We had another dedicated group of volunteers working at EFN on Saturday. Thanks so much to Carolyn Else, Whitney Grisaffi, Maria Harlow, Donna Haynes (and Paul) Gil Quante, Steve Smith (and Mike) and their fearless leader Jim Whitacre!

Wow, the generosity continues to flow with almost $45,000 in gifts and pledges received to date.  t's never too late to turn in your pledge form. Check out this impressive  Honor Roll of Donors!

 

We need your travel size and full size items.  We support the families at Tree House, those experiencing homelessness, YWCA survivors of abuse, and more.  Keep them coming.  The need is always there. 

 

Shampoo, soap, conditioner, lotion, shower gel, razors, shave cream, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, makeup, hair brush, comb, feminine products or anything you would need if you find yourself in a crisis.   

 

See Maria Harlow for delivery or questions.  

WANT TO HELP AT A ROTARY MEETING?

There are clipboards at every meeting for you to sign up to help out!

UPCOMING RELATIONSHIP BUILDING SOCIALS

The Fellowship/Relationship Building Committee invites all members of Tacoma #8 to join them on Thursdays at 5 pm. These socials are a great way to meet some new Rotarians or catch up with old friends. Pandakas, these meetings will fulfill your "social" requirement prior to graduation and, for all members, it’s fun!

President Mark Anderson rang the bell and Melissa Malott, Citizens for a Healthy Bay provided the invocation and Rachel Cardwell, University of Puget Sound led us in the National Anthem accompanied by Libby Catalinich, Pierce County, on the piano, followed by the 4 way Test. President Mark announced this week’s meeting sponsor, Whitney Grisaffi of Ted Brown Music Company. President Mark asked visiting Rotarians to please stand and introduce themselves followed by guests of members. Mics were passed by Joan Engle, Cascade Park Communities and Rick Olson, Fix-It Wizard who jumped in to help. 

President Mark provided an introduction for our guest speaker Kim Wyman.  Secretary Wyman opened with a lengthy and very comical joke to entertain and engage our Rotary crowd.  She then went into some of the issues facing the Secretary of State’s office which include elections, Russian hacking and enlightening us on one of the roles you might not image housed at the Secretary of the State.  Secretary Wyman indicated that currently in this election cycle there are no state wide initiatives on the ballot (which raised a small cheer from the crowd) which has not occurred for the past 20 years, but there are a number of items on the local ballot.  She gave us the facts regarding voter turnout in odd year elections, which indicates only approximately 12% of the voters decide the election for the population, what to take from that?!  Get out there and vote, because these elections are those that impact us on an everyday basis and are very important if you want to be heard.  Secretary Wyman let us know that earlier this year she had battled cancer, but at the moment looks like a positive prognosis, congratulations!!  She then went on to address the rumors of Russian hacking during the election.  She indicated that their firewalls did infact feel the testing from suspicious IP addresses, however the firewalls which have been built over the last 20 years protected the integrity of the system and no impact was felt to Washington State voters.  They also have over 7,000 individuals across the country which monitor voting and ballots, thus it would be nearly impossible for these individuals to collude to provide an impact or sway an election.  One item that is housed with the Secretary of the State is our Washington State history.  The SOS has archives back to the pioneer days and does its best to keep our history alive by putting on displays such as the soon to be displayed history regarding Washington State and the Vietnam War.  After the presentation there were a number of interesting and thought provoking questions presented by Rotary members.

Whitney Grisaffi of Ted Brown Music was provided time at the podium as this week’s meeting sponsor.  She provided a plethora of products you might find or be interested in finding at Ted Brown Music.  Thank you Whitney! 

Rick Olson, The Fix It Wizard celebrated 2 of the 5 birthday celebrants this week. Joining us were John Schneider and Randy Melquist. We missed Kurt Hull, Steve Bader and Ali Criss. Anniversaries this week included; Michael Thompson and Missy Zenczak - 2 years, Susan Barbeau and Dona Ponepinto - 3 years, Ali Criss - 7 years, Marion Sharp  - 11 years and two long tenured members who joined us, Linn Larsen - 35 years and Joe Gordon, Jr. - 48 years!!

Don Doman announced the next Culture Vulture event which will be at Tacoma Little Theatre on September 30^th at 7:30, call the office to reserve tickets, they are a bargain at $15! 

True Confessions included a visit to Boston, a trip to Seabrook and an amazing Orca sighting in the Bay!

President Mark thanked our speaker today, Secretary of State Wyman, as well as our meeting sponsor, Whitney Grisaffi, Ted Brown Music company.  There is no social scheduled for this evening, but make sure to attend next week as we will host six (6) other Pierce County Rotary Clubs as we enjoy hearing from our District Governor Tom Carroll. Mark ended the meeting with his motto for this year  "Live Rotary!”.