Duane Clark, Paul Grey & Dave Cortelyou from Anacortes Club
January 9, 2023
Opening Welcome:
President Paul rang the meeting to order at 12:25 PM and welcomed all members and guests.
Club and Committee Announcements:
RCOB Board of Directors Meeting:
President Paul announced a Zoom meeting of the Board at 4:30 PM today Thursday January 12th. Any Club member is encouraged to attend; contact Sandee for the Zoom link.
Upcoming Events:
January 16, 2023 - No Meeting - Martin Luther King Day
February 6, 2023 - Annual Rotary Club of Bellingham Blood Drive 9:00 am-3:00 pm at Whatcom Community College (Click here for flyer)
Steve Ban urged all Club members who do not have a medical exemption to donate much-needed blood. Needle phobia is NOT a medical exemption!! You can sign-up at the remaining January Club meetings or by visiting bloodworksnw.org or calling 800-398-7888.
February 9, 2023 - 2023 Predictions New Fundraiser Event
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. 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:
President Paul introduced a first-ever fashion show to begin our meeting. Club members Vinson Latimore, Shauna Naf, Sarah Maloney, Ward Naf and Felicity Dye strutted their stuff while modeling an exquisite selection of RCOB apparel, including polo shirts, dress shirts, vests and hats. 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.
RCOB Publicity:
President Paul gave well-deserved kudos to Shauna Naf for publicizing our Club in the Cascade Daily News by writing a letter to the editor and an article about the important local community work of service clubs, especially the RCOB. (See below.)
Shauna Naf Letter to the Editor & Guest Writer (1-4-23) of Cascadia Daily News: Way to go Shauna!!
Dear Editor –
This letter is in reference to Ron Judd’s 12/14/22 Opinion article, “Service clubs aren’t dead yet – but the prognosis isn’t good.” Judd argues that service clubs such as Elks, Kiwanis, and Rotary have served our community well through the decades, but membership in these is flagging due to reasons such as antiquated membership standards and (implied) ambiguous or irrelevant missions and objectives.
We can’t speak to what other organizations are doing to remain relevant in the eyes of up-and-coming generations, but we can share the mindset of Rotary Clubs of Whatcom County. A key objective now and in the years ahead is encouraging service-minded individuals to join our ranks. Our Clubs need people who have a Rotary spirit, who put service above self, and who are ready to roll up their sleeves and work for the good of the community. It's not about who you know, where you work, how much you make, where you were born, or what you had for breakfast – we want people who want to make the world a better place. Committees in each Club are focused on a variety of initiatives including helping communities internationally, helping Whatcom County students through our robust scholarship program, implementing a Youth Exchange program with other countries throughout the world, providing a hands-on workforce of volunteers when the need arises in our community, and even providing nominal and large monetary grants to non-profits in our community in need of small additional funding amounts or large capital improvements.
This isn’t the moment to paint all service organizations with a broad brush, but if you like painting, cleaning up our parks, helping youth, and being part of Whatcom County’s legacy – and beyond! – take a closer look at Rotary. Make 2023 the year YOU take action to make the world a better place.
Shauna Naf
Rotary Club of Bellingham, Membership Chair and Board Member
Ask Not What Whatcom County Can Do For You…
By Shauna Naf
Rotary Club of Bellingham Membership Chair and Board Member
As you break out your 2023 planner and make your resolutions, there is one important question you should ask yourself:
“What am I going to do to make my community a better place this year?”
It is easy to look to our government, elected officials, and non-profits to do the heavy lifting; it is easy to sit behind our keyboards, critiquing the work that others are doing, are not doing, or how they are doing it. It can be overwhelming to hear about the pain and suffering of others on the news and feel powerless to help. While none of us alone has the power to change the world, when people come together, we can accomplish great things.
If you don’t have volunteering on your 2023 schedule yet, consider this your official invitation – or a wake-up call. Not only is it so fulfilling to give your time alongside others and see how much can be accomplished, but it could be argued that it is one’s civic duty. Our country is no stranger to chipping in and helping out. From scrap drives during WWII to helping first responders during the early days of the COVID pandemic, helping is in our blood. However, we shouldn’t wait to be mobilized by a crisis. Our fellow men and women, our country, and our planet needs our help now.
Whatcom County is ripe with a variety of volunteer needs – everything from assisting at an overnight severe bad weather shelter to park clean up, building trails, helping seniors, and gardening. Just visit www.whatcomvolunteer.org to peruse upcoming volunteer needs and find activities that appeal to you. Some opportunities are 2–3-hour commitments while others are ongoing with weekly or monthly needs.
Want to take your volunteering to the next level in 2023? Consider joining a service organization such as Rotary, Kiwanis, or Lions. This is a great way to get active and meet like-minded, inspiring people as well as get to know the non-profits the organizations support. If this sounds like something you would like to investigate further, here are four tips to find a great service organization fit:
1. Look at their track record – What causes have they supported with their hands or via fundraising? Is their focus a good fit for the causes you care about in the community?
2. Attend a meeting – or two or three – Ask yourself how comfortable you feel. Are you inspired by the meeting? Do you want to spend more time getting to know the individual members?
3. How does work get done? – Is work being done by just a few individuals? By committees? Or does everyone pitch in for the cause?
4. What is expected of members? - From both a time and monetary perspective, make sure your expectations and availability of resources align with the service organization’s.
Can you imagine what our community would be like if each of us able-bodied and -minded individuals gave one or two hours a week? Don’t turn a blind eye or assume others are going to do it – this is your moment to decide to make a difference. Make a call, send an email, and begin to make a difference today.
Sunrise Rotary Club Fund Raiser:
Lydia Bennett from the Sunrise Rotary Club announced their annual Oysterfest Fund Raiser on February 4th at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club from 6:00-9:30 and passed out flyers.
Football Pool Date
1-9-2023 Game 14 College Football Championship Texas Christian University vs University of Georgia (Click Here)
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:
Rogan Jones introduced his sister Susan Jones and her husband Marco Zangari and son Rogan
Also Rogan's wife Renee Marr
Steve Ban introduced Duane Clark and Dave Cortelyou, Curt's son, visitors from the Anacortes Rotary Club
John Harris brought Steve Knight
Nathan Twining introduced Derek Buse
Paul Grey introduced Lydia Bennett with the Sunrise Rotary Club
Del VandeKerk brought his wife Willy
Felicity Dye introduced former member Aaron Booker and his son Augustino who will be our outgoing exchange student to Argentina
Roland Trenouth brought Jose Ledesmo
Marty Haines brought his wife Gail
Catherine Riordan brought her husband Philip Thompson
Zoom attendee visitors: Steve Hager, Ken Marzocco, Fred Kaiser, Gary Goldfogel and Scott Wallace
Presentations:
President Paul presented Ann Jones with an Honorary Membershipto the RCOB in recognition of her 37 years of active membership, being the first woman ("Look, it's a girl!!") Club member, serving on the Board of Directors, and hosting the best annual summer Club boat outing, without the use of a single boat! Ann received a well deserved standing ovation.
Rotary Club of Anacortes Centennial:
Duane Clark and Dave Courtelyou, from the Anacortes Rotary Club, gave a brief presentation about their Club's plans for celebrating their Centennial as a Club. They would like our Club to be involved because it was the RCOB that provided the support for starting their Club.
Dave showed the plans for improving their Rotary Park with a viewpoint trail and building a viewing platform on Cap Sante Viewpoint which would provide a beautiful view of Mt. Baker to the East as well as Anacortes to the West. They have already raised $350K of the $550K needed.
Duane showed slides depicting the pictures and names of the RCOB members who helped start the Anacortes Club in 1922. He invited members of our Club to their Centennial Celebration Dinner on February 23, 2023. Tickets cost $100, but Duane gave our Club 10 complimentary tickets in appreciation of our Club's assistance. However, President Paul, always looking out for the RCOB's financial welfare, immediately foresaw an auction in our near future!
Program:
Our main speaker, Harlan Kredit, gave a fascinating presentation about his experiences as a National Park Ranger at Yellowstone National Park for the past 50 summers. He was introduced by his long time friend and former Club president Del Vandekerk. Harlan's other career, during each school year, was as a biology teacher at Lynden Christian High School for the past 60 years, including being selected as National Science Teacher of the Year!
There are 60 National Parks in the United States. Some, such as Yellowstone, were established because of the natural beauty of their location. Others, such as Little Rock National Park in Arkansas, highlight US history. The US Congress approves the creation of National Parks. However, US Presidents can designate any location as a National Monument.
Yellowstone National Park is 150 years old, so Harlan has lived and worked there for a third of that time. His Yellowstone home is on the shore of Yellowstone Lake, a very large and deep lake. Artifacts up to 10,000 years old have been found there. Not surprisingly, Harlan's daughter and grandson have followed in his footsteps as Yellowstone Park Rangers.
Harlan showed fascinating pictures of the sudden appearance of boiling mud pots, grizzly bears rubbing on their favorite trees, and closeups of their favorite food, white bark pine. Bison became almost extinct in Yellowstone, only 25 remaining, but conservation measures have increased the herd into the thousands.
Harlan highlighted the difficulties that visitors to the Park have posed for him over the years. He showed us an alarming series of photos where a parent approached a bison from behind and placed a toddler on its back, for a photo op....what could possibly go wrong? Or a photo of a trailhead with a "Closed" sign and a bison sitting a few yards down the trail and an annoyed tourist asking Harlan why that trail was closed! He described and showed photos of tourists complaining that a bison or bear had charged at them for no reason, when, in fact, those animals were simply trying to cross the road, blocked by tourists, to get to a river or lake on the other side.
Harlan, at age 82, looking and acting much younger, is planning to have many more years of experiencing the pleasures and challenges of a Yellowstone National Park Ranger. More power to you, Harlan; you are an inspiration to all of us!
Closing:
President Paul thanked all those who assisted with the meeting, reminded us that there is no meeting next Monday, and rang us to adjournment at 1:32 PM.
