You may be interested to know that I saw today was the 15^th of September and wondered why I had never heard 9/15 referred to as the “Ides of September.”  That handy internet doohickey revealed that the Roman calendar designated an “Ides” for every month (Ides comes from a Latin word that means “to divide).  Turns out I was two days and a couple of dollars short as the “Ides of September” was on the 13^th.  Who knew?  (The answer is probably a lot of people smarter than this guy knew this.)

 So happy belated “Ides of September” to my fellow Lakewood Rotarians.

President Mary (PM) rung the dinner bell at promptly 12:30 p.m. as Sister Sledge reminded us once again that “We are Family.”  The pledge was led by Rick Selden and Eric Warn did today’s invocation.

Many Rotarians were celebrated for making today’s meeting possible including our regular setup crew (Wynn Hoffman, Terry Roarke, Rick Selden, James Osundwa, Tom George, Troy Wilcox and Rob Erb).  Not all of them were present, but we could feel the helpful spirits of those not with us readying out souls for Rotary-readiness.

Thanks to Bud Montgomery who tended the Paul Harris desk which brought in an impressive $1,200 at today’s meeting.  Leon Titus was our Sgt. at Arms and $2 Desk Specialist, and Walt Richardson was our photographer.  John Lowney tended the cookie jar for PM.

Speaking of cookie jars, I’m pleased to announce that the much-ballyhooed cookie jar made its first appearance at today’s meeting.  It is glorious and President Mary revealed she’ll hand out candies to those who contribute (and it was the GOOD stuff).  

Photo below: PM’s beloved cookie jar

She called on none other than Greg Horn to make the first contribution to the brand-new jar.  Greg made a donation to celebrate 47 years of marriage to Mary and made it an even $50 in gratitude for Mary putting up with him for all those years (and to make a plug for National Talk like a Pirate Day coming up September 19—Avast!).


Ever the competitor, President Mary one-upped him and doubled Greg’s contribution.  Gayle Selden also threw some cash in the jar both to celebrate her birthday and call attention to an earlier description of her father as “one of the old guys” at today’s meeting.

John Lowney – were there any other donations??

Today’s visitors were Mike England from Vashon Island Rotary sporting a very purple UW Hawaiian polo shirt that had our resident Huskies barking.  Your Bulletin Writer had the privilege of introducing Steve Rudolf, Director of Enrollment Management at Charles Wright Academy—a job I held a few years back.  Mr. Rudolf is proof that they have raised their standards at the school considerably since I worked there.

Plentiful puffins were present at today’s meeting prompting our president to praise our recruiting prowess. Dare  I say we’re more puffin-y than ever?  Puffin-ful?  Puffin-deli-icious?

Rotary VIPs were recognized including PDG Greg Horn, FDG (Future District Governor) Tony Camoroda and even AG Bill Potter who was not in the room, but still warranted a mention.

Sunshine: Wendy McGowan reported that Gordy Quick is current at Madigan.  Please feel free to reach out to Gordy to check in on him.

Publisher’s note: Saturday Morning PM (President Mary) received a phone call from Gordy.  He is back home awaiting some test results.  Please feel free to give him a call.
     
A great many birthdays and anniversaries were recognized by Greg Rediske though his efforts were nearly thwarted by President Mary who hauled the mic from the podium.  After a brief (imagined) struggle, she yielded the floor and mic to Greg who regaled us with a plethora of birthday puns:

Tony Camoroda, born in Fresno, was stumped by, “What is an elf’s favorite birthday cake?”  The answer - shortcake.
Gayle Selden, who was born in now defunct Lakewood Memorial Hospital, was asked to identify which music balloons most fear.  The answer - Pop.
Dave Coleman, born in Oakland, CA mused that a ghost’s favorite cake might be “boo-berry”.  Close but not close enough.  He learned the answer was “I scream” cake.
And Bob Zawilski, born in Wilkes-Barrie, Pennsylvania, was asked how do pickles celebrate their birthdays?   The answer - by “relishing” them.

September Wedding anniversaries:
Patrick Aravena to Alicia - 4 years
Heather Burgess to Christopher – 30 years
Kris Peterson to Rosemary – 30 years
Walt Richardson to Tanya – 31 years
Mark Blanchard to Joan – 47 years
Mary Horn to Greg – 47 long years
Greg Horn to Mary – 47 great years
Scott Buser to Kathy – 48 years
Wynn Hoffman to Margie – 55 years
Rick Selden to Sharon - 55 years
Sam Hunter to Sybil – 66 years!

September Rotary Membership Anniversaries:
Mark Herr – 1 year
Bob Martin – 2 years + X years in other clubs
Leanna Albrecht – 5 years
Eric Quinn – 9 years
Walt Richardson – 39 years

President Mary reminded the club that the next board meeting will be held at TC&GC 5:00 p.m. social hour, 5:30 p.m. meeting starts on Tuesday, September 19.  Members are encouraged to RSVP,  and Puffins are reminded that attending a board meeting is on their checklist.

Our speaker today was none other than Mayor of Lakewood, Jason Whalen and his wife Gael. They shared stories of their trip to visit Gimhae, Korea, one of Lakewood’s sister cities.

Some key takeaways:
-Lakewood’s first sister city (Okinawa, Japan) was adopted in January of 2002 and the second in 2006 was Bowang, Phillipines.
-Gimhae is the most recent addition to Lakewood’s collection of sister cities.
-In spite of Jason and Gael’s many pictures of the plentiful food and alcohol they consumed on their trip, these trips are not the boondoggle one might think (and city reps had to pay for the transportation costs of their spouses).
-City of Lakewood reps were invited to attend the Gaia Festival.
-The Sister City program is run on a non-profit basis, so no city funds go toward these trips.  They provide an important opportunity for cultural exchange, exploration of best practices and the opportunity to eat, drink, eat, eat, drink (booze) and eat (Oh, and drink more booze).

No word on whether Mayor Whalen has taken any inspiration from the story of King Suro and the other Korean royalty who allegedly hatched from eggs before taking their thrones.  This writer suspects rising from the depths of American Lake with nothing but a loin cloth and a briefcase full of fine wines would be a more likely origin story for our past president.

Upcoming Events
September 23 - Join NOURISH and the Clover Park Rotary to package 50,000 meals. Two shifts are available. Register here.
October 20 - Tacoma South Rotary Club's Annual Mini-Golf Tournament at Harkness Furniture