The Morning’s Theme

Cary’s theme for the morning was “What I Have Learned About Life,” sprinkling various truisms and falsehoods throughout his introductions of members, who rose to hype something about the Club.

Rourke O’Brien

Rourke O’Brien was first, hyping the membership recruitment process, telling his audience that “raffle sales are perfect times to introduce Rotary to the general public. If you find a person who has an interest in Rotary, invite him/her to a meeting to see if there’s a fit.”

Mary Bell and Wayne McCaulley The Black Shirts (L-R): Jay Powers, Robin Callan & Phil Salvatori

Mary Bell, Sergeant At Arms, took the microphone and called on Don Deasy, who filled in as president last week. “Did you miss me last week, Don?” cooed Mary. “How much did you miss me?” Don’s answer was very evasive: ”A lot!” No fine there! Robin Callan (better known as Callahan), Jay Powers and Phil Salvatori were all wearing their black Rotary golf shirts – a striking trio. And, Wayne McCaulley was called forward to take the heat for a high-praise article in the Business Journal – $5.00 for over-advertising. Wayne put it on his tab.

Bill Schultheis

PR Committee chair Bill Schultheis promoted his committee’s activities, relating how he saw a reader board on a bus that showed a child getting the polio vaccine, administered by someone in a yellow vest. “I know what a profound impact Rotary makes in the world, but I wonder how many people in the general population know? That’s our job, to tell the story of Rotary. If you know of a story about Rotary’s impact, please tell me. And, if you’d like to serve on my committee, contact me.” So sayeth Bill Schultheis.

Shelley Noble had some good ideas for helping a “Harvest for Humanity.” “There are two opportunities for Rotarians to help harvest summer crops, with the proceeds going to Hopelink and our clients. The first outing is Saturday, August 16, at the Jubilee Farm on W. Snoqualmie River Road, near Carnation. There, we’ll harvest fresh green beans for our Hopelink clients. The next weekend, August 23, it’s time to harvest blueberries at the Mercer Slough Blueberry Farm, at 2380 Bellevue Way, SE, in Bellevue. Both Harvest projects are from 9:00 a.m . to 12:00 noon. Youngsters over the age of 12 are welcome. RSVP to Tim Bernthal at (425) 485-6521 or timb@hope-link.org.

Steve Waltar was introduced as the new chair of the Care and Concerns Committee. He invited members to get active in this effort to respond to extra-special needs of our membership.

Phil Salvatori triumphantly showed the pictures that had arrived from Sierra Leone, proving that the 240 wheelchairs had reached the African country safely and were distributed to needy people. The four Bellevue Rotary clubs each had a hand in this project and they’ll be getting some pictures to prove that the system works, albeit stretched to the limit sometimes!

Ruben Ladlad introduced an interesting concept in determining winners of the Golf Outing competition. “We’re not exactly sure who might have won the straightest drive competition at our Golf Outing, so we have two certificates for the man and woman who performed best in this category.” See Ruben to enter your bid – it’s on the honor system. Ruben is also conducting a Mega Million lottery. Pick the numbers off the Internet and claim your prize next Friday. (Whoa! Just kidding!)