The Rotary Club of Kirkland held an in-person meeting on July 17, 2023 at the Madison House Independent and Assisted Living Community in Kirkland’s Totem Lake. We are evaluating Madison House as a possible meeting venue. Members gathered beforehand to socialize and have some refreshments. Thank you to Scott Becker for providing the drinks.
John Storbeck and Jim Meniketti greeted members.
President Gary Cohn called the meeting to order at 6:25 p.m.
Doug Evanson led us in the pledge.
Attending were Pete Anderson*, Dave Aubry, Bob Auslander, Scott Becker, Gary Cohn, Terry Cole, Don Dicks, Jocelyn Ellison, Sandy Ekins, Doug Evanson, Margie Glenn, Jim Meniketti, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, Patti Smith*, John Storbeck, and Rick Walter. *Attended via Zoom.
Visiting Rotarians this evening were Durairaj Varadharajulu of the Rotary Club of Bangalore Kanakapura Road, India; and Ann Webb, of the Rotary Club of San Jose. Both people told us a bit about themselves and their Rotary Clubs.
Announcements:
President Gary presented Sandy Ekins with her new club badge, recognizing her new status as a permanent Honorary member, and a new lapel pin recognizing her service as a past president of the club. Note that she was Rotary Club of Kirkland’s first woman president.
Our next meeting will be July 24 between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Brezza Condominiums, 225 4th Ave., to do a debrief on our recent rummage sale as a fund raiser.
Rummage sale finance team lead Jim Meniketti reported that our current tentative net proceeds are about $17,000.
Rummage sale volunteer team lead Doug Evanson reported that attendance was a bit low for Sunday’s picnic held to thank rummage sale volunteers. He noted that there was a lot of competition from other events in the area. [Editor’s note: There may also have been confusion as to the date as our last minutes reported that the picnic was to be AUGUST 16, rather than July 16.]
Rummage sale operations team lead Pete Anderson announced that they are looking at the last weekend in June for the rummage sale.
Scott Becker asked if most folks are happy with only beer and wine as alcohol options at Club meetings. It appeared that we are.
President Gary reminded everyone to be sure to sign up for a committee for next year.
Happy Bucks:
Rick Walter conducted a round of Happy Bucks. David Aubry, Bob Auslander, Gary Cohn, Terry Cole, Donald Dicks, Jocelyn Ellison, Sandi Ekins, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Joanne Primavera, and Rick Walter contributed happily toward the club’s community service work. Thank you all for your generosity!
Program:
Our speaker was Kent Swift of the Seattle Kraken who told us about the club’s efforts to build relationships with the community. As part of his recital, he recounted something of his life before his recent hiring by the Kraken.
Mr. Swift also discussed learning about the Seattle area, and about the effect the Kraken was having on the area. He also discussed that there are many options for ticket packages, and that arrangements can be made for groups as small as ten people. The Kraken is trying to make the team accessible to community members through attractive ticket pricing and also by having events that connect fans to team members. There are a number of different season ticket options available.
There were a number of questions from Rotarians, especially concerning options for attending games, and also about the number of VIP suites at Climate Pledge Arena.
Joker Pool:
Scott Becker conducted a round of Joker Pool, and the lucky ticket draw went to Kent Swift, who did not draw the Joker but was delighted with the $10 ticket draw consolation.
The treasurer position was handed off from Jim Meniketti to John Storbeck.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:11 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
David Aubry, Recording Secretary