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Vol. 18, No. 33, FEBRUARY 13, 2006 |
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The Friday Program: Uganda’s Plight, an Eyewitness Report (Margie Burnett) | Friday Potpourri | Book Drive Continues | Vladimir Starinskiy is Student of the Month | Evison Pitches District Conference | Sergeant At Arms Rakes in the Bucks | First Harvest Recap | Mercer Island Rotary Fundraiser | New Kirkland Breakfast Rotary Prospects | Four New Members Proposed: Meyer, Kremen, Everist & Howell | Valentine Dinners | Web Fun |
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The Friday Program:
First of all, she was concerned about her own safety when reports filtering out told of the continuing fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces. Ugandan refugees have fled the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) into the southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border. “After my first Ethiopian trip, I found I have an interest in experiencing new cultures. When I had the opportunity to go on to Uganda for a few days, I jumped at the chance. But then, I began hearing of the frightening things going on in that country. During our preparations, we planned to visit some World Vision outposts, and we learned that if we were kidnapped by hostile groups, World Vision would not negotiate for our release. That got my attention!” President Lingenbrink welcomed Carlos Aragon back from his leave of absence, to a round of applause from Carlos’ fellow Rotarians. Roger Allington gave the invocation and led the pledge to the flag. New member Jim Carney recognized four Visiting Rotarians: Dennis Wilford, Gig Harbor; Bill Ptacek, Assistant Governor and member of Bellevue Rotary; Dave Weaver, University Rotary; and Jim Trombold, Mercer Island Rotary. Chip Erickson gave a heads-up for a proposed Highway clean-up on I-405 on Saturday, February 25. Mark your calendars and make plans to spend a few hours of clean-up on that portion of 405 kept clean by the BBRC.
The Vocational Service Committee, sponsors of the project, is looking for recent best-sellers, adult fiction and non-fiction, and children’s books. Current college-level business and nursing text books may also be contributed. Soggy, smelly, and mildewed books, cookbooks, encyclopedias, travel guides, magazines and religious books cannot be accepted. Sadly, this project ends in two weeks, so don’t miss the next two Fridays for more “Back-of-the-Book” excitement from David Bolson and the Vocational Service Committee. Oh, and bring your books! David’s book count for last Friday included eight full bags, which were delivered to Hopelink. He reported the book donations were of high quality, a mixture of adult and children’s books and almost filled the Hopelink shelves! Vladimir Starinskiy is Student of the Month
Thanks to Bob Holert for his introduction and presentation of Vlad’s plaque. Sergeant At Arms Rakes in the Bucks
SAA Ballard got on the subject of hair styling while sitting awaiting his periodic coiffing. The subject was celebrity weddings and there was the oft-repeated story of actor Matt Damon’s purchase of a diamond ring from non other than our famous carat counter, Steven Goldfarb. An interview ensued as the SAA tried to determine how much the equally-beleaguered Goldfarb would pay. The ring was voted the #1 ring of all celebs last year, not a minor accolade. Further, Mr. Goldfarb was featured in the Puget Sound Business Journal as a participant at the annual Fred Hutch gala fundraiser. Your editor had trouble discerning exactly how much Goldfarb paid, but his hairdo looked nice.
Northwest Harvest sponsors weekly work parties to handle perishable and non-perishable food for distribution to over 300 of the state’s food banks. Project managers tell us that the Saturday work parties attract an average of 50 workers from many organizations. Traditionally, Rotary has rounded up work crews from District 5030 on the second Saturday morning of each month. It’s a great bit of community service in which we should all support.
To wrap up the First Harvest Fundraiser held last week, Mark reported that $1,182 was collected from the membership ($682) plus a $500 donation from Frank Young. This amount was then matched by Rourke O’Brien’s friend, Eric, in effect doubling the $1,182. Therefore, Mark reported $2,364 raised to support the BBRC’s contribution to Rotary First Harvest, far exceeding the goal of $1,300. Another $3,500 has been appropriated by the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club in its projects budget for this current year. Additional funds come to RFH through individual contributions. • • • Control the speed and direction of the slides by mousing over the images.
Four New Members Proposed: Meyer, Kremen, Everist & Howell A busy month of recruiting has resulted in four applications for membership. • Mark Edward Meyer, sponsored by Phil Salvatori, is a former Rotarian with the Hartland, WI, Rotary Club for eight years. Mark’s classification is “Flag Manufacturing” with the company Alphasoft Wearables of Bellevue, where he is a partner. Mark’s wife is Ann, and they have one child, Alex. The family lives in Bellevue. Mark is active in the Homebound Ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Bellevue and a member of the National Flag Dealers Association. He enjoys singing, sailing, woodworking, skiing and cruising. • Morris G. Kremen, sponsored by Jim Gordon, is proposed with the classification of “Software Attorney.” Morris is Associate General Counsel at Microsoft. He and his wife Carolyn have two children, and the family lives in Kirkland. Morris’ community involvement includes serving as a board member for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation NW; on the Capital Campaign Steering Committee for Open Window School; and as Event Chair of Beat the Bridge Benefit for Juvenile Diabetes. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Washington State Bar Association. Morris says he played the violin when he was between 9 and 15 years of age. He enjoys chess, baseball umpiring, travel with family, and golf. • James Barker Everist, sponsored by Phil Salvatori, is President of Everist Office Technology, Inc., of Bellevue. After 30 years with Xerox, Jim formed this new company in 2005. The company is a sales agent for Xerox products. His classification is proposed to be “Office Technologies.” His and his wife Kathleen have three children, and the family lives in Bellevue. Jim has served as a board member for Childhaven, 1982-1990; Habitat for Humanity; and Sacred Heart Church. He says he can “carry a tune, sometimes,” and confesses he played the trumpet in high school. His hobbies include golf, hiking, and coaching his son’s sports teams. He is a charter member of the Bellevue Athletic Club. • Elena G. Howell, sponsored by Steve Roberts, is a resident of Lynnwood and is married to Gherman Howell. She works for UBS Financial Services, Inc., in Bellevue as a financial planner and private client banker. Her classification is proposed to be “Certified Financial Planner.” Elena’s community involvement includes serving as treasurer for Art with a Heart in Seattle. She is a member of the Board of Standards for Certified Financial Planners and a member of the Business Breakfast Club in Lynnwood. She enjoys ballroom dancing, hiking, golfing, tennis and skiing. This is the first of two publications for these applications. If members have questions or comments, please direct them to Club Service II Director Tom Smith (Ph 425-451-8036) no later than 3:00pm, Thursday, February 23. The Friday Program: Following up on a trip two years ago to Ethiopia for a Rotary PolioPlus National Immunization Day (NID), Margie Burnett paired up with fellow BBRC member Jenny Andrews to again visit the African country for another NID. Margie, however, continued on to Uganda and was astonished at what she saw.
“After my first Ethiopian trip, I found I have an interest in experiencing new cultures. When I had the opportunity to go on to Uganda for a few days, I jumped at the chance. But then, I began hearing of the frightening things going on in that country. During our preparations, we planned to visit some World Vision outposts, and we learned that if we were kidnapped by hostile groups, World Vision would not negotiate for our release. That got my attention!” Margie told of the flight from Addis Abba to Entebbe, flying over Uganda, a country the size of Oregon with 27 million population. “Fifty percent of the population is under 14. Uganda won its independence from Britain in 1962. The country is landlocked, relies heavily on farming, with few natural resources. There’s a definite British influence in the country.” The first group visited the Kisa School in Kampala, which was founded by Lluanga, an Edmonds Rotarian. The school is the site of a Rotary water project. With help from Margie’s alma mater elementary school in Pe Ell, she had many gifts and an exchange of letters from her old school. The Kisa school provides pre-school through third grade classes, with a lot of support coming from the Puget Sound region. The teachers live on the premises and get paid every month (something that doesn’t happen in other schools in the country). Twenty of the school’s students are orphans. The water well project will get underway, with a memorial gift from a Seattle family in their son’s name. It was at the Kisa school that Margie learned about the situation in Gulu. Next stop: Gulu. The group was transported in a rickety bus over a fairly good highway. Margie was taking suitcases to Gulu, filled with gifts for the children. While on the bus, she read in a magazine that “tourists have no business being in Gulu.” Needless to say, the trip came with some anxiety. “We made it through all of the military checkpoints. We saw baboons on the road.” When they arrived, they met the Chief of Acholi People. He was a tribal chief, but surprised Margie as he was dressed in a white shirt, slacks and shoes. His people lived in thatched huts. He discussed his plans for his people.
The population is harmed by a famine and children are particularly undernourished. The World Vision Center offers counseling for young children after they’ve been released by kidnappers. Many girls are pregnant or have had children. The name for these young people are “Child Mothers.” The UN has said that the situation in Uganda is the “most under-reported human atrocity in the world today.” With treadle sewing machines, men and women are being taught a trade. There is no electricity in this area. Perhaps the single most, stark memory for Margie Burnett was a visit with the "Night Commuters." Outside the city of Gulu, there is a vast bunch of people living off the land. Because the children are in harm’s way, the youngsters begin walking into town to sleep for the night, where there’s a modicum of safety. Some walk up to four miles to get to their night’s safe haven. The next morning, they walk back to their “homes.” Every night they do this with the blessings of their parents who are fearful the kidnappers will strike at night. There are places for them to sleep, but there’s a real need for warm blankets. Margie and her group went out to meet the Night Commuters as they walked into town. “It was almost like a picnic ... a feeling of safety ... as these children — some carrying brothers or sisters on their backs — made their nightly trip to Gulu.” That whole episode is etched in Margie’s mind. You can find out more about what’s happening in Uganda by accessing two websites: The Kisa School in Kampala and Night Commuters. The December 2005 issue of National Geographic has an article with extensive pictures of Gulu.
Thanks to Margie for her vivid pictures and first-person story-telling. President Steve gave her the certificate that donates a book in her name to the King County Library System, the Ready-to-Read program. For the man or woman who has everything:
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Speaking of someone who has yet to master English as a Second Language, Brian Evison was awarded his Past President’s badge, which was predicated on his learning English. While at the microphone, Brian gave a Promo for the 2006 District Conference, which is slated for Whistler in British Columbia, April 21-23. Since his report was in need of translation, Sayoko was asked to cover for him. Of course, not many of our crew speaks Japanese. So, Zul Alibhai was called forward to further embellish the shtick. Finally, Bill Ptacek, the BBRC’s Assistant Governor who speaks English well, urged members to register now, both for the Conference as well as the conference site, Chateau Whistler. “It’s a terrific venue and a great schedule,” said Bill. Remember the dates: April 21-23.
Following up on a trip two years ago to Ethiopia for a Rotary PolioPlus National Immunization Day (NID), Margie Burnett paired up with fellow BBRC member Jenny Andrews to again visit the African country for another NID. Margie, however, continued on to Uganda and was astonished at what she saw.
Friday Potpourri
For the second week in a row, the audience looked forward to increasing their literacy by hearing David Bolson give his now-famous “Back-of-the-Book” review of the contents of steamy novels. David’s purpose was to encourage members to bring in slightly used hard- and soft-back books to the BBRC February Book Drive. The books will be donated to Hopelink to stock their on-site library. 
A young man who emigrated from the Ukraine in 1993 was saluted as the February Student of the Month from Sammamish High School. Vlad Starinskiy has accumulated a 3.9 GPA, works regularly at Quiznos, and plans a career in business and accounting by enrolling at the UW. Vlad, who has excellent command of English, has volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club and played a couple of seasons of basketball for Sammamish.
The Eagle Eye of the SAA revealed an advertisement as a sponsor of the Marathon. It seems that Steve Lingenbrink’s law firm is a co-sponsor, primarily because one of his partners is a Mercer Island Rotarian. That didn’t seem to protect the beleaguered president, whose approval ratings have been dropping since he announced he will not run for a second term. Lingenbrink paid $34 for advertising.
Rotary First Harvest attracted four Rotarians and two guests at the Pier 91 Northwest Harvest facility Saturday morning. Led by chairman Howard Johnson, Chuck Barnes, Kevin Jewell, and John Mix teamed with another group of Rotary volunteers to make quick work of packaging 4500 pounds of frozen peas. Joining in the fun was Stefy, our Mexican exchange student, and her friend Brenda Alvarez. The morning’s work was estimated to help feed 506 families in need of nutritious food.
Mark Hough, of the BBRC First Harvest Committee, gave a recap of the committee’s goal to involve all of the club’s 115 members to attend at least one work party during this Rotary year. Thirty-nine active members have attended at least one work party, led by Chuck Barnes with six visits. There are four work parties remaining prior to June 30 and the committee hopes more members will show up for a morning of service about self.
First of all, she was concerned about her own safety when reports filtering out told of the continuing fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces. Ugandan refugees have fled the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) into the southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border.
They arrived next at the World Vision Children of War Center. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is led by Joseph Kony. This group has been fighting for 18 years. Because of the conflict, over one million people are living in relocation camps. The fighting continues in Northern Uganda where the rebels target school children.
Jenny Andrews introduced Margie. Attending the presentation were other Rotarians who went on the trip. Dave Weaver of the University Rotary, Denny Wilford of Gig Harbor Rotary, and Bill Ptacek of Bellevue Rotary have all become veterans of the African experience. Add Jim Owens and Kim Shrader to the list for their previous visit in 2002 and Curt Cummings, who will head for Kenya in April on a water and sanitation project. Slowly, our numbers expand.
