The Rotary Club of Kirkland held an in-person meeting November 20, 2023, at Madison House in Totem Lake.
Following a bit of socializing and nibbles, former President Joanne Primavera called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m.
Attending were David Aubry, Michelle Cazeau, Gary Cohn*, Jocelyn Ellison, Doug Evanson, Kate Koslosky, Jim Meniketti, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Peter Peaquin, Joanne Primavera, John Pruitt, Josephine Shi, and Rick Walter. *Attended via Zoom.
Former President Joanne gave us a Rotary Minute recounting a short history of the 1937 beginnings of the Rotary Club of Kirkland. She noted several descendants or relatives of charter and other early members of the club are currently members of the Rotary Club of Kirkland. In the early years, the club met a number of different locations.
Guests:
We hosted a visiting Rotarian from Pune NIBM, District 3131, India, Mr. Nitin Karandilcar. He told us a bit about his club; it was founded in 2011. The club has been involved in improving water supplies for villages in India. They have also been involved in COVID vaccination efforts. He suggested that next year we try to set up a joint meeting via Zoom; the time difference will make this challenging, but doable. Mr. Karandilcar noted that he has a grandson in Kirkland. Club flags were exchanged as club members applauded.
Student of the Month:
Jocelyn Ellison introduced our Rotary Student of the Month from Lake Washington High School, Erisa Baba, and her family – father Kengo, mother Hue Ann Lieu, brother Akira Baba. She is an amazingly accomplished person; she has committed to play soccer at Whitman College in Walla Walla and wants to major in physics. Her brother Akira assisted in setting up the Zoom portion of tonight’s meeting!
Announcements:
We have been asked to assist Madison House personnel by clearing the tables after dinner.
Doug Evanson reminded us of the upcoming holiday shopping December 16, with the gift wrapping and gala on December 18. We will need about 15 shoppers to assist with gift buying at Fred Meyer starting at 7:30 a.m. There will shortly be a place to sign-up on the club’s website. The cost for the gala will be $40 per person.
David Aubry reminded everyone of the December 1 Kirkland Wine Walk and that he has some free tickets available.
Joanne Primavera thanked everyone for bringing food for John Muir Elementary families.
Program:
Two new members presented Rotary Classification Talks this evening: one from Michelle Cazeau and one from Kate Koslosky.
Michelle Cazeau talked about how her parents’ family left Haiti years ago after incurring the wrath of the ruling Duvalier family. Her parents met in kindergarten, after which her father decided that she [Michelle’s mother] was the ‘one’. Michelle is one of 8 children, 7 of whom lived to adulthood. Her mother stayed home, and her father worked as a carpenter. All the children attended Catholic schools, followed by prestigious east coast colleges in the U.S. The family’s home was always open, and the children learned kindness and generosity from their parents. The home had strict rules – do well in school, treat everyone with respect, go to church, and pray. Michelle has come to appreciate more and more her parents’ lessons for a good life.
She decided early on that she wanted a career in an area meaningful to her. She is currently at Banner Bank, a community bank that serves as a resource for community members. She has worked at Habitat for Humanity where she found it difficult to have to participate in choosing which families would get into a house, and which would not.
She recounted a couple of Wayne Dyer quotes having to do with exercising judgement and being a member of a group.
Kate Koslosky then told us a bit about herself. She is from Detroit, where her father worked for General Motors for 47 years. She received a degree in finance from Michigan State. She lived in several places in California for 18 years, including Bakersfield, where she got her MA at Cal State. She “fell into” banking and had a business, first in Santa Barbara, then Oxnard, where she joined Rotary. She went back into banking in Solvang, where she also joined a Rotary club, and her father is now a Solvang Rotary member. Her parents now live in Solvang. After her children left home, she moved to Redmond. She likes to play golf, but not in the rain. Her children are 22 and 26 and thinking about college.
Former President Joanne then asked club members to recount some of their past Thanksgiving traditions or experiences. Several members told some interesting stories.
The next in-person meeting will be December 4, when we hope to hear Rotary Classification Talks from Josephine Shi and Peter Peaquin.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry, Acting Scribe