MEETING RECAP
Training by Youth Protection Officer
By Paula T. OlsonSunday, November 19, 2023
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Training by the Youth Protection Officer
Paula T. Olson
Having pot roast in the middle of the month was a big tip off that this meeting was different. President Mary ran her dinner bell and we all scrambled to our feet. The invocation by Commissioner Clint Johnson was a wonderful collection of thanksgiving readings including the original proclamation establishing this American holiday. The salute to our flag followed. Pres Mary acknowledged the Dream Team putting all the pieces of the meeting together, including set up crew of Wynn Hoffman, Terry Roarke, Rick Selden, James Osundwa and Rob Erb, Steve Enquist at the Foundation table where he collected a whopping $440, Gary Barton serving as Sargeant at Arms and listing of visiting Rotarians, bulletin writer Paula Olson and photographer Rob Zawilski. John Lowney presided over collecting donations to Mary’s cookie jar.
A handsome and healthy flock of Puffins stood when Pres Mary asked and politely snickered when she mentioned World Kindness Day while pathetically asking for kindness on December 15th. That ship sailed some time ago, Ms. Mary. There were many guests in attendance including a prospective member, Rick Olsen as well as Jennie Weinand, Carolyn and Don Swanson, several others whose names escaped me. Rotarian dignitaries included District Youth Protection Officer (YPO) from Tacoma 8 Becky Fontaine and our own YPO Joe Quinn’s boss as well as DGN Tony Camoroda and PDG Greg Horn. Zoomers included our dear Carole Weir and some guy in Hawaii reporting weather in the low 80’s. No one cares, Dave! Wendy McGowan had no Health and Wellness to report.
PDG Greg Horn gave a quick Rotary minute. Before he began, President and Wife Mary noted that he is also the Vice Governor standing in for Caleb Summerfelt if he is unable to serve. Is that like being Prince Harry if something happened to Prince William? Anyway, Greg’s minute was actually quite interesting. He told us about Rotary Fellowships, which are mini Rotary groups focusing on a specific interest. He told us how much he has enjoyed being a part of some of them. Like the Beer fellowship. There are over 100 different groups and you can find them at https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/more-fellowships. Thanks, Greg. I’m going to check them out.
Carolyn Swanson from Parkland Spanaway Rotary pitched their event on December 2nd – the Ball Drop at Le May Collections at Marymount. Golf balls are available for purchase at www.psrotaryclub.org for $20 each or 6 for $100. Golf Balls will be numbered and dropped from a cherry picker onto a makeshift green. Closet to the pin wins! There will prizes for the top 3 balls. This fundraiser benefits a farm project in Kenya. Rotarian Del Livingston will be helping the village of Sango in Kisumu to develop a farm business to keep locals employed and pay tuition for students. He is hoping to have 250 students re-enrolled in school in the first year of his project. Of course, food and drink are involved. Sounds like a lot of fun.
Steve Enquist honored Gael Whalen with her first Paul Harris and presented her with a bunch of stuff, like a cool certificate, a pin and a Christmas tree ornament. Rose Stevens announced a global grant that will establish an emergency mobile clinic in Ukraine. Hopefully it will be up and running within 60 days. Makes me proud to be a Rotarian. Connie Coleman-Lacadie announced that Cindy Schaarschmidt, the Director of International Education at Pierce College is looking for host families for international students. Talk to Connie for more information.
More announcements included the December 8th Mingle and Jingle Christmas dinner put on by the Partners on December 8th at the TG&CC. The Lakewood Christmas Parade is the next day and if the 20 page application (yep, the Mayor is a lawyer) is accepted, LR will have a collection of fancy cars all decked out in festive paraphernalia rolling along throwing out little bags of candy assembled by the Partners. The bags will also include how to sign up for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. If you wanna help put those bags together, join the Partners at Burr’s on December 4th at 3:00 pm.
There will be no meeting the Friday after Thanksgiving and no meeting December 22nd and 29th. Then on January 5th, the meeting will be at the Fort Steilacoom Pavilion by the playground with Dick Ferrell doing the cooking. He could use some help so don’t hesitate to volunteer. Now, we’ve been hearing about these freaking purple recycling bins to benefit Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation and Pres Mary’s obsessive competition with the Kiwanis for the most bins purchased. It’s been extended to the end of November, 2023 so you have more time to sign up. When Mary asked for a show of hands for those who have gotten one of these gems, many hands went up. You could feel the frustration in Mary that she didn’t have all of those names down and maybe we weren’t losing to the Kiwanis by so much. Please let Mary know if you’ve gotten a bin so she like she has a chance to beat the Kiwanis.
Tony Camoroda announced that, at the last training conference he attended, he learned we were in second place for the largest number of new members as of November 1, 2023. We are behind Gig Harbor who welcomed 12 new members, we are at seven with a couple more in the process, and on our heels and about to overtake us is Tacoma South with six new ones and three coming on. Tony presented Mary with a commemorative mug for tea or coffee with her cookies.
Speaking of cookies, Mary drug up PP Jason Whalen to brag about his speedy daughters. The oldest one was second in the New York Marathon and the third overall in the state championships in Pasco. Another one was 11th in the entire field and ran her personal best at the Bosie, Idaho Regionals. Jason challenged mom Gael to which parent was the most proud of their daughters and they finally agreed on $50 of pride. Anne and Steve Enquist are back from two plus weeks in Japan. Turns out Steve is talented in flower arrangements and Anne has a future as a samurai warrior. Steve almost came home a different man when a sumo wrestler almost landed in Steve’s lap during a demonstration. The Enquists dropped $60 to buy blankets.
Turning to the program and all kidding aside, Pres Mary asked who was going to introduce Joe. Someone said, “how’s Herrreeee’s Joe!” That worked. We all know Joe. Joe Quinn to those who aren’t too sure. Joe is our YPO and he was prepared to do some training for this motely crew of members. He promised not to bore us or lecture to us. He lectured at Tacoma South and a couple of members got into an argument with one member leaving the club. He asked how many of us had done the Youth Protection Class and about half had. Others had no clue what he was talking about and he encouraged all of us to get online, fill out the paperwork, watch the video, take the test, and be certified to work safely with young people. Joe will send out the link of the training as soon as it’s available.
We all had a handout of several scenarios of real interactions involving a Rotarian and either a young person or an adult in compromising situations. Joe picked four and we discussed those. The first one dealt with a Rotary meeting where a member started to tell a risqué joke in front of a student who was to be honored as “Student of the Month.” Members responded appropriately about how to deal with this, such as intervene, tell him to stop. The second scenario was a member making comments about the physical appearance of a young girl walking by a Rotary booth at an event. The booth was designed to attract new members. This one generated a longer discussion. Suggestions included tell him those comments were inappropriate and to stop. Assuming the girl heard, someone should go up to her and apologize on behalf of Rotary and explain that isn’t what we stand for. Another member advised that someone should take the member aside and explain why his conduct was inappropriate. Another said that the offending person should be kicked out of the booth. Becky Fontaine stated that each of these examples call for follow up with the offending parties and to tell the club’s YPO if any involved a minor.
Joe said that in the second example, the girl told her school principal and the principal went to the club president. The offending member was an Interact coordinator and was subsequently removed. Joe reiterated that if any of us deal with minors on any kind of a regular basis, we must take the youth protection training.
The third example involved a Rotary member who liked to hug female members. Several of the women reported to the president that the hugging made them uncomfortable. Joe told the story of a woman who was in a position of authority in a fire department and who liked to hug people. When one fire fighter complained, she quit the department. Another member reminded us that different cultures feel differently about hugging and other such physical contact and we need to be aware of those differences. Becky reminded us women that we need to speak up immediately if we are uncomfortable about such conduct. There was hope that a chat with the hugger would help him realize that his conduct was unacceptable and to stop doing it.
The final example was a more extreme example than number three. There the offending member had made unwelcome sexual advances with sexually suggestive comments and persistently seeking to date female members. President Mary said this one would lead her to go up the line in Rotary to get advice on how to handle it, leading to Becky. Becky said that she doesn’t usually deal with adult to adult misconduct but only adult to youth. This example is much more complicated and has legal and liability overtones if not properly handled.
A discussion ensued about members who appear to misbehave but in fact are struggling with cognitive issues, making them unaware of their inappropriate conduct. While that doesn’t excuse the behavior, it challenges the person’s family and friends to surround him/her to stop it in its tracts. Both Becky and Joe reminded us that youth protection is not just for youths. It is for all of us. Prevent legal problems by treating each other with respect and kindness. Don’t hesitate to get RI advise and to notify RI about the offending person if he/she is kicked out of the club so that they don’t join another club unawares of his/her past. This happened when a Rotarian had an affair with a 17 year old. This was criminal conduct and no one who suspected did anything or notified anyone.
Thank you Becky and Joe for the training. While we all think we behave appropriately, knowing what is acceptable and what is not is a helpful reminder for all of us.
Onto more fun stuff. Becky won the raffle, which had $225 or $250 depending on who you asked. She came away with $5. Better luck next time, Becky.
Happy Thanksgiving to all Lakewood Rotarians and their families! I wish you full and happy tummies and peaceful, loving time with family and friends. And here are a couple of turkey jokes for the jokesters amongst us.
What did the large turkey say to the computer voice recognition? “Google, Google, Google.”
What’s a turkey’s least favorite song? “I’m all about that baste, about that baste, no giblets.”
What did the will turkey say to the hunter? Quack quack.
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS:
November 21 - Board Meeting
November 24 - Day after Thanksgiving - NO MEETING
All of November - Competition extended! Get a purple recycle bin from Lemay Waste
Management supporting Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and help President Mother Mary (Lakewood Rotary) beat Dick Muri (Steilacoom Kiwanis). All proceeds go to Mary Bridge.
December 2 – Ball Drop with Parkland-Spanaway Rotary at LeMay Collection at Marymount
starting at 1:00 pm
December 4 - 3:00 p.m. at Burrs - Candy Work Party with the Partners. Help us get ready for the
Holiday Parade.
December 8 - Mingle & Jingle Party, 5:30 p.m. at TCGC. RSVP by November 21.
December 9 - 4:30 p.m. Holiday Parade of Lights. Let President Mother Mary know that you
want to be part of the Lakewood Rotary float.
December 15 - Puffin Presidential Roast: Tom & Jerry are calling you.
December 22 – no meeting
December 29 – no meeting
January 5 – meeting at Fort Steilacoom Pavilion at noon. Dick Ferrell is cooking and could use
some volunteer helpers
Paula T. Olson
Having pot roast in the middle of the month was a big tip off that this meeting was different. President Mary ran her dinner bell and we all scrambled to our feet. The invocation by Commissioner Clint Johnson was a wonderful collection of thanksgiving readings including the original proclamation establishing this American holiday. The salute to our flag followed. Pres Mary acknowledged the Dream Team putting all the pieces of the meeting together, including set up crew of Wynn Hoffman, Terry Roarke, Rick Selden, James Osundwa and Rob Erb, Steve Enquist at the Foundation table where he collected a whopping $440, Gary Barton serving as Sargeant at Arms and listing of visiting Rotarians, bulletin writer Paula Olson and photographer Rob Zawilski. John Lowney presided over collecting donations to Mary’s cookie jar.
A handsome and healthy flock of Puffins stood when Pres Mary asked and politely snickered when she mentioned World Kindness Day while pathetically asking for kindness on December 15th. That ship sailed some time ago, Ms. Mary. There were many guests in attendance including a prospective member, Rick Olsen as well as Jennie Weinand, Carolyn and Don Swanson, several others whose names escaped me. Rotarian dignitaries included District Youth Protection Officer (YPO) from Tacoma 8 Becky Fontaine and our own YPO Joe Quinn’s boss as well as DGN Tony Camoroda and PDG Greg Horn. Zoomers included our dear Carole Weir and some guy in Hawaii reporting weather in the low 80’s. No one cares, Dave! Wendy McGowan had no Health and Wellness to report.
PDG Greg Horn gave a quick Rotary minute. Before he began, President and Wife Mary noted that he is also the Vice Governor standing in for Caleb Summerfelt if he is unable to serve. Is that like being Prince Harry if something happened to Prince William? Anyway, Greg’s minute was actually quite interesting. He told us about Rotary Fellowships, which are mini Rotary groups focusing on a specific interest. He told us how much he has enjoyed being a part of some of them. Like the Beer fellowship. There are over 100 different groups and you can find them at https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/more-fellowships. Thanks, Greg. I’m going to check them out.
Carolyn Swanson from Parkland Spanaway Rotary pitched their event on December 2nd – the Ball Drop at Le May Collections at Marymount. Golf balls are available for purchase at www.psrotaryclub.org for $20 each or 6 for $100. Golf Balls will be numbered and dropped from a cherry picker onto a makeshift green. Closet to the pin wins! There will prizes for the top 3 balls. This fundraiser benefits a farm project in Kenya. Rotarian Del Livingston will be helping the village of Sango in Kisumu to develop a farm business to keep locals employed and pay tuition for students. He is hoping to have 250 students re-enrolled in school in the first year of his project. Of course, food and drink are involved. Sounds like a lot of fun.
Steve Enquist honored Gael Whalen with her first Paul Harris and presented her with a bunch of stuff, like a cool certificate, a pin and a Christmas tree ornament. Rose Stevens announced a global grant that will establish an emergency mobile clinic in Ukraine. Hopefully it will be up and running within 60 days. Makes me proud to be a Rotarian. Connie Coleman-Lacadie announced that Cindy Schaarschmidt, the Director of International Education at Pierce College is looking for host families for international students. Talk to Connie for more information.
More announcements included the December 8th Mingle and Jingle Christmas dinner put on by the Partners on December 8th at the TG&CC. The Lakewood Christmas Parade is the next day and if the 20 page application (yep, the Mayor is a lawyer) is accepted, LR will have a collection of fancy cars all decked out in festive paraphernalia rolling along throwing out little bags of candy assembled by the Partners. The bags will also include how to sign up for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. If you wanna help put those bags together, join the Partners at Burr’s on December 4th at 3:00 pm.
There will be no meeting the Friday after Thanksgiving and no meeting December 22nd and 29th. Then on January 5th, the meeting will be at the Fort Steilacoom Pavilion by the playground with Dick Ferrell doing the cooking. He could use some help so don’t hesitate to volunteer. Now, we’ve been hearing about these freaking purple recycling bins to benefit Mary Bridge Children’s Foundation and Pres Mary’s obsessive competition with the Kiwanis for the most bins purchased. It’s been extended to the end of November, 2023 so you have more time to sign up. When Mary asked for a show of hands for those who have gotten one of these gems, many hands went up. You could feel the frustration in Mary that she didn’t have all of those names down and maybe we weren’t losing to the Kiwanis by so much. Please let Mary know if you’ve gotten a bin so she like she has a chance to beat the Kiwanis.
Tony Camoroda announced that, at the last training conference he attended, he learned we were in second place for the largest number of new members as of November 1, 2023. We are behind Gig Harbor who welcomed 12 new members, we are at seven with a couple more in the process, and on our heels and about to overtake us is Tacoma South with six new ones and three coming on. Tony presented Mary with a commemorative mug for tea or coffee with her cookies.
Speaking of cookies, Mary drug up PP Jason Whalen to brag about his speedy daughters. The oldest one was second in the New York Marathon and the third overall in the state championships in Pasco. Another one was 11th in the entire field and ran her personal best at the Bosie, Idaho Regionals. Jason challenged mom Gael to which parent was the most proud of their daughters and they finally agreed on $50 of pride. Anne and Steve Enquist are back from two plus weeks in Japan. Turns out Steve is talented in flower arrangements and Anne has a future as a samurai warrior. Steve almost came home a different man when a sumo wrestler almost landed in Steve’s lap during a demonstration. The Enquists dropped $60 to buy blankets.
Turning to the program and all kidding aside, Pres Mary asked who was going to introduce Joe. Someone said, “how’s Herrreeee’s Joe!” That worked. We all know Joe. Joe Quinn to those who aren’t too sure. Joe is our YPO and he was prepared to do some training for this motely crew of members. He promised not to bore us or lecture to us. He lectured at Tacoma South and a couple of members got into an argument with one member leaving the club. He asked how many of us had done the Youth Protection Class and about half had. Others had no clue what he was talking about and he encouraged all of us to get online, fill out the paperwork, watch the video, take the test, and be certified to work safely with young people. Joe will send out the link of the training as soon as it’s available.
We all had a handout of several scenarios of real interactions involving a Rotarian and either a young person or an adult in compromising situations. Joe picked four and we discussed those. The first one dealt with a Rotary meeting where a member started to tell a risqué joke in front of a student who was to be honored as “Student of the Month.” Members responded appropriately about how to deal with this, such as intervene, tell him to stop. The second scenario was a member making comments about the physical appearance of a young girl walking by a Rotary booth at an event. The booth was designed to attract new members. This one generated a longer discussion. Suggestions included tell him those comments were inappropriate and to stop. Assuming the girl heard, someone should go up to her and apologize on behalf of Rotary and explain that isn’t what we stand for. Another member advised that someone should take the member aside and explain why his conduct was inappropriate. Another said that the offending person should be kicked out of the booth. Becky Fontaine stated that each of these examples call for follow up with the offending parties and to tell the club’s YPO if any involved a minor.
Joe said that in the second example, the girl told her school principal and the principal went to the club president. The offending member was an Interact coordinator and was subsequently removed. Joe reiterated that if any of us deal with minors on any kind of a regular basis, we must take the youth protection training.
The third example involved a Rotary member who liked to hug female members. Several of the women reported to the president that the hugging made them uncomfortable. Joe told the story of a woman who was in a position of authority in a fire department and who liked to hug people. When one fire fighter complained, she quit the department. Another member reminded us that different cultures feel differently about hugging and other such physical contact and we need to be aware of those differences. Becky reminded us women that we need to speak up immediately if we are uncomfortable about such conduct. There was hope that a chat with the hugger would help him realize that his conduct was unacceptable and to stop doing it.
The final example was a more extreme example than number three. There the offending member had made unwelcome sexual advances with sexually suggestive comments and persistently seeking to date female members. President Mary said this one would lead her to go up the line in Rotary to get advice on how to handle it, leading to Becky. Becky said that she doesn’t usually deal with adult to adult misconduct but only adult to youth. This example is much more complicated and has legal and liability overtones if not properly handled.
A discussion ensued about members who appear to misbehave but in fact are struggling with cognitive issues, making them unaware of their inappropriate conduct. While that doesn’t excuse the behavior, it challenges the person’s family and friends to surround him/her to stop it in its tracts. Both Becky and Joe reminded us that youth protection is not just for youths. It is for all of us. Prevent legal problems by treating each other with respect and kindness. Don’t hesitate to get RI advise and to notify RI about the offending person if he/she is kicked out of the club so that they don’t join another club unawares of his/her past. This happened when a Rotarian had an affair with a 17 year old. This was criminal conduct and no one who suspected did anything or notified anyone.
Thank you Becky and Joe for the training. While we all think we behave appropriately, knowing what is acceptable and what is not is a helpful reminder for all of us.
Onto more fun stuff. Becky won the raffle, which had $225 or $250 depending on who you asked. She came away with $5. Better luck next time, Becky.
Happy Thanksgiving to all Lakewood Rotarians and their families! I wish you full and happy tummies and peaceful, loving time with family and friends. And here are a couple of turkey jokes for the jokesters amongst us.
What did the large turkey say to the computer voice recognition? “Google, Google, Google.”
What’s a turkey’s least favorite song? “I’m all about that baste, about that baste, no giblets.”
What did the will turkey say to the hunter? Quack quack.
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS:
November 21 - Board Meeting
November 24 - Day after Thanksgiving - NO MEETING
All of November - Competition extended! Get a purple recycle bin from Lemay Waste
Management supporting Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and help President Mother Mary (Lakewood Rotary) beat Dick Muri (Steilacoom Kiwanis). All proceeds go to Mary Bridge.
December 2 – Ball Drop with Parkland-Spanaway Rotary at LeMay Collection at Marymount
starting at 1:00 pm
December 4 - 3:00 p.m. at Burrs - Candy Work Party with the Partners. Help us get ready for the
Holiday Parade.
December 8 - Mingle & Jingle Party, 5:30 p.m. at TCGC. RSVP by November 21.
December 9 - 4:30 p.m. Holiday Parade of Lights. Let President Mother Mary know that you
want to be part of the Lakewood Rotary float.
December 15 - Puffin Presidential Roast: Tom & Jerry are calling you.
December 22 – no meeting
December 29 – no meeting
January 5 – meeting at Fort Steilacoom Pavilion at noon. Dick Ferrell is cooking and could use
some volunteer helpers
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