Sara Maloney, Invocation Ken Marzocco, Minister of Fun
Service Grant check presentation to Blue Skies for Children
Larry Halgren, Jamie Smeall and Pres. Paul Grey
January 30, 2023
Opening Welcome:
President Paul Grey opened the meeting reminding us there was only nine days until the Predictions fund raiser. This is an evening in which we raise money to fund the various projects of the club. It’s also a chance to meet others and give your elevator speech about Rotary.
Club and Committee Announcements:
Sara Maloney announced to the club that we have achieved 100% participation in the major project for the year. This is the first time ever that we have had everyone pull their weight. Now please get those pledges fulfilled.
Although short of our $85,000 goal by close to $2,000 we will still be able to help the Whatcom Center for Early Learning achieve all their needs. Dominique Zervas has offered free legal assistance to the WCEL related to shared driveway access. This in-kind donation is very budget-relieving to the project.
Football Pool Dates:
We will have Superbowl numbers next week.
Upcoming Events:
URGENT BLOOD SHORTAGE - PLEASE SIGN UP ASAPFebruary 6, 2023 - Annual Rotary Club of Bellingham Blood Drive 9:00 am-3:00 pm at Whatcom Community College (Click here for flyer)
Steve Ban urged all Club members who do not have a medical exemption to donate much-needed blood. Needle phobia is NOT a medical exemption!! You can sign up by visiting bloodworksnw.org or calling 800-398-7888. This is not something that can be done with a checkbook, you cannot find someone else to do it for you. Giving blood hurts only a little bit and takes only a little time. And besides you feel good for having done it.
February 9, 2023 - 2023 Predictions New Fundraiser Event
President Paul announced that our Club is organizing the first of what hopefully will be the premier annual fund raiser for the RCOB. It is 2023 Predictions: A Look at the Global and Technological Trends to Come presented by world renowned predictions expert Mark Anderson, who has been 95% accurate with his prior predictions! The event is from 6-9 PM on Thursday, February 9 at the Bellingham Country Club; tickets are $100. Flyers were passed out to members and we were encouraged to recruit attendees and sponsors. Mark is an engaging and entertaining speaker, the center piece of what should be a fun evening. Dominique Zervas, a self-proclaimed tech idiot, has attended one of these and still found it fascinating. (Click Here to buy tickets) (Click Here for Flyer)
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. Here is the clothing catalogue, with the Order Form on the last page: (Click Here) Fill out the order form, turn it into Vinson Latimore at a meeting or email a scanned copy to embroidery@choicesscrubs.com.
WE MOVED TO THE SYRE STUDENT CENTER - SYRE THEATER AT WHATCOM COMMUNITY COLLEGE. HERE ARE THE DIRECTIONS.
The buildings address is 235 W Kellogg Rd. But this is not where you park. There is no parking off of Kellogg Road. You must enter parking off either Eliza Ave or Cordata Parkway. You are looking for the YELLOW lot (look on light poles for Y2 or Y3).
Enter from Eliza Ave: the driveway between Kellogg Rd and Westerly Rd has a driveway into the campus, follow that about 200 yards until it slopes down, park in the area between the three buildings.
Enter from Cordata Parkway: Just north of the WTA station and Cruisin Coffee before the round about is Orca Lane, take Orca Lane around the first two buildings until you find a large parking lot between three buildings.
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 n 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 cannot do 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.
Lunch will be $22 for a buffet meal. We must notify them by Monday at NOON the week prior to the Monday meeting as to the number of members attending. We are sending out meeting "Invites" 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 the 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.
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 di ctly 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 scan and simply click 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 belling mrotary.org first. In order to login you need t know your user name and password in your Clubrunner account. The user name is Your first name.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:
Speaker Sandy McIntire brought his wife, Mamiko
Marty Haines introduced his wife Gail and former Mayor Tim Douglas
Roland Trenouth brought Jose Ledesma with Edward Jones
Dominique Zervas introduced Diane Norman
Visiting Rotarian: Tim Colbie from Chico, California
Zoom attendee visitors:Bob Morse, Jack Westford, Fred Kaiser and Steve Hager, Rick Haggen, Vinson Latimore, John Pedlow and Phyllis and Charlie Self
Chuck Snyder and Gary Goldfogel from Arizona
Presentations:
Past President Larry Halgren presented a grant to Blue Skies for Children. This is a great program that raises hope and self esteem for low income / homeless kids. The grant will allow them to get a new phone system and server. Jamie Smeall, board chair accepted the grant.
Program:
An informative and entertaining talk was given by Sandy McIntire entitled My Seven Years in Mr. Putin’s Russia. Sandy began speaking Russian but quickly switched to standard American, once he realized that no one was keeping up. He started with a brief history of how he got to be in Russia in the early days of the Putin regime. Basically, Sandy was promoted (?) from Japan to Ukraine in 1998. There he was busy building business for Johnson and Johnson in eastern Europe. In January 2000 he moved, with Mamiko, to Moscow to build JNJ in the former Soviet Union. Why Sandy you might ask. Well, he’s too shy to say so, but he was the best guy for the job.
Sandy listed some of the challenges working in Russia. These include 11 time zones, a large varied population, and a sort of corrupt business system. He noted that for the last few centuries the Russian people have never known freedom. They exchanged an emperor – the tsar, for another dictator – the Soviet leader. Sandy’s seven years there marked the most open period in Russian history.
But that didn’t last. The strategy to build JNJ in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Russia was to start in Moscow, then focus on St. Petersburg and then on to population centers throughout Russia. It has 40 cities with a million or more people. The corporate structure also changed to an LLC. The company had to compete with a system essentially rigged against it.
Sandy said he took it for granted that the offices and his home were bugged. Most foreigners lived in enclaves. There were bombings, threats, official harassment, traffic stops, you know the drill. His drivers were on the take. To regain some sanity, he would meet monthly with other general managers to compare notes and figure out how to deal with the kleptocracy. He felt a “great weight lifted” every time his plane took off for the west.
But Sandy ended the talk extolling the virtues of the Russian people. He named off many, such as: welcoming, friendly, well educated, proud of their culture. There are two Russias. One is comprised of Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the other is the rest of the country. The urbane people are in the two capitols, the real folks in the countryside.
As Sandy explained, Kiev was the center of Russia for four centuries. Gradually Moscow became the center of gravity of the nation. Ukraine was looked at as the little brother and the breadbasket of Russia. (Thanks to a nicer climate).
Since the fall of the USSR, Ukraine has followed a different course. Especially since Ukrainians got rid of Putin’s lap dog, Yanukovich. Mr. Putin has now engaged on a quest to restore the reach and importance of the Russian empire. There essentially no independent press to hold the government accountable. All possible foes have been killed, jailed or exiled. The oligarchs are indebted to Putin, and so protect him. It was a good time for Sandy to depart. He and his family left in 2007.
Closing:
President Paul seemed a little hesitant to ring the bell closing the meeting. Almost as if he wished it could go longer...
