Rotary Club of Everett
PRE- MEETING:
There were approximately 20 ZOOMERS and 38 in person Rotarians and guests.
A big day was in store for us as the annual Fund Raiser prizes were on display and waiting for President Elect Neil Angst to announce the winners.
Each table engaged in conversations waiting for the meeting to start and ours featured discussions about New Orleans as Past President Mark Valentine was on his way there starting on the 15th (The Ides of March) to meet up will colleagues from around the nation. On a previous Dermatology junket to
New Orleans Past President Mark ran into Tom Cruise, not that Tom Cruise, but a college classmate who, I assume had a few hurricanes, because he turned himself into a Barker outside “one of those” popular night spots on Bourbon Street. Brian Hollingshead and I looked at each other and though we had both been to New Orleans and experienced what it had to offer, it was evident that the skin Doc’s really knew how to assimilate to the New Orleans culture.
Representative Rick Larsen and a contingent of his staff arrived and were seated among us as the meeting was getting ready to start.
MEETING:
The 35th meeting or our Rotary year and the 5,487th meeting of the Rotary Club of Everett started at noon. President Tammy Dunn quieted us down and then led all of us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY:
President Tammy, in the spirit of college basketball’s March Madness and sports in general, provided five quotes but I only wrote down the four I could remember. The fifth one is a contribution by this writer.
- “No matter how far life pushes you down, no matter how much you hurt, you can always bounce back.” Sheryl Swoopes, WNBA
- “It’s not how big you are, it’s how big you play.” John Wooden, UCLA Coach
- “You shouldn’t just work on your jump shot; you should work on being a better person, a better teammate, and a better friend.” Sue Wicks, WNBA
- “They say that nobody is perfect, then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they’d make up their minds.” Wilt Chamberlain, NBA
- “It doesn’t matter. It’s March Madness. You’ve got to bring it every time, every 40 minutes. That’s all we have” Cappie Poindexter, WNBA
VISTING ROTARIANS AND GUESTS:
Past President Larry O’Donnell introduced his friend Denny LeMaster, a fellow Everett High School classmate and a WSU Cougar athlete and alum plus we learned he has many more interesting life and professional experiences.
Kelli Thode introduced Alli Sharp and Amanda Adamik as her guests.
David Chan introduced his guest Riaz Khan, who is on the Mukilteo City Council.
Past President John Olson introduced four members of Representative Rick Larsen’s staff who were in attendance which included Ryan Casey, a previous member of our club.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brian Hollingshead reported that the next Happy Hour be on Thursday, March 16th (The third Thursday of the month) between the hours of 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm at the Courtyard by Marriott on Colby.
Kelli reminded us that the next quarterly Blood Drive, put on by our club. and the Everett Elks, with be on March 31st at the Everett Elks Lodge. Please go to redcrossblood.org for more detailed information. Two more volunteers are needed to help greet donors at the door.
Jim Staniford will make an announcement at the next meeting about the Dawson Place fundraiser at the Everett Silvertips Hockey game that took place on March 12th. He also had a 3 liter bottle of red wine that will go to a lucky winner at next week’s meeting.
HAPPY DOLLARS AND BIRTHDAY BUCKS:
Mary Toews provided a bell ringer ($100.00) because of how happy see was for her recently married son.
David Chan gave $100.00 for a two part announcement. Number 1 - He was happy that Representative Larsen, in his runs for Congress, has always done what he said he would do. Number 2 - There will be a kickoff party on June 3rd for the Asian Service Center in Edmonds. This center will provide for the underserved and to help bridge cultural and language gaps. The Center is at 22727 Highway 99, Suite 201A in Edmonds.
RAFFLE:
1. Past President Mark won red wine and candy.
2. Past President Henry Newton won white wine and candy.
3. Anna Marie Laurance won a free lunch.
ANNUAL FUNDRAISER DRAWING:
President Elect Neil - $100 Gift Card to the Vintage Café, thanks to Jim Staniford
Past President Ed Petersen - $100.00 Amazon Gift Card, thanks to PE Neil Angst
Past President Rose Goulet - $379.00 Auto Detail, thanks to Tom Lane
Brian Hollingshead - $552.00 Teeth Whitening Kit, thanks to PP Amy Norman
Past President Steve Juntwait - $200.00 off at Cruise Planners, thanks to Jim Hoover
Sean George - Paul Harris Award Upgrade, thanks to PE Neil Angst
Kelly Shepard - One Year Membership to the YMCA, thanks to Kyla McNulty
Julie Herber - Everett Silver Tips Ticket Package, thanks to Jim Staniford
Past President Larry O’Donnell - $250.00 Amazon Gift Card, thanks to PE Neil
Cathy Woods - Dinner for four at any Anthony’s, thanks to Ser Jay De Los Angeles
PROGRAM:
Past President Larry our U.S House of Representative from Washington’s 2nd District Rick Larsen. Representative Larsen is the lead Democrat (Ranking Member) on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Representative Larsen thanked Rotary for what we do in our area for youth and for the community.
Bullet points from Representative Larsen’s talk included the following:
- The American Rescue Plan benefitted thousands of businesses in Washington State that helped them recover from the effects of the COVID pandemic.
- Federal grants are helping our Cities and Counties on projects like the $1,000,000.00 economic recovery grant that the City of Everett received and the Grant the County received to mend/replace a 100 year old dike near Stanwood.
- There are approximately 133,000 job openings in Washington State.
- The unemployment rate for Snohomish County is 3.7% and for the State is 4.6%.
- For the first time in over ten years a Bi-Partisan Transportation Bill passed that will provide funds for the next five-ten years for infrastructure work (this means jobs). This will help maintain local and worldwide economic vitality. This 1.2 Trillion Dollar (I don’t know how to show that written out) Bill will provide bridges, roads, etc. all over the country including 400+ bridges here in Washington.
- The Bill will also provide the State with money for projects at the Ports, Airports, Ferry System, FEMA projects, etc.
Questions for Representative Larsen:
- Jim Staniford asked about long lead items hampering his progress on a hotel project he has in for permitting.
- Representative Larsen said that COVID’s effect on the supply chain and slow production of and shipping of products is certainly evident but there is no evidence that company’s are holding back.
- Alli Sharp asked if the trestle on Highway 2 will be among the projects to be “fixed”.
- Representative Larsen said the State will receive the Federal money and it will be up to the State to decide what projects to fund with that money.
- Past President Will McMahon said his wife was a teacher and in some information she received in the mail it indicated that part of the teachers’ pension fund was funded by Federal Dollars.
- Representative Larsen said the Butch Lewis Act provided a “bailout” to fund multi-employer pension plans for thirty years (there is a lot more information about this Act on the internet). The bill was focused on strengthening those affected pensions.
- Jerry Tucker was worried about the recent failure of the bank in the Silicon Valley and how that may affect the failure of other banks.
- Representative Larsen said that the failure of the Silicon Valley bank doesn’t “feel” like the banking failures we witnessed in 2008. He said the Treasury Department will be insuring the depositors.
President Tammy thanked Representative Larsen for coming to our club today and sharing the information he presented to us.
NEXT PROGRAM:
Snohomish County Public Safety Update by Sherriff Adam Fortney
MEETING ADJOURNED:
President Tammy adjourned the meeting at 1:00 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Past President Andy Hall
Photography Submitted by.
Walt Greenwood
