Opening Bell, Invocation & Pledge

President Phil Salvatori did not take over the presidency again upon his return on Friday, after undergoing rotator cuff surgery, which laid him low for a couple of meetings. His Mafioso Enforcers stepped forward, however, and were about to remove and dispose of Past President Kim Shrader, thinking that President Phil was ready to be restored to power. Phil interceded for his friend “Kimano” and gave his blessings for him serve as President for the Day.

David Bolson gave the invocation and led the pledge to the flag. Susan Amini introduced visiting Rotarians and guests.

Student of the Month: Dimitri Porcelli

Program Chair Bob Holert introduced Student of the Month Dimitri Porcelli of Sammamish High and his parents, Steve and Carmen Flores

Dimitri is 18 years old and has a 3.9 GPA with a strong academic program including Advanced Placement Chemistry, Calculus, US Government, and Senior Literature. He is also taking Advanced Engineering, Drafting, and Advanced Glass Blowing.

Dimitri has been accepted into the University of Washington and plans to enter his coming Fall 2008. His goal is to pursue a career in bioengineering with a focus on research.

Dimitri is passionate about community service. His passion began with his National Honors Society Experience and membership. He has been trained as a summer camp counselor and participated this past summer in a mission tip to Tijuana to build homes.

A premier soccer player, Dimitri plays on both school and recreation team. He has received the “coaches award” seven times in addition to the team’s best defense award. Dimitri has his black belt in Karate.

Rotary International Foundation & Awards

Cary Kopczynski promoted the Rotary Foundation by quizzing the club as to the purpose and size of the club’s and International’s Foundation. The BBRC’s Foundation accepts focused donations, but a portion of our membership goes to the RI Foundation. The RI Foundation donation is voluntary. That is why everyone in the club is encouraged to pledge a minimum of $100 annually to the RI Foundation.

Foundation Paul Harris Sapphire Awards were presented to Rich McManus for his $3,000 in donations, and Kim Shrader received his four Sapphire Award for is total donations of $5,000 to the RI Foundation.

Valentine Dine-Around – WOW!

Another Valentine Dine-Around has come to a conclusion, and reports coming in talk of another another resounding success.

One of this year's hosts were Diane Gamache and her granddaughter, McKenna, who set a festive Valentine table for guests Bob and Fran McKorkle and Norm and Carolyn Johnson. According to Norm, the evening went all too fast with good wine, delicious food and grand fellowship.

Photos courtesy of Norm Johnson

[A Valentine Tell-All from Ernie Hayden]
The scene was set: a beautifully laid table, delicious appetizers, roses and rose petals everywhere! After some fine discussion, the food and salads were brought to the table and Margie and John and their guests — the Blacks, the Kindsvaters, and the Haydens — chatted about how they met their partners and how marriage proposals were made.

The evening then began to move in a new direction when Future President Margie brought to the table some Cinnamon Schnapps with gold flakes in the bottle. What was that called? Goldenschlaffenochtendsheiset?

So, we were all having a good time, when Margie and John started telling us about the “Kinky Room!” Someone — maybe Ernie — described visions of a rotating Rotary symbol on the ceiling, surrounded by mirrors and flashing lights ...

Ahem ... well, as we all started making plans to leave, the “Kinky Room” resurfaced, but with a new name: ”The Make-Out Room.” Now this, we had to see!

Needless to say, everything went to heck when we all wound up in the bed! Holy smokes! What a crazy night! We never used the fire extinguisher but it was nice to know it was handy!

Many thanks to Margie for hosting us and many thanks to everyone for the wonderful food, drinks and fun!

Photos courtesy of Ernie Hayden.

Be sure to see all the rest of the Valentine photos in the weekly photo album.

FRIDAY's PROGRAM:
"LOOKBOTHWAYS — Online Internet Safety," Linda Criddle, President, www.look-both-ways.com

Ernie Hayden introduced Friday's speaker, Linda Criddle, an expert on internet safety. A mother of 4, Linda has 19 years of experience working for Microsoft in looking after the safety of half a billion MSN users. She has 30 patents for internet safety.

Linda is committed to helping us “understand on how the online risks occurs.” She also pointed out that our internet safety costs, as do all public and individual protections.

• Our problems will occur when:

• We lack knowledge about the internet and its tools and services

• We are careless with our information sharing

• We unintentionally or intentionally expose ourselves to others

• There are flaws or gaps in the technology and software we are using

• We are targeted by the deliberate criminal acts of other

• Our identity is stolen

Linda said: “Your information is a commodity ... your mother’s maiden name did not change and usually your bank did not change. For $6.00 or $10.00 I can buy your credit card!”

The biggest invader of your privacy is the US Government! There is a lack of government supervision.

“Putting the word cyber in front of -criminal, -robber, or -predator only changes the tools, not the motivation or goals. Crooks still want to steal your money, dominate or abuse, or simply be destructive. What is new is that the internet has given criminals broader access to more people and more information than ever before.
Think about it. There are enormous numbers of potential victims who don't know how to protect themselves; they're using tools and services on the web that aren’t actively protecting them in the absence of standards that require their protection. Further, there is a huge financial opportunity and low risk of getting caught, in part because law enforcement doesn't have the resources and manpower needed to effectively monitor crimes and catch crooks.”

PROFILING
“A picture is worth 1000 words!” Using a photo she found on MySpace, Linda had the membership analyze the picture to determine the location of her house, her age, and her openness to exploitation, her economic status, and risk to online predators.

Read Linda’s book (available at amazon.com) and visit her website to learn how you can protect yourself and your family against human predators roaming the internet. Read the feature: “A dozen things you can do today to get safer online.”

And as you learn more about internet safety, consider Linda’s advice recently in her blog: “Comprehensive information about how to stay safe online is scarce and, sadly, much of what is out there is neither effective nor accurate. Good safety messaging doesn't use fear tactics to scare people into safer practices. Rather, it explains potential risks, teaches the principles of how to avoid or minimize them, and shows how to evaluate and choose the level of risk that is acceptable to you.”

Thank you, Linda, for a very interesting and motivating program.

Web Fun

The Apron
Courtesy of Wally Mahoney

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath; but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace the apron that served so many purposes.

BBRC Annual Retreat: Sign-ups Now Being Accepted!

One of the reasons the BBRC calls itself “The Best Darn Club In The World” is the active participation of all members in the annual retreat. Started over 20 years ago on Whidbey Island with sleeping bags on the floors of a member’s cabin, this has evolved into a serious planning session and a well-received fellowship event. Guests, spouses and partners are cordially invited.

Friday, April 4th, will provide the opportunity for golf competition coordinated by Tom Smith, as well as some serious “Retail Therapy” under the able direction of Elena Howell. Back at the Inn, the traditional BBRC Hospitality Suite will be in operation. That is also the site of the Retreat Dinner, followed by entertainment by Gig Harbor’s own Variety Pack Band.

Click on this sign-up link to obtain more information and reserve your spot for the 2008 Retreat.

Recruiting New Members
Chris Ballard encouraged members to invite and propose new members. The club is focusing on member recruitment and retention this month, keeping those new members. Chris asked the membership to “recall who brought you into this club and/or Rotary. What keeps you here? Who can you reach out to and touch and invite into Rotary?"