Rotary Log 3/22/2016
The meeting opened with the Thought for the Day from Judge Eric Lucas. An excerpt: “Success is absolute if we truly believe that every child can succeed.”
Past President Mark Valentine followed with an acoustic version of “Don’t Think Twice”.
Sonja Ramirez from Honduras was introduced as a visiting Rotarian.
Guests for the day included Mary Wagener(?) and Andy Cole (?) introduced by EPS Superintendent Gary Cohn, and Ricardo Ramirez and Carry Oz(?) introduced by Wil McMahon.
Returning to active status with the club was Brian Hollingshead in the classification ‘Office Furniture – Sales’. His introduction was provided by Bill Dobler.
Announcements included a reminder of the upcoming Walk-a-Thon courtesy of Wil McMahon and a call for new members in the classifications Auto Rentals, Auto Wrecking, and Auto Repairs was made by Lyle Ryan.
A tidbit of Rotary history was provided by Larry O’Donnell: The origins of the junior college system in Washington had some of their early roots in Everett.
Jim Staniford announced that 3/22 was National Goof-Off Day. No word from President Deb as to whether that means that any absences from the meeting were automatically excused.
Jan Ellis is coordinated the Rotary student exchange. She is looking for host families for an inbound student who will be coming to our community in the 2016/17 Rotary year.
President Deb added two items: a condolence card was being made out for the family of Dwayne Lane and Amy Beil, wife of Bob Beil passed away. Her memorial service was to be held on 3/23.
Happy Dollars and Birthday Bucks included contributions from Larry O’Donnell,
Deane Minor,
Bob Dobler, Jerry Tucker,
Joe Clays, and Bill Dobler.
Raflle prizes went to Mark Valentine, Mark Nesse, and Randy Hansen.
The main program was introduced by Gary Cohn and featured the progress Everett Public Schools are making.
Ted Wente and
Caroline Mason shared that Everett Public Schools serve a district of 19,400 students with an annual budget of $250 million, and has made substantial progress despite several challenges. Of Everett students, 40% come from households with incomes below the poverty line. An estimated 606 students are identified as ‘Kids In Transition’ or homeless.
Despite these obstacles to student progress, EPS boasts a 4-year graduation rate of 90.2% and a 5-year graduation rate of 94.5%. Other areas of improvement include the growth in the number of students taking AP courses and accessing opportunities to accumulate college credits while still in high school.
An upcoming vote will determine the fate of a bond levy to support EPS.
The next BoD meeting is 3/24.
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