Today is World Chocolate Day which celebrates the introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550.  This relates to Walt Greenwood’s German relative’s bakery which undoubtably benefited from that introduction. (See Happy Dollars below).

 

President Kari Petrasek led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and into our 1st meeting of the year and our 5,652^nd meeting of the Rotary Club of Everett. There were 32+/- Rotarians, guests, and 1 ZOOMER in attendance.

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Past President John Olson said that he and fellow committee member Past President Larry O’Donnell shared 9-10 history minutes with us last year.  President Kari asked if they would do this again this year and John quickly agreed, mostly because he figured P.P. Larry needs to brush up on his presentation skills if he expects to run for club president again.  As P.P. John was writing his remarks for today (filled with insight and wisdom and a touch of inspiration), it dawned on him that just maybe he and P.P. Larry may not know everything about our club’s history, or what they know may not be how other club members remember what happened. At the point P.P. John deleted all he had written for today’s historical thought and instead told us the plan for this year.

 

This year, besides P.P.’s John and Larry more club members will be invited up to talk about our history. They want to hear from members who were here when significant historical events were happening.  And even better, let’s hear from club members who were here when some really mundane things were going on to make us feel better about where we are now.

 

If you have been in the club for more than a year, don’t be surprised if you’re asked to participate.  P.P.’s John and Larry will give you some structure or guidelines (no open mic).  The key is to stick to the time limit – one minute exactly, even if the next sentence one has is absolutely brilliant, like this next one…oops, time’s up.

 

Jerry Tucker introduced Brandon Olson a fellow broker within Windermere Commercial Real Estate.

 

Past President Mark Valentine asked if there are any other musicians within our group that would like to join the music committee.  If so, please contact P.P. Mark.

 

There will be a community coffee hour on Wednesday July 8^th at the Velvet Sip, at 2707 Colby.

 

Past President Kelli Thode said that the next blood drive will be held in August. As of this date over 600 units of blood have been donated since we started these blood drives. 

 

Janice Ellis gave us a breakdown of the farewell picnic for our exchange student Hakumi that was held on July 2^nd.  Hakumi will be flying home to Japan on July 9^th.

 

P. P. Kelli gave an award to Marybeth Dingledy for her 2 years of service on the Board of Directors and she presented Jim Schrader with a Service above Self award for his leadership, along with Past President Greg Tisdal, in resurrecting the Rotary Park cleanup.

 

President Kari notified all of us that if you don’t wear a Rotary pin or wear clothes with a Rotary emblem, you will be fined.  The fines will be $10.00.  You will have an opportunity before each meeting to purchase a pin.

 

Walt Greenwood was happy to have spent several weeks in Europe tracking down relatives in Germany.  His great grandfather was a baker with the last name was Burkard.  Low and behold the Burkard Bakery is still a thriving business. He was able to spend 2 days with “family” and learned more about his relatives.

 

Mark Johnson and P.P. Kelli were both happy to celebrate their July birthdays which happened to fall on the same day.

 

Janice gave some sad dollars in hearing of the passing of Paul Roberts who was passionate about Everett City Government and the environment.  He was also a past member of our club.

 

Ashley Bolden returned from a vacation to Powell River, BC.  She wanted to attend a Rotary meeting but it was a holiday in Canada the Monday the local club usually meets, but Ashley persevered and met a member of the club who invited Ashley to her farm where they visited, exchanged club banners, and played with the farm’s pigs.

 

Krissy Davis called out the following winning tickets.

 

Winner number 1 – Henry Janicki, wine

 

Winner number 2 – Jerry Tucker, Hot cocoa

 

Winner number 3 – Will McMahan, Green Tea

 

President Kari introduced Zac Anderson and Grace Stensland from the SnoCo CASA program. They are both supervisors in the program and they provided us with the following overview of what CASA is and does.

 

The Snohomish County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program is a nonprofit initiative that recruits, trains, and supports volunteer advocates to represent the best interests of abused, neglected, or abandoned children in the county’s court system.

 

The program’s vision is that “every child who needs a voice has a CASA to advocate for their best interests, a forever home, and a bright future”. CASA volunteers act as sworn court officers who gather fact-based information about a child’s situation and make recommendations to the court on matters such as reunification with parents, living with relatives, guardianship, or adoption.

 

To serve as a CASA volunteer an applicant must:

CASA volunteers

Beyond court advocacy, the CASA Program engages in community initiatives, such as literacy projects, to support children in foster care. 

 

To get involved interested individuals can:

CASA Wonder Room.

Dan Eernissee, Director of Economic Development, City of Everett

 

President Kari adjourned the meeting at 12:56 PM

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Photography Submitted,