Board Briefs – August 13, 2020
We have 3 website sponsorships still opened and encouraging members to fill the spots.
Membership engagement concerns were discussed due to Covid. The Membership, Attraction & Retention Committee is forming a mentorship program to engage new members. More details to come.
Regarding continuing Virtual Meetings, the board feels we will be continuing them at least till January 1st. It was suggested that we record the meetings and it was agreed that we will start recording the program portion on a trial basis. The speaker will be notified and if they prefer it not be recorded, we will respect that. Shauna will help us set it up. It will be accessed on You-Tube and the link will be in the Tattler. There were some concerns about the loss of member attendance at meetings and it will be monitored. Members will also be encouraged to invite guests.
Regarding the meeting location discussion, Stay tuned. All venues we are looking at are currently closed.
John Pedlow reported that the 2020-2021 Major Project Selection Committee has 4 projects to consider and will be meeting August 26th. President Gary Goldfogel and Peter Theisen suggested that we possibly merge the selected project into a 2 year project with 2021-22 plans. This was also discussed by the committee.
John Moffat and Steve Ban Co-Chairman of the Blood Donations Committee attended the meeting to discuss this year’s blood drive. Due to Covid the mobile banks are shut down. Currently only the standard donation center on Bakerview is opened. They are planning a pop-up center at the Northwest Washington Fair grounds at the end of August. BloodWorks Northwest suggested we consider a blood drive challenge with other clubs. Currently the Burlington Rotary Club has challenged us. The board liked this idea and the committee will proceed setting it up, most likely for the month of October.
International Service - The board had approved $12,000 for the Rotary year for $5,000 Cabanas water project, $5,000 ARES project and $2,000 for the annual IPA membership payment. The committee found that the Cabanas project was too large and is requesting to divide the $5,000 between two projects as follows: Naranjal de Cabanas and Penas 1 de. The host club would be the Rotary Club of Copan Ruinas, Honduras. This change was approved by the board and a revised grant request will be sent to the RCOB Foundation.
Next Board meeting is September 10, 2020
URGENT: We are looking for Website/Tattler sponsors for the next Rotary year starting July 1st. It is a great opportunity to advertise your business and support Rotary. $350.00 for the year. Please check out the current sponsors on our website by going to www.bellinghamrotary.org on the home page. If you "click" on a sponsor it will take you to their website. It also shows up in the tattler. Contact Sandee if interested. We have 3 spots remaining.
All Rotary meetings will be held Virtually on Zoom until at least January 1, 2021 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 12:15 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 Goggle "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 5532. Give Sandee a call if you need help.
