Vice President Kari Petrasek called to order meeting #5385 of the Rotary Club of Everett; virtual meeting #32

 

Janice Ellis brought us the Thought of the Day quoting from a poem titled Pandemic, written by Lynn Unger in March 2020.

 

Greg Lineberry then led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Greg Lineberry introduced guest Don Schwab.

 

Sonya Kraski updated the club on the fundraiser. The fundraising goal is $60,000 and is now at $20,000+. There are great prizes, so please participate!

 

Fred Safstrom led off Happy Dollars with $20 for receiving the COVID vaccine.

 

Ed Rubatino had $100 birthday bucks.

 

 

Josh O’Connor presented today’s program to the club. Josh is the publisher of the Everett Daily Herald. He mentioned that he had presented this program to the Economic Alliance Snohomish County this morning.

 

The program discusses the media’s role as the 4^th Estate. Print media has suffered over the years. Several local papers are going away. 2000+ papers have closed since 2004. There has been a massive transfer of content to online platforms. Google and Facebook command 77% of digital advertising. The press still does play an active role in keeping government accountable. The Everett Daily Herald is the 4^th largest daily paper in Washington, reaching almost every reader in Snohomish County. They are developing a sustainable business model transferring content to a digital platform.   

 

Phil O’Connor then spoke about investigative journalism and environmental journalism. Through investigative journalism, The Herald was able track down a local man who stormed the US capital.

 

Josh then discussed Snohomish 100, a program that invites local people to contribute their opinions once or twice a year, 250-400 words. Contact Josh if you are interested in participating. Ask yourself “What do I most want the people of Snohomish County to know?”

 

Josh and Phil then entertained questions from the membership. Josh also gave $100 happy bucks in celebration of Hopeworks anniversary. He also mentioned the Don Senter painting behind him called Shift Baseball in honor of an unfortunate misspelling that had appeared in The Herald.

 

VP Kari thanked Josh and Phil with a donation in their name to the Everett Boys and Girls Club. She also thanked Josh and Ed for the bell ringers. She then adjourned the meeting.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

            

Photography Submitted,