After bell ringing, President John Moffat reminded us of April’s monthly priority given to the subjects of:
Women and Children
Environmental issues
Guests:
George Halsell introduced our speaker, Caleb Barville, Senior at WWU
John Moffat introduced Steve Woods
Paul Grey introduced Paul Pelot with WorkSource and Hunter Darley, "Take a Vet to Lunch"
Visiting Rotarian Bryan Hennessey from the Ferndale Club.
Club Events and Committee Announcements
Calling all members: The Rotoract students at WWU need our help with writing Scholarships and Resumes. They will be meeting Monday night, April 20th at WWU Academic WEST #302 from 5-6 PM.
District Events
The District 5050 Conference will be held at Harrison Hot Springs, May 1-3, 2026. Members were urged to consider attending. This link will take you to additional information:
Committee Announcements
Ward Naf: Ward reported a good turnout on the recent Fairhaven community cleanup project.
Scott Herman shared the availability of thank you letters from recipients of previous service projects.
Special Need: there is a need for temporary housing for our Hungarian exchange student Janka for the period of May 10-24.
George Halsell made a report on the recent Rotary 5050 District Assembly held on April 11, 2026 at Surrey, B.C., Canada. George reported receiving helpful advice about recruitment and fundraising; in addition, there was a somewhat dubious report on a recent vehicle breakdown of the famed ‘Miss Vicky.’
There is a Rotary Board of Directors meeting Today, Thursday, April 16th at 4:30 on Zoom. Contact Sandee if you want the link to join us.
Community Boating Center Ward again encouraged our participation in the April 25th Community Boating Center Work Party for duty between 9:30AM and 1:00PM. (0930-1300). We will help refinish outdoor furniture. Stay tuned for more information. Contact Ward Naf if you can participate at wardnaf@gmail.com or 360-303-6671
Take a Vet to Lunch presented Hunter Darley. He made an appeal for employment opportunity as a U.S. Navy veteran seeking career opportunity. Hunter followed his Navy service with studies in economics and finance. He is available for communications work, networking, and representation of clients in a complex commercial environment.
Doug Cole introduced our featured speaker. Coincidentally, Doug had a previous encounter with our speaker Caleb Barville. Doug learned of Caleb in 2018 while bicycling on the Big Island of Hawaii. Caleb is a competition class bicyclist. He had early plans about becoming a professional bicyclist, but these plans were put to rest by the Covid epidemic. After this setback Caleb became a kayaking guide here in the Pacific Northwest. Today he is a senior at WWU studying environmental sciences.
This young man is full of life. What a refreshing lad! Caleb has a major leadership role in the WWU Environmental Restoration Club. His presentation at our meeting was wonderfully supplemented by a professional quality photos and video mostly taken in the Pacific Northwest – especially Desolation Sound in B.C., Canada. One of the video components of his presentation focused on the elder female Orca whales teaching their offspring to hunt seals. What an amazing video.
The WWU Environmental Restoration Club has enabled Caleb Barvlle to maximize his efforts to connect people dedicated to filling a societal need. In describing the Restoration Club in depth, Caleb falls back on the major principles of learning and leadership. His presentation reports on club service activities are motivated and inspired by concepts such as:
Moments of Realization
Partnerships: Community Beyond Campus
Collaboration is the Key
What Restoration Teaches - A LOT
The Impact of Collaborative Efforts
The Ecological Restoration Club partners with the City of Bellingham and other environmental agencies. Together they assemble a community of volunteers who provide tools, supplies, and even snacks for workers at environmental projects. To date this WWU Club has hosted more than 30 guest speakers, who often offer career guidance to students. The club also seeks environmental guidance from local tribal leaders as well as WWU alumni who provide foundational support.
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.
Take a Vet to Lunch:
