FRIDAY's PROGRAM:
Jim McLaughlin, UW Woman’s Volleyball Coach, introduced by “Husky” Bob Holert

Bob explained that Jim was originally scheduled to be our speaker on January 5th, but a closed Glendale and no members gave them the idea to reschedule the program to today.

Coach McLaughlin recently completed his seventh season as Washington's head woman’s volleyball coach and has compiled an impressive 170-49 record for a .776 winning percentage. Over the last four seasons, McLaughlin's UW teams have won 88 percent of their matches, advanced to three NCAA semifinal appearances and won the 2005 national championship game. Over the past three seasons, Washington's 90-10 record is the third-best among all Division I institutions. Prior to assuming the head coaching position at the UW Jim coached at Kansas State for four years and seven years at USC. He is a 1985 graduate of UC Santa Barbara, where he was a two time captain of the Gaucho men’s volleyball team.
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Preliminaries

Rotarians and guests were greeted by new badges in the badge box and also by the smiling faces of greeters Diane Gamache and Morris Kremen.

President Phil opened the meeting and acknowledged the morning’s surprise guest, Jack Frost, who was hovering just outside the window with the ambient temperature of 23 degrees.

Diane led the invocation, reminding us to learn from our mistakes and keep a clear view of our future. Morris introduced visiting Rotarians and guests.

What we lacked in numbers from the other Bellevue clubs (we had none) was more than compensated for by our visitors from Japan. Steve Lingenbrink introduced Yong Haung who, in turn, introduced Hireoshi Tanaka, the fifth generation president of his company, and accompanying Rotarians Tsuyako Hijikata, Yoko Mihara and Toshio Kobayashi. The group exchange banners with President Phil.

Student of the Month: Sara Reed

Manfred Markevitch introduced Sara Reed as the January Student of the Month from Sammamish High School. Her mother, Marianne, was also introduced.

Sara is a senior with a 3.96 GPA. She is the Senior Class President, Captain of the tennis team, Vice-president of the Honor Society, and a member of the cheer squad. In addition she has organized student fund raisers for the Aidan Leffier Trust Fund. contributing $5,000 from last year’s car wash. She is currently organizing a walk-a-thon.

College is in Sarah's future following graduation, with applications submitted to UDub, Stanford, Occidental, and others. The Student of the Month Plaque was presented by Manfred.

Rotary International Foundation

Cary Kopczynski, Don Chandler, and Kim Shrader took center stage to thank the club for their support and pledges to the RI Foundation. They also took this moment to call forward club members who have achieved giving levels worthy of recognition:

Ruben Ladlad and Tom Miller became Paul Harris Fellows and received framed certificates for reaching the $1,000 level.

A sapphire PHF pin was awarded to Jonathan Koshar for reaching $2,000.

Chris Ballard was awarded a double sapphire for $3,000.

Receiving three sapphire pins for contribution levels of $4,000 were Bill Spencer and President Phil Salvatori.

Thanks to all of you for supporting this very worthwhile effort.

Rotarian of the Month: Don Chandler

The dust had not settled when President Phil requested that Foundation Chair Don Chandler remain at the podium for a moment. Phil then recognized Phil for his three years as BBRC RI Foundation Chairman and presented Don the plaque for Rotarian of the Month for December.

It was a special moment for this charter member and former President. (Please note Purple and Yellow badge bar.)

New Member Proposed: Erik Paulson

Erik Paulson is a co-owner and general manager of Toyota of Bellevue. His office is located on 148th Avenue, near Eastgate. He has been in automotive sales for over 20 years and has been active in community service through organizations such as Detlef Schrempf Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis of Seattle, Youth Eastside Services, just to name a few.

Erik lives in Samammish with his wife Teresa and their three sons, Michael, Hunter and Connor.

New Badges

Club Administrator, Sayoko Kuwahara, after months of long work proudly introduced the new badge system to the membership. There are nine classifications of badges with bar code on the back to allow easier tracking of attendance. The badges come with a color bar on the bottom of the badge to allow you to quickly recognize the “status" of the holder:

How to read the color bar:

Blue: Regular member with month and year of membership

Red: New Member with blue badge requirements on the back

Purple: Charter Members

Yellow: Past President with year of service

Purple & Yellow: Charter member and Past President (only three of these: Jim Owens, Dick Brown and Don Chandler)

Green: Current Club Director

Light Green/Yellow: Today’s Speaker

Brown: Today’s guests

Light Purple: Future Rotarians

Since we are now using a bar code scanner to keep track of your attendance, it is important that your badge is returned to the badge box when leaving the meeting. If not, the spider monkey will be called into action. This is not an idle threat!

Sayoko received a standing “O” for her effort on this project. The BBRC is again at the head of the leadership line for innovative use of technology and efficiency.

Rotary Walks! Hike for Healthy Children

John Dewater stood before the assembled mass and consulted his scheduled and announced that this was the day for a Walk-A-Thon song from Bob Valet. Wow! Bob Valet! Who knew? If Lynn Gauthier could conceal her talent from the members, what would Bob serve up?

Before we even got to hear the first notes, John realized he had called upon the wrong Bob. It was Bob Holert. NO! Wait! It was none other than Bob Dylan. With that cue, in came Bob. Most of you probably remember him from his wilder hippy daze, but Bob assure us that he and Valet were close and had shared some of Bobby V’s home grown, opps, home brew. Mr. Dylan than commenced with a customized version of “Blowin’ in the Wind” followed by a short rendition of: “The Times They Are-A-Changing”

(To the tune of "Blowin' In The Wind")

How many roads must a Rotarian walk down
I guess it's about 5K
How many dollars must each of us raise
To make sure the raffle stays away
Yes 'n how many of us will participate
And tell me, what is the day
The answer my friends is April 26th
The Walkathon's on April 26th

Next song (to the tune of "The Times They Are A-Changin'")

Come all you Rotarians throughout the eastside
On April 26th don't you go run and hide
'Cause the BBRC will be bursting with pride
As we have our annual fundraiser
And you better show up or you just might get fined
Oh the Walkathon is coming

Walk-A-Thon kick off is scheduled for February 15th. There is still time to sign on as a corporate sponsor!! Don’t delay. Contact Jonathan Koshar.

BBRC Turns out for Rotary First Harvest at Food Lifeline

A chilly Saturday morning saw eleven BBRC members, with four family members and a guest, make the trek to Food Lifeline in the Ridgecrest neighborhood of North Seattle. This was the first formal work party to be held on the fourth Saturday of the month.

The group made short work of frozen carrots and fresh oranges. The staff was very impressed with the efficiency of the group and surprised that all the fresh oranges were packed. With almost an hour and a half to go, the frozen corn-on-the-cob was pulled out of the freezer to keep these eager workers busy.

FRIDAY's PROGRAM:
Jim McLaughlin, UW Woman’s Volleyball Coach, introduced by “Husky” Bob Holert

Bob explained that Jim was originally scheduled to be our speaker on January 5th, but a closed Glendale and no members gave them the idea to reschedule the program to today.

Coach McLaughlin recently completed his seventh season as Washington's head woman’s volleyball coach and has compiled an impressive 170-49 record for a .776 winning percentage. Over the last four seasons, McLaughlin's UW teams have won 88 percent of their matches, advanced to three NCAA semifinal appearances and won the 2005 national championship game. Over the past three seasons, Washington's 90-10 record is the third-best among all Division I institutions. Prior to assuming the head coaching position at the UW Jim coached at Kansas State for four years and seven years at USC. He is a 1985 graduate of UC Santa Barbara, where he was a two time captain of the Gaucho men’s volleyball team.

Couch McLaughlin thanked Bob and introduced Frank Zaccari, a booster and strong supporter of the woman’s volleyball program at the university. Coach McLaughlin went on to say that has been a privilege to be the coach of this program for the past seven years and thanked the BBRC for the opportunity to speak.

The three stated goals of the program: 1) Graduate all of the players, 2) Win the Pac 10 Championship, and 3) Place Husky players on the US National Team.

Last year’s team did not make it to the final four and at the end of the season one of the players entered Jim’s office in tears. She was disappointed that the effort and hard work fell short of achieving a berth in the final four. She told him,” We were a good team, even better than last year’s, but our problem was that we were not mature enough.”

Jim went on to say that it requires a very special mind set for players to perform at a consistently high level. He cited a couple of ideas from the book, Fooled by Randomness. 1) Some times you think a thing will never happen, but it will. 2) When it does, don’t panic, be prepared.

The Husky women ended their 2007 season with a record of 27 wins and 4 losses. His conclusion: they were not well enough prepared for the losses. They had such a positive mental attitude and physical ability that they did not think they could possibly loose. But they did.

Awareness is needed when performing at a high level and that means paying attention to details and routines. Work hard on your preparation. Work hard when times are tough. All journey’s to the top are interrupted by down, or hard times. There will be dimensions of doubt. It is then that one must focus on improvement and not on the win/loss record. Maintain the pace of learning based upon the ability of the students. The mindset and skills necessary to stay on the top are an even greater challenge.

You can not be the best unless you prepare to be the best. This takes a 100% commitment and the focus on details to provide the execution skills necessary for success. The competitive nature of women’s volleyball was fully understood when we learned that only ten schools out of the three hundred twenty-one fully funded programs have won the national title in the past twenty-six years. So, 3% of the schools have won 100% of the titles. Working in real-estate would be a breeze by comparison where 10% of the agents earn 90% of the income. (Editor’s Note: Some follow-up is required here with Focus on Youth Committee Chair Dick Brown.)

Jim’s program has been recognized as one that does achieve success and has been noticed by a University in Japan that is sending two PhD’s to Seattle to study the program for a year.

Jim cited the comments of a seventy-year old Japanese coach, “If you work very hard you will win great prizes. But, sometimes you don’t.”

Jim received inspiration from legendary coaches John Wooden of UCLA and Don James of the UofW. Both men emphasized attention to detail and the importance of preparation.

Natural skills are often the basis for a student being recruited to the university, but the top picks do not always turn out to be the top performers. Peak performance is often more a result of work habits rather than natural ability. A good example is that of a hard working athlete that was once a backup quarterback at Michigan and a sixth round NFL draft pick. Today Tom Brady is the NFL’s most valuable player.

Jim is impressed with the level of high school talent in Washington and feels if they can get the top two kids each year from the high schools they will have a winning program. An additional two years is then required before you know if the kids you recruited will develop into top tier performers. In the mean time you are coaching and teaching skills that will not only last for their college career, but for a lifetime.

The importance of Jim’s approach to coaching is evident in last week’s announcement that the University has extended Jim’s contact for five additional years until 2012. That is certainly good news for the program and the student athletes.

Web Fun
Courtesy of Phil salvatori

Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself, "Lillian, you should have remained a virgin."
-- Lillian Carter (mother of Jimmy Carter)

I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalog: "No good in a bed, but fine against a wall."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.
-- Victor Borge

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
-- Mark Twain

By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.
-- Socrates

I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.
-- Groucho Marx

My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe.
-- Jimmy Durante

I have never hated a man enough to give his diamonds back.
-- Zsa Zsa Gabor

Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
-- Alex Levine

My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying.
-- Rodney Dangerfield

I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap.
-- Bob Hope

We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress.
-- Will Rogers

Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
-- Winston Churchill

VALENTINE DINE AROUND
Bob Moloney deferred to Jane Kuechle who reminded us that the final sign up for this fun and social affair is just a week away. February 1st, is the last date that on-line sign-ups will be accepted for the February 9th dinners. It’s fun, social and a great way to really get to know fellow club members. So, what are you waiting for?

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP. DEADLINE IS FEB 1.

FOCUS ON YOUTH COMMITTEE
Dick Brown, the guy with the Purple and Yellow badge bar and also the committee chair, explained that this is an area of focus for the BBRC and has potential for projects that will have a national impact. The committee has some great ideas and encourages members with a desire to support youth to contact him.