NEWEST RED BADGE MEMBERS
Jean Ann Gabby
Elaine Heller
Byron Piro

GREETERS
Craig Campbell
Jean Ann Gabby

BACK TABLE DUTY
Rodney Tom
Umberto Acevedo

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The mailing address for the
Bellevue Rotary Club is:

Laurie Larson
Club Administrator
P.O. Box 523
Bellevue, WA 98009
bellevuerotary@seanet.com
Ph 425 451-3819
Fax 425 451-8025

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Are you receiving The Rotarian Magazine?
If not, contact Laurie Larson or email The Rotarian Magazine.

Chris Porter, 04/01
Rob Petersen, 04/04
Gary Neumann, 04/09
Lisa Carroll, 04/12
Gregg Jordshaugen, 04/13
Mike Evered, 04/16
Rob Rose, 04/17
Kathy Hanson, 04/19
Dick Foreman, 04/20
Lee Graeve, 04/20
Kim Wold, 04/20
Cy Oskoui, 04/21
Stan Winter, 04/21

NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM:

Dr. John J. Brandabur
"Colon Cancer"

John J. "Jack" Brandabur, MD, is a gastroenterologist who joined the Digestive Disease Institute at Virginia Mason in 1991. He specializes in therapeutic endoscopy, pancreaticobiliary endoscopy, inflammatory bowel disease, complicated ulcer disease, pancreatic and biliary diseases.

Dr. Brandabur says, "I try to provide the same care I would wish for myself or a member of my family. Virginia Mason is a great place for physicians and patients. I get to learn from my medical and surgical colleagues, teach, write and care for patients with complicated issues. Our patients benefit from an integrated, high-quality staff working to provide the best care possible."

Virginia Mason Medical Center (VM) is a private, non-profit organization offering a system of integrated health services.

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Auction 2006 - Live item #24

Overlooking Puget Sound and Vashon Island, you and your guests will enjoy a seven course meal with hand selected wines from Pete's Wines, presented by Sommelier Bruce and Chef Gail. Each guest will leave with a commemorative photo, menu and elegant lead crystal gift.

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Rotary District 5030 Leadership Assembly

Presidents, Presidents-Elect, Club Secretaries, Treasurers, all incoming Officers and Board Members, All Committee Chairs, Newsletter Editors, Webmasters, New Members, and all interested Rotarians are invited to join District Governor-Elect Mike Montgomery at the Rotary District 5030 Leadership Assembly on Saturday, May 20, at the Bellevue Community College, from 7:30AM-12:00 noon.

More information and a registration form are available here on the District 5030 website.

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2006 District Conference:
Thoughts & Comments
Phyllis Foro, District Conference Chairperson
Photos courtesy of Rob Rose

When Sally asked me to be Conference Chair, I asked her what her vision was, so we could begin with the end in mind. She said her vision was to make this the best conference in the history of District 5030.

The purpose of the District Conference is to advance the Object of Rotary through fellowship, inspirational addresses, and the discussion of matters of importance to Rotary Clubs and Rotary International. The conference is a celebration to inspire Rotarians and an opportunity for them to enjoy fellowship,

So, how did we do?

You validated that the District Conference exceeded your expectations. Together with the endless hours of all on the Conference committee, and the enthusiasm and attendance of all participants, we helped Sally achieve her vision. Together we raised the bar!

I sincerely appreciated your hugs, smiles, emails and kind words — from all of you — Rotarians and spouses, speakers and friends.

Kudos to all! Thank you for allowing me to be of service to you.

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COMMENTS:

VICE PRESIDENT GARY ZIMMERMAN:
I thought that Sally's idea of taking the two service themes of water and literacy was a great way to organize the program this year, a day of focus on each, made everything knit togther in a meaningful way. The selection of the Indian band at Skatin and the Head of Lake School, with the ongoing oversight of the Rotarians in the Rotary Club of Whistler wasa good choice. They seemed really touched by the depth of support given by the Rotarians in attendance at the Conference. The final count, including books received after the Conference ended, was 545 books for
their school library and their adult literacy project. The two computers were really appreciated as well. The three large boxes of school supplies and back packs, contributed by the Covington Rotary Club, was overwhelming! I am sure that the whole village will benefit from this year's district community service project.

Special thanks should be given to T.J. Woosley for his coordination of the Club's cocktail hour of appreciation for Sally on Saturday evening. The arrangements were perfect. Of course, getting Rick Hervey to be bartender in waiting was a big help too! The collective artistry of the participants was a thing of beauty!

Katherine Thompson's video display of Bellevue Rotary's year of service was a unique hit in the display area and Chuck Doland's masterful assignment of the first table inside the door to Bellevue's presentation assured that our exhibit got more visitors than any other booth!

And I think the selection of weather conditions for Saturday and Sunday could not have been more masterful. The combined "prayer" efforts of Sally, Phyllis Foro and Michael Ryan certainly paid big dividends in the weather department.

BRC PRESIDENT ROSS JACOBSON:
I most enjoyed the video and PowerPoint about Ryan Hreljac and then his comments. Great inspiration about what one person can do, notwithstanding age, when there is total commitment.

BRC MEMBER MIKE RYAN:
This was a well-orchestrated Conference in a most beautiful setting. Each service theme was powerfully illustrated. Ryan's well
presentation, along with the high mortality rate from water-borne
illness, highlighted the significance of our effort. Becca's contribution to the music, both with the chorus on Saturday and the interfaith service on Sunday (we had standing room only and ran out of bulitines) was most appreciated.

Governor Sally needs to feel very well about how all things went. A tremendous testimony to her leadership. Way to GO!

PRESIDENT-ELECT JOHN BALDWIN:
I heard many comments from people from all over the District about how well organized the meeting was. The choice of the Fairmont was particularly appreciated for the elegance and location. I enjoyed MC Linda Coble, who was very entertaining, and being a Rotarian from Hawaii, she could speak our language regarding Rotary traditions and behavior. Nikki Stone, the Olympic Gold medal skier, was a good inspirational speaker and very graciously skied with a small group of Rotarians on fabulous snow conditions, with drop dead gorgeous weather, and vistas at the top of the mountain rarely seen during the winter ski season. The variety of speakers and topics that highlighted the themes of water and literacy was inspiring. The gondola ride to the Round House for a very Bavarian meal was another highlight for me. A great time was had by all!

CONFERENCE CHAIRPERSON PHYLLIS FORO:
The enthusiasm bar was raised to 7,160 feet, as we traveled to the top of Whistler Mountain via gondola.

BRC MEMBER GAIL ROMERO:
You have all covered many of the special items and the amazing work from our club to make the conference come off seamlessly. At least it appeared that way to most of us! Much hard work was put into this and yet most of the people in attendance will never know!

It was a wonderful time in Whistler. Aside from the actual conference filled with inspirations, motivation and information where we were treated to such great speakers as Rich Stearns of World Vision and the entertainment of the world renowned (well sort of) Rotary Choral Group. Phyllis Foro and her committee did an excellent job of keeping us all organized (like herding cats) entertained, well fed, and highly energized.

There were some additional after hours events that added to the spirit and enjoyment of the week. Between the snowmobiling, skiing, and ziptrek (not to mention the golf and tennis) runs by the adventurous group of 23 Rotarians and many of our spouses, there were also a variety of unscheduled meetings and fellowship opportunities.

Starting with the early morning meetings at the local coffee shops and bakeries before the breakfast plenary sessions, the late afternoon breakouts (to the spa) before dinner, the free afternoon lunch and outdoor tanning (Does this constitute a make-up meeting?) with fellow Rotarians in the village, and the evening cigar and port sessions surrounding the outside fireplaces with just a hint of snow in the air, we had a great time! TJ supplied the elegant and wonderfully feminine cigars to any of us females adventurous enough to light up while the guys opted for larger and more robust Cuban cigars.

There were a variety of "special" receptions (some were sort of spur of the moment) that we attended. In particular was the reception hosted by District Governor Sally Gray and her husband Jim, held in their "Presidential Suite," with the able hand of TJ and "Rick the Bartender." In absentia Carole Woosley supplied us all with canvas and implements to paint another masterpiece of garden delights that we each had an opportunity to "Van Gogh" with our own talent. The largest cocktail party was also hosted by Bellevue Rotary, where we had approximately 600 guests. We were magnificent in our representation of Bellevue and the crowd was fully impressed.

All in all, it was a wonderful and fun-filled week. Many of us added two or three days to the conference to get the lay of the land (and explore some great restaurants!) that affords the attendee a chance to see the amazing work that is accomplished by the 54 clubs of district 5030.

I close now, and in respect for our illustrious leaders wisdom President Ross, "What happens in Whistler, stays in Whistler."

I do have photos though. Those of you who shall remain nameless could pay me to NOT send the photos. I am saving up for next year's conference and every $100.00 helps (need to pay the green fees). Or, I could send them on to John Valaas!

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEMBER KRISTI KNOX:
This was such a wonderful experience, every day and night! Every part of it was so well planned for fun, entertainment and education. Every speaker was wonderful, as was the MC, Linda Coble. I'm still singing the songs and laughing about Paul Husscilt's overview of our Conference. What a grand finale to a fablous week-end.

Thank you everyone for all that you did to make this awesome!

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Rotary Help Needed at "The Landing"
Rob Rose

There is a desperate need for dinner sponsors at The Landing, a homeless youth shelter located in one corner of the Bellevue YMCA building on Bel-Red Road. My wife Gina and I are going to provide dinner two Mondays out of the month and we are hopeful that others from our club will pitch in to help as well. Providing the dinners is very easy. At a minimum you can make a main course and vegetable side dish. Bringing salad and dessert would also be nice, but is optional. There are usually around 12 kids to prepare for. You can either deliver the food hot at about 8:50 pm, or you can bring the food anytime during the day, as they have a refrigerator and can heat it up later. They’ll do their own serving so our part is just to deliver the meal.

These kids are the unseen homeless in our own community! They are homeless due to abusive home environments, financial or emotional conflicts at home, an inability to get along with a parent’s new boyfriend/girlfriend or spouse, or they have been asked by a parent to leave. Please consider joining Gina and me in providing this service to these kids. Marci Curtin from The Landing told me, “The young adults often comment that they are surprised that someone from the community who does not know them would care enough to make a meal just for them. The volunteers making the meals send a powerful message to these youth — that they do matter, and that others care about them!”

If you are interested, let me know. I will provide all the details.

You can also ask Jim Hogue or Terry Pollard for more information about The Landing. Jim has been doing a great job of mentoring the kids there.

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Spring golf Outing, Trilogy
Brad Hunt

This year's Spring Golf Outing is scheduled for June 5 at Trilogy Golf Club in Redmond. Tee times have been reserved for 32, starting time at 1:30 pm. Format will be a "Shamble," and there will also be an individual long drive and KP prizes. The cost is $95.00 per player and will be billed to your Rotary account. The fee includes green fees, carts, range balls and food. There will be a no host bar available.

The first 32 players to commit will be in. Please email Brad Hunt if you wish to play, and send along your handicap index and/or your approximate score for 18 holes. Any questions, please call Brad at 425-462-7400.

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Camp Goodtimes, June 29

Bellevue Rotary will again bring the best day of the whole summer to Camp Goodtimes on Vashon Island. Save Thursday, June 29th, for this fun event. We are expecting 140 kids with cancer, on or off treatment, and have arranged to rent carnival games for this day.

At least 40 Rotarians are needed to be at camp as carnie workers. Look for sign-up sheets in May or early June. Contact Charlotte Ellis if you have questions.

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2007-2008 Ambassadorial & Cultural Scholarship Applications Are Available

Rick Taylor

This Rotary year District 5030 has available at least two one-year Ambassadorial Scholarships and one six month Cultural Scholarship that will pay up to $26,000 for education in another country.  Rotary International has requested that we consider scholars whose study fields will have a strong humanitarian impact.

For information and applications please contact me (Ph 425-454-4858).

Thank you for your help.