Preliminaries

President Phil welcomed members and guests to the start of what he said would be the area’s two-day summer as a couple of days without rain actually were forecast.

Terry Baker gave the invocation and led members in the Pledge, and Alan Pratt introduced visiting Rotarians and guests, including Jan Henderson who came all the way from Anchorage, Alaska.

Annual BBRC Golf Classic

Kim Shrader brought members up to date on the Annual BBRC golf Classic, set for Monday, July 28, at Eagle’s Talon Course at Willows Run. Diane Gamache noted that sponsors already were coming on board and that more spots were available for sponsorship.

New Member Inducted: Kaj Pederson

Kaj (pronounced “ka-i” as in “kite”) Pedersen was inducted as the BBRC’s newest member by Wendi Fischer. Kaj is Chief Operating Officer of Pendo Systems. He is a charter member of the Engineering Council and the British Computer Society, and he is an active participant and board member-elect of the Village Volunteers. Kaj lives in Bellevue with his wife Clare and their son Sebastian. Kaj is sponsored by Wendi Fischer, and his classification is “Software Engineering.”

Walkathon Recap

Jenny Andrews and Jane Kuechle recapped the walk-a-thon. Information on the breakfast tables indicated how much each member raised for the event. Members were told they could complete their fundraising goal of $800 each through a combination of the walk-a-thon and the golf tournament.

The debriefing on the walk-a-thon is set for Thursday, May 22, at 7:00 a.m., at Jitters.

Rotarian of the Month: Jane Kuechle

In recognition of her work on the walk-a-thon, Jane was named Rotarian of the Month. "My hat is off to Jane Kuechle who picked up leadership of the WAT very late in the process and managed it beautifully to a successful finish! Jane, I applaud you for ensuring a very successful event! I am very grateful for your leadership, creativity and perseverance!" said Jenny Andrews.

Water Spray Park Grand Opening

The grand opening of the Water Spray Park will be at 12:00 noon on June 7, at Crossroads. All members are encouraged to attend and bring guests ... AND CAMERAS.

Friday's Program
"Collaborative Law — a Better Way," Jack Mahler & Joe Shaub

Bob Holert introduced Jack Mahler and Joe Shaub, who discussed “Collaborative Law — a Better Way.”

Jack is a collaborative law child specialist, certified mediator, and a parenting evaluator/Family Law Guardian ad Litem. Joe is a family law and collaborative law attorney, mediator, and licensed marriage and family therapist. He also is a trainer and teacher at local law schools.

King County Collaborative Law is an organization of lawyers as well as mental health, financial, vocation and other related professionals committed to resolving disputes outside the court in a respectful and cooperative manner.

The parties to the dispute each have their own attorneys, but fashion their own agreement, guided and advised (not directed) by their team of attorneys and the other professionals involved in the process.

A distinguishing feature of Collaborative Law is that if the parties choose to go to court, their lawyers are disqualified from representing them, which ensures the entire team focuses on dispute resolution. To this end, all team members are trained in the Collaborative Law process as well as client-centered, interest-based facilitative communication, and discussions focus on the interests of the parties.

Studies show that using this collaborative process results in an agreement approximately 95 percent of the time. This is particularly suited to matters where ongoing relationships need to be preserved.

Collaborative Law is well-established as a way to resolve family law/divorce disputes and is expanding into other areas of dispute as well, such as commercial/business, merchant/consumer, employment, trusts and estates.

By utilizing strategic cooperation and a non-adversarial team approach, the process seeks to help disputants find ways of resolving their issues in ways that are least damaging to their ongoing relationships and which respect the needs of both sides.

Web Fun

Courtesy of Wally Mahoney

Why DID the Chicken cross the road?

BARACK OBAMA:
The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a CHANGE! The chicken wanted CHANGE!

JOHN MC CAIN:
My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON:
When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure -- right from Day One! -- that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me ...

GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road ...

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it

PAT BUCHANAN:
To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American

DR SEUSS:
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY:
To die in the rain. Alone.

GRANDPA:
In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

ARISTOTLE:
It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON:
Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES:
I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Chicken. This new platform is much more stable and will never cra ... #@&&^(C% ... reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

BILL CLINTON:
I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE:
I invented the chicken!

COLONEL SANDERS:
Did I miss one?

DICK CHENEY:
Where's my gun?