Ann Jones presented the book review. Ann was a last-minute substitute and filled in admirably. She reviewed “1774” by Mary Beth Norton. The book details the historic struggle to come to an agreement among the colonies about how to deal with the high tariffs on British Tea. None of the colonies had their own government bodies since they were governed by a British appointed administrator with no input from the colonists. The British justified their tea tariff and other high taxes as a way to pay for the 13 administrators and standing armies in the colonies. Virginia wrote a draft of articles of confederation which called for an annual Continental Congress. Other colonies objected and several resigned from the first Congress. Loyalties were split between those colonies who wanted to fight the tariffs and those who remained loyal to the Crown.
Opening Welcome:
President Gary Goldfogel called the meeting to order, the 4691st RCOB meeting and our 47th virtual meeting.
Club and Committee Announcements
Andy Day donated $43 Happy Bucks to celebrate 43 years with the Bellingham Fire Department and also his retirement effective April 30th. There will be a retirement party Friday, April 30, 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. (ceremony at 3:30), Bellingham Fire Station 1, 1800 Broadway, Casual attire, masks required (Click Here for flyer)
2021-2022 Rotary Year Planning
Peter Theisen is working on planning his 2021-2022 Rotary Year as President. Regarding committee planning, he has announced that he will keep all chairman and committee members in place for next year unless a member requests a change. Contact Peter or Sandee if you would like to be added to additional committee's or want to make a change.
Major Awards:
Major Awards nominations are being accepted through the month of April, by the Executive Committee for the: Will J. Griswold Club Service Award; the David C. Morse Sr. Community Service Award; the Michael K. Mischaikow International Service Award and the Karen W. Morse Vocational Service Award. These awards will be presented at the June 28th Changing of the Guard meeting. Submit nominations to Executive Committee members President Goldfogel, Past President Cathy Buckley, President-Elect Peter Theisen and VP Paul Grey. Sandee has emailed the criteria and list of former winners. The winners are honored with a $1,000 donation to the RCOB Foundation. Criteria and Former Winners (Click Here)
Rotary Cruise
Marty Haines again reviewed the details of the planned Whale Watching Cruise, scheduled for June 21, and urged all members to reply to the email invite. Family members and friends are encouraged to attend. Ahoy! Special price is $90 a person and the date is Monday, June 21st. You can sign-up by using the email that was sent out or go to the bellinghamrotary.org website under events and register. Marty guarantees great weather for the whale watching boat.
Ongoing Announcements:
Blood Drive:
Steve Ban reminds us that when we donate blood, they are still testing for and informing us whether or not you have Covid antibodies. He also reported that our blood drive will be open for the entire Rotary year, until June 30, 2021. We are participating, along with the other clubs in our Area G, in a District 5050 challenge against the other District Areas. He is encouraging friends and relatives to join in. Those who can't donate blood can donate plasma. Currently, the W. Bakerview office is the only donation location open in Whatcom County. Click Here for additional information.The minimum age for donating blood is 16 and those 16 and 17 would need parent’s permission to participate. Rumor has it that you can score a Bloodworks pair of socks for donating! You may schedule your donation appointment on the flyer in the above link or you can make an appointment by phone. In either case, when you are donating, please tell them that you are donating on behalf of RCOB.
YAIL
This year's District YAIL (Youth Adventures In Leadership) program will look different, like so many other activities. It is available for all High School students this year for FREE with a limited number of registrations at 30. It will be over 5 separate sessions. Click Here for information
Meeting Virtually
All Rotary meetings will be held Virtually on Zoom until further notice due to Covid-19 social distancing. You can look for an email from Sandee each week prior to the Monday 12:30 meeting (you can start logging in at 12:00 for short socializing) with the link for that privacy protected meeting. If you have not 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 do not have 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.
RCOB has now set up a Venmo account for ease in payment of 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 directly 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
Here is a tutorial on how to login for the first time. (Click here) In order to login you need to know your user name and password in your Clubrunner account. The user name is Yourfirstname.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 my 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:
Former members Dale Rings, Joe Jarzembowski and Aaron Booker joined us, so great to see them!!
Dr, Michael Mallory also joined us and introduced by Sandee Lindhout
Paul Grey introduced our speaker, Don Goldberg, Port Director of Economic Development "The Regional Economic Partnership REP"
Program:
Today’s program was “The Regional Economic Partnership”, presented by Don Goldberg, the Port of Bellingham Director of Economic Development. He has held several previous development positions, most recently a similar position with the Port of Portland before coming to Bellingham in 2018. He leads a staff of four. He has a particularly broad definition of what is necessary for retaining and assisting the development of existing business as well as the impediments to attracting new business, especially from British Columbia, which are eager to expand into the larger market of the US. The two greatest current impediments to both efforts are the dearth of affordable housing for workers and the shortage of child care programs. He noted that child care is already short 5000 positions for children in the county. Despite these limitations, he has already been able to recruit four new companies to the area. He coordinates his efforts with a bewildering array of national, state, county, local and non-profit organizations, as well as other ports. He was particularly pleased the Port of Bellingham has been designated an Associated Development Organization (ADO) which is a part of the State Department of Commerce. His department has coordinated the dispensing of federal small business loans to those that have had difficulty obtaining loans from traditional lenders. They have already obtained and invested $2 million in “last mile” rural broadband expansion and plans to invest a total of $15 M. Among their most important projects was mapping utilities and infrastructure throughout the I-5 corridor to make it easier to coordinate planning by various city and county agencies.
Covid Report:
President Gary noted that there have been 16 inpatient COVID 19 patients at St. Joe’s with no recent hospital deaths. Six of those patients will be discharged today.
Program Recordings: We are now recording the speaker portion of our meetings:
Missed a meeting? Remember a great speaker but want to revisit the content? You can catch the recording on our Rotary Club of Bellingham YouTube page:
