"A Wandering Mind - Conceiving, Writing and Publishing a Book"
Opening Welcome:
President Steve Ban rang the bell, opening the meeting, noting that it is St. Patrick’s Day. His Paul P. Harris quote of the day was “Small acts of kindness create a ripple effect of goodness”
He also announced that our 5 Hungarian Rotary visitors would be arriving on September 16-20, 2025 . We need an additional 4 host families who could provide room and breakfast for these guests.
There is a Rotary board meeting today at 4:30 on Zoom, please call Sandee for the link if you would like to join us.
Guests:
Shauna Naf introduced visitor Mike Montazeri
Felicity Dye brought her darling 11 month old grandaughter, Mataia Dye.
Doug Cole introduced our newest member Pierce Roberts
Members on Zoom: Jack Westford, Mike Bradburn, Loch Trimingham, Sandy McIntire and Mike Mallory
Club Events and Committee Announcements
NEW MEMBER INDUCTION
Pierce Roberts proposed by Doug Cole and Tom Grinstad to fill the classification "Airline Pilot" was inducted.
First Officer Pierce Roberts was born in Sonoma, California and raised by his two parents who were an E.R. Nurse and a Firefighter. After graduating from high school, Pierce attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he majored in International Relations and German. While at the academy, Pierce learned the incredible reward that comes from selfless service and there learned that he wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to it. After graduating from West Point, Pierce attended U.S. Army flight school, where he became a qualified military aviator in the UH-60 Blackhawk program. Pierce served as a Platoon Leader, Executive Officer, and Operations Officer at the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado. Afterwards, Pierce was selected to join the ranks of the U.S. Army Special Operations Civil Affairs forces at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He served as an Operations Officer and Team Commander, taking his Civil Affairs specialists throughout South-East Asia to focus on human network engagement, civil-stability programs, and humanitarian assistance.
Pierce met his future wife, Maureen Murphy, in his last year in the Army at Joint-Base Lewis McChord while serving in 1st Special Forces Group. Upon leaving the military, he attended and graduated the Infinity Flight Group Rotary Transition Program, Airline Transport Pilot Course, and initial airline training to become fully qualified as an airline pilot for Allegiant Air in Bellingham, Washington. This is what brings him to the Rotary Club today.
Pierce enjoys skiing the most, but loves the outdoors in all forms. He hunts, fishes, hikes, and appreciates time with family and friends. His current goals are to become a hunter safety instructor, get his project management certification, and climb Mount Rainier; and of course; become a member of Rotary.
Doug Cole gave him the Rotary Charge. He was enthusiastically welcomed to the Club.
Shauna Naf handed out 2 of the new T-shirts that are given to members who complete their attendance cards. Congratulations Ward Naf and George Halsell!
Committee Announcements:
Memorial Park Work Party - Save the Date
Our annual Community Work Party at Memorial Park is scheduled for Saturday, May 17th from 9am-noon. More information will follow.
Meal Packing
Marty Haines announced that people should sign up to help with the food packing event 5 April in the Assumption Gymnasium, scheduled 9:15 - noon. We hope to pack 35,000 meals, which translates to $12,400 cash to raise. We are happy to announce that, thanks to generous people, we have met our goal.
About 10 members are needed to show up early at 8:00 am to help set up. Contact Roland if you can help with set-up at 360-201-1090 or rstrenouth@comcast.net
February 23rd, 1954. 71 years ago today, Dr. Jonas Salk hosted the first polio vaccination clinic in Pittsburgh, PA. The effort ultimately became Rotary’s 40 year trek to eradicate polio worldwide. Imagine: ten billion vaccinations to three billion children in just the last ten years. Imagine: just three cases of Wild Polio Virus year-to-date in 2025. But when the Taliban stopped its Afghanistan 2024 vaccination program, wild polio virus jumped to 95 cases. Clearly, without vaccination programs, the virus can and will return with a vengeance.
Miss Vicky Rides Again! Locked inside our 1931 Model A Ford is a pledge to contribute $25,000.00 to PolioPlus WHEN ROTARIANS RAISE A MATCHING $25,000. Simple as that. Mr. Gates further matches each dollar with two of his own. $25 thousand becomes $50k which becomes $150,000, thanks to you, an anonymous PolioPlus donor and the Gates Foundation. Your gift to this "challenge grant" is fully tax deductible, moves you toward Major Donor status and comes with matching TRF points to use as you desire. Rise to the challenge! Contribute generously to the 2025 Miss Vicky Challenge for PolioPlus.
This link will take you to a video that will tell a bit about the book:Illuminate™ | Duarte
Jim Lemerond talked about “Illuminate” by Nancy Duarte and Patti Sanchez which has been so helpful for developing his leadership skills. The book describes five stages of change, following the story line of an epic.
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.
"A Wandering Mind - Conceiving, Writing and Publishing a Book"
Nathan Twining introduced today’s speaker, Tony Moceri.
He talked about the process he had writing his first book, starting with early efforts to get short articles published, initially for free in 2020. Now he writes for several local publications, including Mt. Baker Experience. Because he tends to have a very active mind but a relatively short attention span, he decided to compile many lighthearted stories into a book titled “A Wandering Mind”. That started the long process of learning about the hurdles for getting his book published and the many different categories of people that are necessary. He was fortunate to find a helpful publisher who guided him through many edits. He noted that to write, you need to have a passion for it since the hourly pay is very low for most writers.
Closing:
President Steve thanked all the people involved in putting the meeting together. After the winning raffle ticket was drawn, he rang the close of the meeting.
Rotary Brass - Doug Cole, John Dunne, George Halsell, Del VandeKerk and Pete Kirkman
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.
