After President Ban rang the meeting to order at 12:30, he welcomed us to a cold day. After the music by Bob Kuenzel and the invocation by Paul Gray, his Paul Harris quote was,” In giving, we truly receive.” He went further describing Paul Harris’s philosophy of giving of oneself to have a fulfilling life.
There will not be a Rotary Meeting next week, January 20th for Martin Luther King Day.
There is also a Rotary Board Meeting today Thursday, January 16th at 4:30 on Zoom. Contact Sandee is you need the zoom link.
Guests:
Tom Grinstad introduced Pierce Roberts, a pilot with Allegiant Airlines
Scott Herman brought his wife Jen
Ward Naf introduced Kierin Lund
Members on Zoom: Shauna Naf, Dick Tucker, Jack Westford, Catherine Riordan and Michael Mallory
Club Events and Committee Announcements
The District Conference will be held May 2-4, 2025 at the Tulalip Resort Casino in Marysville: Click Here for Flyer
Shauna Naf reminded members to update their VIP challenge score cards. Several members have reached their goal, thus earning the valuable prize of a RCOB shirt!
Dave Blair and Dennis Williams and encouraging you to get your pledges and payments in for our Major Project - The Lighthouse Mission Healthcare Center.
For our newer members: In order to substantially increase capacity, LHM has been constructing a 75,000 square foot, purposefully built facility, created to be the hub for homeless services in our community.
In addition to shelter, it will offer a multi-service healthcare clinic and welcome community partners to provide medical and dental care. Notable partners include SeaMar Medical Clinic, Opportunity Council, UnityCare, PeaceHealth Hospital, City of Bellingham, and Whatcom County. Bringing these services to our guests onsite will create better healthcare outcomes. This healthcare clinic is the Major Project for last year and this Rotary year for a total goal of $165,000. We are half way there!
John Dunne gave an unconventional book report. He compared the plot of “James”, by Percival Everett, with the plot of Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. James purportedly described the perspective of the slave, Jim, a pivotal figure in Huck Finn, and noted where it loosely followed the plot or deviated completely. Nonetheless, he highly recommended James as an interesting and thought-provoking read. And maybe for those with faltering memory, a re-read of Huck Finn would be appropriate.
Weekly Payment Reminder
VENMO:
@RCOB- Bellingham.
Give Sandee a call if you need help. 360-734-5532.
CASH / CHECK:
Yes, we still take these and saving on fees is appreciated.
The presentation was about Brigadoon Service Dogs, a non-profit organization, by Carrie Robbins, Executive Director, Shawn Crinole, Director of Dog Programs and Hope, a yellow labrador in training. Shawn talked about their process of training labs and golden retrievers from puppies to fully trained and matched with the needs of a client. Initially the puppies are paired with volunteer foster families to help develop socialization skills.
As the dogs enter adolescence at about 9 months, the dogs are paired with a state prisoner who has learned to be a dog trainer. The dogs live with their trainer 24/7. The dogs routinely return to their foster family for short periods during their training. While all the dogs receive the same basic training, each dog has a distinct personality and temperament which makes them more or less suitable for various clients’ needs. Dogs might “need a career change” at any stage in the training process.
Brigadoon graduates 8-10 dogs a year. Ms. Robbins noted that it costs roughly $50,000 to fully train and match a dog to a client. During the entire talk, Shawn was training Hope, running her through various tasks for us to see. And it was wonderful to see the quarts of drool come out of her mouth.
Closing:
President Ban thanked everyone who made the meeting possible and rang the meeting to a close at 1:35. The bell has a long resonance…
RCOB apparel, including polo shirts, dress shirts, vests and hats is now available. These are items that every Club member simply must have in his/her wardrobe! Besides looking great, Club members will be contributing to branding for the RCOB as well as supporting our Club's Foundation, which will receive part of the proceeds.
Click on the button below for the the clothing catalogue, with the Order Form on the last page. Fill out the order form, turn it into Vinson Latimore at a meeting or email a scanned copy to embroidery@choicesscrubs.com.
