MEETING RECAP
Cinco de Mayo Edition
By Stephen SaalfeldSunday, May 7, 2023
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Cinco de Mayo Edition
THE LAKEWOOD KEY
Lakewood Rotarians gathered on the 5th of May for our usual meeting of the minds. President Whalen was absent as he is off representing the fair city of Lakewood in Korea. Rumor has it Bill Potter has started a pool on how many times the mayor will go shirtless in Korea (the over/under is four for anyone who wants a piece of the action. It’s worth noting that the over/under for the number of times Mayor Whalen’s Korean hosts will be befuddled by his terrible puns is 27 but that is just for the first day).
Did you know? While Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage in the United States, it is a minor holiday in New Mexico.
Former president Mark Edgecomb wielded the hammer for today’s meeting and (spoiler alert) managed to keep his shirt on for the entire meeting. He rang the bell so many times, your scribe was expecting someone to shout “Let’s get ready to rumble!” Alas there was no featured bout today.
The meeting setup crew was thanked (James Osundwa, Rick Selden, Rob Erb). John Lowney kept track of the dollars and cents, Chuck Hellar ran the foundation table. Barlow Buescher was Sergeant at Arms, while Walt Richardson kept the flash bulbs popping and Steve Saalfeld (I really like that guy) was scribe for the day.
AGs of Rotary past, present and future were recognized in the form of Greg Horn, Tony Camoroda and Bill Potter. A veritable circus of puffins were in attendance too numerous for this inattentive scribe to name. Guests included Patrick Johnston who hosted our Rotary exchange student for a time.
Sunshine report: Eric let the club know that Ed Shannon’s funeral will be at 2:30 p.m. on May 18.
Anne Enquist let us know that the Clover Park superintendent expressed a desire to have Next Step (last week’s presentation) in ALL Clover Park Schools. She’s game, but reminded us more mentors are needed to pull this off. (After the meeting, Anne provided four more names to be considered for the Next Step mentor program, as Lakewood Rotarians and spouses always step up.)
Above: Student of the Month Cynthia
Clover Park High School student Cynthia is our final student of the month for the 2022-23 school year and was described as “an uplifting and inspiring leader” (President Whalen should note that no one described her as a peddler of poor puns—no wonder she’s so inspiring!). Cynthia has a 3.98 GPA taking AP and Running Start courses and will graduate with both her high school diploma and her Associate’s degree. A Questbridge scholar, she is set to attend Johns Hopkins University on a full ride scholarship in the fall where her grit and determination are sure to secure the bright future ahead of her.
Today marked the final meeting of Bob Hammar as he and his wife will be moving soon. Mary Horn honored Bob who has been a Rotarian since April 20, 1978 (your scribe was four years old when Bob first uttered the Four Way Test!). Though Bob started his Rotary journey on Hitler’s birthday, he definitely had a more inclusive view of community than Herr Adolf as evidenced by his longevity in Rotary. Before retirement, Bob owned eight uniform stores with 50 employees (all women excepting the occasional delivery driver).
Above: Bob Hammar being presented with a plaque by Mary
Bob and Mary have made it a tradition to make a Paul Harris-sized donation in the name of every member of their family and now count 12 Paul Harris Fellows with the arrival of grandson Alexander Giovanni Oestrich. Bob chose Rotary as he was so impressed that every dollar goes towards doing good work without any overhead. Bob estimates the donation of their place in Tahiti has reaped somewhere in the neighborhood of $270,000 at Rotary auctions.
Bob declared that the last ten years he spent at Lakewood were his best Rotary years—as more than a few folks shed a tear at today’s meeting, it is safe to say that we all agree that our club will miss Bob dearly and wish him and Mary well on their next adventure.
Anne Enquist is submitting an article to the Rotary District 5020 magazine. Some excerpts: In 2010 he and Mary reached Major Donor levels I, II, and III—all in one year! Bob also ran our Rotary store, selling shirts, sweatshirts, hats etc. with the Rotary logo. Almost every LR Rotarian must have at least one item of clothing from Bob’s Rotary store. Including several generations, the Hammars have amassed 11 Paul Harris awards in one family! Not many can say that. (By the way, Lakewood Rotary has 90 Paul Harris Fellows; 14 are Major Donors, who have donated $10,000 or more.
Alexander Giovanni Oestreich, grandson of Bob and Mary Hammar is the 12th Paul Harris Fellow in Clan Hammar.
Did you know? Some Americans assume Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s equivalent of our Fourth of July, but Mexico’s Independence Day is actually celebrated on September 16. Cinco de Mayo occurred more than 50 years after Mexico achieved independence from Spain.
Puffinating a fresh crop of Puffins: The following were inducted by PPP Mark Edgecomb:
Above: Chiru
Chiru Osundwa (sponsor Mary Horn) has more than two decades of Rotary on her resume thanks to her years in Kenya where she worked in banking. She now keeps busy as a financial coach, mother of two (ages 2 and 6) and spouse of James. As Chiru says, “Rotary is family.”
Above: Cat Frederickson
Catherine “Cat” Frederickson (sponsor Angela Connelly) has been working as a health coach for the past two years and is a fourth generation (and first female in the family) union longshoreman (or should it be “longshoreperson”?). A mother of three, she describes herself as “eccentric”. When she described Rotary to her husband as “do-gooders” he said “You found your people.”
Welcome Chiru and Cat and take good care of that puffin!
Carl Bronkema announced that next Thursday Rotary on Tap will be at the Applebee’s at Lakewood Towne Center. RSVP to Steve Enquist.
The Program:
Above: Hans Bruun holding forth
Our speaker today was none other than our Rotary exchange student, Hans Bruun from Denmark. Hans reported he perhaps had a leg up on getting used to America as his mom is American. He has visited her family in Texas before and was a bit surprised (perhaps relieved?) that all of the U. S. is not like Texas. He let us know you don’t just walk up to a stranger in Denmark and introduce yourself—you need a mutual acquaintance to make the intro, “not unlike the Mafia”, says Hans.
Some of the biggest differences between the U. S. and Denmark Hans observed:
You can’t turn right on a red light in Denmark.
American football is not an option at his high school (though he did earn a broken wrist in his second football game at Lakes HS).
Sports are taken more seriously here and the sports facilities are much nicer than in Denmark.
High school is not like what you see in the movies. He especially enjoyed the diverse student body and the robust school spirit. He will forever be a proud Lakes Lancer.
There are more cars in the U. S. as Denmark taxes automobile sales at 250% for the purchaser. No wonder there are so many bicycles there.
He added that as a socialist country, taxes are high but people are well taken care of with free education and health care.
Thanks Hans for a great summary of your time here.
We closed the meeting by singing Happy Birthday to Bob Hammar who is 91 years young.
And the drawing yielded a white chip, so no big winner on Cinco de Mayo.
Your final Cinco de Mayo fact: For Mexicans, this day commemorates the country’s victory over a superior French force as a ragtag force of 2000 outnumbered and ill-equipped Mexicans defeated 6000 Frenchmen in the Battle of Puebla.
Later on May 5th, LR held its final fundraiser, Ladies Night Out, over at Farm 12 in the Puyallup valley.
Below are some pictures taken by …who else…Walt Richardson. A great time was had by all, obviously. Financial results to follow soon, we are sure.
THE LAKEWOOD KEY
Lakewood Rotarians gathered on the 5th of May for our usual meeting of the minds. President Whalen was absent as he is off representing the fair city of Lakewood in Korea. Rumor has it Bill Potter has started a pool on how many times the mayor will go shirtless in Korea (the over/under is four for anyone who wants a piece of the action. It’s worth noting that the over/under for the number of times Mayor Whalen’s Korean hosts will be befuddled by his terrible puns is 27 but that is just for the first day).
Did you know? While Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage in the United States, it is a minor holiday in New Mexico.
Former president Mark Edgecomb wielded the hammer for today’s meeting and (spoiler alert) managed to keep his shirt on for the entire meeting. He rang the bell so many times, your scribe was expecting someone to shout “Let’s get ready to rumble!” Alas there was no featured bout today.
The meeting setup crew was thanked (James Osundwa, Rick Selden, Rob Erb). John Lowney kept track of the dollars and cents, Chuck Hellar ran the foundation table. Barlow Buescher was Sergeant at Arms, while Walt Richardson kept the flash bulbs popping and Steve Saalfeld (I really like that guy) was scribe for the day.
AGs of Rotary past, present and future were recognized in the form of Greg Horn, Tony Camoroda and Bill Potter. A veritable circus of puffins were in attendance too numerous for this inattentive scribe to name. Guests included Patrick Johnston who hosted our Rotary exchange student for a time.
Sunshine report: Eric let the club know that Ed Shannon’s funeral will be at 2:30 p.m. on May 18.
Anne Enquist let us know that the Clover Park superintendent expressed a desire to have Next Step (last week’s presentation) in ALL Clover Park Schools. She’s game, but reminded us more mentors are needed to pull this off. (After the meeting, Anne provided four more names to be considered for the Next Step mentor program, as Lakewood Rotarians and spouses always step up.)
Above: Student of the Month Cynthia
Clover Park High School student Cynthia is our final student of the month for the 2022-23 school year and was described as “an uplifting and inspiring leader” (President Whalen should note that no one described her as a peddler of poor puns—no wonder she’s so inspiring!). Cynthia has a 3.98 GPA taking AP and Running Start courses and will graduate with both her high school diploma and her Associate’s degree. A Questbridge scholar, she is set to attend Johns Hopkins University on a full ride scholarship in the fall where her grit and determination are sure to secure the bright future ahead of her.
Today marked the final meeting of Bob Hammar as he and his wife will be moving soon. Mary Horn honored Bob who has been a Rotarian since April 20, 1978 (your scribe was four years old when Bob first uttered the Four Way Test!). Though Bob started his Rotary journey on Hitler’s birthday, he definitely had a more inclusive view of community than Herr Adolf as evidenced by his longevity in Rotary. Before retirement, Bob owned eight uniform stores with 50 employees (all women excepting the occasional delivery driver).
Above: Bob Hammar being presented with a plaque by Mary
Bob and Mary have made it a tradition to make a Paul Harris-sized donation in the name of every member of their family and now count 12 Paul Harris Fellows with the arrival of grandson Alexander Giovanni Oestrich. Bob chose Rotary as he was so impressed that every dollar goes towards doing good work without any overhead. Bob estimates the donation of their place in Tahiti has reaped somewhere in the neighborhood of $270,000 at Rotary auctions.
Bob declared that the last ten years he spent at Lakewood were his best Rotary years—as more than a few folks shed a tear at today’s meeting, it is safe to say that we all agree that our club will miss Bob dearly and wish him and Mary well on their next adventure.
Anne Enquist is submitting an article to the Rotary District 5020 magazine. Some excerpts: In 2010 he and Mary reached Major Donor levels I, II, and III—all in one year! Bob also ran our Rotary store, selling shirts, sweatshirts, hats etc. with the Rotary logo. Almost every LR Rotarian must have at least one item of clothing from Bob’s Rotary store. Including several generations, the Hammars have amassed 11 Paul Harris awards in one family! Not many can say that. (By the way, Lakewood Rotary has 90 Paul Harris Fellows; 14 are Major Donors, who have donated $10,000 or more.
Alexander Giovanni Oestreich, grandson of Bob and Mary Hammar is the 12th Paul Harris Fellow in Clan Hammar.
Did you know? Some Americans assume Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s equivalent of our Fourth of July, but Mexico’s Independence Day is actually celebrated on September 16. Cinco de Mayo occurred more than 50 years after Mexico achieved independence from Spain.
Puffinating a fresh crop of Puffins: The following were inducted by PPP Mark Edgecomb:
Above: Chiru
Chiru Osundwa (sponsor Mary Horn) has more than two decades of Rotary on her resume thanks to her years in Kenya where she worked in banking. She now keeps busy as a financial coach, mother of two (ages 2 and 6) and spouse of James. As Chiru says, “Rotary is family.”
Above: Cat Frederickson
Catherine “Cat” Frederickson (sponsor Angela Connelly) has been working as a health coach for the past two years and is a fourth generation (and first female in the family) union longshoreman (or should it be “longshoreperson”?). A mother of three, she describes herself as “eccentric”. When she described Rotary to her husband as “do-gooders” he said “You found your people.”
Welcome Chiru and Cat and take good care of that puffin!
Carl Bronkema announced that next Thursday Rotary on Tap will be at the Applebee’s at Lakewood Towne Center. RSVP to Steve Enquist.
The Program:
Above: Hans Bruun holding forth
Our speaker today was none other than our Rotary exchange student, Hans Bruun from Denmark. Hans reported he perhaps had a leg up on getting used to America as his mom is American. He has visited her family in Texas before and was a bit surprised (perhaps relieved?) that all of the U. S. is not like Texas. He let us know you don’t just walk up to a stranger in Denmark and introduce yourself—you need a mutual acquaintance to make the intro, “not unlike the Mafia”, says Hans.
Some of the biggest differences between the U. S. and Denmark Hans observed:
You can’t turn right on a red light in Denmark.
American football is not an option at his high school (though he did earn a broken wrist in his second football game at Lakes HS).
Sports are taken more seriously here and the sports facilities are much nicer than in Denmark.
High school is not like what you see in the movies. He especially enjoyed the diverse student body and the robust school spirit. He will forever be a proud Lakes Lancer.
There are more cars in the U. S. as Denmark taxes automobile sales at 250% for the purchaser. No wonder there are so many bicycles there.
He added that as a socialist country, taxes are high but people are well taken care of with free education and health care.
Thanks Hans for a great summary of your time here.
We closed the meeting by singing Happy Birthday to Bob Hammar who is 91 years young.
And the drawing yielded a white chip, so no big winner on Cinco de Mayo.
Your final Cinco de Mayo fact: For Mexicans, this day commemorates the country’s victory over a superior French force as a ragtag force of 2000 outnumbered and ill-equipped Mexicans defeated 6000 Frenchmen in the Battle of Puebla.
Later on May 5th, LR held its final fundraiser, Ladies Night Out, over at Farm 12 in the Puyallup valley.
Below are some pictures taken by …who else…Walt Richardson. A great time was had by all, obviously. Financial results to follow soon, we are sure.
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