FRIDAY SNAPS

Invocation and Pledge

Kaj Pedersen, BBRC Director of Public Relations, led the club in the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance.

Girish Bhatia welcomed the guests and visiting Rotarians. We had a special welcome to former BBRC member Dean Pollock, who ventured all the way to the mainland from Mercer Island to touch base with all his old friends.

Club Visitations

Michel Carter brought back two Rotary club banners from his visits to Ireland. His presentation was accompanied by a professionally-produced video that emphasized all the benefits of Guinness as an elixir to personal health, as well as a brief travelogue of the beauty of the scenery of the Emerald Isle.

Elections

Each year, the BBRC nominates and elects its new president, slate of officers, and board of directors in accordance with our bylaws.

Chuck introduced the nominees, then under the Roberts Rules, the club closed the nominations, and in a "railroad" election (the President's words, not the editor's), the candidates were unanimously elected in a one-sided process only equaled by the old Soviet Politburo. Chuck made a special point of asking every member of the club to pitch in and help make the new leadership team, as well as the club, a success in 2011-2012.

The lucky winners are:

(New members)

President-elect: Chris Monger

Secretary: Lee Smith

Membership: Colleen Turner

International: Mike Ralph

RI Foundation: Kim Shrader

Sergeant At Arms: Wendi Fischer
 

(Returning members)

President: John Martinka

Past President: Chuck Kimbrough

Treasurer: Al Forney

Director, Club Admin: Tom Smith

Director, PR: Kaj Pedersen

Director, Community Service: Jane Kuechle

Student of the Month: Marisa Winters

The BBRC congratulated Student of the Month Marisa Winters, from Eastside Prep. Marisa was accompanied to our meeting by her father, Greg, her advisor, Jessica, and her former teacher, Deb Schultz.

Marisa is a stellar student, with a 3.77 GPA, while being extremely active in sports and community service activities. She is especially passionate about various environmental and nature projects.

Sergeant At Arms

Elena Howell, our S-A-A, launched into a major fining campaign, focusing mostly on those dozens of BBRC members who had not yet updated their alma maters on the new DacDB site. In the public shunning of those derelict members, there seemed to be some capricious form of mercy to those who had not listed their schools on line, but who happened to be wearing those school colors Friday.

The bottom line was that a lot of members were razzed in good fun, and a few dollars were collected here and there.

Along with all the teasing, there was a public exchange of amends between Duck Powell and Dog Holert over some alleged volleys of inappropriate emails, with some degree of moderation provided by Paul Chapman. Somehow, the two alums ended up wearing some of the colors of the other's school and we all lived happily ever after.

Money Raisers

President Chuck announced another critical aspect of the BBRC leadership team for next year, the "Fund Raising Leaders."

• Sponsorships: Jim Carney
• In Club Promotion: Wendi Fischer
• 10 K: Katherine DeStephano
• Golf Tournament: Tim Moriarty, Mike Ralph and Robin Callan

Rotary Foundation

Norm Johnson presented Jeff Cashman a special Paul Harris pin for over $7,000 in total RI Foundation giving. He also pointed out that Jeff's committee (last year led by Cary Kopczynski) won an award for our club, having the third highest level of contributions to the foundation in district 5030.

Holiday Breakfast

Wendi Fischer announced that we need RSVPs immediately for all who will be attending the BBRC Breakfast with Santa on December 17th. We need an accurate count because of the huge crowd we usually host when Santa arrives in his golf cart and hands out presents to the kids of BBRC members.

BBRC Gving Tree

Thank you to everyone who took gift tags and are making time to brighten the holidays for families in need across the eastside! Your kindness makes a world of difference to children and adults who need a reminder of the holiday spirit of giving more than ever. Now, let's get busy shopping!

Please return your gifts with tags attached to the BBRC by Friday, December 10. Gifts for Hopelink and KITH should be unwrapped (wrapping paper welcome on the side), and YMCA (the Fancy Tags!) should be wrapped, if possible.

Gifts will be delivered to Hopelink, YMCA, and KITH in time for their clients to pick them up before Christmas.

If you can't attend the December 10 meeting, please contact Christine and she will arrange a time to meet you and get your gift(s).

Golfing With the Elves December 24th

Don't forget this fun annual, semi-official BBRC golf outing. Its purpose is to celebrate the Winter Solstice and give members, family, and guests a fun excuse to get out doors during the busy holiday season. It will be held again at Mt. Si Golf Course, at 9:00AM, on Friday, December 24th. Contact Norm Johnson to reserve your tee time.

USO Donations

President Chuck drafted three of the club's vets to pass the baskets in support of USO. USO supports our troops in airports throughout the world, as well as providing countless other services to our men and women in uniform. So far, the club has generously donated in excess of $600 in support of this important project.

PROGRAM

"Honoring a Lifetime of Commitment," Sayoko Kuwahara

Introduced by Rourke O'Brien, Sayoko Kuwahara provided a spellbinding saga of her personal journey, woven into the legend of her father, revered Japanese martial arts master, Hansi Takemichi Kuwahara.

Sayoko began her story with a recount of the worldwide martial arts celebration in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in early November, where hundreds of martial arts students and masters locked arms and walked into the sea in chilling temperature factor levels below the freezing mark. She then spent the rest of her time describing her own journey in the shadow of her well-accomplished and well-respected father.

Sayoko described the major types of martial arts: Budoh and Bujutsu. When translated into English, they often become the same, that is, "martial arts." However, there is a significant difference. The characters used to spell out bujutsu — martial art techniques — clearly tell that it is all about techniques or skills. Martial techniques are used to defeat the opponent in order to protect yourself. On the other hand, Budoh — the way of the samurai — combines the spirit of harmony, code of ethics, and martial arts. Budoh is not to be pursued to defeat the opponent, but rather to challenge yourself, control yourself, and ultimately elevate yourself spiritually. It is the way of life to which you dedicate yourself in order to bring "wa," that is, "harmony," to all you do. Budoh is not about fighting. A person who pursues budoh in an authentic way embraces the higher spirituality, and fully recognizes that to be a gentle unifying force is a virtue.

At age 88, Sayoko's father is still very capable in demonstrating his mastery of his martial arts skills. Time and again, in this Virginia Beach meeting, he exhibited his skills in matches against sparring opponents.

During this convention of martial arts masters and students, Sayoko witnessed the establishment of Japanese gardens to celebrate the essence of this aspect of Japanese culture. To her astonishment, she learned that the funding of the garden trees and the scholarships for martial arts students were the generous donations of her own father.

Sayoko concluded by tying this aspect of her Japanese heritage to the fact that this year, she officially became a US citizen. She is a person who bridges two cultures – the ancient works of martial arts embodied by the works and legend of her father and the culture of the US where she has chosen to make her new home.

[Special editor thanks to Sayoko, who provided a written set of her speaking notes, from which the editor quoted and paraphrased liberally, and without which, this summary would not have been possible.]

Web Fun

Courtesy of Wally Mahoney