The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting online on April 19, 2021.
Attending were James Nevers, Dave Aubry, Dave DeBois, Joanne Primavera, Rick Ostrander, Mike Hunter, John Woodbery, Brandon Honcoop, Monica Fratita, Steve Shinstrom, Dan Bartel, Dwight Olson, Rich Bergdahl, Patti Smith, Margie Glenn, Kristin Olson, Rick Walter, Scott Becker, Ken Hollingsworth, Bella Chaffey, Don Dicks, and Gary Cohn.
Members met in break-out rooms where we talked about vaccinations and how we were going to ‘transition’ back to regular life.
President James Nevers rang the bell at 6:16 p.m. Dave Aubry recited the Pledge.
Announcements:
Don Dicks encouraged everyone to be sure to donate to Rotary International – Every Rotarian Every Year. Scott Becker announced that Dave DeBois was named ‘Person of the Day’ by the Kirkland Chamber. Mike Hunter reported that scholarship interviews are on track.
Student of the Month:
Mike Hunter introduced Hawetan Adugnan, our Rotary Student of the Month and a senior at Lake Washington High. She gave us a rundown on herself, her activities, and her future plans. She is taking AP courses across the spectrum. She volunteers in many areas and is a class officer. She loves to explore new things, especially outdoors, hiking, etc. She does a lot of homework and gets little sleep. She has been accepted at Stanford but has no college major picked out yet. She is interested in law. She loves laughter and having fun with others. Her parents are from Ethiopia.
Program:
Scott Becker introduced our speaker, Kristian Uri, the general manager of Fishermen’s Finest, a woman-owned, Kirkland-based fishing company. The owner is in fact a Korean immigrant. They operate three vessels in the Bering Sea/Southwest Alaska area and practice responsible fishing. This is critical to the long-term health of the industry. Primarily are after bottom fish. They were among the first companies active in the rebirth of the American fishing industry. It has been a struggle to build a business that conforms to U.S. law regarding boats, fishing, staffing, etc. The company is an enthusiastic member of the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce.
Much of the catch is exported as the fish varieties they catch are generally unknown to Americans. COVID-19 has made life difficult for everyone.
Many questions from Rotarians – the company fishes according to government quotas for the various species. Good people are the key to success – always looking for good employees – have several long-time employees. They will be building new boats that will help retain better people. The average age of fishing boats in the U.S. is 38 years; they are designed for a life span of 20 years.
We adjourned at about 7:19 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry - Acting Scribe