MEETING RECAP
Red Cross to the REscue!
By Paula T. OlsonSunday, March 24, 2024
Red Cross to the Rescue
Paula T. Olson
President Mary rang the dinner bell promptly at 12:30 for Friday’s meeting. Dick Ferrell led us in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by Shiru Osundwa with the invocation. Mary reminded us that today was the Tenth Anniversary of the landslide in Oso but also that it was World Water Day. She played a short video to educate us that we are lucky to live in an area surrounded by water but others are not so lucky. Water conservation is important as we are not immune to drought.
Paula T. Olson
President Mary rang the dinner bell promptly at 12:30 for Friday’s meeting. Dick Ferrell led us in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by Shiru Osundwa with the invocation. Mary reminded us that today was the Tenth Anniversary of the landslide in Oso but also that it was World Water Day. She played a short video to educate us that we are lucky to live in an area surrounded by water but others are not so lucky. Water conservation is important as we are not immune to drought.
Making the meeting have all its parts in the right spots included Connie Coleman-Lacadi at the Paul Harris desk, the Dream Team of Scott Baird, Tom George, Wynn Hoffman, Terry Roark, Rick Selden, James Osundwa and, last but certainly not least, Rob Erb. Leon Titus manned the $2.00 table and acted as Sgt at Arms. Bob Zawilski ran the camera, Paula Olson wrote the bulletin and John Lowney guarded the Cookie Jar. We had a couple of Puffins in attendance.
There were only a couple of guests: our speaker Dan Wirth from the farm club and Megan. Welcome to you both. Zoomers were acknowledged, including Ann and Steve Enquist in San Francisco. Royalty in attendance was PDG Greg Horn, DGN Tony Camoroda, and AG Bill Potter. What did Mommy spider say to baby spider? “You spend too much time on the web.” Wendy McGowan had no Sunshine Report except that her back is still acting up.
Turning to announcements, Bob Zawilski reminded everyone about Break Bag delivery on Monday, March 25th at 9:05 am. Yes, that’s the correct time. If you get there at 9:00 am, you will be horrified to witness Bob shamelessly pawing through the donuts to pick out his favorites. You will never unsee that. Several people raised their hands to say they were planning to help. Bob really needs bag counters, you know, folks that say “one, two, three etc.” Anyone can do that.
Next Friday is the last meeting of the month and Pot Roast Day. Yahoo! Also Little Food Pantry Day so bring food/cash to donate. Especially needed are small jars of peanut butter – not Costco size jars and containers with pop tops for folks who don’t have can openers. Steve Enquist had a Paul Harris to present but because he was in San Francisco, he asked Mary to do it and Mary asked Greg to do it and Greg can’t say no, so he did it. The generous recipient was Chris Kimball with his sixth Paul Harris or his five plus. He got a nice pin with a ruby in it. Very well done, Mr. Kimball!
Why is Mother’s Day before Father’s Day? So the kids can spend all their Christmas money on mom.
April 20th is a day that will be of more and less importance depending on relationship. It’s Mary’s dad’s birthday and Hitler’s birthday. Much most important however, is it’s Earth Day. Come one and all to Owens Beach for clean-up. Take your baths at home as the water is still cold. Connie proclaimed the coming of our big fundraising event, the Wine and Beer Festival. So far a pathetic 73 tickets have been purchased and many, many more of them need to be bought before April 12th to ensure there is enough food. Some very cool auction items are available, especially if people turn them in so they can be purchased. Let’s get with it, members, and turn in those procurement sheets! My mom superpower is being the only person in the house who can see an empty toilet paper roll.
Next in the agenda was Pres Mary’s favorite part of any meeting, donations to her Cookie Jar. Someone announced that Veronica Bronkema was having a birthday and Pres Mom Mary told Carl to get his wallet out to honor his wife. In response, Carl said that he donated for his own birthday and then had the audacity to say, “ok, I’ll pay XX for her birthday.” [The actual number has been deleted for Veronica’s privacy.] After much prodding, Leon Titus admitted that he helped his wife get a new Cadillac for which he donated $100, although the value was truly priceless. [See, Carl, that’s how to donate for your wife.] Mark Herr announced that he is running for a legislative office for the 28th District with April 12th as his campaign kick off. Rob Erb had taken a couple of short trips so he paid $20. Ann and Steve Enquist wanted to ensure that we honored Gary Fulton as a champion blood donor – 28 gallons!! No, not all at once but that is truly impressive, Gary! Greg Horn gave $28 in appreciation. Twenty eight gallons equals 224 pints and 10 days of bloodletting.
Bob Peterson celebrated his great grandson’s sixth or seventh birthday and his wedding anniversary of 62 years. A friend asked me if she should have a baby after 40. I said no, 40 babies are enough. A bunch of people went to Sun River, like Greg and Mary, John Lowney, Ann and Steve Enquist and arguments broke out about who was giving what for which. Dave Swindale turned 63 years old and rounded up his donation to $65.
Our program came next with Scott Baird introducing our speaker, Dan Wirth, Executive Director of the American Red Cross of South Puget Sound and Olympics. His topic was Increased Disaster Responses as Impacted by Climate Crisis. Dan got his BA at Fort Lewis College and his Master of Arts in Intercultural Youth and Family Development at the University of Montana. Dan’s career includes a stint as a counselor, a couple of years in the Peace Corp, Regional Disaster Officer for the Kentucky region. Dan coordinated disaster relief through Hurricanes Maria and Harvey, disasters in Florence, North Carolina, Flint Michigan, and wild fires in Oregon.
Dan’s presentation was a sobering education on the effect of climate change on the world. There has been a six times increase in major disasters since the 1980s costing billions of dollars. In the past five years, the number of major disasters has doubled. In 2023 alone, disasters cost $28 billion. The number of acres burned by fires has more than doubled.
The Red Cross has about five major lines of business including blood collection for which we can sign up on line. The Red Cross also delivers emergency messages to active military from their families, disaster relief, CPR, life guard, babysitting and first aid training. In the U.S., disaster relief primarily consists of helping people after a house fire. Last year there were 60,000 across the country and 1,200 in the Pacific Northwest, 180 in Pierce County. The Red Cross gives immediate financial assistance and also free fire alarms. It is also involved internationally, for example with distribution of the measles vaccine.
The increase in disasters has caused the Red Cross to reassess its priorities as the toll of these disasters falls more heavily on communities already dealing with issues. Forty percent of Americans do not have the financial resources to absorb an unexpected expense in the amount of $400. The disasters that force people from their homes are much harder for people who depend on social services for survival. For example, currently about 3,400 people are still in shelters in Hawaii from the last fire, down from a high of 5,500. The Red Cross makes contact with the family or individual every two days. Last year was the ninth straight year with double digit disasters. Dan stated that his statistics come from various reputable government sites. Closer to home, there were two wildfires in Lakewood in 2023. The fires are occurring in places that have never seen fires, such as the Olympic Peninsula, Spokane and Oregon.
In response, in 2022 the Red Cross started a five year campaign to raise $1.2 billion to help vulnerable communities. That money will be distributed to the U. S. Disaster Relief Fund in the amount of $800 million, international aid in the amount of $100 million, and sustainability in the amount of $260 million. The Red Cross has expanded its staff to 89 persons working on forging partnerships in 27 cities across the country to form a network of local entities ready to respond to disasters. They are also working on enhancing shelter case work with a digital app for new client management systems as well as partnership with International Red Cross and Red Crescent.
The organization is significantly reducing its brick and mortar buildings and upgrading them into more sustainable buildings. As an example of ways to be more efficient and cost effective, they saw that an ice machine used to cool and store blood cost $2,000 a month because water coursed through it to cool the ice. The team found a better ice machine at a much reduced cost. The University Place office lights dim with the amount of light outside.
In response to member questions, 10% of donations go to administration and 90% go to client services. Thank you, Dan for a very interesting and informative presentation.
You know you’re a mom when . . .
you have a secret stash of candy that not even your spouse gets to see.
all you want for your birthday is for people to stop getting a new glass every time they need a drink.
the first thing you say when you walk into a room is, “What’s that smell?”
Calendar of Events
Tuesday, March 26 at 5:00 pm at TCGC - Board Meeting
Friday, March 29 at noon at TCGC - with Tiffany Speir, Lakewood Long Range Planning Manager - ALSO today is Little Free Pantry Friday! All donations are appreciated, but if you are shopping, we're in need of peanut butter!
Friday, April 5 at noon - Club Meeting at TCGC - with Mari Leavitt, Washington State Representative, 28th District
Friday, April 12 at noon - Club Meeting at TCGC - Mike Pajeo with the Coffee Oasis
Saturday, April 27 at 5:30 p.m. - Lakewood Rotary Wine and Beer Festival, McGavick Center, Lakewood. Come and Love the Wine You're With.
Tickets are available online here or pay by check to Lakewood Rotary, c/o Treasurer John Lowney, PO Box 99786, Lakewood, WA 98496. $125
https://fundraiser.bid/LakewoodRotaryWineandBeerFestival
There were only a couple of guests: our speaker Dan Wirth from the farm club and Megan. Welcome to you both. Zoomers were acknowledged, including Ann and Steve Enquist in San Francisco. Royalty in attendance was PDG Greg Horn, DGN Tony Camoroda, and AG Bill Potter. What did Mommy spider say to baby spider? “You spend too much time on the web.” Wendy McGowan had no Sunshine Report except that her back is still acting up.
Turning to announcements, Bob Zawilski reminded everyone about Break Bag delivery on Monday, March 25th at 9:05 am. Yes, that’s the correct time. If you get there at 9:00 am, you will be horrified to witness Bob shamelessly pawing through the donuts to pick out his favorites. You will never unsee that. Several people raised their hands to say they were planning to help. Bob really needs bag counters, you know, folks that say “one, two, three etc.” Anyone can do that.
Next Friday is the last meeting of the month and Pot Roast Day. Yahoo! Also Little Food Pantry Day so bring food/cash to donate. Especially needed are small jars of peanut butter – not Costco size jars and containers with pop tops for folks who don’t have can openers. Steve Enquist had a Paul Harris to present but because he was in San Francisco, he asked Mary to do it and Mary asked Greg to do it and Greg can’t say no, so he did it. The generous recipient was Chris Kimball with his sixth Paul Harris or his five plus. He got a nice pin with a ruby in it. Very well done, Mr. Kimball!
Why is Mother’s Day before Father’s Day? So the kids can spend all their Christmas money on mom.
April 20th is a day that will be of more and less importance depending on relationship. It’s Mary’s dad’s birthday and Hitler’s birthday. Much most important however, is it’s Earth Day. Come one and all to Owens Beach for clean-up. Take your baths at home as the water is still cold. Connie proclaimed the coming of our big fundraising event, the Wine and Beer Festival. So far a pathetic 73 tickets have been purchased and many, many more of them need to be bought before April 12th to ensure there is enough food. Some very cool auction items are available, especially if people turn them in so they can be purchased. Let’s get with it, members, and turn in those procurement sheets! My mom superpower is being the only person in the house who can see an empty toilet paper roll.
Next in the agenda was Pres Mary’s favorite part of any meeting, donations to her Cookie Jar. Someone announced that Veronica Bronkema was having a birthday and Pres Mom Mary told Carl to get his wallet out to honor his wife. In response, Carl said that he donated for his own birthday and then had the audacity to say, “ok, I’ll pay XX for her birthday.” [The actual number has been deleted for Veronica’s privacy.] After much prodding, Leon Titus admitted that he helped his wife get a new Cadillac for which he donated $100, although the value was truly priceless. [See, Carl, that’s how to donate for your wife.] Mark Herr announced that he is running for a legislative office for the 28th District with April 12th as his campaign kick off. Rob Erb had taken a couple of short trips so he paid $20. Ann and Steve Enquist wanted to ensure that we honored Gary Fulton as a champion blood donor – 28 gallons!! No, not all at once but that is truly impressive, Gary! Greg Horn gave $28 in appreciation. Twenty eight gallons equals 224 pints and 10 days of bloodletting.
Bob Peterson celebrated his great grandson’s sixth or seventh birthday and his wedding anniversary of 62 years. A friend asked me if she should have a baby after 40. I said no, 40 babies are enough. A bunch of people went to Sun River, like Greg and Mary, John Lowney, Ann and Steve Enquist and arguments broke out about who was giving what for which. Dave Swindale turned 63 years old and rounded up his donation to $65.
Our program came next with Scott Baird introducing our speaker, Dan Wirth, Executive Director of the American Red Cross of South Puget Sound and Olympics. His topic was Increased Disaster Responses as Impacted by Climate Crisis. Dan got his BA at Fort Lewis College and his Master of Arts in Intercultural Youth and Family Development at the University of Montana. Dan’s career includes a stint as a counselor, a couple of years in the Peace Corp, Regional Disaster Officer for the Kentucky region. Dan coordinated disaster relief through Hurricanes Maria and Harvey, disasters in Florence, North Carolina, Flint Michigan, and wild fires in Oregon.
Dan’s presentation was a sobering education on the effect of climate change on the world. There has been a six times increase in major disasters since the 1980s costing billions of dollars. In the past five years, the number of major disasters has doubled. In 2023 alone, disasters cost $28 billion. The number of acres burned by fires has more than doubled.
The Red Cross has about five major lines of business including blood collection for which we can sign up on line. The Red Cross also delivers emergency messages to active military from their families, disaster relief, CPR, life guard, babysitting and first aid training. In the U.S., disaster relief primarily consists of helping people after a house fire. Last year there were 60,000 across the country and 1,200 in the Pacific Northwest, 180 in Pierce County. The Red Cross gives immediate financial assistance and also free fire alarms. It is also involved internationally, for example with distribution of the measles vaccine.
The increase in disasters has caused the Red Cross to reassess its priorities as the toll of these disasters falls more heavily on communities already dealing with issues. Forty percent of Americans do not have the financial resources to absorb an unexpected expense in the amount of $400. The disasters that force people from their homes are much harder for people who depend on social services for survival. For example, currently about 3,400 people are still in shelters in Hawaii from the last fire, down from a high of 5,500. The Red Cross makes contact with the family or individual every two days. Last year was the ninth straight year with double digit disasters. Dan stated that his statistics come from various reputable government sites. Closer to home, there were two wildfires in Lakewood in 2023. The fires are occurring in places that have never seen fires, such as the Olympic Peninsula, Spokane and Oregon.
In response, in 2022 the Red Cross started a five year campaign to raise $1.2 billion to help vulnerable communities. That money will be distributed to the U. S. Disaster Relief Fund in the amount of $800 million, international aid in the amount of $100 million, and sustainability in the amount of $260 million. The Red Cross has expanded its staff to 89 persons working on forging partnerships in 27 cities across the country to form a network of local entities ready to respond to disasters. They are also working on enhancing shelter case work with a digital app for new client management systems as well as partnership with International Red Cross and Red Crescent.
The organization is significantly reducing its brick and mortar buildings and upgrading them into more sustainable buildings. As an example of ways to be more efficient and cost effective, they saw that an ice machine used to cool and store blood cost $2,000 a month because water coursed through it to cool the ice. The team found a better ice machine at a much reduced cost. The University Place office lights dim with the amount of light outside.
In response to member questions, 10% of donations go to administration and 90% go to client services. Thank you, Dan for a very interesting and informative presentation.
You know you’re a mom when . . .
you have a secret stash of candy that not even your spouse gets to see.
all you want for your birthday is for people to stop getting a new glass every time they need a drink.
the first thing you say when you walk into a room is, “What’s that smell?”
Calendar of Events
Tuesday, March 26 at 5:00 pm at TCGC - Board Meeting
Friday, March 29 at noon at TCGC - with Tiffany Speir, Lakewood Long Range Planning Manager - ALSO today is Little Free Pantry Friday! All donations are appreciated, but if you are shopping, we're in need of peanut butter!
Friday, April 5 at noon - Club Meeting at TCGC - with Mari Leavitt, Washington State Representative, 28th District
Friday, April 12 at noon - Club Meeting at TCGC - Mike Pajeo with the Coffee Oasis
Saturday, April 27 at 5:30 p.m. - Lakewood Rotary Wine and Beer Festival, McGavick Center, Lakewood. Come and Love the Wine You're With.
Tickets are available online here or pay by check to Lakewood Rotary, c/o Treasurer John Lowney, PO Box 99786, Lakewood, WA 98496. $125
https://fundraiser.bid/LakewoodRotaryWineandBeerFestival
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