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Vol. 18, No. 52, JUNE 26, 2006 |
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The Friday Program:
Graham, a member of the Rotary Club of Bellevue, has been a Rotarian for 32 years. “You’ve got a cheery, young club,” he stated, presumably using his own club as a comparison! The CEO said that we’re being warned “about all kinds of catastrophes that may strike. Earthquakes, pegged at 9.0, rainstorms and windstorms which we have with regularity, the threat of terrorism, the flu pandemic, volcanic eruptions.” Graham said that the leadership of our country has learned many lessons from Hurricane Katrina, which displaced a half-million people, with 1700 lives lost and 500 people still missing. With a greeting from President Lingenbrink, the final regular meeting of his presidency began. Jim Young delivered the invocation and led the pledge to the flag. Roger Allington greeted five visiting Rotarians and other guests.
Visitor John Luksetich, who’s been assessing the value of joining the BBRC the past month, was called into service as the photographer when Jim Kindsvater showed his colors by supporting the membership of returning member Ernie Hayden. See results below. Reminiscent of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon Mass Marriage Ceremonies, the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club welcomed four new members to the fold on Friday. Conducted by President Lingenbrink, the four will officially begin their membership on July 1, 2007 and be counted in the new term of President Jim Zidar. Accepting badges, pins, books and good advice were:
President Lingenbrink conducted the induction ceremony, reminding the new members they were joining a world-wide organization on which the sun never sets. “You’ve just gained 1.2 new friends by associating with Rotary. Learn all you can about what Rotary is and does in the world.” And with that, a standing ovation greeted all four of the new members. Never really thought of it this way, but the old and new Sergeant At Arms pulled off a very clever transition gig. Today’s Sergeant at Arms Ballard entered the hall as “Father Sergeant,” gray wig, staff and shoulder swag declaring SAA 2005-2006, and completed the change from old to new, with “Baby” Sergeant Face arriving with his diaper, milk bottle and the sign declaring “SAA 2006-2007.” A great repartee ensued as the two had a fine time handing over the responsibilities of Sergeant At Arms. It’s been a glorious year of skits and comedic routines. Thanks to Chris Ballard and his mischievous minions. Now, Andrew Face has his dreams come true. As of July 1, he is the Sergeant At Arms. He’s got a big act to follow! Andrew didn’t miss the chance to fine brand-new member Ron Black, who proudly had reported he’d become a grandfather recently. Baby weighed about 7 pounds and was 21-inches long. Andrew fined him 21 cents. Oh boy, this may be a long year ahead! Camp Perry Project Completed Once again super volunteer, architect, general contractor, job foreman, very hard worker, and all around good guy Ron Healey headed up Day Two of this year's special BBRC project at YMCA Camp Terry in Preston. Ron's small crew included Howard Johnson, Bob McKorkle, and Kim Shrader. They completed the railing of the steps from the elevated second story deck. It was hot, but the small group worked hard and completed the project on time (well, actually a little late) and within budget, thanks to the volunteers and the man who made it all happen, Ron Healey.
That’s the short story. Corr served two tours in the Middle East during the current conflict and had an offer of another. Nice job, Corr. You’re part of an exceptional class of new Rotarians. We’re glad to have you in the membership! Last week, we reported Jim Givan had brought 28 American flags to the Rotary Club of Duvall to mark a special Flag Day program. As we’ve reported before, Jim has a collection of over 350 flags of countries, states and organizations all over the world which he takes to various functions, such as Rotary Conventions, Assemblies, District Conferences and clubs. Here are the pictures that didn’t get into last week’s issue. Our apologies to Jim.
The Friday Program:
Graham, a member of the Rotary Club of Bellevue, has been a Rotarian for 32 years. “You’ve got a cheery, young club,” he stated, presumably using his own club as a comparison! The CEO said that we’re being warned “about all kinds of catastrophes that may strike. Earthquakes, pegged at 9.0, rainstorms and windstorms which we have with regularity, the threat of terrorism, the flu pandemic, volcanic eruptions.” Graham said that the leadership of our country has learned many lessons from Hurricane Katrina, which displaced a half-million people, with 1700 lives lost and 500 people still missing. The lessons from Katrina are many: “Healthcare workers abandoned their jobs in favor of caring for their own families. Healthcare providers didn’t respond when the hospitals put out the call for mobilization,” Graham said. “There were problems of patient tracking, security in healthcare facilities and the fear of civil unrest.” Communications becomes the critical factor in a disaster. Identification of incident command centers, hospice sites and plans for populations with special needs are just some of the lessons learned. “What we must do now that we’re armed with these facts is to plan for self-sufficiency among our citizens. It’s our legal duty, it’s our insurance duty, and it’s our civic duty.” Graham described programs that are now ongoing to organize collaborations among hospitals and public health agencies. A survey of the hospitals in the Seattle-Bellevue metropolitan area revealed a startling limit of just 500 patients being handled by the existing system. In view of this, several objectives have been stated.
He explained that hospitals are now being designated as surge facilities, where large groups of patients can be taken for emergency care. “We must define our levels of care better. One of our glaring problems is not having enough care givers. We should be prepared to erect tent hospitals to bring treatment closer to the center of disasters.” Staff issues are raised in this discussion. “Who covers for flu sufferers? How do we protect our care givers in this instance? We need a program that might be likened to our old Civil Defense programs of the 1950s.” Graham said his medical center is planning ahead for contingencies of disaster preparedness. “We are developing more sustainable facilities, planning to handle twice as many patients in the new construction that’s underway.” So, the bottom line is: how can we be better prepared? Graham said that healthcare officials and staffs are conducting drills to hone their preparedness. “Making sure our communications work is imperative. Consider these elements of planning:”
Ken Graham earned a certificate indicated a book has been donated to the King County Library System on behalf of Rotary’s international literacy project. Thanks to Jim Gordon for his introduction. MAN SMART/WOMAN SMARTER When Dan found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided to go out and celebrate. He went to a singles bar where he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He walked up to her and said, "I may look like just an ordinary man, but In Just a week or two, my father will die, and I'll inherit 20 million dollars." Impressed, the woman went home with him that evening and, three days later, she became his stepmother. • • • THE DANGER OF SWITCHING JOBS A passenger in a taxi tapped the driver on the shoulder to ask him something. The driver screamed, lost control of the cab, nearly hit a bus, drove up over the curb, and stopped just inches from a large plate glass window. For a few moments everything was silent in the cab, then the driver said, "Please, don't ever do that again. You scared the daylights out of me." The passenger, who was also frightened, apologized and said he didn't realize that a tap on the shoulder could frighten him so much, to which the driver replied, "I'm sorry, it's really not your fault. Today is my first day driving a cab. I have been driving a hearse for the last 25 years." • • • SOMETIMES THINGS DON'T COME OUT THE WAY YOU WANT THEM TO A co-worker got a pen stuck inside our printer. He started to try and remove the pen, but I told him we didn't have time for that and to just put a note on the printer telling folks not to use it and then report it to the Help Desk. So, he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a note. (I left before he finished the note.) About 20 minutes later, one of my techs came in laughing and said he was just in the lobby and the printer had a serious problem, so I went to investigate. This is what I found:
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The Big Guns of the BBRC Golf Classic rose to exhort the membership to form foursomes, sponsor holes and hazards, participate in the Mini-Golf Putting Tournament and generally contribute “any way you can.” The Classic tees off at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, July 17, at Willows Run Coyote Course in Redmond. Chair Dick Brown assembled his captains, Tim Leahy, Hal Teel, and Chuck Barnes, to tout their particular interest areas. 
Friday Potpourri
Sergeant Recycles
