Soundings (4/7/09)

Announcements: Just-about-President Tonja announced that she and Bill Gorman had attended the Rotary District Assembly in Surrey last Saturday, and she was able to pick up a lot of information that will be shared during her year (7/1/'09 - 6/30/'10); one of those items was the announcement about the District 5050 Conference which will be held in Chilliwack, British Columbia (that would be Canada, of course!) on May 28-31, and the theme will be a 'rip-snortin' Western sort of threee days, and we are all encouraged to be there and have a great time. Our Club will front for the Registration for you and your spouse, and particularly, all incoming Board members are encouraged to be there --- as well as the rest of us, of course!  Another announcement that was not made was the fact that our President Tim was not there because he went to the first two days of the Masters when they had there practice rounds! 

Bucks in the Bay: A number of members rose to the ocassion to admit to certain events that had come into their lives during the past week, and Phil Hageman (one of our former illustrious Presidents)  was the first to come to the Podium and admit that he and his wife had spent the past 8 or 9 days on the Kona Coast of Hawaii, and while there relaxing in the sun and whatever, they managed to see Scot Swanson who was spending some of his hard earned legal fees on the beach; then, Patti Imhof appeared at the front, and put some dollars in the bucket that were left over from her birthday bash in Hawaii to announce that St. Joseph's Hospital had been recognized nationally as one of the best run Institutions in the Country---and, Patti put another $20 in the pot to let us all know that her Company, Imco (well, Frank also owns some of it too!)  had received recognition as one of the outstanding Companies in the State of Washington---Congratulations, Patti (and Frank); Tresha Dutton then came up to show off her newly acquired tan that was donated to her when she spent some days down there in Mexico in the sun; Scot (spelled with  just one "T) then appeared, and he affirmed the fact that he too saw Phil and his wife on the Kona Coast--seems that the Lawyers and Builders have entirely too much money to be able to take this kind of trip!!; Curt Smith (also one of our past illustrious Presidents) put a few well earned retirement bucks in the can to let us know that in the next week or two, he would be giving us a program on his book, "The Brothels of Bellingham". He did not mention that possibly one of the Madams of the past may very well be there to watch Curt in action!; Mimi Ferlin was more than pleased to show off her grandson, Porter, and that cost a dollar or two (by the way, one of our members suggested that Porter was the great grandson of Mimis, but that just ain't keerect!); the  "Fun Guy" Eddie Hansen put some sheckles into the container, and that was to announce that John Templeton had obtained a good offer for Eddie's home, and more would be in the near future if the sale goes thru;

Joel Hile stood before us with that certain smile to announce that he had just purchased a brand spankin' new Miyata with the rag top---nothing like sporting that vehicle around town with all of the sun that appears in this part of 'sunny' Washington (some 27 days per year!); also, Bill Gorman mentioned that he had been  in California recently, and while there, he made up at one of the Rotary Clubs----they were selling tickets for their annual fund raising event entitled "Testicle Festival" say what? I have no idea what that might mean, but I do know that this is Rotary, and Bill, what have you said? (the Editors of the Soundings will be checking this one out and bring more info to the Club---might be easier than Grapes & Gourmet as a fund (fun) raiser!; Chip Hilarides donated a few of his dollars to make amends for missing a few meetings---seems that Chip has been hitting many states with his new position. Well, there were more who came to the front with money, but I couldn't take any more notes after hearing about that "Testicle" thing!

Sergeant at Arms: This task was headed by that other Templeton member, Lynn. First of all, Lynn said that any member not wearing a Rotary pin was to gently place one dollar on the table---there was one female member who searched her purse for a pin, but could'nt locate one, and she then placed four quarters on the table---that'll teach ya! Bill Gorman was asked to place a confederate two dollar bill on the table for using that word, "Testicle" in mixed company; Mayor Dan and County Supervisor Pete were directed to place two bucks on the table just because it FELT GOOD to do that!; then came some questions about who the lead singer was for the Chiffons or the Sherrells or some unknown singing group of the 50's, and we all hit a blank on that one. Well, maybe Curt Smith knew it, but he was saving his energy for the Book review that will be taking place soon!; Patti Imhof was asked to tell all of us how many touchdowns the Mariners had scored last evening, and she said that it was runs, dummy, not touchdowns---that insolence cost her a Fiver. It was noted that G. Dennis Archer (our lifetime Club Secretary) was dressed rather casually today, and that was not acceptable---place two bucks on the table, G. Dennis; Chuck Walters was hit for a dollar or two for not being at the Masters this year (for those of you who do not know what 'the Masters' is, well, that has something to do with the game of golf). Lynn noted that the two best dressed members this day were his brother, John Templeton and his restauranteur friend, Anna Williams -- no charge for that sartorial elegance that was displayed for all to note. Some of the well healed members were identified for having a new car, and those were Dave Ennen, Joel Hile, Steve Brummell and Curt (one of our illustrious past Presidents) Smith. There were others who were fined for some karn-sarn reason or tother, and those included Mimi, Tresha, Phil, Orphalee and others.

The Program

Roger Hunt, Solicitor General of the Bellingham Golf and Country Club (actually, Roger heads the New Member Services, and he is a past Rotarian of many years) was our well informed speaker, and he related more facts than anyone ever knew about the history of this fine institution. Actually, the history goes back some 137 years, and as the time progressed, many changes took place. It turns out that the golf course  is one of the finest in this part of Washington, and if you have ever played the 18, you would certainly know that. Barry Kramer, who was not there to hear about the competition, was probably boycotting the lecture -- just kidding! The Country Club offers many more things than just Golf--meeting places, excellent food and beverage, swimming, a great golf technology shop as well as a golf pro-shop, wine events and even monthly cooking seminars taught by none other than Chef Michael Hannah. The tennis courts were destroyed many years ago, so head for the local high school if you need to bat a ball  over a net. Many pro celebrities have played the course in the past, including the one and only Bob Hope (actually, he was not a golf pro!). There are memberships available if you are interested, and compared to the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, you would get a bargain!

Board of Directors Meeting: Tonja announced that the Board of Directors would be meeting on Thursday, 9 April at 0730 hours at the Sehome IHOP, and realizing that this Soundings will be coming  after that moment in history, I think it would be appropriate to relate some of the happenings that went on during the meeting. The meeting convened about 0740 by President Tim (who just made it back from the Masters---if you don't know what the Masters is, please refer to  the explanation noted in the 'Sergeant at Arms' paragraph), and last month's minutes written elegantly by our Lifelong Secretary, G. Dennis Archer were approved. Then came the report from Treasurer, Orphalee Smith, and she noted that the coffers were improving because of a few bucks being transferred from one spot to another as well as the push by the Sergeant at Arms. Reports were given by the four Directors, to include Christine Palmerton, Club Service, Stephanie Sadler
(Tim gave her report because she is off hunting buffalo in Montana), Youth & Vocational Service; Matt Rose, Community Service and Director of International Service, Stew Ellison (and his report was presented by that ever able President, Tim McEvoy).

President Tim related some information regarding a project that has been proposed for all five Whatcom County Rotary Clubs, and that would be to assist the Rotary Club of Copan, Honduras, to build an adequate restroom for the local school. It would take about $30,000, and hopefully, all of the Clubs would kick in $6,000 each. By the sound of it, a project well deserved and one that would qualify as an International Project. For more information on this particular project, we will have Bob Moles explain it one of these days. Also,the Board discussed the transition of leadership, and that will occur on 1 July 2009, when Tim McEvoy steps down and Tanja Myers takes over the helm. Two of the Board Members will retire, and they will be replaced by Lance Calloway and Zachary Jones.

What it means to be a BBRC Member: Another item that was discussed at this particular Board Meeting was attendance; it seems that many of the Club Members are not keeping up their attendance as they should. The requirement is to attend at least 60% of the meetings at the very minimum, and many of the members are not doing that. If a member misses more than three meeting consecutively, they could be asked to leave the Club---and this we most definitely do not want to do. Many members do not get involved with any of the Club's projects, do not attend meetings and do not pay their dues as they should. Probably, those of you who fall into this situation, know who you are, and we ask that you assist by improving your attendance and your commitment as a Rotarian, and that would be SERVICE ABOVE SELF. We will be having another Club Assembly soon, and perhaps we can discuss the above at that meeting, and bring more clarification to the subject.  We hope that you have a great day, and if you have any input, contact the Editor of this 'bang-up' sheet, Stowe Talbot, or our President.

Have a meaningful Easter,

Respectfully submitted,

Stan Dyer