 VOL 19, NO 35, MARCH 13, 2007 |
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Friday Program:
John had only one visiting Rotarian to introduce: Joyce Bottenberg, of the Sammamish Club. She’s been here so often she is almost entitled to frequent visitor benefits. New Members Inducted: Craig Groshart, John Hillock & Ercan “Jon” Turkarslan John Hillock was introduced by sponsor Mike Ralph. At one time John was in the hospitality industry, but about 20 years ago, he moved to Seattle, and now he’s in the software industry. Ercan “Jon” Turkarslan also joined the club Friday, introduced by Curtis Cummings. Jon is also in the software industry. According to Curtis, Microsoft hired him because “he fixes things.” [He and I will get along great; I break things.] He has been married 10 years and has a three-year-old daughter. Jon is all fired up to do international projects. Looks like he picked the right sponsor. Welcome to all three new BBRC members. You are joining 1.2 million other Rotarians dedicated to peace, service, and understanding around the world.
Student of the Month: Michael Verlinkski Bob summarized Michael’s achievements: his teachers say he has an outstanding attitude, cares about helping others, is responsible and responsive. One even remarked, “He’s mature, but ‘you know how boys are.’” The Verlinskis moved here from Russia when Michael was a small child. Michael has established himself as a stellar student with a 3.8 GPA and several advanced placement courses under his belt. He also shares a trait with many Rotarians: he is a community service junkie. Michael started a cultural club at his school; he is a lifeguard, a Hopelink volunteer, and a participant in the “24-Hour Relay,” a fundraising activity for charities. Michael also coaches youth basketball and helps mentor freshmen at Sammamish to help them adjust during their first year. Next year, Michael will be attending the UW, where he will plan to major in business and accounting. Jenny and Her “Shills”
See you all on April 28th! Proposed Member: Chris Rasmussen Chris is being cosponsored by Rourke O'Brien and Steve Lingenbrink. As with all candidates for membership, the Board publishes this information for two weeks in the Reveille to allow members to respond with comments. If you have comments on this candidate, please contact Club Service II Director
BBRC Version of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
Edith spent the evening with her daughter so as not to be in our way. I had given her a list of things we might get accomplished. She said she could hardly sleep in anticipation. She returned home around 11:30 to find the hard-working Rotarians had accomplished more work than I said we might get done, and she was truly thankful for our help. She cried when we told her we would pay to have the carpeting in her living room replaced. As members of the BBRC we should all feel proud that our involvement in the club has helped to brighten the life of Edith Watson. She will be talking about this for years to come, as she was amazed at what was accomplished. When we departed we left behind a bouquet of flowers with a note that said "Rotary Cares." Thank you all for caring. Here is a small slideshow of the Work Party in action. You can also see all the work party photos in the weekly photo album, located here. The link to the weekly photo album is also located at the top of the Reveille each week.
Friday Program:
Bob also pointed out the opportunities that individuals have to contribute. One way is to sponsor a child abroad. For a very small monthly sum, you can sponsor someone and make a huge difference in their life. Bob closed by showing how the partnering between Rotary and World Vision can make a difference, especially since both organizations can leverage matching fund at several levels to turn modest contributions into major projects with significant impact. Bob’s conclusion is that through international service, we can all celebrate hope. What are the odds? When I get the photos ready for the Reveille each week, I import them and drag them into a particular application so I can mask them, group them, give them captions, etc. When I drag them in, I just select them all and drag one time, giving them all the same percentage reduction, so the photos go in randomly and in all different sizes. They just look like a pile of photos on a desktop. Below is a screenshot of some of the photos for this week as they looked after I dragged them into this application. What are the odds of Jenny's legs appearing directly below Bob Bowen's photo? I don't know, but we had a huge laugh over it. I may save "Jenny's legs" and use them with photos of myself!
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Our guest speaker Friday was our own member, Bob Bowen of World Vision. World Vision is one of the largest non-profit service world relief organizations in the world. Bob pointed out that World Vision is a “faith-based” organization. It is a Christian-based non-profit, but Bob was quick to point out that the organization plays the religious angle very low key. Bob works in the Federal Way office, which has 800 people, and is the headquarters for the United States. The World Vision international headquarters is in Monrovia, California. The Federal Way office is one of 63 national offices. Overall, through World Vision, there are 106 countries providing relief around the globe, serving over 2.3 billion people in 2005.
Friday morning, the BBRC welcomed three new members — well, two new and one old. Craig Groshart is a returning member. He is the new editor of the Bellevue Reporter. Craig has been married for 40 years, and has one daughter and one son. Welcome back, Craig! Craig is sponsored by Rourke O’Brien. 
Blue Badge for Elena
Husky Bob Holert introduced Sammamish High School senior Michael Verlinkski and his proud parents Lucy and Boris. 
Jenny Andrews and about half the club took a few minutes to cover every possible aspect of the Walkathon (which isn’t the “Walkathon,” but nobody can keep from calling it that, so we all keep forgetting its real name, Rotary Walks!.) The “spontaneous” inputs by members enlightened us with lots of useful information: 
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On Saturday, in excess of 25 Rotarians, family and friends converged on Edith Watson's basement home. Starting promptly at 8:00 am, the last worker was gone by 1:00 pm. In that brief period her home was transformed. There was work done in every room: painting, framing, sheetrocking, installing trim, electrical and plumbing. 
The yard was not over looked, as a hardy crew cleaned the walk, pruned, and removed two truckloads of blackberries that were over taking the yard.
Our guest speaker Friday was our own member, Bob Bowen of World Vision. World Vision is one of the largest non-profit service world relief organizations in the world. Bob pointed out that World Vision is a “faith-based” organization. It is a Christian-based non-profit, but Bob was quick to point out that the organization plays the religious angle very low key. Bob works in the Federal Way office, which has 800 people, and is the headquarters for the United States. The World Vision international headquarters is in Monrovia, California. The Federal Way office is one of 63 national offices. Overall, through World Vision, there are 106 countries providing relief around the globe, serving over 2.3 billion people in 2005. 
Bob started by describing how Rotary is trying to partner with “NGOs” like World Vision to create synergy between the organizations. He then went on to talk about several examples and several touching personal stories he has experienced around the world. Bob is particularly passionate about the children he meets around the world, like the seven-year-old in Uganda who gave him a tour of the village. The village had recently been the beneficiary of a water project. Now the people walk 300 feet for water instead of three miles. They also have a new hospital and school. The kids are learning math and science, as well as English. 
