The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a virtual meeting using Zoom on August 12, 2024. Past President Gary Cohn presided at this meeting and called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m.
Michelle Cazeau led us in the Pledge, and Cody Baker led the recitation of the Four-Way Test.
Attendees were: David Aubry, Cody Baker, Michelle Cazeau, Gary Cohn, Sue Cohn, Donald Dicks, Sandy Ekins (Honorary), Doug Evanson, Rashmi Garimella, Kate Koslosky, Rick Ostrander, Daniel Sada Caraveo, John Storbeck, Alice Volpe, and Rick Walter.
Visiting Rotarians:
The club welcomed Dick Carlson, a ‘Sun-Bird’ with the Catalina Rotary Club in Tucson, Arizona who is with us through September.
Guests:
Ben Mishkanian, a Kirkland resident, joined the club for the online meeting. Ben found the club through the website and is interested in Rotary.
Rotary Moment:
Former RI President Jennifer Jones presented virtually a Rotary Moment, consisting of a three-minute explanation of why Rotary Moments are so important. Her talk was recorded during her remarks to a large club in Texas.
Announcements/ Committee Reports:
Peter Peaquin has resigned as he has concerns about his position as a judge and possible conflicts of interest in his club activities involving fund-raising.
Sandy Ekins will be moving, with a new address and phone number, which Gary will post to her ClubRunner profile.
The August 19 meeting will be in-person at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Meeting Hall.
The Salmon Bake at Bob Auslander’s will be August 26 – be sure to sign up in advance.
Acting President Gary thanked the several members who have volunteered to fill in as Acting President at upcoming meetings. There is a need for a few more folks to fill in the seven remaining meetings without a presiding officer assigned.
Rick Walter reported that he is moving forward with Community Service. We have nine people signed up to sort food at Hopelink on August 29 – there is room for one more person. He is working with Nourishing Networks to set up a future project. He is working with John Muir Elementary so we can conduct the Warm Coats, Holiday Food Baskets, Holiday Gift Shopping, etc. events.
Cody Baker reported that he has some potential members at various stages of the process. He would like to have additional members on his membership committee.
John Storbeck reported he is working on speakers for our meetings and again encouraged members who have ideas about possible speakers to contact him.
Program:
Our speakers for the evening were Executive Director Alexis Ruhumuriza and Board Member Dean Wagner of Congo Peace. They are addressing poverty and violence in an under-developed and remote area of the Democratic Republic of Congo with a program to reduce violence both through education of ethical leaders, capitalism, entrepreneurship, and reconciliation. The mission of Congo Peace is to break the chronic cycle of poverty, violence and tribal animosity in the Minembwe region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by assisting all tribes equally.
The education system does not prioritize entrepreneurship, which is seen as a way for individuals to succeed in that environment.
Mr. Ruhumuriza is a pastor and starts missions in the area to assist people to survive and build a future. He has started schools in Congo to promulgate this vision of fostering job creation, business creation, and entrepreneurship. He is teaching capitalism with an ethical system – ethics can be taught. The key is to get local involved in creating change.
They would like to connect to Rotary as an organization and potential partner; we will get them information on contacting District 5030.
There were several questions from Rotarians.
Old Business:
Acting President Gary presented the results of a short SurveyMonkey survey on our meeting venues. Included were the Kirkland Eagles Club, L’Experience Paris on Lake St., and Sparrow in Juanita. Survey responses from 42% of Club members showed a strong preference for the Eagles Club. The other two, while very nice from a food and location standpoint had no easy provision for speakers and audio-visual setup. It was pointed out that our Monday evening meetings may be severely impacted by folks watching Monday Night Football at the Eagles. Alice Volpe has recently dined at the Kabab House in the Totem Lake area and indicated that she talked to the manager. The site is eager to accommodate our needs, has a room where we could meet, can assist with set-up, and is reasonably priced. She suggested we hold off deciding until we check this location. The place also has vegetarian dishes.
We discussed the need for stabilization of our meeting location both for current members and new prospects.
Don Dicks moved, and Alice Volpe seconded, that we try Kabab House before committing to the Eagles. We should also keep looking at other possibilities. The motion carried.
Mr. Mishkanian indicated that he would like to attend an in-person meeting. Acting President Gary referred him to the website and offered to put him on the bulletin mailing list.
Acting President Gary thanked the members who contributed to the meeting through meeting responsibilities, and rang the bell to adjourn at 7:44 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
David Aubry – Acting Scribe