A joint meeting of the Clover Park Rotary Club and the Lakewood Rotary Club, welcoming District Governor Tom Carroll
At the Tacoma Golf and Country Club, with an admittedly decent view of American Lake out through the giant south-facing windows, Lakewood President Don Daniels rang the bell to start the joint meeting alongside President Bryan Christensen.
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Lakewood member Morris Northcutt led us in the national anthems of both Canada and the USA, on a trumpet.
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Don Daniels acknowledged the visiting Rotarians who were present, including:
Curtis Thiel, Asst. Dist. Governor, from South Hill Rotary
Mark Woodman, Puyallup Downtown
Dave Harkness and Cindy Atwood, Tacoma South
Dave Shoemaker, South Hill
Sunshine Report:
Alice Peeples sends her thanks for the flowers. She is recovering from a minor stroke, struggling with some aphasia and an inability to stand, but hopes to be back with us on Wednesday.
Other Announcements:
Lakewood Rotary announced a golf outing, to be held following their meeting on Sep. 29. $75+tax to play, plus $25 for a meal after, at the Tacoma Golf and Country Club. RSVP to Joe Quinn at strongman253@gmail.com to attend golf and/or the pizza ++ dinner.
Bryan Christensen announced our club’s Theater Benefit, Oct. 5, for the play, “Wait Until Dark”. Tickets were on sale after the meeting.
Dave Harkness of Tacoma South stood up to promote his club’s Mini-Golf Tournament on Oct. 20, at 4 PM. $50 to buy a ticket. Marcus Trufant will be there to have an autograph signing party, at the Harkness Mattress Store (6718 So. Tacoma Way). Cost is $50. RSVP to dave@harknessfurniture.com, or cally Cindy Atwood at (253) 671-4458.
CP Rotary Club member Dave Hall gave a presentation on ShelterBox, as a ShelterBox Ambassador. It is a worldwide organization, already deployed to help with hurricanes, war-area displacements, and other urgencies. He challenged us all to become “ShelterBox Heroes” by donating $1000, $2000, or $5000.
Dave mentioned the response to the floods in Houston, including ShelterBox’s “Shelter within a shelter”. What that means is plastic cubicles set up within an arena or convention center as major shelter. The smaller walled shelters allow for privacy and quiet. They were first introduced after Japan’s 2011 tsunami. They are really helpful for emotional recovery. They allow for medical treatment, lactation support, post-traumatic stress recovery.
Teams are now deployed to all Caribbean islands for post-hurricane support.
District Governor Tom Carroll then assisted in making Paul Harris Fellow presentations to 5 Lakewood Rotary Club members, plus a recognitions of 2 major donors: Gary Fulton and Mick Johnson.
A video presentation promoted the May 4-5 District Training and Conference, to be held at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma. The conference opening ceremony will be held at the Lemay Museum. Come to learn new Rotary skills.
Asst. Dist. Gov. Curtis Thiel then got up to introduce Dist. Gov. Tom Carroll.
Tom got his BA in Political Science at UW, and a Master’s degree from the University of Phoenix. He was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy in 1981, and retired as a captain after 30 years in surface warfare jobs. He serves on the board of the Lacey, WA Chamber of Commerce and the local Boy Scout district. He was the charter president of the Gateway Rotary. Also introduced was Tom’s wife, Laurie, a WSU grad and pharmacist.
Tom Carroll then got up to talk, and started by recognizing District staff who were present. These included Chris Kimble, who heads the District Nominating Committee, and Greg and Mary Horn, who are organizing the upcoming District Conference.
He then transitioned to the speaker’s introductory joke, an obligatory part of any military briefing. It highlighted the difference in cultures among the 4 branches of the military. If you give an officer a task, the response differs among the different services:
Army: “Is there a regulation that permits this?”
Navy: “Is there a regulation that prevents this?”
Marine: “Do you outrank me?”
Air Force: “Is it career enhancing?”
This was his 62nd club visit so far as DG. His visits were interrupted for a while when he fell off of a roof, but he is recovering well now.
He noted that there are many reasons to join Rotary. We stay because of what it does for our lives, including inspiring us to serve, and embracing Rotary values, including the 4-Way Test.
Rotary International (RI) is working to make Rotary more flexible and relevant in the clubs’ own communities.
Our district now has 88 clubs, and 4600 Rotary members. He encouraged us to all sign up to attend the May 4-5, 2018 District Conference, to be held at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma. Visit www.rotary5020.org and find the signup link on the left side of the page.
Tom’s wife Laurie then got up, and issued a new literacy challenge. When she and Tom attended the RI assembly, they were asked to bring 2 books, to be donated to a local foundation. She challenged each Rotarian to do the same, donating 2 books to a place of our choosing, in order to help increase literacy.
Tom returned to the lectern, and summarized the findings of a branding firm hired by RI to evaluate Rotary’s brand. They found that Rotary’s brand is unique in the world, citing 4 main factors:
- Our classification conveys the importance of achieving diversity in a club’s membership.
- Rotary attracts leaders with skills and experience in a variety of areas.
- Rotarians display passion and perseverance (the campaign to end polio is evidence of that).
- Rotary is a network of 35,000 clubs around the world, who actually work together.We represent “community service on a global basis.”
As the meeting drew to a close, President Bryan Christensen again highlighted our upcoming Theater Benefit, and stated that it would have an Oktoberfest theme, with beers being provided by Hop Jacks, the bar and “neighborhood gathering place” which is opening soon in the Lakewoode Towne Centere.
The Lakewood Club offered its raffle, and Clover Park member Dave Hall had the winning ticket. But with 11 white chips and 1 red chip in the bag, he failed to pull the red one to win the $600 pot.
And Finally… Back to some much better jokes than the DG told:
At first I didn't really like my hair...then it grew on me.
What's the difference between a hippo and a zippo? One is really heavy, and the other is a little lighter.
I wondered why the Frisbee was getting bigger, and then it hit me.
My boss told me to have a good day… So I went home.
How come polygons never want to make friends with circles? There's no point.
I found a rock that measured 5,280 feet. Must be some kinda milestone.
I was just looking at my ceiling. Not sure if it’s the best ceiling in the world, but it’s definitely up there.