MEETING RECAP
Sunday, May 23, 2021
By: Joseph F. QuinnTHE LAKEWOOD KEY
for May 21, 2021
Is it True? The Lakewood Rotary meeting of May 21 took place on the 21st day of the month, at the start of the 21st week of the 21st year of the 21st Century? Check it out; it is essentially true. And nobody cared, probably because all of us were too excited about the 2021 Online Rotary Auction.
As usual, a few of the faithful gathered before the meeting started just to chew the fat or shoot the bull as we on the bulletin committee are fond of saying. Mary Moss had a good question: as an auction team captain how do you report your team’s donations and/or procurement? It seems the answer is that you as team captain need to submit a form listing all of your team’s procurement AND donations in order to be sure of getting the team credit.
Another revelation was President Mark Edgecomb explaining why he was participating without his usual coat and tie. He was working from home because he has been infected with Covid-19. All are wishing him a speedy recovery. He does not recommend this method of losing weight and added that his appetite has been missing in action for about a week.
John Warner said he wanted to take part in the pre-event (Sip by Sip) but was not sure about delivery and payment. In seconds, the problems were solved with Eric Quinn promising to deliver to his fellow University Place Resident Warner and Sally Porter Smith promising she would take care of John’s payment question. $50 earned right there in a few moments!
Right at 12:30 p.m. our ruddy-looking President rang the bell-- or banged the gavel-- so we could kick off the formal meeting. Paula Olson invoked for us all, Leanna Christian organized us all on Zoom, Treasurer John Lowney collected for us all, and Editor Joe Quinn is writing for us all, while all of us all shall submit photos to the Editor for use herein. See Below.
President Mark, as is his custom, recognized our erstwhile District Governor—Greg Horn—who used rotating winter and summer backgrounds showing Lake Steilacoom in every season. Very cool. Then Mark highlighted all Puffins in attendance.
SUNSHINE: John Forkenbrock reported that Walt Richardson had back surgery and is recovering. Bob Zawilski was reportedly in the hospital briefly with shortness of breath, but Bob was with us today and rapidly added that he is OK now. President Mark explained to the group what he had revealed in the pre-meeting chat….he is down with Covid-19 for about a week but starting to feel better despite losing weight. He said Nicola, a nurse at St. Clare’s, has been vaccinated and is safe they believe.
EDUCATORS OF THE MONTH: Leanna Albrecht coordinated and Bob Peterson presented, the awards to our two May Educators of the Month. Bruce Hayes has been a teacher in the Steilacoom Historical School District (and a coach) for about 40 years. He teaches at Pioneer Middle School and is going to retire at the end of this school year. Demetricia Hodges of Lochburn was the Clover Park School District honoree. Both educators were supported by their principals today online; Celena Zanuttini and Greg Wilson joined us as did Ron Banner—the Superintendent of Clover Park School District--and Kevin Ikeda, the Deputy Superintendent. Each of the awardees was recognized with the usual plaque and of course the obligatory $100 bill. They were admonished by the Prez NOT to spend that money on school supplies or on the kids but on themselves. They earned that much and more.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Steve Enquist said that, while his committee has received numerous nominations for Rotarian of the Year, only two nominees’ names have been submitted so far for the Non-Rotarian of the Year. So if you have a person who has made large contributions of their time and talents to the Lakewood community and its people, puleeeeze get those names in to Steve. The winner gets a $1000 Paul Harris award for this recognition, usually given at the Installation Banquet in June.
Above: Send me some nominees puleeeze-Steve Enquist
GLOBAL GRANTS: Puffin Tom George reported on a recent global grant. Rose Stevens mentored Tom on these kinds of international projects and global grants. They were instrumental in getting a grant to install four dialysis machines in two hospitals in India; these are primarily for kidney patients who could not otherwise afford dialysis. Paying patients can also use these machines.
Above: Rose Stevens our World Service guru
Other Announcements: The Little Free Pantry organization still needs help with web design and photography. Contact Bob Zawilski if you have these skillsets. The District Conference for 5020—which will be FREE—will be held by Zoom on Friday, June 4th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. There will also be a pre-function starting at 5:30 p.m. Feel free to join us in thanking Greg Horn for a great year in 2020-21 despite the challenges. Greg said his predecessor as the District Governor---who we simply know as “Mo”—will be feted as well. She missed out on District Conference in her year due to the pandemic so for those who have not met her, she was also a great DG and you will enjoy meeting her if you join us.
More…. Greg Horn is still looking for tech savvy Rotarians to serve on a District 5020 Technology Committee. And Greg Rediske insists that you can still advertise in our bulletin every week for a mere $180 per year. Speaking of Greg, after the meeting did you notice in your mailbox that the annual dues invoices were sent out by Secretary Rediske? We are sure he would urge you not to drag your feet. Make a positive decision to keep John Lowney happy by paying your dues so that John and Greg do not have to send Luigi Badalucco to your house to break your arm for non-payment.
And remember to send Fellowship ideas to Phil Eng. In that regard, some of you went along on Rotary walks to Fort Steilacoom Park, Point Defiance Park and the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge earlier this year so Anne Enquist and Joe Quinn were wondering if you enjoyed those simple walks in the park for fellowship and if you had any desire to do that some more. Ideas for walk locations gladly accepted such as Steilacoom and maybe including Farrell Marsh…or the walk to Sequalitchew Creek near Dupont. Call Anne or Joe with ideas or feedback.
The Rotary International Convention will be virtual but will be held, we believe, between June 12 and 16, 2021. Registration fee is now $65.
THE PROGRAM: OUR 2021 ONLINE ROTARY AUCTION – SIP BY SIP
Mark introduced Eric Quinn and Nicole Hancock to lead us through the What, How and the Why as to our 2021 Auction.
Eric said the auction will go live at 6:00 p.m. on June 5th but first we need to procure a lot more; they want mostly “experiences” but do not want to discourage folks from giving “stuff”—physical items—as we have done traditionally too. But the Committee wants us to reflect now on WHY we do this auction. The reason is that we try to do so much for the community of Lakewood and the world, so the Committee introduced Jim Rooks the Chair of Community Concerns Committee to tell us about their giving (ours really, as a Club) this year. This year Jim said they had a $30,000 budget for these miscellaneous gifts and have about $6,000 left that can carry over to next year if not given away by end of June. Jim has been chair for two years and will be handing the mantle over to Bob Bruback for next year. Jim itemized some of the great grants of this cycle including $3000 for Clover Park Schools for I-pads or computers, $1000 to Operation Homefront, $2,000 to the Lakewood Multicultural Coalition that Mary Moss has championed, partnering with Clover Park Kiwanis to buy a new freezer, the Build a Bike giveaway program at Christmas, Caring for Kids with Diane Formoso, the West Pierce Firefighters Christmas Project, Network Tacoma, LASA, Family Renewal Shelter, and many more. The CCC does great work so thanks to Jim and all those who have done that committee work over the years.
Sponsorships:
Nicole went back a little more into the HOW by stressing sponsorships. There are four different levels of sponsors this year ranging from $500 all the way up to $5000 for the “naming rights” to the entire auction. All levels provide online marketing recognition for these sponsors and this effort basically underwrites the auction for us. If this effort can cover our overhead, the money donated and items or experiences sold at auction are pure profit! We can meet our goal if we get sponsors to underwrite this event. Also buy a ticket for Sip by Sip, Nicole urged.
Above: Sponsorships explained some more
Going back to the WHY, Chuck Hellar was called upon to spotlight the Next Step Program. These mentors carry on the tradition originated largely by Mike McGowan to assist outstanding students with the sometimes mystifying process of applying for college and gaining admission to the best college or university possible. Next Step has an $8000 budget but this committee is all about the close work with students, starting in their Sophomore year. They work with top 10 in the class students ordinarily. They look for students whose parents did not go to college as these are the kids who need to work with someone who knows about college admissions. It is done in teams; Chuck partners up with Nicole Hancock on their team. Anne and Steve Enquist are a team. Rachel Mazoff is interested in being a volunteer mentor as well and she has just finished the screening through our club and district individual certification process for all volunteers who work with youth in Rotary. (Our club has at least 10 or 12 individuals who have completed that process, which includes a criminal background check and--believe it or not-- a check of the National Sex Offender Registry. Every President and all Rotary volunteers who work with youth have to undergo that screening.)
The Next Step Program works. One recent grad got a $70000 scholarship to attend Princeton!
Eric Quinn also mentioned that the winning team captain will get a ticket worth $50 to the Sip by Sip auction pre-event, so get busy captains procuring donations and stuff or EXPERIENCES! So far we have procured a stay at Seabrook near the ocean beaches, some John Lowney planters, Five Rotarians Run the Yard, and a Lake Steilacoom cruise with fun stops at Rotarian docks along the way. We need much more.
Chris Kimball was next up in the Why Group. He spoke of Major Projects such as Network Tacoma that deals with homeless families. Chris has served on the board of Network Tacoma. We gave them $6000 in the summer of 2020. The Major Projects traditionally have included one large donation per year and oftentimes this amounts to as much as a $50,000 grant.
Next, we watched and listened to a video from L’Ecole No. 41 winery’s Mark Clubb, who provided a brief history of this Walla Walla area winery and description of its Frenchtown red blend. It seems that area was first populated by French Canadians so this wine has been developed to recognize that rich French history. If you have not been to L’Ecole you need to visit the old schoolhouse in the small town of Lowden, a few miles before you arrive in Walla Walla. Just in case you are not a wine lover, this year there is a non-alcoholic libation available. Anne Enquist says she has bought several bottles of Martinelli’s Cider that is a very acceptable alternative. That option costs $25 per person or $50 per couple and comes with the same charcuterie as the wine tasting, brought to you by Tacoma Country and Golf Club. In that regard, a member of the Country Club Team (Eric is Team Captain) will deliver your wine or cider, and charcuterie to you if you cannot or do not want to pick it up at the country club on the day of the auction.
Eric Quinn urged us to remember the tradition of buying a table for 8 or 10 and inviting our friends and neighbors to come to the auction for dinner, fellowship and of course to bid on items. Instead, how about inviting friends to buy tickets to Sip by Sip, but also register for the auction and bid on items. You can have friends over to join in your Zoom or they can do that in the comfort of their own home.
But WHY you ask? Well, Bill Potter told us about his experience helping out Clover Park Rotary at the recent South Sound Wildlife Park where there was a big cleanup. Two Rotary benches were installed, which were pictured in a prior bulletin. But look at this cool Rotary Logo that they installed near the benches:
Above: The Rotary logo in that wildlife park.
Thank you to the FUNdraising Committee for an enlightening program but if you still have questions call Nicole Hancock or Eric Quinn.
Right at 12:30 p.m. our ruddy-looking President rang the bell-- or banged the gavel-- so we could kick off the formal meeting. Paula Olson invoked for us all, Leanna Christian organized us all on Zoom, Treasurer John Lowney collected for us all, and Editor Joe Quinn is writing for us all, while all of us all shall submit photos to the Editor for use herein. See Below.
President Mark, as is his custom, recognized our erstwhile District Governor—Greg Horn—who used rotating winter and summer backgrounds showing Lake Steilacoom in every season. Very cool. Then Mark highlighted all Puffins in attendance.
SUNSHINE: John Forkenbrock reported that Walt Richardson had back surgery and is recovering. Bob Zawilski was reportedly in the hospital briefly with shortness of breath, but Bob was with us today and rapidly added that he is OK now. President Mark explained to the group what he had revealed in the pre-meeting chat….he is down with Covid-19 for about a week but starting to feel better despite losing weight. He said Nicola, a nurse at St. Clare’s, has been vaccinated and is safe they believe.
EDUCATORS OF THE MONTH: Leanna Albrecht coordinated and Bob Peterson presented, the awards to our two May Educators of the Month. Bruce Hayes has been a teacher in the Steilacoom Historical School District (and a coach) for about 40 years. He teaches at Pioneer Middle School and is going to retire at the end of this school year. Demetricia Hodges of Lochburn was the Clover Park School District honoree. Both educators were supported by their principals today online; Celena Zanuttini and Greg Wilson joined us as did Ron Banner—the Superintendent of Clover Park School District--and Kevin Ikeda, the Deputy Superintendent. Each of the awardees was recognized with the usual plaque and of course the obligatory $100 bill. They were admonished by the Prez NOT to spend that money on school supplies or on the kids but on themselves. They earned that much and more.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Steve Enquist said that, while his committee has received numerous nominations for Rotarian of the Year, only two nominees’ names have been submitted so far for the Non-Rotarian of the Year. So if you have a person who has made large contributions of their time and talents to the Lakewood community and its people, puleeeeze get those names in to Steve. The winner gets a $1000 Paul Harris award for this recognition, usually given at the Installation Banquet in June.
Above: Send me some nominees puleeeze-Steve Enquist
GLOBAL GRANTS: Puffin Tom George reported on a recent global grant. Rose Stevens mentored Tom on these kinds of international projects and global grants. They were instrumental in getting a grant to install four dialysis machines in two hospitals in India; these are primarily for kidney patients who could not otherwise afford dialysis. Paying patients can also use these machines.
Above: Rose Stevens our World Service guru
Other Announcements: The Little Free Pantry organization still needs help with web design and photography. Contact Bob Zawilski if you have these skillsets. The District Conference for 5020—which will be FREE—will be held by Zoom on Friday, June 4th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. There will also be a pre-function starting at 5:30 p.m. Feel free to join us in thanking Greg Horn for a great year in 2020-21 despite the challenges. Greg said his predecessor as the District Governor---who we simply know as “Mo”—will be feted as well. She missed out on District Conference in her year due to the pandemic so for those who have not met her, she was also a great DG and you will enjoy meeting her if you join us.
More…. Greg Horn is still looking for tech savvy Rotarians to serve on a District 5020 Technology Committee. And Greg Rediske insists that you can still advertise in our bulletin every week for a mere $180 per year. Speaking of Greg, after the meeting did you notice in your mailbox that the annual dues invoices were sent out by Secretary Rediske? We are sure he would urge you not to drag your feet. Make a positive decision to keep John Lowney happy by paying your dues so that John and Greg do not have to send Luigi Badalucco to your house to break your arm for non-payment.
And remember to send Fellowship ideas to Phil Eng. In that regard, some of you went along on Rotary walks to Fort Steilacoom Park, Point Defiance Park and the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge earlier this year so Anne Enquist and Joe Quinn were wondering if you enjoyed those simple walks in the park for fellowship and if you had any desire to do that some more. Ideas for walk locations gladly accepted such as Steilacoom and maybe including Farrell Marsh…or the walk to Sequalitchew Creek near Dupont. Call Anne or Joe with ideas or feedback.
The Rotary International Convention will be virtual but will be held, we believe, between June 12 and 16, 2021. Registration fee is now $65.
THE PROGRAM: OUR 2021 ONLINE ROTARY AUCTION – SIP BY SIP
Mark introduced Eric Quinn and Nicole Hancock to lead us through the What, How and the Why as to our 2021 Auction.
Eric said the auction will go live at 6:00 p.m. on June 5th but first we need to procure a lot more; they want mostly “experiences” but do not want to discourage folks from giving “stuff”—physical items—as we have done traditionally too. But the Committee wants us to reflect now on WHY we do this auction. The reason is that we try to do so much for the community of Lakewood and the world, so the Committee introduced Jim Rooks the Chair of Community Concerns Committee to tell us about their giving (ours really, as a Club) this year. This year Jim said they had a $30,000 budget for these miscellaneous gifts and have about $6,000 left that can carry over to next year if not given away by end of June. Jim has been chair for two years and will be handing the mantle over to Bob Bruback for next year. Jim itemized some of the great grants of this cycle including $3000 for Clover Park Schools for I-pads or computers, $1000 to Operation Homefront, $2,000 to the Lakewood Multicultural Coalition that Mary Moss has championed, partnering with Clover Park Kiwanis to buy a new freezer, the Build a Bike giveaway program at Christmas, Caring for Kids with Diane Formoso, the West Pierce Firefighters Christmas Project, Network Tacoma, LASA, Family Renewal Shelter, and many more. The CCC does great work so thanks to Jim and all those who have done that committee work over the years.
Sponsorships:
Nicole went back a little more into the HOW by stressing sponsorships. There are four different levels of sponsors this year ranging from $500 all the way up to $5000 for the “naming rights” to the entire auction. All levels provide online marketing recognition for these sponsors and this effort basically underwrites the auction for us. If this effort can cover our overhead, the money donated and items or experiences sold at auction are pure profit! We can meet our goal if we get sponsors to underwrite this event. Also buy a ticket for Sip by Sip, Nicole urged.
Above: Sponsorships explained some more
Going back to the WHY, Chuck Hellar was called upon to spotlight the Next Step Program. These mentors carry on the tradition originated largely by Mike McGowan to assist outstanding students with the sometimes mystifying process of applying for college and gaining admission to the best college or university possible. Next Step has an $8000 budget but this committee is all about the close work with students, starting in their Sophomore year. They work with top 10 in the class students ordinarily. They look for students whose parents did not go to college as these are the kids who need to work with someone who knows about college admissions. It is done in teams; Chuck partners up with Nicole Hancock on their team. Anne and Steve Enquist are a team. Rachel Mazoff is interested in being a volunteer mentor as well and she has just finished the screening through our club and district individual certification process for all volunteers who work with youth in Rotary. (Our club has at least 10 or 12 individuals who have completed that process, which includes a criminal background check and--believe it or not-- a check of the National Sex Offender Registry. Every President and all Rotary volunteers who work with youth have to undergo that screening.)
The Next Step Program works. One recent grad got a $70000 scholarship to attend Princeton!
Eric Quinn also mentioned that the winning team captain will get a ticket worth $50 to the Sip by Sip auction pre-event, so get busy captains procuring donations and stuff or EXPERIENCES! So far we have procured a stay at Seabrook near the ocean beaches, some John Lowney planters, Five Rotarians Run the Yard, and a Lake Steilacoom cruise with fun stops at Rotarian docks along the way. We need much more.
Chris Kimball was next up in the Why Group. He spoke of Major Projects such as Network Tacoma that deals with homeless families. Chris has served on the board of Network Tacoma. We gave them $6000 in the summer of 2020. The Major Projects traditionally have included one large donation per year and oftentimes this amounts to as much as a $50,000 grant.
Next, we watched and listened to a video from L’Ecole No. 41 winery’s Mark Clubb, who provided a brief history of this Walla Walla area winery and description of its Frenchtown red blend. It seems that area was first populated by French Canadians so this wine has been developed to recognize that rich French history. If you have not been to L’Ecole you need to visit the old schoolhouse in the small town of Lowden, a few miles before you arrive in Walla Walla. Just in case you are not a wine lover, this year there is a non-alcoholic libation available. Anne Enquist says she has bought several bottles of Martinelli’s Cider that is a very acceptable alternative. That option costs $25 per person or $50 per couple and comes with the same charcuterie as the wine tasting, brought to you by Tacoma Country and Golf Club. In that regard, a member of the Country Club Team (Eric is Team Captain) will deliver your wine or cider, and charcuterie to you if you cannot or do not want to pick it up at the country club on the day of the auction.
Eric Quinn urged us to remember the tradition of buying a table for 8 or 10 and inviting our friends and neighbors to come to the auction for dinner, fellowship and of course to bid on items. Instead, how about inviting friends to buy tickets to Sip by Sip, but also register for the auction and bid on items. You can have friends over to join in your Zoom or they can do that in the comfort of their own home.
But WHY you ask? Well, Bill Potter told us about his experience helping out Clover Park Rotary at the recent South Sound Wildlife Park where there was a big cleanup. Two Rotary benches were installed, which were pictured in a prior bulletin. But look at this cool Rotary Logo that they installed near the benches:
Above: The Rotary logo in that wildlife park.
Thank you to the FUNdraising Committee for an enlightening program but if you still have questions call Nicole Hancock or Eric Quinn.
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