Members were warmly greeted by Stephen Bighaus and Roy Yates.

 

 

President Steve opened the meeting (#28 and #5333) with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Members remained standing while Will McMahan offered a sensitive prayer for our Thought of the Day.

 

Roy Yates acknowledged guests:

 

Sheldon Johnson, general manager of the Delta Hotel by Marriott and guest of Ed Peterson

 

and Patrice Harden, guest of Steve Miller.

 

March 1^st: Everett Silvertips Fellowship; fundraiser for Dawson’s Place

 

Brian Hollingshead announced - February 13^th: Happy Hour Social, 5 pm – 7 pm, Courtyard by Marriott Everett and February 19^th: Fellowship Fireside at Kelli Thode’s home

 

Will McMahan encouraged us to extend invitations to help grow our Club.

 

May 2: Snohomish County Convoy of Hope will offer medicines, food, etc. to those in need

 

We welcomed back Ryan Casey from his military service!

 

Heads up: Our Rotary Club does not have a fax machine

 

Glen Bachman:  reelected Everett Port Commissioner

 

Michael Kvistad:  has Girl Scout cookies and are available to purchase

 

Kelli Thode:  enjoyed a great vacation

 

Greg Lineberry:  February is our Club’s fundraising time and we’ll have great prizes and advised us to follow all Coronavirus precautions

 

Tammy Dunn: big tennis names in Everett February 7 & 8, as the US team vs. Latvia

 

Tina Gilson:  big thank you to Larry Jubie for auctioning his car to benefit Providence Hospital and agreed with Greg about the seriousness of the Coronavirus

 

George Bowden:  Panama trip for healing is April 1-2 and Dominican Republic trip to distribute wheelchairs is April 3-12

 

Tom Koenig:  thought George will be out of the country to gain more intelligence – HaHa!

 

 

Winners for today’s raffle:

 

Gail Larsen: candy & wine

 

Jim Schrader: daffodils, candy & wine

 

Cathy Woods: candy, wine and free lunch

 

Thanks go to the group of Rotarians I sat with.  All were helpful with names – even those I already knew!

Quite a group of characters!

 

“A Sound Transit Update” presented by CEO Peter Rogoff,

 

introduced by Corey Margolis

 

Washington’s Sound Transit is the largest rail expansion in the country, serving a region of over 3.8 million people.  Total of 83 miles will be commuter rail.  Traffic has nearly doubled the past 6 years.    Funding comes from state sales tax, DOV motor vehicle excise tax and property tax. 

 

The Northgate Station is almost ready!  By the end of 2024, a true network will be in place, with 60 miles of rail, 44 stations and 2 separate rail lines.  One line will go to the eastside, the other southbound to SeaTac.

 

Light rail is a huge economic catalyst for business growth.  Two examples:  Amazon will be 1 block near the Bellevue station; a 16-story building is planned to be by the Lynnwood station.  Both will result in more jobs.

 

The 16.3-mile extension link from Lynnwood to Everett will begin in 2024.  Snohomish County will have 6 new stations on Evergreen Way and Downtown.  A typical commute from Everett to Seattle now takes 60 minutes.  Travel time will lessen considerably; currently it’s considered one of the worst commutes in the nation!  Sound Transit and Community Transit work co-operatively to ensure good geographic coverage and less duplication. 

 

Peter graciously answered questions at the end of his presentation. 

 

President Steve thanked Peter, guests and contributors. And adjourned the meeting. Rotary Connects the World.      

Respectfully submitted,

 

Photography by,

 

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