Soundings (2/1/11)

Posted by Stowe Talbot 
 
 

Flag Salute and Invocation by Dave Harding

Visiting Rotarians: Pete Kremen

Guests: Terri Zweber (dentist and owner of "Our Kitchen is Your Kitchen" bakery in Barkley Village)

Rotary trivia: Clubs in Egypt and the Middle East

Announcements:
Marla Sanger – Still looking to recruit two candidates for RYLA. Seeking 1 boy and 1 girl. Applications will be online and send to Marla.

Induction of Three New Members 

1. Sponsor Bill Geyer introduced Tony Freeland, owner and operator of Freeland & Assoc. Engineering, designer of roads and utility systems.  Tony did much pro-bono work for the B'ham Food Bank project and Hospice House.

2. Sponsored by Ken Oplinger but introduced by Bill Gorman, Mark Turner is a professional photographer and owner of Turner Photographics. 

3.  Sponsored by Mike Kirkland and introduced by Mike and Anna, Marilyn Olsen is a professional editor and writer who helped with the Hospice House marketing campaign.

Orphalee did the formal honors.

 

Bucks in the Bay

  • Bill Gorman for the strange bright orb in the sky;
  • Stephanie Sadler said $465K was raised at the St. Paul's Academy fundraiser last weekend!
  • Gordon Plume for upcoming trip to the Bay Area for "Grandparents' Day" at his grandkid's school;
  • Mimi Ferlin for missed meetings while in La Paz, expecting new grandchild soon, and our program speaker on Feb. 22 will be someone from the UW football program...
  • John Gargett said work is going great despite the recession, elected to Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce, and talked about fundraising to help Blaine's Deming family with medical costs: Their 6-year-old Shyanne has leukemia, and their 9-year-old Ethan donated his bone marrow.
  • Bob Moles just returned from very successful Rotary trip to Copan where the new bathroom facility was completed and dedicated, big thanks to Mike Hammes and Jim Johnson, a slide show of the trip will be forthcoming!
  • Doug Wight for missed meetings, and big admiration to his father Don Wight, now 92, who has done so much for the community over many many decades;
  • Steve Swan upcoming birthday and reminder that he only moved to Bellingham two years ago from Wisconsin, so he is still a big Packers fan (Steve used to mow the lawn of Bart Starr!), but he's also a fan of the Seahawks;
  • Scot Swanson upcoming birthday;
  • Stew Ellison for great trip to Mexico with Kathy C;
  • Stowe Talbot visited the Lynden Rotary Club last Tuesday, thanked Henry Lee for taking notes while I was gone;
  • Bill Geyer was recently in Cabo San Lucas, so "Vayas Los Packadores!"
  • Patti Imhof for missed meetings while in Hawaii and Guam (it was business!), Frank selected as "Contractor of the Year", needs volunteers for Sergeant at Arms;
  • Donna Edquist humbled to be selected Boys & Girls Club's "Person of the Year"! And thanks Patti for agreeing to chair the 2011 B&G Auction;
  • Dick Stark had kind words about Doug Wight's dad, Don Wight, who ran the Sea Scout's boat for many years, he also was a pilot, and did so much for the community;
  • Jim Johnson is back from Copan, thanked the club for our support of that project, great to spend time with Bob Moles and Mike Hammes.

Sergeant at Arms by Matt Rose
What happens in Honduras stays in Honduras, teased the new members, fines for non-rabbit owners, and trivia on water and sports.

Program
Dennis Archer introduced Denise CoStanten, founder in 2004 of Brigadoon Dogs, which raises and trains dogs to help people with disabilities.  Some of the dogs become guide dogs for the blind, but they are trained to do much more.  They also provide companionship, guidance and safety to people with other disabilities.  She talked about training the dogs for "intelligent disobedience", so the dog can alert their owners to dangers.  For outreach, she teaches a class at Sehome HS and Homeport Learning Center for "at-risk" teens.  The kids learn how to teach the dogs, and in the process learn more about themselves and gain self-esteem. Denise also recently started workshops at Fort Murray and Fort Lewis for soldiers with PTSD or other disabilities.  There are four soldiers currently waiting for trained companion dogs.

Other outreach programs include a camp for autistic children, the Parks and Recreation Youth Camp, Girl Scouts and home-schooled kids. Brigadoon has trained dogs for children with seizures, young adults with hearing impairments, visual impairment, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, autistic children, etc. They currently have 7 dogs in training and 9 people on the wait list for an assistance dog.

Our club has supported Brigadoon in the past as Denise is very grateful.  She herself has never taken a salary, but recently has had enough money to hire an assistant.  It cost about $30,000 and two years to raise and train a puppy to be an assistance dog.

Respectfully submitted,
Stowe Talbot