Opening Welcome and bell tap by President Steve Ban. His quote from 12 Rules For Life was:
“Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.”
In opening the meeting, it was noted that RCOB members On The Move struck a delicate balance of cleaning and cutthroat competition.
Four members of the Club (Mike Mallory, Tom Grinstad, RolandTrenouth and Steve Ban) participated in the work party to clean up Sunnyland Memorial Park in the pouring down rain.
The team that won the trivia contest last week came in with their “medals” hanging around their necks – including Rick Kaiser, Ward Naf, Sue Parsons, Mike Mallory, and President Steve.
Guests:
Members on Zoom: Sandee McIntire, Dick Tucker, Aaron Booker & Ward Naf
There were no guests or visiting Rotarians.
Club Events and Committee Announcements
There will be no Rotary meeting next week due to Memorial Day
The Memorial Day parade will be this Saturday, May 24, and all are encouraged to participate. We will march, along with other Rotary clubs and the float. Please sign up to get instructions on meeting place and last-minute updates. Clubrunner Website Click here
We should be receiving instructions today on where to meet.
Booth at Ski to Sea, Sunday May 25
The club will also have a booth at the Ski to Sea race on the 25th. It will not be far from the finish line.
Meeting Updates:
June 30
Changing of the Guard
5:30
Holiday Inn at the Airport
Evening meeting in lieu of the Regular Meeting
Come try the venue as a potential location for future meetings. We will start at 5:30 for socializing, followed by a buffet for $30 and program. Spouses and guests will be invited. Stay tuned for online signups the week before.
July 28th meeting is cancelled and we will be holding a noon general meeting Thursday July 31st at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club. We will be served a buffet for $29 so again stay tuned for online signups.This will be another opportunity to try a potential venue for meetings, although we would have to change our meeting days to Thursday as it is not available on Mondays. After trying all the locations, we will put it to a vote to the membership.
The Board Meeting May 15, 2025
Board Briefs
We discussed having June 30, 2025 for the Changing of the Guard and doing so at an evening meeting.
The board approved the following Service Fund Grants for $1,000 each
Whatcom Million Trees (sponsor Doug Cole) - This would fund a survey and mapping of trees in Bellingham neighborhoods threatened by English ivy.
Bellingham Symphony Orchestra (sponsor Marty Haines) - This grant would help pay for an upgrade to their music library storage system.
Whatcom Dream (sponsor Paul Grey) - This grant would fund one 8-week class for about 15 people on Financial Literacy.
The sponsors of the above projects will be contacted, and presentation dates set with recipients, who will make 3-minute talks on what the funds will be used for.
Sandee presented the 2025-2026 proposed budget for the club, and it was approved.
The district is making District Awards with submissions due June 15, 2025, to District Awards Chair, Brad Whittaker. The awards will be announced at the District Installation Event July 20, 2025, at the Peace Arch Heritage Hall on the Canadian side of the border.
The Board felt that we should apply for the International Project Award – Awarded to the Club with the best International Project naming ARES, Mark Knittel’s project. Mark will give Sandee information to submit the nomination.
The new meeting location committee consists of Steve Ban, Chair with the addition of Cathy Buckley, Sandee Lindhout, George Halsell, Fred Kaiser, Mark Knittel, John Moffat, and Aaron Booker. The committee will have a meeting on Monday May 19th, after the noon meeting to discuss findings further.
We held a recent social event at Lombardi’s Restaurant with spouses, and the following comments were made:
There were many concerns about the size of the room with spouses (max is 52, which is what we had)– no room to move around and socialize, food was great, but there was a delay in service that would need to be corrected. Communication between the catering manager and staff needs to be better. Sandee had told them she would arrive at 5:30 to set up and needed a table for the badge box. They told us, when we arrived, we couldn’t get in till 5:45 because they were still preparing the tables. There was no table for the badge box, raffle sales, and bell available.
Although there was no formal vote, we got the definite impression from board members, as well as the many email comments from other club members, that having an evening business meeting once a month was desired. The other consensus was having a purely social evening meeting with spouses quarterly, with no program speaker.
The discussion then turned to what type of club we want, more of a business & younger club vs retirement club.
Next Board Meeting will be June 19th at 4:30 on zoom.
A mega fake check for $165,036.09 was given to Hans Erchinger-Davis, the Executive Director of The Lighthouse Mission and RCOB member. by Dave Blair and Dennis Williams, co-chairs of the Major Project Committee. The total RCOB campaign raised the $165,036.09 over two years, which will support in part a specialty clinic within the new facility.
Thank you members for all your support in making this Major Project a success.
Book Review
by Del VandeKerk
Del reviewed the book, “A Walk in the Park” written by Kevin Fedarko.
Del reviewed the book, “A Walk in the Park” written by Kevin Fedarko. It is a story of how Fedarko and his friend hiked the 790-mile length of the Grand Canyon. It is an incredibly arduous route, as much of the Canyon has no trails. At the bottom is the Colorado River. The canyon walls rise steeply up from the river. Substantial amounts of the hike are hiking up and down – including using ropes to climb up and rappel down steep cliffs. Del noted that when they started, they were inexperienced and unprepared but learned how to properly hike the canyon by realizing, for example, the importance of shedding weight and being fit. Del noted the valuable historical facts about the canyon, including the Native Americans who have resided in the park for thousands of years.
One of pleas of the book is to realize the importance of preserving the park. Today, helicopter and airplane traffic carrying tourists disrupt the scenery and quiet – challenging the park as a wilderness. Del noted that the book is well written and he enjoyed it
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.
Nathan Twining introduced the speakers: Steve Gray and Sandee Lindhout for the program, “RCOB: Our club, our money helping others”
Steve Gray is Vice President, Sr. Real Estate Loan Officer of People’s Bank, RCOB Treasurer for7 years, and a member of the Club. He was joined by Sandee Lindhout, our Club Executive Secretary, who has served for 54years and worked with Rotary 5 years prior to that.
Steve provided an overview of the Club (and the Club's Foundation's) finances. The Club maintains accounts at Key Bank ($10,727.11) and Vanguard ($126,999.77) for a total of $137,726.77.
Annually, our dues bring in about $32,400, and new member fees bring in about $500, for a total operating budget of $32,900.
The dues we pay as members are allocated as follows:
$225 goes to club expenditures,
$100 goes to the Rotary Foundation (and is deductible)
$50 goes to the Rotary International Foundation (also deductible)
Steve believes the Club’s finances are in good shape. The Club has a balance of $129,999.77 in its operating fund, yielding about $450 a month to support Club operations.
Steve observed that the Club remains engaged in the community. He pointed out the club’s largest fundraising event was Mountain Film, which last year raised $6,830.04 for the club. We continue to support the eradication of polio by an annual $2,000 contribution thru the RCOB Foundation.
Steve noted the important role that Happy Bucks plays in the Club’s finances. It brings in around $8,000 a year. The raffle brings in about $1,000 a year and will be discontinued because of changes in state law. The Board is looking at alternatives.
The Club maintains a balanced budget without dipping into reserves.
The Rotary Club of Bellingham is a separate entity (i.e., separate from its Foundation) with approximately $1.8 million. When asked, Steve reported that income from investments exceeds the outflow so he does not see a problem with supporting annual scholarships. The Foundation is healthy. When asked about dues levels, Steve mentioned this has been discussed frequently, with the last change having been made two years ago. He did not see any budgetary reason to make changes in dues levels now, while he acknowledged there may be other reasons the club would want to adjust dues.
To review monthly financial reports and board minutes, go to the home page of our website and under For Members go to Financials and Board Minutes.
Closing:
In concluding the meeting, President Steve thanked those who helped with the meeting, including Rick Kaiser (music), Bob Morse (greeter), Rob Olson (raffle sales), Catherine Riordan (Editor) and Paul Grey who pitch hit with an impromptu invocation.
Paul Grey - Invocation
Del VandeKerk - Book Review
Steve Ban and his first place metal for Trivia Night
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.
