The nominations for our award this year included three wonderful examples of individuals who devote time and resources to our community in service to others. We are proud to announce the award this year has been presented to Cal and Joanne Bamford, nominated by member Phil Carter.
The Bamford's believe in giving back to their community, and their goal is to make it better for the future generations. They invest in higher education, youth and family services, basic needs and medical services. They strive to inspire thinking that will bring innovation, invigorate a region and make it attractive to businesses. They have been tireless in their commitment to make the Tacoma community a better place for families and businesses. The list of non-profits they support is extensive and their service to the community is a wonderful balance of their time as well as their financial resources. They have been recognized for their commitment to the community by the Boys and Girls Clubs and the University of Washington Tacoma. They are true servant leaders and are devoted and invested in making Tacoma a better place to live for all of us. They are wonderful examples of community leaders who exemplify our motto of Service Above Self.
Also nominated was Melannie Denise Cunningham whose nominator Jan Brazzell shared “Melannie embodies her “Tacoma’s Peace Queen” moniker. She’s particularly effective as a tireless, passionate advocate for racial justice because she demonstrates love, acceptance, openness, and patience with everyone – no matter where we are in the journey.” Melannie eagerly and generously reaches out to people of diverse cultures, ethnicities, religions and backgrounds bringing them together to achieve understanding and shared purpose. In 2018 she was the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize Laureate.
Erin Guinup was nominated by Diane Tilstra who shared that Erin has dedication and determination to invite refugees, new immigrants and community members to sing in an non-auditioned choir that has seen over 52 different countries represented. She raises the needed funds to keep the choir free to participants and concerts free to the community. She walks her talk each and every day in her quest to create community that represents ALL the people who live here. She recently produced this wonderful music video.
We have been thinking of each and every one of you as we navigate this public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully you are well and taking good care of yourself, your families and your friends and neighbors.
The physical, emotional and economic toll of this crisis is just beginning to be understood, and each of us are experiencing this in varied ways. Some of you have had to lay off workers and some of you may find yourself on an unanticipated leave from work, none of us can fully understand the pain that you might be feeling. Many of us in Tacoma #8 are small business owners and we are empathetic of the impact to your client work and hope these hardships end soon.
As you know, weekly meetings are cancelled through April 2, and unfortunately probably longer. We will also postpone the May 2 auction and look to a future date when we can gather to celebrate the great work we have accomplished and will continue to do in the coming year. We are looking at innovative ways that we can stay connected.
Online programming: We are busy researching options with the expectation that we will be able to provide links for educational and informative presentations during these weeks when we are not together. We will work to include videos of our members and how each are filling their days. This should be fun!
Phone calls. Yes we still know how to pick up the phone and have a chat! Please expect to receive a call from one of us in the coming weeks to check in, because we miss you and we want to see how you are doing!
Social media & technology: We will utilize social media to stay connected during this period. Our committees are meeting using teleconference and video conference, and some are becoming our resident experts! The board meeting will also be conducted using social media. We encourage you to join our private Facebook page and share pictures and comments.
In closing, our highest priority is to safeguard the health of our members and to preserve the incredible community we call Tacoma # 8. This club has survived many difficult times over our 110 years. As we celebrated our anniversary in January, we continue to have the commitment and confidence that we will weather this storm with your support. Please stay in touch and let us know your thoughts.
With sincerest wishes for your good health,
Your Board of Directors
Living in a Virtual Rotary World
by President Elect Kathryn Nelson
Who said we old dogs can’t learn new tricks? I have been amazed at how seamlessly we are continuing to be People of Action while in the throes of the pandemic. On March 18 at 4 pm I attended our Rotary Auction Committee meeting with some ten people on a Go to Meeting platform lead by Sharon Benson and Christina Turner which allowed computer and/or phone ins. On March 19 at 7 am, Barry Benson and Fred Matthaei led the International Committee meeting (aka World Service) with ten members and guest speaker Jeff Pritchard on a Google Hangouts platform, again computer or phone. All could follow as Jeff showed a slide presentation on the Malaria Prevention Project in the Copperbelt Province of Zimbabwe, Africa. I had the Covid-19 statistics in mind, about 10,000 deaths worldwide to date, when he told us Malaria claims 435,000 people per year worldwide. 90+% of those deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa, and mostly to young children. Later at 12 noon that same day, Chris Serface chair of Rotary Communications Committee, Maria Harlow and Jacki Farrar of Engagement, Kim Bedier, President Elect Nominee, and a Programs Chairperson, and Board Member Christina Turner and I met on Zoom in the same way. Stay tuned for all that Rotary will be doing to help others and enjoy fellowship during these extraordinary times!
We know that all committees continue to do their great work, we have Scholarship Committee members meeting with our student applicants virtually and the Grants Committee members scoring and reviewing applications as well. We know that our RYE Committee is busy planning for our inbound and outbound students. Please contact Christina, Chris or Maria if you would like suggestions on how to keep your committee work moving forward using some new tools.
Virtual True Confessions!
by Christina Turner
Just because we aren’t meeting in-person, doesn’t mean we don’t want to hear what’s happening in your life! Do you have a true confession you’d like to share? Let’s make use of our private Facebook group! Post a video sharing your true confession on our Tacoma #8 Members Facebook group or send Kathi what you’d like to share! Then, contact the office to pay for your true confession. Let’s stay in touch while we are at home and social distancing! If you need help, feel free to reach out to Christina Turner at cmturner812@icloud.com
From Past President Becky Fontaine -Why patients need blood
Rotarians are People of Action and as such this new normal of social distancing and working from home is challenging for all of us. Wanting and needing to help is in our DNA and at this time there are things that you can do to continue to serve our community.
The single largest message the American Red Cross has right now, is asking for those people who are healthy to donate blood especially as the COVID-19 situation continues to intensify. "The cancellations are really adding up," said Gail McGovern, president and chief executive officer, American Red Cross. "In normal times, we have 13,000 people a day donating blood and we rely on all these daily donations to keep the blood supply going. We're trying to avoid a crisis here."
But it is not just the American Red Cross that is in need. Most of the nation’s blood suppliers are reporting they are collecting fewer units than normal. It is about giving blood – no matter which provider you use. Here isthe link for Cascade Regional Blood services which takes you to a page to set an appointment. For the American Red Cross use this link to find out about blood drives in the area.
Our American Red Cross chapter is putting together possible lists of organizations that might be able to help with meal delivery or other tasks that the homebound will require as time goes on. We have told them to add our club members as a possible resource. Looking for other ideas of ways you can help? If you must go to the grocery/pharmacy/hardware store, ask your neighbor if they need anything especially if they are elderly or have underlying health issues. If you use any of the apps that pull neighborhoods together (such as Nextdoor or Neighbors by Ring) take action when something pops up that you can do, Support the local restaurants by purchasing take-out. Don’t want to pick it up -UberEATS, Door Dash or other delivery services are available.
Above all take care of yourself – set a routine, take a walk, eat healthy and wash your hands!
Sherri Stanton, co-chair of our Literacy Committee is wearing her work and volunteer hat every day. KBTC is busy delivering food, activity worksheets and books to the neediest areas of our community. We have about 300 books in the office that still need to be labeled for the Little Free Libraries and they are being used now more than ever! If you want to drop by the office and spend some time labeling please call and we will arrange a time. Staff at KBTC are labeling our books and Sherri also could use a volunteer or two to deliver the books to Reach Out and Read Clinics. Additionally, one of our little libraries was accidentally hit by a vehicle and needs to be rebuilt and re-installed please contact Sherri directly if you can help at sstanton@batestech.edu.
Welcome to our new members in February
Zach Entwistle joined our club on February 20. He grew up in upstate New York where he graduated from Syracuse University with a Mechanical Engineering degree. After college, he joined the US Air Force which brought him to Washington state. After earning the rank of Captain and finishing his tour of duty in 2003, he decided to start his practice as a realtor. Today, he is 1 of 3 realtors in Washington certified to work with real estate sales for parties in a divorce, requiring special skills. In his free time, Zach likes hanging out with his 2 sons, playing sports, reading, and exploring national parks. He joined Rotary to spend time with like minded business people who want to change the world!
Kathleen Sande joined the club on February 6, although many of us have become familiar with Kathleen over the years as she has attended auctions and recently has been at meetings to be Grandma to baby Harper Mae Duris. Her father was a Rotarian in the Aberdeen. She is a native of Washington, and was born in Spokane, attended a variety of colleges, and finished her degree at WWU as a single parent of three with a BA in English 20 years after beginning. She has had a varied work career including in the Law Library at Weyerhaeuser Company, at Olympic College and for the Dept. of Corrections and the Supt. of Public Instruction. Her passion is helping to improve systems. She retired 2 years ago, and moved to Bremerton after the sudden death of her husband. Her interest in Rotary developed as she enjoyed hearing about the activities of the club, the social aspect and appreciates learning from outstanding speakers.
LET'S STAY CONNECTED
During this time when we can't see each other at meetings every week let's use our private Facebook page to share with one another what each of us are doing to fill our days. If you haven't signed up please use this link to join!
WHAT'S MISSING???
We are looking for a new date for the auction and with the uncertainties of our time we are trying to coordinate schedules with the Murano, our Auctioneer and our AV and lighting experts. The auction committee is hopeful that we will be able to land a date and continue our planning for another wonderful event. The subcommittee's are working hard so you may hear from someone asking how you will help us this year.
As you know, the auction provides the funds we need to support the work of our committees including Grants, Scholarships, World Services, Projects, Literacy, Rotary Youth Exchange and Interact. Last year the Raise the Paddle Funds provided additional resources for our largest committee's and we saw the effect recently when the Grants Committee presented a $25,000 check to the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound to support their LIFT Program, consisting of components intended to support the whole family; reduce institutional barriers that exist for low-income families, deepen the understanding of the trauma faced by Club members and their families, and enhance our social/emotional learning practice in the work at the Schatz (South Tacoma) and Milgard Family Eastside branches (East Tacoma). The program provides services in the areas of character and leadership, academic success and healthy life styles including healthy food. Your generosity last year continues to change and impact lives!
E-Clubs - An option for you!
Have you ever tried to join a meeting through one of the e-clubs around the world? Below are some links. The first option is for the recently formed e-club in our district.
--Leading the National Anthem & Four Way Test --Giving the Moment of Reflection --Assisting with Audio/Visual --Greeter and Roving Mic --Sponsoring a meeting
The Gearshift is a weekly publication to inform you about current happenings in the Rotary Club of Tacoma #8. We meet on Thursday at the Yacht Club, 5401 Yacht Club Road, Tacoma, WA.
Noon - 1:00 pm Except on the 2nd Thursdays when we meet in the evening at a member's business.
The Rotary Office is located at:
1001 Yakima Ave, Suite 9A
Tacoma, Washington 98405
MAILING ADDRESS:
PO Box 1777
Tacoma, Washington 98401-1777
