President Brad opened the meeting by recounting a recent amusing experience that took place Sunday morning when he stepped out on his deck to enjoy the beautiful clear day. He took a deep breath and was enjoying the freshness of the air, only to be informed by his wife that what he was smelling was the fabric softener from the clothes dryer.
Announcements:
Social Committee Special Announcement
Catherine Riordan, for the Social Committee, announced that the club will pilot a new social event, a club Happy Hour at the Bellingham Country Club Tonight at 5 – 7 pm, Thursday, February 26. Members and friends are encouraged to stop by for some social time. If the event is a success, this could become a regular Club event.
Bruce MacCormack made an announcement regarding the upcoming Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - Friday, March 20that 6:00 p.m. Sign-up sheets will be on the table for the next few weeks so please sign up to be a host or guest. Contact Bruce or Nathan Twining if you have any questions.
Marty Haines announced that this years annual Cruise will be May 18th to Sucia Island on the "Salish Sea" with San Juan Cruises. Save the date - more information will be coming.
Board Briefs from February 12, 2015 Meeting:
President Brad reported to the Board on the Past Presidents Assembly held January 29th.
The Board continued a discussion on the membership loss over the years with the membership in June, 1985 at 227 and as of June, 2014 we were at 159 (Including Honorary). We are at 148 (including 8 Honorary Members) currently.
Del VandeKerk, Chuck Snyder, Teri Treat and President Brad will form a nucleus to look at our membership concerns.
NEW BUSINESS:
The Board approved the following membership: Lisa Saar proposed by Margaret Curtis and Steve Hager to fill the classification “Law-General Practice”. She will be eligible for membership unless a letter of objection is received on or before March 7, 2015 to Sandra Lindhout, 2200 Vining St., Bellingham, Wa. 98229
Letters of Resignation were accepted with great regret from Fred Sexton (Retired) and Sue Bussinger(Working out of area)
Service Fund Grant requests from Chuck Snyder were submitted and approved by the Board. The RCOB Foundation has approved the Grant requests.
Knitted Knockers – Rotary sponsor Andrew Evans - $1000.00
Explorations Academy – Rotary sponsor Bruce MacCormack - $1000.00
Bellingham Food Bank – Rotary sponsor Doug Cole - $1000.00
WCC Girls Go Tech – Rotary sponsor Robin Halliday - $400.00
The next Board of Directors meeting is March 12, 2015
Guests of Rotarians:
Megan Stanfield introduced Lydia Ahn with VSH CPA
Chuck Snyder brought Lori Jump with Media Migration SVC
Mike Meggyesy introduced Kelly Jeffrey with Windermere
Tim Farris brought Dan Dahlgren
Debbie Ahl and Dominique Zervas co-hosted Jennifer Kutcher - CEO of WECU
Patty McKeown introduced Frank Powers, Bellingham Technical College VP of Instruction
Students of the Month - Music
Del VandeKerk introduced Bellingham High School student, Ian Slater and his mother Tonja Myers with Bellingham BayRotary Club. Ian plays the Cello.
Megan Stanfield introduced Sehome High School student, Adam Work and his mother Erica Work, Father Steve Work, Uncle CK Littlewood and grandparents Pat and Bob Littlewood. Adam played the Violin.
Bob Nicholl introduced Squalicum High School student, Charley Cowgill and her parents Robert and Glida Cowgill. Charley played the Viola.
Presentations:
Tim Farris was cited for his leadership efforts of recruiting new members to our club. Since membership numbers are down from previous years, his leadership in this area is especially important.
Students of the Month
The three music students, Ian Slater from Bellingham, Adam Work from Sehome and Charley Cowgill from Squalicum were impressive. Each of these students treated us to a short presentation of their musical talents and were strongly applauded by a very receptive audience.
Program:Chief Justice, Barbara Madsen
Program Chair Chuck Snyder introduced the speaker, Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, who spoke on “The State of the Judiciary in Washington and Current Issues Before the State Supreme Court”.
Justice Madsen began her presentation with a brief history of the judicial system in Washington, starting from the time when were the Washington Territory. Beginning in the 1870’s, there were three judges who sat in courts at various locations around the Territory. Conditions for judges and the judicial system were not good, pay and working conditions were poor, and as a result judges frequently abruptly quit the system. But with statehood in 1894, an improved system was constitutionally defined, one consisting of a system of locally-elected judges and with a State Supreme Court. Originally, the Supreme Court had five member judges, but over time that number has been increased to nine. Justice Madsen noted that not only are judges locally elected but the courts are also mostly locally funded. Another unique feature of our system is that public officials, including judges are subject to voter recall. Justice Madsen noted that among the 50 states, Washington’s judicial system is 50th in terms of funding.
.jpg)
