Beginnings

The meeting was rung to order by President John Martinka, who introduced Steve Waltar to lead the invocation and pledge. In memory of the tenth anniversary of the 9‑11 attack, Steve led a chorus of "My Country, 'tis of Thee," followed by the pledge.

Steve White introduced visiting Rotarians and guests, including Helen Leuzzi of The Sophia Way, Paul Buckhard, Lee Stiles, Foster Radford, Adam Mihstin, and Drew Regan, a former BBRC Student of the Month and now a potential member.

Rotarian of the Month: Ruben Ladlad

President John recognized Ruben Ladlad as the Rotarian of the Month for his work on the annual Charity Golf Classic. Ruben thanked John, but also gave thanks to all who worked, participated, and sponsored this year's outing.

Retreat Summary

You may think the annual club retreat is a waste of time, but not so. President John outlined the summary of topics covered in the March 2011 Retreat in La Conner. These included:

1. A Quarterly update on BBRC activities to the membership.
2. The possibilities of corporate sponsorships and corporate memberships.
3. The selection and submission of a District Simplified Grant.
4. The separation of the RI Foundation from the BBRC Foundation.

Click here to view the Retreat PowerPoint presentation or here for a PDF version.

Retreat participation is important for many reasons, so plan to participate in President-Elect Chris Monger’s Retreat that will be held in the Spring of 2012.

Classification Talk: Anna Cummins, "Chiropractic-Gold Medal Health"

Anna, a member since October 2010, and her husband Bob are both Olympic medal winners. They are also best friends and run the Cummins Chiropractic Clinic in Factoria. Their goal is to treat their patients in a natural and drug-free way, using a mix of traditional, technological, and truth telling.

Anna went on to explain the benefits of chiropractic care and offered an introductory special: a one hour massage for just $35.

To Tell the Truth

Wendi “Sparkle Dollar” Fischer invited Past President Jim Zidar to the front and challenged the BBBRC membership to determine which of the following of Jim’s statements were true, or not. They could all be true, or all be false, or some combination of such that would allow us to freely toss dollar bills onto the table. Jimmy Zee’s conundrum:

1. I have 78 nieces and nephews.
2. I dropped Al Gore and had him do 20 push-ups.
3. I am a trained demolition expert.

As it turns out, all are true statements, and most of the BBRC voted for “true,” so very few bucks were collected.

New Generations Month

On the Rotary calendar, September is New Generations Month, with a focus on youth and younger members. Jim Carney gave a report on the interaction of the BBRC with the Coal Creek Y and the work of Joellen Monson to build a forward looking calendar to better gain the participation of youth in BBRC projects and events.

Rotary Cares

Please send healing thoughts to Bill Spencer and Joellen Monson, who have both undergone recent surgical procedures.

Last Minute Announcements

John Cherry reminded us that Rotary First Harvest is the second Saturday of each month at the Northwest Harvest warehouse in Kent.

PROGRAM

“Breakfast at Sally’s: One Homeless Man’s Inspirational Journey!” Richard LeMieux, Author

For the second week in a row the BBRC received a strong motivational message from a masterful story teller. Introduced by Colin Radford, his story followed the life of Richard, as he achieved the American Dream and then watched it shake, crumble, and then fall apart, as the internet age overcame and finally took his business under. In debt, with a failing marriage, Richard found himself at age 58 living in a van with his dog, Willow.

Richard referred to Willow as the wonder dog. The power of this pet prevented him from taking a leap from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge on Christmas Day. The following day he paid his first visit to Sally’s, or the Salvation Army, in Bremerton. The help he received from the “angels” at Sally’s and the stories of the others who, for a variety of reasons, found themselves down on their luck provided the inspiration for him to write his book, Breakfast at Sally’s.

At this point, Richard had captured and captivated the BBRC with his story. The room was as silent as it has ever been for a presentation. The full meaning of his message came across, however, when Richard told us that if we prayed to God to make us a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, we would be sorely disappointed. But, if we asked a homeless advocate, such as BBRC member Steve Roberts, for that same sandwich, we would receive it. At this point he walked over to Steve, took his hand, and held it up, stating, “For these are the hands of God.”

People inspired by reading his book have opened homeless shelters in New York, Maine, Vero Beach, Florida, and Kent, Washington. These are known as “The Willow Mission,” in honor of Richard’s little dog. Dogs are good, for they also provide you with dignity and respect.

Richard concluded his presentation with a heartfelt chorus of “Amazing Grace,” with the lyrics taking on a whole new meaning after his truly amazing story. President John presented Richard with the BBRC “Thank You” of 1,000 pounds of fresh produce donated to local food banks by Rotary First Harvest.