Jodi Borrelli did the book review, invocation and minister of fun!!
February 28, 2022
Opening Welcome:
President Peter rang the opening bell at 12:25 PM and welcomed us to our Rotary meeting for February 28, 2022. He welcomed us back after a week off and hoped we all had a good holiday weekend. He also thanked President-electPaul Grey, who covered for him for the previous meeting.
Book Review:
Jodi Borrelli gave us a report on the book Light UpThe Night: America's Overdose Crisis and the Drug Users Fighting for Survival, by Travis Lupick. The book is a moving narrative that chronicles the overdose epidemic sweeping North America, the way that the War on Drugs contributes to that crisis, and the Harm Reduction movement that is rising up in response. Lupick draws from voices seldom heard in the conversation, namely drug users who are working on the front lines to reduce overdose deaths. He recounts the stories of Louise Vincent and Jess Tilly, two front runners in the Harm Reduction movement, as they fight to end the stigma surrounding drug use and save the lives of those addicted to drugs. Jodi told us that the book challenges our perspectives on addiction and invites us to review our thinking on such matters as how law enforcement is used with those addicted to drugs. The bottom line, Jodi said, is “to keep people alive”.
Show your support of Rotary in the Ukraine. District 2232, which is comprised of Clubs in Ukraine' are directly in the line of action. They are doing what they can to supply humanitarian aid to refugees in the area.
Note that there is a post made on 3/1/2022 in the morning that links to other Ukrainian Facebook pages, so you can follow what is happening. Of course, they also have ways you can support financially. Let’s help our fellow Rotarians promote peace!
Club and Committee Announcements
1. President Peter invited us to participate in the Bellingham Electronic Toastmasters Open House at the Makerspace, 1 Bellis Fair Parkway #618, Bellingham (enter thru Dick's Sporting Goods) or on Zoom, March 15th 7-8:30 pm (see below for additional information).
In 2020 Rotary International and Toastmasters International entered into a formal alliance for the benefit of both organizations and their members. In recognition of the alliance, Rotarians are cordially invited to attend the Bellingham Electronic Toastmasters (aka Bellingham Evening Toastmasters) public open house on Tuesday, March 15 from 7-8:30pm. The event is free and open to anyone 18 and older.
Guests are invited to learn more about public speaking and communication and how Toastmasters helps individual self-confidence and personal growth. A typical meeting agenda will be followed, including speeches from members with various levels of experience, evaluations, and Table Topics.
This will be a hybrid meeting with attendance either in-person or online. The in-person meeting will be at Bellingham Makerspace (near Dick’s Sporting Goods) in Bellis Fair Mall (One Bellis Fair Way, #618). The online portion will be on Zoom at: https://bet.toastmastersclubs.org/ For other information, please go to the Bellingham Electronic Toastmasters website at Bellingham Electronic Toastmasters (toastmastersclubs.org)
The Toastmasters look forward to meeting Rotarians and encourage those interested to attend the open house or any of our regular weekly Tuesday evening meetings.
Questions or comments? Please contact Rick Nishi, Immediate Past President, at 425-802-3036, or ricknishi900@gmail.com
2. The Club recognized Dennis Williams as a Paul Harris Fellow. Consistent with Club tradition, Dennis was given a standing ovation for his support of Rotary.
3. Dennis Williams, a member of the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Bellingham Foundation, gave an update on the Foundation. He reminded us that the Foundation is a separate 501c3 entity that supports the Club’s philanthropic work. The Foundation currently has $1.8 million in its endowment. The goal is to get the Endowment to $2 million to support annual scholarship grants of $100,000 a year.
Members of the Board of Directors are Dennis Williams, D.C. Morse, Mauri Ingram, Teri Treat, Susie Thomson, and Chuck Snyder.
Dennis offered a touching and grateful tribute to Susie who, along with her father Tommy, have been the Foundation's long-serving (and only) Treasurers since 1998. Dennis noted the extraordinary amount of work Susie has done for the Foundation, from doing the accounting for 12 separate funds, to reconciling bank accounts, all as a volunteer. Dennis noted that, sadly, Susie will be resigning, effective June 30, as she is moving to Seattle. In Happy Bucks, many grateful tributes were offered to Susie for all her incredible work. She has been a truly impressive gift to the Club and the Foundation. Along with Susie, Chuck Snyder has also moved out of town, so the Club will be filling some Foundation Board vacancies.
Dennis announced that the Club awarded $90,500 in student scholarships for the academic year beginning in the fall. The awards were as follows:
a) $68,000 to the Whacom Community Foundation's Dollars for Scholars program, divided as follows:
• $48,000 for 16 general scholarships at $3000 each. 10 of them were one year scholarships and 6 are renewable for a second year.
• $18,000 for the Phil Millard Scholarship, consisting of 6 awards at $3000 each.
• $2000 for the Mischaikov Scholarship.
b) $17,500 to the Bellingham Technical College Foundation for named scholarships.
c) $5,000 is yet to be awarded.
4. Reece Carpenter - Bellingham Rotaract President Message: The Bellingham Rotaract Club is teaming up with Stove-Team International to raise $1,000 to supply 10 clean-burning cookstoves for homes in Latin America. The stoves will offer health benefits and will be built within the country. This supports many pillars of Rotary, including improving the health of mothers and children, growing local economies, and saving the environment. If you are familiar with our district's Rotaract work in Guatemala, it is very similar. If you would like more information on the cause, visit the Stove-Team International website at https://www.stoveteam.org/
To encourage donations, we are doing a virtual fundraiser, where donors enter a raffle to win a gift basket of prizes from local businesses. Between now and March 31st, our GoFundMe page will be live and will be our raffle ticket platform. Here is the link to the fundraiser, which can also be found at the end of this message: gofundme.com/f/bham-stoves.
To participate in the raffle, you can buy a ticket by donating a minimum of $20. Additional raffle tickets can be purchased by donating an additional $5. For example, a donation of $20 is one entry. A donation of $50 is 7 entries. Your chance to win one of our amazing prizes, sponsored by local Bellingham businesses, increase with each entry! Prizes include gift cards to local restaurants, an annual membership to the Pickford Theatre, and products from Honey Salon!
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Reece or Lstorbeck7@gmail.com, who is the head of this fundraiser. Your participation in such a great cause would be greatly appreciated!
Special thanks to our sponsors: Pickford Theater, Honey Salon, Pure Bliss Desserts, Fairhaven Runners & Walkers, Community Food Co-Op, and Galos Flame Grilled Chicken.
GoFundMe page link: gofundme.com/f/bham-stoves
You will still receive an email from Sandee each week prior to the Monday 12:30 meeting if you are unable to attend in person (you can start logging in at 12:00 for short socializing) with the link for that privacy-protected meeting. If you have not done so, please download the Zoom app on your computer (you need a camera and microphone on it), iPad or phone. There is no cost to you. If you do not have either, you can also call in. On the invitation, there are US phone numbers you can call and enter the meeting ID number also indicated on the invitation. HERE ARE ZOOM INSTRUCTIONS.
Four Points is now requiring a Contract thru March 2022. We will continue to evaluate other locations for a permanent location. Lunch will be $22 for a sit-down meal. We must notify them by Wednesday at 4:00 pm each week prior to the Monday meeting as to the number of members attending. We are sending out meeting “Invite's” weekly and members are asked to sign-up ASAP. You can also sign-up by going to the event section of our website at bellinghamrotary.org. If you sign up for a meal at the meeting, you will need to pay the $22 even if you don't wind up attending the meeting after numbers are turned in. If you plan to attend but not eat, PLEASE indicate that on your sign-up so we don't overorder meals and still make sure there is enough seating.
Four Points also will not collect the payment weekly, so the Club will collect payments prior to the meeting or at the door.
We urge members of the RCOB to set up a Venmo account for ease in payment of Meeting lunches, Happy Bucks, Minister of Fun, Dues or donations to the club. Our account is @RCOB-Bellingham. If you do not have a Venmo account you can set up an account with your computer then download the app. on your phone (just Google "Venmo" and you will find all the information you need) You then attach it to a debit or credit card (a fee on your end) or attach to your checking account at no cost. Payment will be sent directly to the RCOB checking account. When you use it for the first time it may ask you the last 4 digits of the RCOB phone number which is 0282. Give Sandee a call if you need help. 360-734-5532
Other payment options are to bring a check in the correct amount to the meeting made out to RCOB or cash in the exact amount to speed up the payment process. There is also the PayPal option as usual and we are set to take payments at the meeting. We have a QR Code that you can simply click on to pay thru paypal also.
Website and Phone App instructions:
Here is a tutorial on how to login for the first time. (Click here) Go to bellinghamrotary.org first. In order to login you need to know your user name and password in your Clubrunner account. The user name is Yourfirstname.Lastname.264 unless you have changed it. Example: Sandra.Lindhout.264 The password is initially set by Clubrunner at 264 unless you have changed it. Sandee can see your Username from her computer but not the password. She can also change your password for you from her computer at your request if you run into problems.
Once you have originally created your User Name and Password you can download the ClubRunner Mobile app on your phone:
Please contact Sandee at 360-734-5532 or rcob@comcast.net if you run into any trouble.
Guests:
Chuck Snyder joined us from Arizona. Miss you, Chuck!
Tim Farris brought Steve Kimberly & Marc Fairbanks
Doug Cole introduced our featured speaker, George "Pinky" Nelson, as well as guests on Zoom: Ray Dellecker, Clark Parrish & Margie Goetz
John Dunne introduced guests on Zoom: Diane Norman and Joy Dunne
Felicity Dye introduced Zoom guests from the Bellingham Rotaract: Reece Carpenter and Lily Storbeck
Members attending on Zoom: Bob Morse, Catherine Rioran, Corey Chaplin, Del VandeKerk, Ken Marzocco, Larry Halgren, Mike Diehl, Nathan Twining, Robin Halliday, Scott Wallace, Vinson Latimore, Loch Trimingham and Monty McAllister.
Program:
The Web Space Telescope, presented by Dr. George "Pinky" Nelson
Program Chair Doug Cole introduced our speaker. Dr. Nelson earned an undergraduate degree at Harvey Mudd College and obtained a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Washington. In addition to serving on the faculty of the University of Washington and Western Washington University, he joined NASA, where he is the veteran of some 411 hours in space during three space flights on the Shuttle, including three space walks. Pinky has also ridden his bike across the United States - twice!
The Webb Space Telescope, a $10 billion, exceedingly complex piece of equipment, was launched on Christmas Day, 2021. Pinky happily noted that the launch was successful and, so far, the Webb Telescope has successfully deployed its various components and has met all milestones. In its current, desired position, the telescope is about one million miles from Earth on a line between the sun and Earth.
The primary mirror of the telescope is 21 feet in diameter. It consists of 18 hexagonal segments made of beryllium and coated with gold. The mirror is equipped with a sunshield, consisting of five layers of Kapton, each measuring 39 x 72 feet. The sunshield protects the telescope's instruments from the sun’s heat. On the sun side, the temperature is around 380 degrees Fahrenheit, and the shield reduces that to about 100 degrees.
There are four scientific instruments on board: a near infrared camera, a near-infrared spectrograph, a mid-infrared instrument and fine guidance sensors. How does it work? The telescope is pointed at a source, using small rocket thrusters. Instruments make sure the
desired source stays in the field of view of the telescope. Light from the source is collected and focused on the detector in the telescope. Data is collected for the length of time needed to get a good image. Data stored on board is then relayed to astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland for analysis. Dr. Nelson explained that instruments capable of capturing infrared light were used for several reasons, including capturing objects that emit infrared light because of the rapid expansion of the universe, and
because infrared light is not blocked by the ubiquitous cosmic “dust” in space.
Among the objectives of the Webb Space Telescope are:
• To capture the first light of the universe - when did the Dark Ages of space end?
• To capture the first stars - where did they form, how big and bright were they, how soon did hydrogen and helium appear?
• To identify the first and local galaxies and identify when and how they formed.
• To explore exo-planetary atmospheres.
• To simply find what else is out there - serendipity.
Scientists (and others) can submit proposals to a committee at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is set up to allocate time on the telescope for research.
Like the well-known Hubble Telescope, the Webb Space Telescope is destined to uncover many new facts about space and the universe.
Final Announcement:
President Peter rang the meeting to adjournment at 1:35 PM after thanking all those who
assisted in making it happen.
