Start 7:00-7:30 pm, home of Chris Monger; RSVP to 
President Jenny Andrews & Mark Hough
Greeters Katherine De Stephano & Wayne McCaulley
Jenny Andrews opened the meeting by welcoming our fellow Rotarian, Mark Hough, who has been in Afghanistan since January 2008 establishing a legal system there. We welcome him back.
The invocation was given by Katherine De Stephano. Her prayer was written by Mary Stewart in 1904:
- Keep us, O God, from pettiness;
- Let us be large in thought, in word, in deed.
- Let us be done with fault-finding and leave off self seeking.
- May we put away all pretense and meet each other face to face without self-pity and without prejudice.
- May we never be hasty in judgment and always be generous.
- Let us take time for all things. Make us grow calm, serene, gentle.
- Teach us to put into action our better impulses, straightforward and unafraid.
- Grant that we may realize it is the little things that create differences, that in the big things of life we are one.
- And may we strive to touch and know the great, common human heart of us all, and O Lord God, let us forget not to be kind.
Introductions of visiting Rotarians and guests were given by Wayne McCaulley.
Induction of New Member: Paul Osborn
Paul & Teresa Osborn
Paul Osborn was inducted as the “newest member in the world.” He is Project Manager & Process Engineer at Broker Research Technologies in Redmond, and his classification is Software Product Manager. Paul is sponsored by Kaj Pedersen, with whom he worked previously.
Paul lives in Redmond with his wife Teresa, and his hobbies include mountain biking and kayaking, among other activities.
Rotarian of the Month: Kaj Pedersen
President Jenny Andrews & Rotarian of the Month Kaj Pedersen
President Jenny Andrews named Kaj Pederson as Rotarian of the Month, and he was also awarded his permanent blue badge. Jenny mentioned that Kaj has been instrumental in many areas of the club, although he’s a relatively new member himself. He has helped with the public relations and many other aspects of the 5K Walk/Run event. Congratulations to Kaj!
Rotary First Harvest Work Party
Ruben Ladlad announced that next Saturday is our day to participate in helping at First Harvest. He encouraged us to bring everyone and help out there and increase the number of hours that BBRC has given this year.
Jane Kuechle
This event is getting close, and Jane Kuechle said we need 100 volunteers. She encouraged us to bring our families, teenagers, or members from other clubs to participate. She also announced that Christine Addison has gained 13 booths, but there’s room for more! She also needs more pop-up tents. If you have them available, please contact Chris.
We currently have 150 registrations, and we need to sign up our teams!
The BBRC House Band (Chip Erickson, Andrew Face, John DeWater, Tom Smith and Chris Monger) fired up the music to inspire us to participate in this event with a raucous BBRC-ized version of "Louie, Louie."
- Bellevue 5K, whoa, we gotta run (run or walk)
Bellevue 5K, whoa, we gotta runs - Everyone, have you heard the news
It's time to get out your running shoes
Let's round up a team and get ready to run
As soon as we hear the starting gun - Bellevue 5K, whoa, we gotta run (run or walk)
Bellevue 5K, whoa, we gotta run - I'll tell you why we're doing this thing
We're raising money for Kindering
Now's your chance to make your mark
So get your butt down to Crossroads Park - Bellevue 5K, whoa, we gotta run (run or walk)
Bellevue 5K, whoa, we gotta run - The date is Sunday April 26
That's when we're gonna get our kicks
We need a thousand people beatin' the street
So BBRC get on your feet - Bellevue 5K, whoa, we gotta run (run or walk)
Bellevue 5K, whoa, we gotta run
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BBRC exchange student Cristóbal Baladrón promoted his “Chilean Feast” on April 25th. The cost of the feast is $50 per person, with proceeds going to help cover Cristóbal's expenses in attending a Rotary Youth Exchange Summer Safari to California. Mike Ralph and Chris Monger are members of the Top Chef Team preparing the meal featuring Cristóbal's family recipes. Bellevue Rotarian and frequent visitor Frank Young donated $100 to Christobal’s fund. |
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"The View from Inside an Economic Engine," Tay Yoshitani, CEO, Port of Seattle
Tay Yoshitani
Colleen Turner introduced our speaker, Tay Yoshitani, CEO, Port of Seattle.
Tay shared with us that the Port has a special purpose designation. It is not part of the city, county or state. They have elected Commissioners, which is very different from other ports. There are 3 recreational boat areas, and has surpassed Vancouver in traffic this year. There is a central waterfront area where Anthony’s and the World Trade Center are located. There are cargo terminals, 20 parks along the waterway and 300 acres of land. And, SEATAC airport is the 18th biggest passenger airport in the country. There are 22,000 people who work at the airport every day, and they have a new central terminal and a new third runway. The airport is self funded and uses no tax funds.
Colleen Turner
A recent Economic Impact Study showed that the Port provides 194,000 jobs. Tay emphasized that the Port is all about jobs. It receives $17.6 billion in business revenues each year and uses the airport tax levy to invest in their resources. They are also making improvements in the fishermen areas.
Tay shared the 3E’s as his guiding principles: Economic vitality, Environmental Stewardship, and Social Responsibility.
President Jenny Andrews thanks Tay Yoshitani for his program.
The Economic Vitality is the competition factor, which Tay said, is a “dog fight.” Canada has always been the stiffest competition for the Port, but they are doing well there. However, the Panama Canal is currently under construction to broaden it to accommodate larger ships. When it is completed, it will be stiff competition for the Port. He elaborated that the “dog fight” is to maintain jobs in our area. The Environmental Stewardship is a competitive edge. The community is concerned about air and water quality. As for Social Responsibility, the Port is a beacon with a competitive edge. They are a large operator with large impact and they want to make sure that the funds that flow through get spent in as equitable was possible, including jobs and business for local companies, minorities and small business.
Most recently, the Port has supported the Veteran’s Fellowship Program. They do this by hiring veterans as they return from duty to work at the Port for 6 months. During this time, the vets learn about the Port business and use that time to look around for their career opportunities.
Tay Yoshitani & Chuck Kimbrough
Tay indicated that public trust is very important to the organization. Last year they received a very critical State Audit, but they didn’t push back. Instead, they used the information to look at the positives that did show up and were very responsive as a work in progress. He encouraged us to look at their new website to see what they’ve done. Tay was accompanied at the meeting by Nancy Blanton, Manager of Corporation Communication, who has had a large imprint on the website and associated communications.
Courtesy of Wally Mahoney
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement .
He who hesitates is probably right.
Did you ever notice: the Roman Numerals for forty (40) are XL.
If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.
If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
Did you ever notice: when you put the 2 words "The" and "IRS" together it spells "Theirs."
The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.