John Moffat Book Review Speakers: Brian Griffin Shauna Naf Vinson Latimore
Jodi Borrelli Felicity Dye Rick Kaiser Steve Ban
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Tom Grinstad Marty Haines Monty McAllister
And socializing!
Steve Gray working hard
Sandy McIntire
December 20, 2021
Opening Welcome:
Prior to the start of the meeting, our Rotary Brass, assisted by guests Mark Lindenbaum and Doug Robertson, serenaded members with delightful Christmas Carols that even your Jewish reporter thoroughly enjoyed! President Peter rang the meeting to order at 12:31 PM. It was this club's 4720th meeting overall and the 77th virtual and 23rd in-person meeting since the start of the pandemic. After welcoming members and guests, Peter asked for a moment of silence in memory of local state senator Doug Ericksen, who passed away 3 days previously.
Book Review by John Moffat "Bagman" by Rachel Maddow and mchael Yarvitz (2020)
This book chronicles the criminal investigation leading up to the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew on October 10, 1973. Agnew had been the Baltimore County Executive from 1962-66 and Governor of Maryland from 1967-68 before Richard Nixon selected him as his running mate in the 1968 presidential election.
Beginning in late 1972, the U.S. Attorney’s Maryland office began an investigation into bribery and kickbacks relating to engineering and construction contracts in Baltimore County. It issued dozens of subpoenas and interviewed many people connected to both county government and engineering and construction contractors. The information gathered led to the inescapable conclusion that there was a clear understanding among contractors that to get those types of contracts in Baltimore County, they had to bribe local officials, primarily the County Executive, at that time a man named Dale Anderson.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that this bribe and kickback scandal had been going on farther back, during Agnew’s time as County Executive. Building contractors provided detailed accounts of delivering envelopes with thousands of dollars to Agnew personally during his years as County Executive, and that he expected this in return for approving the contracts to those contractors. Moreover, these payoffs did not stop after Agnew left the County Executive’s office. Rather, they continued when he was governor, and involved even bigger payoffs to him by contractors for state road contracts. Most surprisingly, payoffs continued even after Agnew ascended to Vice President, with contractors making trips to meet him at the White House to deliver envelopes of cash.
As these facts became known, the three young assistant U.S. attorneys in the Baltimore office built a case against Agnew. In July 1973, they and their boss, the U.S. Attorney for Maryland, George Beall, went to Washington, D.C., to meet with Attorney General Elliot Richardson. Richardson had been A.G. for only 39 days and was up to his neck in the Watergate investigation. However, after hearing of the accusations against Agnew, he told the folks to keep investigating until they had all loose ends tied up in a tight case against him. This is what happened. In August, they began negotiating with Agnew’s attorneys. Richardson wanted Agnew to resign as part of any plea bargain, since Richardson viewed it as imperative to get him out of office before he succeeded to the presidency in the event that Nixon resigned or was impeached as a result of the Watergate matter. Agnew, throughout the proceedings, denied any wrongdoing, and attacked the prosecutors as biased and politically motivated. Agnew additionally claimed that, as Vice President, he was immune from prosecution. His defense suffered a fatal blow when he Department of Justice issued a legal opinion that only the President, not the Vice President, was immune from criminal prosecution while in office. Although he agreed to resign (to save the country the embarrassment of a long trial, he said), he refused to consider any jail time.
Agnew eventually pleaded no contest to one count of tax evasion, paid a $10,000 fine and agreed to three years of unsupervised probation. The young assistant U.S. attorneys were chagrined that he got no jail time, but Richardson overruled them, saying it was best for the country to get rid of him as VP. As fate would have it, President Nixon fired Richardson ten days after Agnew’s court plea, due to Richardson’s refusal to fire special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox. Who knows what would have happened if Agnew had dragged out his plea bargaining beyond that date?
Richardson was portrayed as a highly ethical public servant, prosecuting the highest-ranking people in his own party for their misdeeds, regardless of their political affiliation.
Club and Committee Announcements
President Peter reminded members that there would be no Club meeting next Monday, December 27, due to the holidays. Our next meeting will be January 3; starting with that meeting, members and guests attending meetings in person will be required to show proof of complete COVID vaccination, including a booster shot if it had been 6 months or longer since the last primary vaccination.
Major Project Co-Chair John Dunne presented a video made by the Community Boating Center (CBC), detailing how that organization helps to support other local non-profits, such as the Max Higbee Center (the recipient of a recent RCOB Major Project grant), YouthNet and Growing Veterans. The point was that, in helping the CBC to thrive, our Club will indirectly be helping numerous other worthy local organizations as well. John and President Peter urged every member to contribute to the Major Project in the near future.
Football Pool
Sun Bowl - December 31, 2021 WSU vs Miami (Click Here)
Rose Bowl - January 1, 2022 Utah vs Ohio (Click Here)
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 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. HERE ARE ZOOM INSTRUCTIONS.
Four Points is not requiring a Contract thru 2021 and need only 72 hours to cancel an event. We will continue to evaluate other locations for a permanent location. Lunch will be $22 for a sit-down meal. We must notify them by Wednesday at 4:00 pm each week prior to the Monday meeting as to the number of members attending. We are sending out meeting “Invite's” 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 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.
Four Points also will not collect the payment weekly, so 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 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
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 can simply click on 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 bellinghamrotary.org first. 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 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:
Del VandeKerk introduce Rotary Brass guests Mark Lindenbaum and Doug Robertson
Dale Rings joined us from Arizona.
Other members who were on Zoom: Robin Halliday, Scott Wallace, Corey Chaplin, Ken Marzocco, Doug Cole, Monty McAllister, Dick Tucker, John Harris, Steve Hettick & Tim Farris.
Presentation:
President Peter presented Club member and former President Sandy McIntire a Paul Harris Award +2 to a standing ovation by Club members.
Program:
The featured program, as presented by Program Chair Doug Cole, consisted of Club members sharing favorite stories of past Christmas celebrations.
Brian Griffin began with fond memories of his family driving down from Bellingham to celebrate Christmas at his maternal grandmother's large home in Seattle.
Shauna Naf followed with an amazingly creative and very funny Christmas poem describing the difficulties Santa Clause encountered while making his Christmas Eve rounds and how the various animals from the Naf farm came to his rescue.
Vinson Latimore then shared that, somehow, he and his wife never got around to taking down their Christmas tree from last Christmas. As the weeks and months went by and the beautiful lights greeted him coming home from work each evening, he realized that his living Christmas tree was maintaining the spirit of Christmas year-round and thus may never come down.
Jodi Borrelli noted it's the first time since 2011 that she has been able to decorate a Christmas tree and adorn it with her beloved Mickey Mouse ornaments. She also told two stories from bellringing this year that revealed community members in need even in the Haggen parking lot and her continuing sense that she is just where she needs to be.
Felicity Dye told of her kids and a Rotary exchange student going to a friend's tree farm with a saw in hand to cut down and take home a tree for their Christmas tree, as they had done many times. A couple of days later, when she went to thank her friend, he told her that he had sold the Tree Farm two years earlier!
Steve Ban remembered the one Christmas that his Jewish family celebrated when he was 9 years old: When they made it across the border from Hungary to Austria on December 26, 1956, they walked for hours in the dark in knee-deep snow, hoping to reach an Austrian village without wandering back into Hungary. They finally reached the village and saw a large, beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the village square and realized that they were finally safe and free.
Tom Grinstad remembered a special Christmas in 1969, when he was stationed in Dac To, Viet Nam during the Viet Nam War. He and his fellow soldiers were paid a surprise visit by famous entertainer Martha Raye. He got to talk to and have his picture taken with her.
Marty Haines described a tropical Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere, where the Christmas morning tradition was to dive off your boat into the ocean.
Finally, Monty McAllister had fond memories of traveling by car around Seattle visiting and looking at Christmas celebrations.
Covid Report:
Gary Goldfogel reported continued worrisome numbers from St. Joseph Hospital: 25 inpatients with COVID, 13 of whom are in the ICU, some on ventilators; unknown how many are unvaccinated or how many have the Omicron variant.
Final Announcement:
President Peter thanked those who contributed to the meeting, wished everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and rang the meeting closed at 1:30 PM.
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