Rotary

Here is a recap of this morning’s meeting, in case you missed it:

1. Happy Birthday to Mike Visse (5/2)!!! We hope you have a fun time with your joint celebration!
2. Congrats to April’s (REAL) Rotarian of the Month, Eric Greenwood!! Eric, you are a true MVP to our club for all the ways you are willing to jump in and help–from your annual work on the Scholarship Foundation, Auction Committee, and Warm Coats, to jumping in as needed on new projects like our pandemic food drives. Thank you for always leading by example, and being willing to jump in wherever help is needed!
3. Marilyn (and Elaine Cook) is organizing a meal train for Pam and her family. She has pneumonia and her husband and 3 kids all have COVID now. Her baby girl is due in a few weeks and their family could really use our support. When you see the meal train link come by email, please consider supporting this family. This is a very direct way to help members of our community feed their family in an immense time of need.
4. The Environmental Stewardship Committee will meet May 19 at 7pm by Zoom. Contact Pat Ford if you would like to attend at patdford@outlook.com.
5. This morning’s presentation by John Mathers of the San Francisco Rotary Club was one of the best! John’s polished presentation “the Economics of Building a Sustainable World” was packed with information about how we truly make a difference in Rotary’s 7th area of focus: Protecting the Environment. Here is the list of resources he shared with us:

   John Mathers, RCAT Network and Speakers Forum  – jgmathersevo@gmail.com  1(415) 720-0165
   Rotary Climate Action Team Network  – www.rcatnow.com – info@rcatnow.com
   Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG)  – www.esrag.org
   Climate Reality Project  (Al Gore and Team) – www.climaterealityproject.org
   Climate Feedback Loops – https://feedbackloopsclimate.com/
   Project Drawdown & Drawdown Review  – www.drawdown.org
   Gold Standard Carbon Footprint  – www.goldstandard.org/
   BrightAction Werenew Carbon Footprint Assessment  – https://brightaction.app/
   Green Business Certification California  – https://greenbusinessca.org/
   Green Business Certification Hawaii – https://greenbusiness.hawaii.gov/
   Green Business Certification Canada – https://www.gbcertified.ca/
   United Nations Association of the USA – https://unausa.org/join/membership/
   Citizens Climate Lobby Action – https://citizensclimatelobby.org/
   Sustainable Travel International – https://sustainabletravel.org/
   Impact Travel Alliance – https://www.impacttravelalliance.org/
   Global Sustainable Tourism Council – https://www.gstcouncil.org/
   Glooby Flight Comparisons – https://www.glooby.com/
   Ripple Cross-Border Payments – https://ripple.com/
   United Nations World Tourism Organization – https://www.unwto.org/
   Terrapass Carbon Offsets – https://www.terrapass.com/
   >Upload your projects (it’s easy): https://rcatnow.com/projects/share-project/

6. The Interact Co-Presidents’ speeches are tonight at 7:45pm on Zoom. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7613847355?pwd=bVhLTkJGd0FHSnd4bHhqK3MreU0wUT09

Upcoming Events:
April 28: BOD Meeting
May 19: ESC Meeting 7pm, Zoom
June 5: World Environmental Day, planting event with Mid Sound Fisheries 9am-12pm

Here is a recap of this morning’s meeting, in case you missed it:

1. We heard from Interact co-presidents Maggie and Stuti on their experience at RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly), as well as from Chloe and Saydia on what Interact has been up to. John Hughes kicked off a “pass-the-hat” fundraiser for their club, and 13+ of our members pledged $3850+!! Donations can be sent to Carol Lee by Venmo (@Carol-Lee-38) or by check mailed to her at 18495 130th Pl NE, Woodinville 98072.
2. Julia Eagan was recognized as February’s Rotarian of the month for her outstanding contribution to this year’s auction! Thank you, Julia, for helping ensure our event was a success!
3. I made a presidential blunder on April’s Rotarian of the month! He will be revealed next week ?? (Erv handled it with the utmost of grace.)
4. Happy Birthday to Tana (4/25)!!! We hope you enjoy your peaceful birthday celebration.
5. Our Farm Refrigeration Unit is up and running, and will be dedicated with a club celebration this Thursday (Earth Day) evening at the farm at 5pm!  There will be wine, cheese and cookies, and please wear your blue Rotary shirts! We will get a few photos and would love as many members to attend as they can! The ceremony starts promptly at 5pm so be sure to get there a few minutes early. There will be helpers to direct parking.
6. At Elaine Cook’s request, if anyone is willing to set up a Meal Train for Pam and her family, please let me know. Her baby is due next month, her husband has COVID, and they have 3 little boys. They can really use some help!
7. We need a volunteer to organize our next food drive for early May! We have lists from the Woodinville Storehouse and Maltby Food Bank on items they need. Please let me know if you are willing to help get this going!
8. Lake Forest Park Rotary Club is having Rick Steeves as their guest speaker tomorrow morning at 8am (zoom). You can find the link on their website if you’d like to attend: http://www.lakeforestparkrotary.com/
9. Auction Committee meets tonight 6-7PM at the Hideaway Lodge to discuss auction successes/opportunities. If you haven’t already taken the survey from last week, you can reply to this email with any other thoughts you want the committee to know. Thanks for your feedback!

Upcoming Events:
April 22: Earth Day Farm Celebration, 5pm
April 28: BOD Meeting
June 5: World Environmental Day, planting event with Mid Sound Fisheries 9am-12pm

Here is a recap of this morning’s meeting, in case you missed it:

1. We met our auction goal and raised $40,035!! Winners were sent their receipts with pickup times this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I will be recruiting some of you to help get items to people in your network if they are unable to pickup.
2. Please take this survey on the auction to provide feedback to the committee before we meet next week. You can also copy and paste this link into your browser https://us1.list-manage.com/survey?u=e60fedd98fdf838c242b830e5&id=a53f2df2f8
3. Congratulations to Mia Harris, who will be next year’s District Rotaract Representative! This role is basically the “District Governor” at the Rotaract level. Great job Mia!
4. Our speaker this morning talked about China’s efforts to be a dominant global superpower, and what we should consider when we engage with them. It was very interesting!

Upcoming Events:
April 22: Earth Day

June 5: World Environmental Day, planting event with Mid Sound Fisheries 9am-12pm

Have a great week!

Woodinville, WA – While farmers and farm practices have evolved throughout the years, one thing that hasn’t changed is the need for cold storage refrigeration. Woodinville Rotary and Rotary District 5030 are working together to address this issue in the Sammamish Valley farming community with their innovative Keep it Cool, Keep It Fresh refrigeration project.

This isn’t the first time our community has taken on the challenge of providing cold storage refrigeration. As early as the late 1930s, when the effects of the depression were still strong, area co-operatives like the Grange Cold Storage Association provided refrigeration services for farmers and families needing to protect and prolong their fare. Now, almost 100 years later, faced with another era of food insecurity, people are beginning to re-embrace local food markets and farm fresh foods, while also educating themselves on their agricultural sources, sustainable living practices and climate action.

Organizers of the Keep It Cool, Keep It Fresh Refrigeration Project seek to aid small acreage farmers in the Sammamish Valley in their desire to bolster a sustainable food system while also supporting the environment. The project provides a cold storage unit located in the middle of the Sammamish Valley Agricultural Production District (APD), one of the most fertile valleys in the country, just 30 minutes outside of Seattle, WA.

Beginning in spring, this first of its kind refrigeration unit will be entirely solar powered, making it a uniquely off-grid farm refrigeration unit. With a generous grant from Rotary International and matching club funds from Woodinville Rotary’s Charitable Foundation, this unit will provide reliable storage for perishable products to small acreage farmers in the Sammamish Valley. Equally important is an additional investment from A Farm in The Sammamish Valley, LLC to provide for the construction of the solar array and the associated equipment to power the unit. We are very fortunate for this partnership with not only A Farm in The Sammamish Valley, LLC, but other community-supported organizations including 21 Acres, Sammamish Valley Alliance, Woodinville Rotary and Rotary District 5030 for collaborating to bring this essential asset to local farmers.

When farmed to full potential, the Sammamish Valley could supply local, organic vegetables to 80,000 people annually. These sustainable high yields are essential as climate change decreases yields in the Midwest and California. Long-practiced at producing food based on the principles of carbon sequestration and healthy soil management, Sammamish Valley farmers strive for lasting agricultural viability. As food chains become less predictable due to climate change, storms and pandemics, these local farmers serve an increasingly important role in providing food security to our community.

Woodinville Rotary and its Environmental Stewardship Committee have worked to bring non-profits and local organizations together in support of the environment, one of seven areas of focus identified by Rotary International. Bringing this focus directly into our community and addressing the pressing issues of food insecurity and food waste is more important now than ever before, as is supporting farmers that practice regenerative agriculture.

A recognition event is being planned for Earth Day 2021 to celebrate the Keep It Cool, Keep It Fresh refrigeration project in our community. For more information visit sammamishvalley.org.

Here is a recap of this morning’s meeting, in case you missed it:

1) Wishing a very happy birthday to Greg Gratz (4/11)!

2) We recognized 2 members today for Rotarian of the Month. Erv DeSmet is Rotarian of the month for January. Erv has propelled our club’s commitment to environmental stewardship forward, and is simultaneously lighting the fire with other clubs as the District Environmental Chair. Erv, you are a visionary and your optimistic sprit is a wonderful asset to our lives and club. Bravo!

Laura Hall is recognized as our March Rotarian of the month, for her creativity and outstanding contribution to this year’s auction baskets! She collaborated with Sandy on several Girl Scout themed baskets, and contributed numerous other creative and and thoughtful ideas to round out a hearty collection of baskets. Thank you Laura, for your time and energy on such a fun contribution to this year’s auction!

3) We heard a classification talk from Bob Guide this morning, with a robust Q&A with many stories afterward! We are so lucky to have you in this club, Bob.

4) Just a reminder to create your bidding account for Friday’s auction. Direct link: https://woodin2021.ggo.bid/bidding/package-browse. Please do this ASAP, call Marilyn if you have any questions. 425-260-3725.

This Thursday at 3:30pm, Susan will be giving Carol and myself a tour of the 21 Acres farm where they have implemented a tri-club project to bring seedlings to harvest, to then donate the produce to area food banks. This is another leg of our club’s commitment to reducing food insecurity locally! Feel free to come by and join the tour.

Upcoming Events:
April 9-11: 29th Annual Auction! THIS Friday!
April 22: Earth Day
June 5: World Environmental Day, planting event with Mid Sound Fisheries 9am-12pm