President Carol rang in the meeting at 12:03. Stephen Deal offered an invocation, emphasizing the importance of even small acts of kindness. Monique Valenzuela of Youth Marine Foundation led the national anthem and 4 way test. President Carol took a couple of important moments to remind us of the precautions we need to take to minimize the impact of the coronavirus: wash often, no touching, sneeze into your elbow, stay home if not feeling well. By now most of us know the proper steps; it’s just a matter of remembering! Missy Zenczak Candler (United Way) and Kim Bedier (City of Tacoma) carried the mics for visiting Rotarians and visitors, of which there were many, including a number of prospective members as well as several family members of our speaker, Chris Henderson. As meeting sponsor, Becky Fontaine, celebrated Red Cross month (March) telling the club that the Red Cross is one of the oldest organizations in US (founded 1881). Red Cross has 6 major areas of focus (now, including COVID 19.) May 2nd is a date to put on our calendars, not just for our auction in the evening but during the morning to help Red Cross install smoke alarms in homes where needed. In addition, after the meeting we as a club will be assembling “comfort kits” for active duty military, reservists and veterans. Jennifer Weddermann made a paid announcement for an upcoming event for Tacoma Youth Symphony. Club anniversaries were then celebrated: Tony Belot (2 years), Tina Vasen (2 years), Carla Santorno (7 years), Andrew Imholt (9 years), Ann Voves (21 years), and Pamela Transue (30 years). Gil Quante celebrated birthdays for the month of March. The question he put to each of the celebrants was: “What pearl of wisdom will you share with newer Rotarians.” Bill Duppenthaler said to think of Rotary meetings as divine appointments. Kirsten Willis suggested we all remember to register for every meeting to keep her mom (and our club administrator) Kathi from having heart attack every week as she compiles a list of those needing lunch. Missy Zenczak Candler suggested signing up for business expo or sponsoring a meeting. She also suggested meeting as many members as possible. Jerry McLaughlin feels fortunate to be from the area. John West got a poem from Pamela Transue in 2009 and recently found the poem suggesting God gave him nothing he wanted but everything he needed. Buck Thompson was president 37 years ago when there were no women in the club, and today the club has become so much better since women have joined! Tracy Peacock reminded us to never judge a book by its cover. And to remember you can always find common ground with others issues, they are cancelling. Sherri Stanton is exploring other options for next week’s Thursday at 5 and will announce when she has a plan. Auction Chair Sharon Benson (Windermere Real Estate) offered recognition to members who have stepped forward with sponsorships. Two particularly noteworthy sponsors are Financial Insights with a $10,000 sponsorship and Timberland Bank at $7,500, along with others who were recognized. Sharon then reminded us to take a sponsorship form from the blue folders and to fill it out, encouraging us all to be superheros. Procurement is, as usual a key to a successful auction. (those forms were in the folders too.) We still need items to be donated to the auction. Think outside the box. And finally she reminded us to buy a few $50 raffle tickets. The winner will get $1000! Scarves Up Sounders Fans!! Past President Jim Henderson introduced his nephew, Chris Henderson, of the Seattle Sounders with the following facts about Chris and the Sounders. On November 10, 2019, the Seattle Sounders defeated Toronto FC to win the 2019 MLS Cup. Kelvin Leerdam, Victor Rodriguez and Raul Ruidiaz all scored for Seattle as the Rave Green captured its second championship in four seasons. A raucous crowd of 69,274 provided the largest stand-alone attendance for a sporting event in the history of Century Link Field and also was the largest for a soccer match in the history of Washington state. Our speaker is the Seattle Sounders Vice President of Soccer and Sporting Director, as he assists the team’s General Manager in all areas of soccer operations, including scouting, player management, coaching decisions and the club’s youth system. He is regarded as one of the most successful soccer players ever produced by the state of Washington, having represented the U.S. at the international level 79 times and winning championships in both the MLS (with Kansas City) and NCAA, at UCLA. He played 11 seasons for five different MLS teams and his 80 regular season assists is #10 all time and finished his career with 51 goals. He is an inductee in the UCLA Hall of Fame, was National High School Gatorade Soccer Player of the Year and at age 19, was the youngest member of the US roster in the 1990 World Cup. He was recently inducted into the Washington State Soccer Hall of Fame, along with his father Dick. Chris talked about the 2019 MLS title game, and how he scours the world to find the talent that keeps the Sounders at or near the top of the MLS. Chris began by thanking his Dad, Past President Jim Henderson’s brother, for his support as Chris honed skills in soccer. A big deal is the little things like attitude. Can teach skills but not attitude. Chris travels the globe in search of talent –talent with the right attitude. South Korea’s Kim Jin Won is a good example as presented in a video shown to the club. The video spotlighted as an example soccer in South Korea where the sport is a relatively new phenomenon. While we as fans often focus on the star, Chris emphasized the need and importance to focus on teamwork. The Sounders looks for a balanced player. Chris travels the world, spending 3-4 months every year away from home. Having done scouting and selection for 12 years, Chris says he is coming to understand key cultural differences. Japanese players always strive for perfection (the concept of continuous improvement, or Kaizen is a key element of their culture). Koreans are sturdier and strong. Japanese are more technical. Icelandic players feel like they are the underdog…tough and strong. Tacoma Defiance is the next project. Eventually all Sounders will come through Tacoma’s local club for which the Sounder organization is hoping to get a stadium built. Last year the team started working with 8-9 teenagers and signed 3 of them to the Sounders team At the end of his talk, Chris offered an auction experience—a chance to visit training for 5 or six people during which Chris will serve as host and explain expectations etc. Our auction winners will also be able to get autographs. Next Chris fielded questions from the club, for example how does the organization support a new player, say, from Korea when they don’t speak language? They help them with all the acclimatization, visas, housing and assisting when foreign players bring their families along. Mike Dunbar asked about using technology in assessing talent. Chris says he has software that records player actions. Every time a player touches the ball, it is clipped. In addition to traveling and observing potential recruits live, Chris has logged thousands of hours watching these software films. Scouts and data analysts then talk together about the various players. President Carol reminded us of the evening social to be held at McMenamins at 5 PM. Finally just before the formal meeting adjourned Becky Fontaine gave the instructions for building the comfort kits. Each a kit will have 11 pieces of hygiene items. Becky was hoping we could build 1000 in 30 minutes. (It did take a little longer, but we got it done!)
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