President Jenny Andrews & BBRC exchange student Cristóbal Baladrón
President Jenny Andrews called the meeting to order at 7:20 a.m. Today was the last meeting of Jenny’s great year as President. She adjourned the meeting at 8:30 a.m. with this final address and thank you:
- On Monday, President-elect Margie and I leave for the RI Convention in Birmingham England. I will miss next week's meeting so, unless I can find a loop hole in the Rotary by-laws that allow me to hijack Margie's presidency, this is my last day to leave you with a thought for the week.
- I don't have a prepared quote today because I want to take this time to thank you for the support you have shown me over the last year, the passion you have put into this club and the friendship each of you have extended to me. That means more to me than you know!
- Serving as the BBRC president has been one of the defining experiences of my life and I am very grateful that you gave me this opportunity.
- Have a great meeting next week under the leadership of Steve Goldfarb and I'll see you at Rotating the Wheels!
Greeters Jan Nestler & Colin Radford
Jan Nestler gave the invocation and read a poem titled "One Game at a Time," reminding us that "the shining trophies on our shelves can never win tomorrow's game. 'One hit, one game, one day at a time ...' is a valued cliche in the sporting world, business, and in life."
Colly Radford introduced 24 guests and visiting Rotarians. (We apologize, but the number of visitors for this meeting was too many to list in the Reveille this week.)
President Jenny led the club in singing Happy Birthday to David Bolson!
Howard Johnson
The BBRC exceeded its goal for support of Rotary First Harvest, as more than 179 have donated time and $$$ to the NW Harvest and Food Lifeline work parties. HoJo (Howard Johnson) recruited members for the June 13th work party and $5+ from members who could not attend tomorrow or during the past year. Frank Young, Honorary BBRC member from the Bellevue Noon Club, donated $40 dollars to go with his $1,000 annual donation.
BBRC currently leads the district in donated time to Rotary First Harvest, and the organization surpassed its 9-million-pound produce collection goal for this Rotary year. HoJo gave a special thanks to Wallace Farms in Burlington, WA, who donated 40,000 pounds of gourmet purple potatoes to RFH, and to Oak Harbor Freight Lines, who hauled the potatoes from Wallace Farms to the food banks for distribution this weekend.
A work party will be held on June 20th (8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.) at Hopelink’s Avondale Park Apartments (18435 NE 98th Way in Redmond). Sign up now! Bring family, friends, and neighbors. Tasks include painting, gardening, laughing and eating. Contact Ron Healey (Ph 425-454-3096 or 425-837-0011) and let him know you can help.
President Jenny & Morris Kremen
Rotarian of the Month: Morris Kremen
President Jenny awarded the Rotarian of the Month of June Award to Morris Kremen and recognized him and his family for hosting our Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Chile this year, Cristóbal Baladrón.
We’re Going to Boeing! Friday, July 10!
On the Bus! Party Down!
Chris Monger
Boeing needs a final number by Monday, June 15.
SIGN UP NOW!
The approximate schedule is as follows: meet at 7:00 AM at a yet-to-be-determined location, but central to as many as possible in Bellevue or South Kirkland; buses will pick us up at 7:30 am; tour starts at 8:30 am (45 minutes); we depart for home around 9:30 am and have you in your vehicle around 10:00 am.
Club Presents Third Donation to Coal Creek YMCA
Fred Barkman introduced Judy Smith, Jerry Washington, and John Uppendahl from the new Coal Creek YMCA and presented them with a check for $15,000 dollars as part of a $100,000 commitment from the BBRC Foundation toward the construction of a new facility. To this date, the club has donated $75,000 of its $100,000 commitment.
Fred Barkman, YMCA reps Judy Smith, Jerry Washington and John Uppendahl, and Jim Carney
The Coal Creek facility, located in Newcastle, will be a state-of-the-art, 50,000 square feet facility, with a fully accessible swimming pool, gym, teaching kitchen, teen center, community meeting spaces, and health and wellness facilities for those of all ages, interests, and abilities. The BBRC was the first donor to commit to this project, and the Club’s donation was pivotal in jump-starting a very successful fundraising campaign.
Groundbreaking was September 9, 2008, and the Grand Opening will be in September 2009. Estimated cost is $19.75 million, and the campaign goal is $3.25 million, with $2.99 million having been raised as of June 10th.
Annual Rotating the Wheels Dinner
Steve Lingenbrink
Your BBRC Fellowship Team has put together a great Rotating the Wheels Dinner party this year. We are going to be in the beautiful Trilogy Clubhouse Ballroom, which has doors opening out to a huge private patio and a small lake. We will be featuring two bars (one inside and one outside) for your enjoyment during the cocktail hour, with wonderful appetizers from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. AND a live Turkish band for your enjoyment. A Turkish/Mediterranean buffet will be presented about 7:00 p.m. The meal will feature both traditional Turkish/Mediterranean fare, as well as some handpicked specialty items. The caterer (Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes) is an award winning caterer – the food will be exceptional. Additionally, your fellowship team has selected a couple of wines that will be served with dinner. We believe you will really enjoy both the dinner and the wines.
There will be very little business meeting, but LOTS of fun during the dinner. (Rumor has it that some interesting photos may be shown.) Then the music will resume for more fellowship after the dinner.
This will be a really lovely event, I hope that you will join us in celebrating this great year of Rotary at the BBRC by sharing fabulous fellowship with your fellow members!
The dress for the evening is country club casual or Rotary logo wear, so plan to dress comfortably and have some fun!
For newer members, remember that this dinner takes the place of the regular morning meeting. There is no meeting at Glendale on Friday, June 26th, so plan to attend the dinner.
Kim Shrader & Ted Ederer
Kim Shrader and Ted Ederer updated the club on the golf tourney. Sponsors are still being sought, and about 60 percent of the field is filled. The upcoming BBRC Charity Golf Classic begins with a shotgun start at 7:45 a.m., on Monday, July 27, at Eagle’s Talon course at Willows Run, Redmond.
The $180 per player cost includes greens fee, power cart, range balls, lunch and a free shirt or vest. Click here for for more details and a registration form.
Proposed Member: Joellen Monson
Joellen Monson is a manager and licensed mental health counselor at Therapeutic Health Services in Bellevue. She loves working with families and children. Her hobbies include writing, watching movies and reviewing them, and she lives in Fall City with her husband John.
Joellen has visited our club three times so far, and she has already jumped into our club fundraiser and is eager to get her hands on other club projects. Her sponsors are Jim Carney and Rourke O’Brien.
"The Ten Big Lies About America," Michael Medved, nationally syndicated radio host, best-selling author, and veteran film critic
Michael Medved
Bill Brooks, introduced Michael Medved, an Eastsider whose nationally syndicated three-hour daily radio broadcast reaches more than 3.5 million listeners on more than 200 stations across the country. His show is one of the top 10 political talk shows in the United States. Listen to Michael everyday from noon to 3:00 p.m. on 770 AM.
Mr. Medved has been a frequent guest on all the major TV talk shows, including Larry King Live, Nightline, Oprah, David Letterman, and Good Morning America. His columns on media and society appear regularly in USA Today, where he serves as a member of the Board of Contributors.
The Medveds live in the Seattle area, where they've raised their three children. The oldest, Sarah, recently graduated from high school (as valedictorian) and is currently studying at a women's seminary in Jerusalem.
Mr. Medved initiated his positive message combating the “most toxic myths about America” with a well known greeting: “ Its another great day in the greatest nation on God’s Green Earth!” The 10 Big Lies About America, published in 2008 by Crown Forum (a division of Random House), is the eleventh book written by Medved and resulted from his responses to the negative callers to his radio show. A conservative who is more to the radical middle of the political scene than the far right, Medved has been involved in politics since he dropped out of Yale Law School and became a political activist and writer. His radio career began when he served as a substitute host for Rush Limbaugh. View Medved’s introduction of his book on YouTube.
The three Big Lies rebutted by Medved in his presentation included these:
- America was founded on genocide against Native Americans.
- America is an imperialist nation and a constant threat to world peace.
- America is in the midst of an irreversible moral decline.
Medved notes that we are poisoning the present by distorting our nation’s origins and institutions. He is concerned about anti-Americanism here in the USA versus in Europe and Asia. He believes that a nation with no pride in its past will not feel confidence in its future. He wants confidence in our nation’s future and points out that the United States took the lead in eliminating slavery.
Bill Brooks makes the introduction.
Medved believes that America is not in the midst of a moral decline. To support this, he points out that murder and crime rates are lower than at any time in the past 20 years, and they have been getting better during the past decade. He cites such facts as: New York City had only 400 murders in 2008 and only 135 were by strangers. He points out that divorce rates have been going down since 1981 and that teenage birthrates have been declining during the past 5 years, while a majority of high school seniors are graduating as virgins.
Why this negativity against America?
Medved finds that people believe what they see and hear on TV, and that the average American watches TV more than 30 hours per week.
Medved believes that change must come through our political parties and suggests that “you can’t influence a party by leaving it.” He believes that more people are satisfied with their lives and that they expect their personal situation to improve rather than get worse. He sees a contradiction between public gloom and private confidence. “I am okay but everyone else is in a mess” is a myth and a typical observation. He sees the middle class not as impoverished but moving to an improved education and income status. He advocates for a rejection of “self-pitying” and demagoguery for the sake of political victory and believes the demagogues and deceivers are trying to advance their own well-paid careers and organizations.
How should we counter lies when we experience them?
Medved recommends informed patriotism, gratitude not cynicism, hard work, counting blessings, and seizing opportunities. He believes that America is still the hope of mankind.
A BETTER EDUCATION [NEEDS TO BE RETROACTIVE]
Courtesy of Dallas Stark
These are real notes written by parents to excuse their children's absences. The spelling has been left intact.
- My son is under a doctor's care and should not take PE today. Please execute him.
- Please exkuce lisa for being absent she was sick and i had her shot.
- Dear school: please ecsc's john being absent on jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and also 33.
- Please excuse gloria from jim today. She is administrating.
- Please excuse roland from p.e. for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.
- John has been absent because he had two teeth taken out of his face.
- Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was hurt in the growing part.
- Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins.
- Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side.
- Please excuse ray friday from school. He has very loose vowels.
- Please excuse tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea, and his boots leak.
- Irving was absent yesterday because he missed his bust.
- Please excuse jimmy for being. It was his father's fault.
- I kept Billie home because she had to go Christmas shopping because i don't know what size she wear.
- Please excuse jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the sunday paper off the porch, and when we found it monday. We thought it was sunday.
- Sally won't be in school a week from friday. We have to attend her funeral.
- 1My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent a weekend with the marines.
- Please excuse Jason for being absent yesterday. He had a cold and could not breed well.
- Please excuse brenda. She has been sick and under the doctor.
- Maryann was absent december 11-16, because she had a fever, sorethroat, headache and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever an sore throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't the best either, sore throat and fever. There must be something going around, her father even got hot last night.
