BBRC Reveille

• BBRC WEEKLY NEWSLETTER • VOL 22, NO 30, FEBRUARY 16, 2010 •

THIS WEEK

"Loving Machines & the Dreams they Inspire, Airplane Enthusiasts Pursue their Goals," Bob Dempster, who is building a replica of a 1924 World Cruiser — a task that has so far taken eight years — and plans to replicate the trip it made around the world once the plane is completed.

A description of his project was recently covered in the Seattle Times and in this King 5 newsclip right:

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

"As you contemplate what to get your spouse for Valentine's Day, or even consider IF you should get him or her something, remember: love is grand, but a divorce is at least a hundred grand." ~ paraphrased by Margie Burnett

Beginnings

President Margie gave the bell a whack to kick off the Valentine's Edition of the BBRC on time at 7:30 AM, on the dot.

This was gratifying to the many members who managed to find their way into the meeting room, in spite of construction barriers that blocked the normal entrance.

The invocation (see below) and pledge were ably handled by Lennie Lutes, and visiting Rotarians and guests were introduced by Tim Moriarty. Question of the day: What is your favorite winter Olympic sport? Answers included skiing, short track speed skating, and hockey. (Hockey? We have someone visiting all the way from Minnesota?)

Invocation

Let us pray that strength and courage be abundantly given
To all who work for the world of reason and understanding,
That the good that lies in every heart may, day by day, be magnified;

That all will come to see more clearly
Not that which divides us, but that which unites;

And that each hour may bring us closer to a final victory,
Not of nation over nation, but each person over his or her own evils and weaknesses;

That the true spirit of this meeting — its joy, its beauty, its hope —
And above all, its abiding faith —may live among us;

That the blessing of peace be ours — the peace to build and grow,
To live in harmony and sympathy with others,
And to plan for the future with confidence.

Amen

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New Member Induction: Justin Lee

President Margie had the distinct honor of introducing the newest Rotary member in the world Friday, when Justin Lee was inducted into the BBRC, with his wife Kristin, daughter Erica, and son Joshua witnessing the event. Jason is sponsored by Dick Brown and has the classification of Chiropractic Care.

Jason already has membership on the Youth Services and Golf Committees, as well as the coveted one year membership on the Newbies Committee. Justin enjoys soccer, golf and a sport to be named later.

Please give a warm welcome to our newest member: Jason Lee.

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Annual Retreat Sign-Ups

Sign-ups are now up and available on the BBRC website for the 2010 BBRC Annual Retreat, to be held March 19 and 20, at Port Hadlock.

President Margie and one of the old Past Presidents, Norm Johnson, had new member Jason Lee draw a name out of the hat for a complementary dinner at the retreat. The first name out was that of President Margie. She graciously declined and allowed a second name to be drawn, and behold! The winner was none other than Norm Johnson! Hey, that's not right! It is right if they happened to have been the only two members who had taken the time to sign up!

So, the drawing for the free dinner has been delayed a week to allow you to sign up for this very special opportunity for fellowship, including golf at White Horse and retail therapy in Port Townsend — and most important of all, providing your input for your new board of directors.

SIGN UP FOR THE RETREAT HERE.

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Washington State DECA

DECA is an organization which encourages high school students to study for entry into marketing, management, and entrepreneurship in the business fields of business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service. Tim Leahy introduced the Executive Director of the Washington State DECA, Shanna LeMar, and presented a check for $2,000 to support competition in the area of Community Services.

Shanna thanked the club and offered those who were interested the opportunity to apply to be judges for DECA's statewide competition on March 5th, 2010, at the Meydenbauer Center, in Bellevue. "It is a wonderful experience," added Tim, a judge with ten years experience.

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Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA)

Ruben Ladlad thanked the club for recruiting five students to represent the BBRC at this year's RYLA conference. Three of the candidates have been accepted and the other two are working on their paper work.

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Valentine Dine-Around

It must be true, even the long-timers take off the gloves and lay aside the rolling pins to celebrate the annual BBRC Valentines Dine-Around. Phil and Connie Salvatori hosted Sayoko and Rourke, Norm and Carolyn, Brian and Trish, and new member Michel Carter and his wife Rachel. It was a time for wonderful food, wine and fellowship.

Other Dine-Around hosts included, Robin and Gretchen Callan, who hosted Desiree and Masa Yuzawa, Wayne McCaulley and Sara King, Madeline Gauthier, and Steve and Charlotte Roberts; and Colleen and Steve Turner, who hosted Ernie and Ginny Hayden, Jim and Marlene Kindsvater, and Bob and Esther Moloney.

Now the question is just what in the world has Sayoko prepared in that large soup pot?

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VALENTINE DINE-AROUND PHOTO ALBUM.

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Rotary First Harvest

Saturday, February 13th, 16 BBRCers and family members made the trek to Kent to support Rotary First Harvest and pack fresh pears or frozen green beans. Come on down in March and keep the BBRC on track for the second Annual Golden Donut Award.

Click on photos for a larger image.

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Preserve Plant Earth: Spring Highway Clean-Up

A Highway Clean-Up Work Party is scheduled for Saturday, March 27. We will meet at the Wilburton Park-and-Ride, located just south of downtown Bellevue at 720 114th Ave SE, at 8:30 am.

Please bring gloves and warm clothing, and wear shoes that you don't mind getting muddy. Helmets and orange vests will be provided.

Family and friends over age 13 are encouraged to participate in this project, which should take less than 2 hours. If you have any questions, please contact Ryan Scharnhorst.

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Delivering Dictionaries in Antigua

A quick note from John Martinka:

Steve, Tamara, Alex, Jan, and I made it here Wednesday, after changing airlines Tuesday afternoon, due to snow in NY. Jeff, Rod, and students leave Sunday. They will stay two days past us, so our trips overlap a bit.

Computers delivered to schools. We will distribute dictionaries until team arrives and check last two years labs. Then we will split between computers and dictionaries.

Had PR stuff today including Prime Minister and kick-off of National Education Week. Fantastic reception to this project (again).

DG 2011-12 Ann Liberato and her husband John are also here.

Click on photos for a larger image.

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Call for Rotary Peace Fellow Applications
John Armenia

The Rotary Peace Fellows is an outstanding program. The best candidates for it include past Rotary Scholars and exchange atudents, as well as graduate students who are majoring in law, political science, international relations, and education.

The Rotary Foundation invites all districts to submit applications for the 2011-12 Rotary Peace Fellowships. Complete applications must be sent to the Rotary Foundation by 1 July 2010.

In these uncertain times, there is a growing demand for well trained international leaders to promote national and international cooperation and peace throughout their lives, in their careers and through service activities. The challenges of the 21st century require people skilled in the art of diplomacy, mediation, and conflict resolution. The Rotary Peace Fellowship program was developed to meet this very need.

Rotary is seeking non-Rotarian professionals interested in expanding their knowledge in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies and conflict resolution or a related field. Each year, up to 100 Rotary Peace Fellowships (50 master's degree fellowships and 50 professional development certificate fellowships) are offered on a competitive basis at six prestigious Rotary Centers around the world.

Participants in the master's degree program gain access to:

Two years of Rotary-funded graduate study toward a master's degree at one of our six Rotary Centers
Training in the root causes of conflict, theories of international relations, and effective models of cooperation, conflict resolution, and negotiation.
A growing network of committed alumni employed around the world in diplomacy, government, non-governmental organizations and private corporations.

Candidates already working in the field of peace and conflict studies may opt for the three-month professional development certificate program at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Both programs require, at minimum, a bachelor's degree in a related field; 3 years of relevant work experience for the MA program and 5 years for the professional development certificate.

You could be among the next Rotary Peace Fellows. Alumni from the Ambassadorial Scholarship, Group Study Exchange, and University Teachers programs make excellent candidates for the Rotary Peace Fellowship. Thirty-one Ambassadorial Scholars and GSE team members have gone on to become Rotary Peace Fellows.

If the fellowship is not for you, you may know someone who would be an excellent candidate. Please share this information with alumni, as well as business associates, local universities, service organizations, religious institutions, and community groups that may know of individuals interested in conflict resolution and diplomacy. For eligibility and application information, click here.

Candidates for the 2011-2012 academic term should send their applications to Rotary clubs now.

Contact rotarypeacecenters@rotary.org for further information or visit www.rotary.org/rotarycenters.

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FRIDAY's PROGRAM

"EveryBODY is Beautiful!" McKinley Smith, Miss Seattle

McKinley Smith, the current holder of the Miss Seattle sash and tiara, was our morning speaker. An introduction by Rourke O'Brien brought our attention to McKinley's message in a most powerful way, as he related that he lost a sister to a suicide that was predicated by her eating disorders.

McKinley's decision to enter the Miss Seattle pageant was based upon her convictions that it would provide her with a platform to explain her position on eating disorders. Her personal experience as a person that has had an eating disorder brought an even more focused attention on her message that "EveryBODY Is Beautiful." She related that "there has been a rise in incidences of anorexia in young women 15-19 years old in each decade since 1930. Over one person's lifetime, at least 50,000 individuals will die as a direct result of eating disorders, with the majority of deaths due to physiological complications."

It is time to defy the current unhealthy definitions of "beautiful" and embrace our own genes and our bodies as uniquely beautiful. Today's mass media cultural is producing images of young women that defy natural patterns. Eating disorders are complex conditions that arise from a combination of long-standing behavioral, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, biological, and social factors. As many as 10 million people have eating disorders, compared to 4 million with Alzheimer's disease.

Eating disorders have names: Anorexia Nervosa, a form of self starvation; Bulimia Nervosa, which is binge eating, followed by purging, such as self-induced vomiting; and a general classification called Binge Eating Disorder. These conditions require strong support and professional intervention to stabilize the psyche and return the person to normal body awareness and healthy eating. One major problem is that health insurance does not cover treatment until the condition of the individual deteriorates to the point where hospitalization is required. We must remember that an eating disorder is not a choice, but truly a mental illness.

McKinley's experience and research indicate that the problem is not confined within the United States, but is being exported to other countries, such as China, that have been subjected to our cultural images of beauty. The most important note of McKinley's presentation: support for individuals and families is available from the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).

Following a period of questions and answers, President Margie presented McKinley with a card explaining that a donation has been made on her behalf to the Haitian Relief Fund.

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Web Fun

Another repeat, but worth it
Courtesy of Wally Mahoney

One dark night in the small town of Garfield , NJ, a fire started inside the local sausage factory. In a blink the building was engulfed in flames. The alarm went out to all the fire departments for miles around.

When the first volunteer fire fighters appeared on the scene, the sausage company president rushed to the fire chief and said, "All of our secret sausage recipes are in the vault in the center of the plant. They have to be saved, so I will donate $50,000 to the fire company that brings them out and delivers them to me."

But the roaring flames held the firefighters off. Soon more fire departments had to be called in because the situation became desperate. As the firemen arrived, the president shouted out that the offer to extricate the secret recipes was now $100,000 to the fire department that could save them.

Suddenly from up the road, a lone siren was heard as another fire truck came into sight. It was the fire engine of the nearby Lodi, NJ, volunteer fire department, composed mainly of Italian firefighters over the age of 65.

To everyone's amazement, the little run-down fire engine, operated by these Italian firefighters, passed fire engines parked outside the plant and drove straight into the middle of the inferno. Outside, the other firemen watched in amazement as the Italian old timers jumped off and began to fight the fire as if they were fighting to save their own lives. Within a short time, the Lodi old timers had extinguished the fire and saved the secret recipes.

The grateful sausage company president joyfully announced that for such a superhuman accomplishment he was raising the reward to $200,000, and walked over to personally thank each of the brave elderly Italian firefighters.

A TV news crew rushed in after capturing the event on film. The on camera reporter asked the Italian fire chief, "What are you going to do with all that money?"

"Wella," said Chief Pasquale De Salvatori, the 70-year-old fire chief, "de fursta tinga we gonnna do isza fixa de brakes on dat truck!"

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BIRTHDAYS