John Harris Doug Cole Ralph Rinne - Happy 99th Birthday
Felicity Dye & President Paul Taylor Stagliano & Bob Kumav with Opportunity
Banner exchange from India Homeless Outreach Center
February 6, 2023
Opening Welcome:
President Paul opened the meeting at 12:30. John Harris played My Country, ‘Tis of Thee. Doug Cole provided the invocation.
President Paul said that as of today there were 114 people registered for our upcoming Predictions event.
He also reminded us of the RCOB’s three main areas of focus this year: Homelessness, Youth Development and Affordable Housing.
Club and Committee Announcements:
Steve Ban told us the blood drawing event scheduled for today was canceled due to staffing issues by the blood bank.
Mark Knittel recently returned from a month in Kenya working on the AIRES Project and Felicity Dye returned from three weeks in India involving Rotary Youth Exchange.
John Dunne introduced Bob Kumar and Taylor Stagliano who are working with the Opportunity Council to supply donated furnishing to those exiting from homelessness. Often these people find themselves in an empty apartment without the means of providing livable furniture. A list of needed items was provided for a one-time donation. Contact John Dunne for more information and turn the forms into him. The Opportunity Council will contact you about picking the items up.
Football Pool Dates:
Super Bowl - February 12, 2023 Philadelphia Eagles vs Kansas City Chiefs (Click Here)
Upcoming Events:
February 9, 2023 - 2023 Predictions New Fundraiser Event TONIGHT!! SOLD OUT...
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:
Roland Trenouth brought Jose Ledesma with Edward Jones and Honorary Member Ralph Rinne. Happy Birthday Ralph
John Dunne introduced Bob Kumav and Taylor Stagliano with the Opportunity Council Homeless Outreach Center
John Harris brought his wife Patricia
Zoom attendee visitors:Jack Westford, Steve Hager, Marty Haines, Rob Olson, Dick Tucker, Chris Lopez, Ward & Shauna Naf
Chuck Snyder from Arizona
Program:
Our speaker, RCOB member Brian Griffin, admitted to being a complete failure at retirement. After 12 years advancing the cause of Orchard Mason Bees and writing a number of excellent books, he took up the hobby of ukulele building. This happened during a trip to Maui where he found himself bored and fidgety. He came upon a lovely custom built but seemingly overpriced tenor ukulele for sale. Rather than shelling out for that instrument, he instead purchased a “How to Build a Ukulele” book. In 2010 he sold his first effort for $400. With the aid of internet marketing he soon set up a business. His first big seller was a “travel” ukulele, this having a hand carved concave back made of maple. He came across Pacific Rim Tonewoods near Concrete, WA, which supplied Haida Gwai-grown cedar to guitar manufacturers. He found their rejects were perfect for his much smaller ukuleles and which could be acquired for near scrap value.
Soon he was selling his instruments faster than he could make them! Part of the reason was a You Tube video he did with ukulele master Stuart Fuchs, Brian having made an instrument for Stuart which proved to be his favorite. (Google “Stuart Fuchs Brian Griffin.” Highly recommended!) Brian also adopted the Kasha Bracing System with an off-center sound hole. Brian feels these produce a much better sound than the traditional build method. He’s now working on #204 in his shop. He uses a variety of woods, from local broad leaf maple, spruce and cedar to Finnish birch. One instrument used redwood which came from a New York City water tower. Another used cedar which washed up on the shores of Lake Whatcom and was thought to have come from the Larson mill. Its top showed age rings spanning 443 years!
Brian showed the four sizes of ukuleles he builds – soprano, concert (with strings 20% longer than a soprano), tenor and baritone. He also showed a two-string “bass” model, which he calls “Son of a Gut Bucket.” His instruments feature a stylized “G” on the neck. Each ukulele takes about 50 hours to construct and another two weeks to finish with French polish.
