President Doug Cole brought the meeting to order at 12:30 with a quote from Gerald of Wales: “For human nature is so made that only what is unusual and infrequent excites wonder or is regarded of value, we make no wonder of the rising and the setting of the sun which we see every day; and yet there is nothing in the universe more beautiful, or worthy of wonder. When, however, an eclipse of the sun takes place, everyone is amazed – because it happens so rarely.”
Guests:
John Moffat introduced speaker, Daniel Zech
George Halsell and Del VandeKerk brought Peter Kirkman
Scott Herman introduced Eric Lipson
John Dunne brought his riding buddy, Jim McLachlan
Doug Cole introduced Doug MacQuarrie and Andrea Krook with Children of the Nations meal packing group.
Visiting Rotarian; District Governor for 2025-2026 Rotary Year, Isabelle Martinez Hayes from Surrey, B. C. Rotary Club US-Canadian cleanup of Peace Arch on August 23rd. Stay tuned for more information.
Members on Zoom: Loch Trimingham, Nathan Twining and Aaron Booker
Club Events and Committee Announcements
Next Week's meeting, April 15th, will be at the Syre Student Center in the smaller rooms 107/108. Please register and order a meal if you want one by Wednesday, April 10th.
There will be a Board of Directors meeting this Thursday, April 11th on Zoom at 4:30. Please let Sandee know if you would like to attend for the link.
Meal Packing May 4 (Volunteers and Donors sign up now)
District Conference occurs on 4 May, coincidentally the day of our food packing day. Marty Haines assured us that we selected the date before the District. And he hinted that maybe it should be an event of the social committee – it is so much fun. So they can confirm how many supplies we'll need on May 4, Marty asked for volunteers to sign up and to donate for the meal packing day now. Event will occur at Assumption School gym. Last year, we packed 37,000 meals with 106 volunteers, including Rotaract members and other clubs’ volunteers.
Andrea Krook, from Children of the Nations and organizer of the annual meal packing event, talked about the meal packing that will be held again in the Assumption Church gymnasium, 2116 Cornwall Ave, on Saturday, May 4, 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM. The goal is to pack 35,000 meals that will help 1100 children in Sierra Leone, one of the poorest countries in West Africa. Marty Haines encouraged members to sign up and to donate to fund the event, using the Squares on the handout. They need an additional $2200 to fully fund the meals and more than 100 volunteers to pack them.
District Conference - May 4, 2024
The format for the Conference is family inclusive and the same day as our Meal Packing Event. President Doug is looking for members to register to go down with him later in the day, after the Meal Packing Event. Other options to participate include Friday, May 3rd for Bowling and a meet and greet and Sunday May 5th for a service project at Camp Korey.
Prexy Doug put in a plug for the Memorial Day Parade, encouraging all members to get out there and march. We have a Rotary float, which we escort over the mile-long parade. If you start conditioning now, you will be in shape to even run laps around the float as it careens down the route.
She was today’s Mystery Member with a photo of a tomboyish child carrying large skis. She talked about her inspiring trip to Hamburg, Germany, with her son and his wife for the 2019 Rotary International Conference.
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.
Daniel Zech, the CEO of All American Marine, talked about the history, development and current activities of All American Marine. It was founded in 1987 to support the Bristol Bay fisheries. However, as the Bristol Bay fishery declined, it looked for other opportunities. They formed an alliance with Teknicraft Design of Australia, which was building advanced designs of low wake boats, including the use of hydrofoils. He stressed that these hydrofoils did not lift the boat entirely out of the water like the hydroplanes that race around Lake Washington but at designed to partially lift the boat to reduce drag. AAM is now they only licensed producer of Teknicraft Design vessels in the US. They moved from their location near the ferry dock to their current location on Hilton Ave. in 2017, giving them space to construct up to four boats simultaneously. Only the shortage of personnel constrains their production. The hydrofoil between the two hulls lifts the vessel enough to displace 1/3 of the vessel’s weight, which enables it to use 1/3 less fuel, lower horsepower and provide a smoother ride. The company is now the leading manufacturer of fuel efficient and low wake vessels and quad engines with waterjet propulsion. Each vessel is custom-designed to meet its specific needs. They also take pains to “future-proofing” the design to allow for future changes in fuels or propulsion. He described many of their recent completed vessels, mostly catamaran hulls, ranging from a 50’ research vessel for NOAA to a 128’ monohull that carries up to 600 passengers. They have also built a USCG-approved Hydrogen Fuel Cell vessel, which is stuck in sea trials and awaiting approval.
Closing:
At the close of the meeting, President Doug thanked all those who participated in making the meeting possible and asked that members help with the clean-up of the tables and rearranging tables and chairs.
Guess Who?
Isabelle M. Hayer 2025-2026 District Governor Nominee from Surrey B.C. Rotary Club
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.
Rotary Moment
