Welcome

President Jenny exhorted the assembled membership with a double “Good morning, Bellevue Breakfast Rotarians,” just to get the blood flowing. It seemed to help.

 

Jenny then wanted to take a moment to recognize the persons in attendance who had served the country with military service or whose children are currently serving. Jenny said, "I know from first hand experience, after recently spending time in a Communist country, how incredibly precious our freedom is and how often we take it for granted."

 

A rather impressive group came forward to receive this thanks and recognition. Jenny quoted Elmer Davis: ”This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.

 

Bob Bowen led the invocation and pledge, and Bob Crosby greeted visiting Rotarians and guests.

 

 

The Rotary Foundation

November is Foundation Month, and all Rotarians are urged to participate in the Club’s drive to involve every Rotarian every year. Dick Brown restated our goal of having every member participate at the $100 level, with a club average of $300 per member. Dick also took this opportunity to introduce Raelissa Smith to the membership. Raelissa has been the person responsible for framing the Paul Harris Awards for the past 14 years, and this was her visit to the club. She received a warm welcome for her many years of service. So, if you have the Paul Harris award hanging at work or at home, you are enjoying a very impressive piece of framing.

 

By pledging in the month of November you are eligible to receive one of three gifts that will be drawn on December 12th. These include a men’s Tissot Ballade watch from Ben Bridge Jewelers, a Gourmet Gift Basket and a Fantastic Reading Book Basket from the King County Library System. Do not delay! Contact a Foundation Committee Member or Sayoko with your pledge or check.

 

 

Classification Talk: Mark Mason

New member Mark Mason introduced himself to the Club as a software engineer and gave us a clue to distinguish an introverted software engineer from an extroverted one. The introverted SE will look at his shoes while talking to you, while the extroverted SE will look at your shoes. Mark is a co-founder of Affirma Consulting, a firm employing 20 people and also a Microsoft Gold Partner. They develop custom applications using SharePoint, Office Performance Point and Silverlight. To discover more about Affirma, check out: affirmaconsulting.com

 

Mark lives in Seattle with his wife Tricia. They have two children, Jack, a three year old, and Jane, eighteen months. Mark hails from Wenatchee and, after 18 years on the “Westside,” still believes that a sign should be posted Eastbound at mile post thirty on I-90 that reads, ”Keep going — It gets better.” Mark is no stranger to world community service, having spent two years in Peru with “Food for the Hungry”.

 

Please welcome Mark to the Club and learn more about his personal “Service Before Self.”

 

 

Rotarian of the Month: Wendi Fischer

All it took for Wendi Fischer to receive recognition as the October Rotarian of the Month was passion, love, caring, logistical skills and a vision to deliver dictionaries to third graders. Wendi took time to connect with the children in each classroom and to explain Rotary to them. According to delivery assistant, Tim Leahy, “When the kids figured out that they each got to keep their very own dictionary, you would have thought it was Christmas! Kids were jumping out of their chairs and hooting and hollering with excitement. I had to choke back my tears.” So, special thanks to Wendi Fischer for her work on this very meaningful project.

 

 

“Take Me to Your Leader!”

The slate of candidates for the BBRC Board of Directors for the 2009-2010 Rotary year as introduced by President Jenny:

 

President: Margie Burnett

President Elect: Chuck Kimbrough

Immediate Past President: Jenny Andrews

Secretary: Jonathan Koshar

Treasurer: Robin Callan

Club Administration: Chris Monger

Public Relations: Elena Howell

Membership: Chris Rasmussen

Foundation: Morris Kremen

Community Service: Tim Leahy

Sergeant At Arms: Curtis Cummings

 

The official club election will be held on December 12th, 2008. Nominations will be received form the floor until that time. Please contact President Jenny to enter a nomination for a Board position.

 

 

To Tell The Truth

David Bolson, Sergeant At Arms (Classification: Super Sleuth), challenged the Club and our guest speaker, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, with a special edition of To Tell The Truth. Each table was to decide which of the following statements concerning Sheriff Rahr was false:

 

1. I grew up in Laramie, Wyoming, with three sisters.

2. I carry a forty caliber Glock side arm.

3. My favorite donut is Krispy Kreme.

4. I went to high school with David Bolson.

 

The sergeant did well. No one guessed that statement one was false. Sheriff Rahr was born in Laramie, but had six brothers and was raised in Bellevue. Put your dollar on the table. For those of you who missed the meeting, put your dollar on the table next week. (We know who you are!)

 

 

 

BBRC Poker Club

Mitch Freedman

On Friday November 14th, we had the first of many meetings of the BBRC Poker Club. The first to arrive was Tom “steady hand” Harrelson. Within minutes we had the full crew — except one. Present were Hal “quick draw” Teel, Phil “let'em ride” Salvatori, Chris “the professor” Monger, Steve “thunder” Peters, and Mitch “downtown” Freedman. Last to arrive, was our seventh, Jonathan “Robin Hood” Koshar. Unfortunately for the original six, there was nary a poor person in sight, so we know what happens with the “Robin Hood” story don’t we ...

 

The evening started quickly with our snacks swiped by “Old Geezer Dog” Toby. There was some solace for the big losers. Though some of us walked away lighter in the pocket (me being one), we still had a shoot’em-up time playing!

 

So, if any of you other cowboy types, without the registered guns, want to join us next time, talk to ol' “downtown” Mitch.

 

 

Proposed Member: Tamara Dean

Tamara Dean is a realtor with Windermere Real Estate East. She has been in the real estate business since 1998 and now specializes in residential condo sales. Tamara lives in Kirkland with her husband, Benny and four children. She has been involved in CASA, and one of her hobbies is flying helicopters. She is soon getting her pilot’s license.

 

Tamara is sponsored by Chris Rasmussen, and her proposed classification is Residential Condo Sales.

 

 

District Conference Reminder

President Jenny Andrews

 

Rotarians have until November 30th (a little more than three weeks from now) to register for the District Conference at a discounted rate of $275. The price increases to $300 on December 1, 2008. A conference flyer and registration form are available for download (PDF). After November 30th, you will need to use a different form so save yourself the trouble and register today!

 

The District Conference is one of the most enjoyable and informational activities in Rotary, and I strongly encourage you to join me and many of your other BBRC friends in Victoria!

 

Rotarians must register for conference hotels through the District Conference website in order to get a room and a Rotary conference rate. If you contact the hotels directly, you will be told there are no rooms available, so please register at the District Conference website.

 

 

Today’s Program

Sue Rahr, King County Sheriff

Sheriff Rahr, introduced by Chris Monger, is a 1979 graduate of Washington State University. She has been a member of the King County Sheriff’s Department for 28 years and the Sheriff for the past 4 years. The Sheriff’s Department is responsible for police work in unincorporated King County and on a contract basis for several cities, including Woodinville, Shoreline.

 

Sue used her good humor to convey an important message on the state of the Department and the state of the budget crisis in King County. She worked her way up the ranks and now has the only elected job in the Department. At first she did not think having an elected Sheriff was a good idea, but now she looks at it a bit differently. “It is you who I should be responsible to, the citizens of King County.” This epiphany comes with the greatest budget challenge in King County History. The crisis will require a budget cut in the Sheriff’s office of ten million dollars, or approximately 6.7 percent. Patrol services that affect the safety of residents will not be impacted; however, areas like property crime, drug enforcement, vice, gambling and fraud are not being funded.

 

The message is that an overly generous employee benefit plan for all 14,000 King County employees is subtracting from services provided to residents. On average, King County spends $500 more per month on benefits for each employee than the City of Seattle. Sheriff Rahr feels that her voice must be heard to allow “the other side of the story to come out.” If this news is upsetting, then contact your King County Council member and let him/her know how your feel. Jane Hague is the Council member for the Eastside, but let them all know for good measure.

 

Perhaps the most upset member of our group turned out to be our Sergeant at Arms, who gladly tried on the Sheriff’s handcuffs only to discover that the keys were left at the office. David was last seen leaving Glendale doing a ”perp walk” toward a King County Sheriff’s car.

 

President Jenny presented Sheriff Rahr with a lapel pin to signify that a contribution has been made by the Club on her behalf to the Bellevue RotaCare clinic

 

 

Web Fun

 

SchoolGate: 25 Best Exam Blunders
Courtesy of Ernie Hayden

 

1) Classical Studies

Question: Name one of the early Romans' greatest achievements.

Answer: Learning to speak Latin

 

2) Biology

Question: What is a fibula?

Answer: A little lie

 

3) General Studies

Question: Jeff has been asked to collect data about the amount of television his friends watch. Think of an appropriate question he could ask them.

Answer: How much TV do you watch?

 

4) Classical Studies

Question: What were the circumstances of Julius Caesar's death?

Answer: Suspicious ones

 

5) Biology

Question: Give an example of a smoking-related disease

Answer: Early death

 

6) Geography

Question: What are the Pyramids?

Answer: The Pyramids are a large mountain range which splits France and Spain

 

7) Biology

Question: What is a plasmid?

Answer: A high definition television

 

8) English

Question: In Pride and Prejudice, at what moment does Elizabeth Bennet realise her true feelings for Mr Darcy?

Answer: When she sees him coming out of the lake.

 

9) Geography

Question: What do we call a person forced to leave their home perhaps by a natural disaster or war, without having another home to go to.

Answer: Homeless

 

10) Religious Studies

Question: Christians only have one spouse, what is this called?

Answer: Monotony

 

11) Biology

Question: In the Hawaiian Islands, there are around 500 different species of fruit fly. Give a reason for this

Answer: There are approximately 500 varieties of fruit

 

12) Physics

Question: Name an environmental side effect of burning fossil fuels

Answer: Fire

 

13) Geography

Question: Define the term "intensive farming".

Answer: It is when a farmer never has a day off.

 

14) Maths

Question: Change 7/8 to a decimal

Answer: 7.8

 

15) Geography

Question: What does the term "lava" mean?

Answer: A pre-pubescent caterpillar

 

16) General Studies

Question: Redundancy is often an unpleasant and unexpected event in someone's life. Give two examples of unexpected life events.

Answer: 1) death 2) Reincarnation

 

17) History

Question: What was introduced in the Children's Charter of 1908?

Answer: Children

 

18) Business Studies

Question: Explain the word "wholesaler."

Answer: Someone who sells you whole items, eg, a whole cake

 

19) Geography

Question: The race of people known as Malays come from which country?

Answer: Malaria

 

20) Geography

Question:What artificial waterway runs between the Mediterranean and Red Seas?

Answer: The Sewage Canal

 

21) Geography

Question: Name one famous Greek landmark

Answer: The most famous Greek landmark is the Apocalypse

 

22) Math

Question: Expand 2 (x + y)

Answer: 2 ( x + y )

2 (  x  +  y  )

2 (   x    +    y   )

 

23) Business Studies

Question: Assess Fashion House pls's choice to locate its factory near Birmingham. Is Birmingham the right location for this type of business?

Answer: No. People from Birmingham aren't very fashionable.

 

24) History

Question: Where was the American Declaration of Independence signed?

Answer: At the bottom.

 

25) History

Question: What did Mahatma Gandhi and Genghis Khan have in common?

Answer: Unusual names.