

Service Above Self
Bellingham , WA 98225
United States of America


This year we will have a member only lunch celebration (due to room size)






- To Register to attend the 2022/23 BBRC Changing of the Guard please email Lesa Fergusson (lesa.ferguson@countryfinancial.com) you and how many guests plan to attend. $55/adult $25/child or order off kids menu.
- Pay by BBRC PayPal link (see directions below), or check, cash or card at the door.
- To pay by PayPal, click on this link https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7Q4E8CFVQTVKE
- Select donate amount “Other” then enter $55 per person attending event
- Log into your PayPal account
- Click on “+ What’s this payment for?” and enter your name and guests’ names attending
- Click donate now and you are good to go!
- You will receive a confirmation email of your payment.
Squalicum HS Student of the Month to resume in October!

- In order to make the meetings as interesting as possible, we established a solid zoom meeting schedule adding things like the mystery guest, business spotlights, quotes, some good news, and the wheel of fun raffle.
- We established the “care and compassion” component to our existing fellowship committee and engaged in member outreach to check on our members during Covid.
- We improved our internal controls for the club.
- As members we wrote cards to the residents of long-term care facilities that were on lockdown.
- You volunteered to mentor students from Western Washington University and agreed to expand that program further to include the Whatcom Community College next year.
- As members we supported the annual turkey drive, Toys for Tots and hurricane relief efforts for Copan Honduras.
- Some of us volunteered at the large-scale vaccination site in order to get community members vaccinated.
- We donated to Jeff Hills GoFundMe page and helped out with his meal train.
- We established a Stan Dyer Day of Service program to honor a beloved member of the club
- We supported the Stove Team project and purchased cookstoves for residences of Latin American countries.
- We donated to our Rotaractors Clean Water Project on the Western’s Give Day.
- We granted $15,000 to local not-for-profits to support their engagement within the community, and donated monies to Communities in Schools to purchase backpacks for Shuksan Middle School students.
- We provided seven scholarships to Squalicum High School, Bellingham Technical College, and Whatcom Community College students
- We supported our multiyear major project Docks for Kids, spearheaded by Eddie Hansen and Bill Geyer.
- Our activities were twice recognized by articles in the Peace Arch Journal once in the Bellingham Alive Magazine, as well as in the Bellingham Herald
- We gained three new members during the Rotary year and said our final goodbyes to Stan Dyer, Jeff Hill and Past President Jerry Simons.
- Members Heather Flaherty and Ian McCurdy welcomed new family members into their homes.
- Heather Flaherty was named Young Professional of the Year for Whatcom County
- Guy Occhiogrosso received the Young Professionals award Top 40 Under 40 for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.
- Flo Simmons was named interim Chief of Police for the Bellingham Police Department
- Christine Palmerton was named as the Area G Assistant Governor
- Sue Sharp received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce.




- Smoke from indoor cooking fires is a leading cause of death of children under age five. It kills more people than AIDS and malaria combined
- The most dangerous activity a woman in the developing world can undertake is cooking for her family, and most of them have a baby on the front or a baby on the back. For that baby, it’s equivalent to smoking three packs of cigarettes per day.
- 4 million burns are reported each year, and many more go unreported. Children are especially vulnerable as most open fires are on or near the ground.
- For anyone who missed the presentation, here is an interactive pre-recorded version of the presentation: https://video.mindstamp.io/watch/DSrtypWyPFIa
- Video about StoveTeam and their work: stoveteam.org/why-stoves
- Ways to get involved, plus inspiring stories from the field at stoveteam.org/next-steps
- At the very bottom, there is a dialogue box that says “Is there any additional information you would like to share with us”.
- In this box, state that you are a Rotarian, and would like to help with the large scale COVID19 vaccination sites that are forthcoming.
Past President | Mike Bates |
President | Lance Calloway |
President Elect | Lesa Ferguson |
VP/Program Chair | Tim Krell |
Treasurer | Carlye Gillespie |
Secretary | Inga Drechsel |
Director (year 2 of 2) | Tony Freeland |
Director (year 2 of 2) | Erika Buse |
Director (year 2 of 2) | Sean Stimac |
Director (year 1 of 2) | Mark Turner |
Director (year 1 of 2) | John Bosche |
- At the very bottom, there is a dialogue box that says “Is there any additional information you would like to share with us”.
- In this box, state that you are a Rotarian, and would like to help with the large scale COVID19 vaccination sites that are forthcoming.
Past President | Mike Bates |
President | Lance Calloway |
President Elect | Lesa Ferguson |
VP/Program Chair | Tim Krell |
Treasurer | Carlye Gillespie |
Secretary | Inga Drechsel |
Director (year 2 of 2) | Tony Freeland |
Director (year 2 of 2) | Erika Buse |
Director (year 2 of 2) | Sean Stimac |
Director (year 1 of 2) | Mark Turner |
Director (year 1 of 2) | John Bosch |
Past President | Mike Bates |
President | Lance Calloway |
President Elect | Lesa Ferguson |
VP/Program Chair | Tim Krell |
Treasurer | Carlye Gillespie |
Secretary | Inga Drechsel |
Director (year 2 of 2) | Tony Freeland |
Director (year 2 of 2) | Erika Buse |
Director (year 2 of 2) | Sean Stimac |
Director (year 1 of 2) | Mark Turner |
Director (year 1 of 2) | John Bosch |




![]() | Our next Tuesday lunch meeting is October 27th via zoom. Contact President Mike if you'd like more information, or would like to attend as a visitor. Information below includes:
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- Make check payable to Bellingham Food Bank
- In check memo line put: Bellingham Bay Rotary (or BBR)
- Mail check to: Mike Hammes, 4290 Pacific Highway, Bellingham WA 98226.

- Message from President Mike: Mentoring opportunity with WWU Rotaract & Interact Service Project
- Rotary International Foundation: What is a Major Donor and Arch Klumph Society Member?
- Community Service Projects: Updates
- September Birthdays

- Paypal is back!
- Club Zoom meetings: Lessons from the first two month
- Rotary International Foundation: What is a Paul Harris Society Member?
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- The Program must go on!: To respect everyone’s schedules (including our speakers), we will start the programs promptly at 1:00. This may mean that we skip the SOA portion of the meetings, and rely on ourselves to assess personal fines and pay up!
- You’ve been muted!: To manage the meetings more effectively (e.g., distractions, turn-taking, time) Lesa will be putting everyone on mute.
- Hands up!: As would be the case in our face-to-face meetings, please raise your hand if you’d like to speak. Either Mike or Lesa will call on you. Remember to unmute yourself at this time…remember, Lesa will have muted your mic 😉