Beginnings

President John, back from his travels, rang the bell to initiate the Oktoberfest Eve meeting of the BBRC.

Kim Shrader offered this invocation, followed the Pledge of Allegiance:

Dear Lord, We are grateful for many things – our faith, our family, and our friends, many of whom are in this very room. We are thankful for members of the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club who step forward to lead – Steve Lingenbrink, John Martinka, Chris Monger, the board of directors, fund raising chairs and committee chairs. Please continue guiding all of us in service above self. Amen.

Eric Thom introduced the visiting Rotarians and guests in breakneck fashion, following instructions from President John to “do it quickly.” (Eric was moving so fast that our back-up paparazzi was not even given the opportunity to capture an image.)

Rotarian of the Month: Howard Johnson

How many Treasurers does the BBRC have? Perhaps this is a trick question resulting in more Sparkle Dollars floating onto the morning table?

No, it was the introduction to the presentation of the Rotarian of the Month award to Howard Johnson, for being one of three Treasurers in the service of the BBRC. We have the Club Treasurer, the Foundation Treasurer, and the Fund Raising Treasurer.

HoJo, being the Fund Raising one, was recognized as the Rotarian of the Month for October, for his attention to detail and support of the club. Well done, Howard!

Induction of New Members: Cummings & Clavijo

A highlight of any President’s year is the introduction of new members to the BBRC. President John had the dual honor of introducing Carla Cummings and Martin Clavijo as our two newest members.

Carla is sponsored by her husband Curtis, and Martin is sponsored by Andres Sanchez.

Martin’s wife, Martha Valencia, was present to support her husband’s first day as a member of the BBRC and to hear President John’s message: “Get involved!”

Speaking of Membership

Colleen Turner, BBRC Director of Membership, takes a page from Sparkle Dollar Fischer’s game plan, with her version of “acrostic poetry.” (Ref: BBRC Reveille Vol. 24, No. 10)

Using the base word “Membership,” Colleen PowerPoint’d her message (see right).:

This seemed to go pretty well for Colleen, so she made her “ask.” All you have to do is to bring two guests to the BBRC to help keep the club the vibrant and supportive organization that it is. Easy enough. Let’s do it!

Rotary First Harvest

Howard Johnson returned with an update on the month of October being RFH month. It is the intention of the BBRC to provide: 1) 275 worker participation days at the RFH work parties held the second Saturday of each month in Kent, and 2) financial support of $8,000, with $4,650 coming from the BBRC and $3,500 from the membership. HoJo will be having a wine auction at the BBRC on the October 28 to raise funds for RFH. His objective is to raise $1,000. 

The annual RFH fund raiser will be the Cabernet Classic to be held on Wednesday, October 26, at the Bell Harbor Conference Center. Cost is $50 per person. Make your reservation at www.firstharvest.org

Student of the Month: Chao (Chad) Wong

Larry May introduced our October Student of the Month from Bellevue Christian High School, Chao (Chad) Wong. Chad is from Taiwan and has been attending BCHS as an international student for four years. Now a senior, he thanked all who have made this educational opportunity possible.

Chad has participated in a mission trip to Mississippi, and his faith has been strengthen by attending the school. His university of choice is UCLA.

Oktoberfest

Paul Chapman reminded us all about Oktoberfest, Saturday, October 15, 6:00PM, at Lawrence the Florist. (By the time you read this the Oktoberfest will be history, so enjoy the pictures.)

UPDATE: A good time was had by all 34 attending BBRCer’s and their guests, with the consumption of Oktoberfest the Elder, the Younger, and a wonderful IPA from Snoqualmie. Paul applied his grill master talents with a selection of bratwurst, hotlinks, and Anjou sausage. Yummy good! We give thanks to the social committee, John DeWater, for providing the bier, and the rathskeller and the cookie bakers, whoever they might be.

News Flash

Paul and Elena are going to check out the Hilton. Well, what they are going to do is finalize the menu for the November 11th “Second Chance Prom,” nee Anniversary Dinner, at 6:00 pm. Reservations are now being taken online via the BBRC web site. Click here to sign up now!

Don't forget to submit your high school photos by email or snail mail to Michel Carter (michel@clancarter.net) or 14415 NE 64th St, Redmond, WA 98052).

Rotaract

Joellen Monson reintroduced the President of the Bellevue Rotaract Club, Rani Joseph. Rotaract is a club seeking young professionals between the ages of 18 and 30 who desire involvement in community service activities.

The Bellevue Rotaract club has supported the BBRC with the Adoption Party and RFH. In turn, the BBRC supports Rotaract, and a check for $500 was presented to Rani.

Do you know anyone who might be interested in joining forces with Rotaract? If so, let Joellen know.

Official Call for Rotary District Governor Nominations for 2014‑15

President John Martinka

District Governor Ann Liberato has sent out an official letter regarding making nominations for future District Governors. If you want to nominate anybody please thoroughly read the letter and all of the attachments (links below). Then contact me to discuss this.

• District Governor Letter (PDF)
• Nominee Data Form (DOC)
• Rotary and Leadership Resume (DOC)
• Statement of Qualifications (DOC)
• Candidate Do's and Don'ts (DOC)

PROGRAM

"One Businessman’s View of Competing Globally," Dr. Carl J. Johnson, Co-founder (in 1971) & CEO (till 2007) of II-VI, Inc.

Howard Johnson returned to the card table and took the mike to introduce his little brother, Carl. This is the fellow who was whooped 900 times by HoJo in their driveway basketball games; but Carl learned from those defeats and went on to become an amazing entrepreneur, with a story that took us back to our Physics 101 course.

Carl Johnson founded II-VI (pronounced: “two-six”) in 1971, a company that would combine the elements from column II and column VI of the Periodic Table to grow proprietary crystals to be used in advanced optical systems to focus laser beams. The efficiency of the II-VI lenses increased the output power of the laser from say, 200 wants to 500 watts.

The company went public in 1987, but not until growing with acquisition of additional technology companies to expand their capability to operate in other bands of the optical spectrum besides infrared, such as the visible and near infrared.

Carl also discovered that to be competitive, he was forced to move manufacturing operations to areas with lower labor rates. An example cited was an hour of fully burdened time in Ho Chi Min City at $2.01 vs. $21.77 in Saxonburg, PA. This has resulted in an Asian work force of 5,188 vs. a US workforce of 687. This is a strong message for all United States-based companies. To be in the global marketplace, we must be aware of the true cost of doing business in the global marketplace, and act appropriately to bring product cost to competitive levels.

This also presents the challenge of doing business in 13 different countries and understanding and obeying the laws and cultures of those countries.

Carl also introduced the BRRC to the concept of solid state refrigeration, using thermoelectric devices to cool everything from car seats to lasers. Known as thermo electric cooling, or TEC, this technology was acquired when II-VI purchased Marlow Industries.

Carl left the BBRC with his blueprint for success: “do the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, at the right cost,” combined with, “delivering a product that answers a real need in a real market.”

Now, dear BBRCers, you know all that is necessary to set foot on the world stage without the boring necessity of Physics 101. (Editor’s note: I think it is time for some beer.)

President John presented Carl with a thank you indicating that 1,000 pounds of fresh produce will be donated via RFH for his talk.