Speaker Felicity Dye - Incredible India, a Rotary Experience
March 20, 2023
Opening Welcome:
With the ringing of the bell, the meeting was brought to order at 12:30 PM by President Paul Grey, who noted that today was the first day of Spring. Rather than proceed with the usual order for starting meetings, he asked for Happy Bucks, especially since there had been no time for Happy Bucks at last week’s meeting. There was a robust response from members.
Club and Committee Announcements:
Shauna Naf announced that our Club has been accepted as a sponsor of the 2023 Ski-to-Sea event. She will have a RCOB booth at the finish area in Marine Park and asked for volunteers to assist her. She noted that this is a good way to increase our visibility in the community, as a way to attract new members.
John Dunne reminded members that they could still turn in donation forms to help furnish apartments for the homeless.
Our meal packing event is on Saturday, April 22 from 8:30 to noon at the Assumption gym. We will pack 30,000 meals, each costing only 22 cents, which will be sent to Sierra Leone in West Africa. Organizers Roland Trenouth and Marty Hainesannounced that, currently, there are 60 individuals signed up for the April 22 event to pack meals for the people of Sierra Leone. They need 100 volunteers, so club members, family and friends are urged to sign up. (Click Here to Register)
The annual Memorial Day parade is on May 27 and RCOB will be both a sponsor and participant.
FelicityDyenoted the promotional literature on the tables to introduce YAIL (Youth Adventures in Leadership) to the students. YAIL is for students 15-17 and Rotarians' families can participate. It will be held March 31-April 2nd in Surrey, B.C. and the club has budgeted 3 students to send. Contact Felicity Dye if interested. Click here for information
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. 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.
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:
Steve Ban introduced today’s featured speaker, our own Felicity Dye.
Felicity Dye introduced her husband Curtis, with Bellingham Bay Rotary, and friends on Zoom: former RCOB member Jennifer Moehl Sheahan and Canadian Rotarian Andrea Stiller.
Peter Theisen brought Erica Littlewood, with the Burlington Rotary Club and friend of Felicity's.
Del VandeKerk introduced Jeremy Loween.
Monty McAllister brought his wife Donna.
Shauna Naf introduced Russell Carson, with Anthony's Restaurant.
Special Guests David Lukov, District Governor-Elect for 2023-24 (who presented a
computer bag, which had arrived belatedly, to President-Elect Doug Cole for his service to the
Club), and Bill Kirby, Rotarian from Carson City, Nevada.
Zoom attendee members: Jack Westford, Steve Hager, Bob Morse,Dick Tucker and Fred Kaiser
Program:
Steve Ban introduced today’s speaker, Club member Felicity Dye, who presented Incredible India – A Rotary
Experience, an account of the Rotary-organized tour of India this past January. They were a group of Rotarians and their spouses from the USA, Canada, Germany and Brazil. Over the course of 15 days, they focused on two cities, Ahmadabad, a World Heritage site in far western India, and Rishikesh in the Himalayan foothills. They traveled from one to the other via a 9-hour train trip aboard a sleeper car, six bunk beds per room, with no gender separation. The most entertaining part of the presentation was Felicity's (fully clothed) demonstration of the unique difficulty women have in using the opening in the floor that served as the toilet, on a moving train. They were able to immerse themselves in the diverse Indian culture by avoiding the popular tourist sites and, instead, interacting with Indians going about their daily lives. They visited a Hindu temple (where they observed a blessing ceremony), a Sikh temple and a Muslim mosque, as well as a number of Indian Rotary Clubs. Felicity showed several very interesting videos, which gave us a sense of the very noisy and crowded streets as well as the beauty of ancient cities and country sides. For Felicity, the most important aspect of her experience was developing lasting friendships with Rotarians from around the world.
Closing:
President Paul thanked all those who helped make the meeting possible, requested that everyone help with cleanup, and rang us to adjournment at 1:30 PM.
