Opening Bell, Invocation & Pledge

President Phil opened the meeting with a welcome to Leap Year Friday, 5th Friday of Feb! The last time Leap Year as on a Friday was in 1980, and the next one won’t be until 2036.

Ron Healy led the Invocation and Pledge, and Ted Ederer introduced visiting Rotarians and guests.

Ssergeant At Arms Tom Harrelson reminded members to pre-pay their “scooter fines.” Cleatus showed up on his scooter to help get the message across — sort of. Pre-paying fines does not apply to guests and visiting Rotarians.

Begging for the Walkathon

Entertainment and promotion of the upcoming Rotary Walks walkathon starred Jenny Andrews, American Idol Wannabe, who sang "Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.” She was accompanied by the BBRC World Renown Orchestra.

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg

I know you wanna leave me,
But I refuse to let you go
If I have to beg and plead for your help on this
I don’t mind coz’ this means so much to me

Chorus
Ain’t too proud to beg, for walkers
Please walk with me gang, let’s all go
Ain’t to proud to plead baby, baby
Please don’t leave me, hanging, let’s all go

Now I heard a cryin’ girl,
Is half a girl with no sense of pride
But if I have to cry to keep you,
I don’t mind weepin’ if it’ll keep you by my side (Sing Chorus)

If I have to sleep on your doorstep
All night and day just to keep you from walkin’ away
Let your friends laugh, even this I can stand
Because I want you walkin’ any way I can (Sing Chorus)

Now I’ve got a love so deep for the BBRC
And each day it grows more and more
I’m not ashamed to come and plead to you baby
If pleadin’ keeps you walkin’ out-of-doors (Sing Chorus)

Baby, baby, baby, baby (sweet darling)

Jane Kuechle encouraged members to start recruiting their teams and promoting participation in the walkahon. New this year in recruitment and promotion tools will be electronic invitations.

BBRC Annual Retreat

Diane Gamache reminded everyone of the upcoming Leadership Retreat in Gig Harbor. She encouraged all members to come and expand one’s circle of BBRC friends, while joining in the club planning and social-fellowship activities, including golf, touring, and shopping.

Farewell to Shelley Noble

President Phil Salvatori presented retiring BBRC member Shelley Noble with the February Rotarian of The Month Award (which could be for her work for the past decade).

The club gave a standing “Farewell to Shelley Noble,” as Friday was her last BBRC meeting. Shelley has resigned her her position with Hopelink after 18 years. She is ready for a change and has many things to do this spring, including help her mother and prepare for her daughter’s upcoming marriage.

Student of the Month: Naeem Walji

Eastside Catholic student Naeem Walji was introduced with his parents: Nimira and Manira by Larry May.

Naeem is a National Honors Student, plays tennis, and has the goal of being a doctor. He is the recipient for his passion “community service” of the Dick Ellis and Mother Cabrini Awards. He is involved in the Kids Club Museum and Thursday Options program for youth.

Adopt-A-Highway Crew Makes Short Shrift of Clean-Up
Chip Erickson, Preserve Planet Earth Committee Chairman

Saturday's Adopt-A-Highway project had our best turnout yet, with 11 people showing up to help. In fact, it was such a good turnout that we ran out of hard hats and had to borrow two from the construction site across from the Park and Ride!

The weather cooperated, even though it was a little chilly, but with such a big crew we were able to get our section clean in less than an hour. Thanks to everyone who participated: Ernie Hayden, Jim Kindsvater, Paul Chapman, Margie Burnett, Candy and Bob Igou, Chuck Kimbrough, Doug Cameron, Rick McManus and especially Ercan Turkarslan who brought the doughnuts and coffee this time and allowed us to donate the leftovers to the construction workers who loaned us the extra hard hats.

Friday Program:
"Make it Miniature," Richard Gradwohl, President, Happy Mountain Miniature Cattle Corp.
Introduced by Madeline Gauthier

Since 1971, Dick and Arlene Gradwohl have demonstrated that you can run a profitable and extraordinary cattle business on a few acres of pasture and on a small ranch in Covington, Washington. The Happy Mountain Miniature Cattle Farm, which is overlooked by the great Mount Rainier, runs a thriving beef heard of 70+ head on 40 acres. Miniature cattle range in size between 32 and 42 inches and weigh between 250 and 600 pounds versus the 1200+ pound steers and cows found on Central Washington’s pastures and ranches. Miniature cattle eat one-third as much and produce twice as much beef per acre than the bigger cattle. The meat is much more tender, too.

The Happy Mountain Miniature Cattle Farm is a nutritional research facility. Several breeding programs over the years, have generated 26 selective breeds and they continue to develop 18 of these breeds. In comparison, there are 850 breeds in Great Britian.

Dick points out that small acreage farms can be very profitable. Miniature cattle can also help fight the world’s hunger problem. For example, recently, Happy Mountain Miniature Cattle Farm sent 400 straws of seimen to South Africa free.

To learn more, contact or visit The International Miniature Cattle Breeders Society and Registry, located at Happy Mountain Miniature Cattle Farm, www.minicattle.com

Web Fun

Courtesy Bob Vallat

When I was married 25 years, I took a look at my wife one day and said, "Honey, 25 years ago we had a cheap apartment, a cheap car, slept on a sofa bed, and watched a 10-inch black and white TV but I got to sleep every night with a hot 25-year-old blonde."

"Now we have a $500,000.00 Home, a $45,000.00 car, a nice big bed and a plasma screen TV, but I'm sleeping with a 50 year-old woman.

It seems to me that you are not holding up your side of things."

My wife is a very reasonable woman. She told me to go out and find a hot 25-year-old blonde and she would make sure that I would once again be living in a cheap apartment, driving a cheap car, sleeping on a sofa bed and watching a 10- inch black and white TV.

• • • • •

Courtesy of Wally Mahoney

DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM

PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER

DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT

THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS

SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY

MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER

SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE

Rotary First Harvest Work Party, March 8
Although this is not the work location and date that is the focus of the BBRC, members who can't make the regular 4th Saturday work party can attend the Northwest Harvest site in Kent on the 2nd Saturday of each month, with the next party set for Saturday, March 8.

Address:
Kent (2nd SAT)
9:00 a.m. to noon
22220 68th Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032
GOOGLE MAP

March Rotary Focus: Literacy
2008 Book Drive!

Throughout March, the Vocational Service Projects Committee will be collecting your slightly used hard and soft back books and donating them to Hopelink. We are especially looking for recent best-sellers, adult fiction and non-fiction, and children's books.  “How-to” books, sheet music and books, and self-help books/tapes are also welcome. Unfortunately, soggy, smelly, and mildewed books, cook books, encyclopedias, old travel guides, magazines and religious books cannot be accepted.

Boxes will be available at our March meetings. Please call or email David Bolson for additional information (Ph 425-455-8065).