Vol. 17, No. 12, September 20, 2004

The Friday Program:

Salome Thomas-El, Champion for
America’s Future

One of the hallmarks of the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club is to feature informative programs. Among the many that have had a BBRC audience, there is a list of truly outstanding programs in each Rotarian’s mind. Such may be the case of Friday’s program with the speaker Salome Thomas-El.

Combining humor with reality, this award-winning principal from a Philadelphia elementary school, brought a fascinating story of how chess changed the lives of school children in his community while providing the foundation for a nationwide movement. For, you see, Thomas-El reasoned that the game of chess was the key to bring out the best of his kids. And, his hunch proved right.

Joining the BBRC’s Rourke O’Brien who arranged for his visit, Salome explained that he grew up in Philadelphia, one of eight children of a single mother. “Our mother helped me get motivated to do more and break out of the chains that hold so many people down in the inner city. I was able to go to college, where my graduation held the promise of a better job.” READ MORE

Foundation Report

Don Chandler gave a brief update on the Rotary Foundation. First, he informed the membership that Don Deasy had completed his fifth chemotherapy treatment at the Swedish Spa. “He’s tired but doing well.”

Chandler quoted from The Rotarian, about the growth of Rotary since the fall of the Soviet Union. Dr. Vladimir Donskoy is the first Russian citizen to serve as District Governor of District 5010. A visitor to the BBRC a couple of years ago, Donskoy has distinguished himself as the author of a book that reveals Rotary’s special power to build world peace and goodwill. He also explains for his Russian audience how the 4-Way Test works. Don concluded that Donskoy’s book is a primer for people who have little experience in independence and integrity. Knowledge of this fact strengthens the power of the Rotary Foundation by our gifts.

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Hopelink Volunteers

Steve Peters is heading up the Vocation at Work project at Hopelink. He needs volunteers to help with practice interviews for those in training. These are held on Tuesday and Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. To make the program effective, a minimum of six Rotarians is required. Please call Steve and volunteer.

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Ethiopia Water Project

WCS Committee Chair Kim Shrader explained his attendance at a District 5030 Ethiopia Water project meeting this past week. “One-hundred people attended the meeting at the Museum of Flight. We talked about clean water and a multi-district project to raise funds to match with RI to build wells in Ethiopia. This country has 65 million people, where 500,000 children die each year. Much of this alarming statistic is caused by unsafe drinking water. Kim said his committee meets two weeks on September 24 to discuss the BBRC’s support in this project.

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Thought for the Week

“Weaknesses of character are normally shown in a game of chess.” ­ Gary Kasparov. Norm adds: “Hmm ... I thought that’s why golf was invented!”

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THIS WEEK'S EDITOR
John Mix

THIS WEEK'S PHOTOGRAPHER
John Hague
Norm Johnson

IN THIS ISSUE:

The Friday Program: Salome Thomas-El, Champion for America’s Future

Foundation Report

Hopelink Volunteers

Ethiopia Water Project

Reclassification Talk: Tom Helbling

Friday Potpourri

Raffle Season

Rotary Global History Fellowship

Web Fun

This Week
Alternative Energy is the topic of a program given by Ed Nixon, President of Pyron, Inc, a Research and Development company which has developed — in cooperation with the Boeing Company — a novel system to convert sunlight into energy. With energy as a challenge for this nation, don’t miss this timely program. Breakfast is served at 7:00 a.m., followed by the club’s weekly meeting at 7:30 and the program at 8:00 a.m. It all happens at the Glendale Country Club in Bellevue.

Admin Corner
Every Rotary club must continually bring in new members in order to stay viable. The ebb and flow of membership is a moving target for leaders who seek to maintain stability. Thus, it is incumbent on all of us to aggressively look for new prospective members. One of the best selling points is an invitation to attend a future meeting that feature’s an outstanding program.

Jim Gordon and his program committee have already filled future programs with a selection of quality choices. Just a few you should be aware of: October 22, Former Washington Senator Slade Gorton, recently a member of the Federal 9/11 Commission; Kenneth Kilpatrick, President of U.S. Bank of Washington and a member of the Federal Reserve Board; an Off-site meeting at COSTCO Corporate Headquarters in Issaquah with Exec. Vice-President John Matthews.

These are just three of the excellent programs you see each week at the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club. Recruit a prospective member and bring them to these great programs.

For those who’ve not remitted their quarterly dues, please do so in the next two weeks. New billing out the first of October. Thanks.

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