who had a similar experience).
Program:
Past-president Jim Feek introduced Rajiv Nagaich of Aging Options, describing how meeting and getting to know Rajiv has changed his outlook personally and as a financial planner.
Rajiv described becoming a Rotarian in India at the age of 16, meeting the Dali Lama, and emigrating to the United States. He was surprised and appalled at how the aging process and the care of elderly is handled, or not handled, in this country. He started law school at 40 after having some experiences in the insurance business and observing family and friends lose their life plan and savings to illness.
He commented that we begin to contribute to retirement from the first day of work, through social security and Medicare taxes, noting that by 65 most of us have had it with work and want to travel, develop a hobby, and enjoy family and friends. He asked what are the chances that we will be in our own home, not a burden to family, and not losing our savings to medical expenses as seniors. He used the example of “Bill” who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease as he was preparing to retire, and the motor home his wife and he purchased never left their driveway. His wife was a nurse, and found she could not care for him, and he was placed in a nursing home, all retirement planning notwithstanding. Rajiv found it was nearly impossible to bring him home.
Retirement planning fails in America because professionals don’t talk about keeping you in your home without being a burden to. Your family. Healthcare is aimed at falling ill, no long-term care. He emphasized it’s not about the money, but about the plan. Planning systems used today were developed in the 1930’s and 1940’s and are woefully inadequate with today’s lifespan. A modern plan must account for housing, care, legal aid, family support, and financial aspects of aging.
Rajiv emphasized that aging is a family affair, and took numerous questions from Rotarians. Rick Walter won the drawing for a set of manuals Rajiv has published.
There is not a regular meeting next week, which is planned to be a bye week. HOWEVER, President Amy reminded Rotarians there will be an all-club committee meeting next Monday to work on the rummage sale. The next regular meeting will be Monday, May 1, and is an in-person meeting at SOI Thai Restaurant & Bar.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 7:06 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Gary Cohn, Secretary