Events

Title: Lessons From the Emergency Room: How to Never Need Me

Description: After many years as an emergency physician, Dr. Scribner has seen where preventable disease ends up. In this talk, he shares what the ER teaches us about the handful of factors that actually determine how long, and how well, we live, and the practical steps to act on them at any age. Expect straight answers on fitness, screening, and what your annual physical might be missing.

Bio: James Scribner, MD, MPH, FACEP, ABAARM, is a board-certified emergency physician with years of experience, including academic faculty and medical director roles, most recently at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham. He is board-certified in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, a fellow in Longevity Medicine (A4M), and the founder of Mt. Baker Medical, a concierge primary care practice in Bellingham focused on prevention and longevity.

 

Speaker:  Teri Bryant, Director of the Whatcom Homeless Service Center - department of the Opportunity Council

In lieu of a formal presenter, Rotary Focus Weeks will feature internal discussions about Rotary, our local Community, and our Club members and experiences. 

Purchase tickets here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mountainfilm-on-tour-presented-by-the-rotary-club-of-bellingham-2026-tickets-1990147568952

Speaker:  Rick Kaiser

Title:  Beneath the Salish Sea – SCUBA Diving in our Cold Local Waters 

Each year, millions of people explore the warm beaches and cruise the cold waters of Puget Sound and Canadian waters. Yet only a small number of passionate adventurers have fully immersed themselves in this incredible and dynamic underwater world. Rick Kaiser is one of them, and he will take you on an amazing exploration of what lies below the surface and the equipment and training required to safely and comfortably get there and back again.

Rick Kaiser has a degree in biological oceanography from the University of Washington and has worked as a scientific diver and oceanography instructor at UW. He has taught SCUBA diving and worked in dive stores in Seattle and Bellevue, and he taught intertidal marine ecology at Whatcom Community College.  He is still an active SCUBA diver with 55+ years of local diving experience and over 700 logged dives. 

Title:International Project Alliance annual update 

Annual visit by the IPA to your club to inform what has changed over the last year: lots of exciting changes and news on your village: Las Peñas 2

Speaker:  Marty Pease

Bio:  Joined Rotary in 2016 and made my first trip to Honduras in 2016 and fell in love with the people, country and the IPA, my self assigned duties include visiting our member clubs annually, I have served on my club board every year, twice as president and am a team mentor with Youth Engaged in Services 

Speaker:  Rachel Vasak, Executive Director, Whatcom Land Trust

Topic:  Overview of the Whatcom Land Trust and the conservation and stewardship work the trust performs in Whatcom County.

Rachel has over 25 years of experience in conservation and restoration, and holds degrees in environmental and engineering geology and a master's in nonprofit leadership. Rachel brings extensive leadership experience to her role as Executive Director of Whatcom Land Trust. Raised on a farm, Rachel developed a lifelong connection to the land that inspires her work in conservation today. When she's not preserving special places, she enjoys watching her son play baseball and exploring the outdoors through activities like hiking, climbing, skiing and snowboarding, boating, and kayaking.  Rachel volunteers to teach avalanche education at Mount Baker Ski Area and serves on the board at WECU. 

Rachel believes that everyone who lives, works, or plays in the Pacific Northwest should be able to access nature, locally farmed food, and experience seeing wildlife, like birds in the sky, orcas in the sea, and salmon in local waterways. She knows that conservation, restoration, and stewardship of the landscape is critical to the health of the landscape and communities in Whatcom County.  Rachel has a bachelor’s degree in geology and a Master’s in Public Administration & Nonprofit Leadership.  Rachel has spent most of her career working in environmentally focused nonprofits, including volunteering, serving on boards, and 17 years as an Executive Director.  Focus areas and achievements include the establishment of endowments, legacy giving program, successful capital campaign, succession planning, strategic planning, board development, and increase in capacity to expand mission. Working with the Whatcom Land Trust gives her hope that we can create a future where people and wildlife thrive in and around the Salish Sea and the Pacific Northwest.    

In lieu of a formal presenter, Rotary Focus Weeks will feature internal discussions about Rotary, our local Community, and our Club members and experiences. 

More information to follow.

More information to follow

Christmas Holiday

Holiday - New Years

In lieu of a formal presenter, Rotary Focus Weeks will feature internal discussions about Rotary, our local Community, and our Club members and experiences. 

Holiday - Martin Luther King

In lieu of a formal presenter, Rotary Focus Weeks will feature internal discussions about Rotary, our local Community, and our Club members and experiences. 

Holiday - President's Day

In lieu of a formal presenter, Rotary Focus Weeks will feature internal discussions about Rotary, our local Community, and our Club members and experiences.