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Garrett Smith Quartet
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The Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club marked its fifteenth anniversary with a mellow meeting at the top of
Seattle in the Columbia Tower Club, where 130 members and guests attended a reception, followed by dinner and program. The evening ended with dancing and music provided by the Garrett Smith Quartet.
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Happy all around! Goldfarb, Lingenbrink, raffle winner Bevan
Richardson, and Mark Hough, seller of the winning ticket!
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One of the numerous highlights of the evening was the announcement of the Raffle Winner. Bevan Richardson,
who owns a 1978 car with 200,000 miles on it, was the grateful winner of the 2000 Volkswagen. Mark Hough sold Bevan his winning ticket. The crowd roared when Bevan’s name was
announced, especially since he revealed he’d bought only one ticket. “I really need this car and I thank you for giving me this opportunity.” He promised to buy more tickets next year.
With opening remarks by President Cary Kopczynski, the program
commenced following a delicious salmon and steak dinner. Cary talked about the “handing-off ceremony,” when he met with Immediate Past President John DeWater.
“I went downstairs to John’s office where he introduced me to at least eight boxes of stuff that he intended to transfer to my office! I left with my car full of BBRC files. As I put them away, I
inspected the contents, finding some old pictures reported to be at an early retreat. I looked at the faces in the pictures, trying to place them.
Then, I realized these were some of our charter members and past presidents. Boy, you guys sure have aged!”
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At the reception [l to r]: Janet & John
DeWater; Ginny & Terry Peterson, Steve & Terri Lingenbrink; John & Jane Kuechle
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John DeWater was called upon to offer the invocation. As was a focus of his administration, he commented about the power of
Rotary and how it blended with this club. His thought-provoking invocation was a powerful opening to a delightful evening.
Steve Lingenbrink served as master of ceremonies, first introducing Norris Bevan as the “father of the BBRC.” Norris had
earlier spun the tale of how the Club was formed. He was in charge of extension of Rotary into new clubs. For years, there had been
talk of a breakfast club, but not until the mid-80s did the talk turn serious. In early 1985, Norris began making the rounds of people that he knew who
were not affiliated with Rotary and made the pitch for forming the new club. By mid-year, 25 names were on the list and the chartering process had
begun. Rotary International formally accepted the application of the Club on November 20, 1985. The sponsoring club is Bellevue Downtown Rotary.
President-Elect Steve Goldfarb was called upon to announce the Raffle
winner. He praised his team of Rotarians who collectively raised a net $125,000 for worthwhile projects next year for the BBRC. Steve particularly singled out Tim Moriarty
for his work on the Golf Outing; Steve Lingenbucks, as the Raffle chairman; and Margie Burnett, for her undaunted weekly reporting of the Raffle campaign progress. All received a
big round of applause for their successful efforts.
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Lingenbrink gets teary-eyed. That's what Rotary does to you!
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Lingenbrink was given a batch of old Reveilles to research his job as Master of Ceremonies. He found
that on October 18, 1991, he had made his first visit to the BBRC. “The club was winding up its first car raffle, was ready to celebrate what they called a ‘Gala – the
Big Event,’ and generally impressed me with all of the activity and service evident at the meeting. I returned for a few more visits and then joined in February 1992.”
All of this nostalgia was too much for Steve as he delivered a “message from the heart,” about what
Rotary means to him. “I learned that being a member of the BBRC is about making friends in the model developed by Dick Brown. Over those first few meetings, I found that
communal hugs were the order of the day, led by Mr. Brown, who was president at the time. I vividly remember the visit by Lee Brussard, who
taught me that we’re more alike than different. Rotary makes us grow, makes us better spouses, better citizens. The more you put into Rotary, the more you get out.”
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Brown & Lingenbrink toast the occasion.
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The next order of business was to toast the success of the BBRC. Dick Brown, Chairman of the Fellowship Committee, made sure
everyone had a small bit of champagne and proposed a toast to the health and happiness of all members of the BBRC. [PIX]
Phil Salvatori, keeper of the Christmas Giving Tree, was just about forgotten, despite the fact
that his name was on the program. Phil said, “That’s okay, I’m getting used to it. Last year at this same banquet, the MC told everybody they could take a potty break, and then called on me to
give my pitch. I appreciate that things have improved slightly.” Phil ask members to pick out an ornament from the tree, fill the request and follow
instructions as to whether the gift should be wrapped or not. One hundred ornaments were first attached to the tree, with 35 gifts going to the Lake
Heights Family YMCA and 65 going to Hopelink. The dates for bringing gifts are either Friday, December 1, or the next Friday, December 8.
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Zidar explains the election to Jim and Katie Owens
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The party moved to the dance floor and, at 10:00 p.m., a wonderful door prize of flowers and vase from Lawrence the Florist and
Goldfarb Jeweler was awarded to Bruce Walker and his wife. They will receive six more bouquets throughout the next year.
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