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JULY 24, 2007 |
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PUBLISHING ITEMS IN THE BULLETIN
If you have information, articles, photos, etc., for publication in the weekly bulletin (printed bulletin, website and/or eFlash), please send them to bulletin@bellevuerotary.net by 2:00 pm on Fridays.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Ron Sims, King County Executive, "Connections for Our Future," an overview of the King County-Burlington Northern-Port of Seattle land swap proposal | Note of Thanks | Request for Proposed Project Grants | Club to Club Nepal Project: Rob Rose is Readying for Another Trip | Rotary Milestones — The First 100 Years | Presidential Membership Conference
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GREETERS BACK TABLE DUTY INVOCATION NEWEST MEMBER(S) |
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Laurie Larson Are you receiving |
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Will Bevens, 07/01 |
Chuck Doland, 07/21 |
Classification Report: |
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Ron Sims
King County Executive
"Connections for Our Future," an overview of the King County-Burlington Northern-Port of Seattle land swap proposal
King County Executive Ron Sims has built his career in public service around the progressive principles of social justice, good government and environmental stewardship. He has taken a leadership role on a range of issues, and has compiled a notable list of accomplishments. An ardent conservationist, Sims has protected more than 100,000 acres of green space in King County since 1997 and increased the county's trails to 175 miles. His Climate Plan, which is aimed at reducing and adapting to the effects of global warming, is lauded as one of the most comprehensive in the nation. In May of 2007, Sims was given the Climate Protection Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. He has also been recognized nationally for his leadership on a regional effort to stop the degradation of Puget Sound and to restore runs of the prized chinook salmon, declared threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1999.
Sims has been a regional leader on managing growth in the economically booming King County region by driving smart, comprehensive strategies to reduce traffic congestion. He is a respected advocate for new solutions to moving people in the 21st century. He is widely credited with turning around Sound Transit, an agency that is on track to reduce congestion with a voter-approved light rail system, expanded regional bus service and commuter train service to surrounding communities. He has pushed for more use of new fuel technologies resulting in Metro Transit being one of the greenest large transit agencies in the nation and the county being the largest purchaser of biofuels in the state. Already operating the largest fleet of articulated hybrid buses in the world, Metro this spring signed a contract for purchase of up to 500 additional articulated hybrids as part of a service expansion designed to get 50,000 drivers out of their cars and onto buses by 2016.
His regional public/private partnership to reform health care through the Puget Sound Health Alliance is seen as a national model. His ability to work successfully across diverse constituencies was vividly illustrated by prestigious awards from both the Master Builders of King and Snohomish Counties and the NAACP in 2006. Nationally, his propensity to push for innovative solutions earned him a Public Official of the Year Award from Governing Magazine and a national award from the Sierra Club. He was also named 2006 Husband of the Year by Seattle Magazine.
In 1985, Ron was first elected to the King County Council. While serving in that capacity, Sims developed a reputation as a tireless legislator, working on a diverse palette of issues that led to advances in the areas of the environment, education, county budgeting, public safety and the protection of workers' rights.
In 1996 Ron was appointed King County Executive after then-Executive Gary Locke was elected governor. Easily winning election the following year, Sims was reelected by wide margins in 2001 and 2005.
As Executive, he is charged with overseeing the 13th largest county in the nation. It includes the city of Seattle, and with an overall population of 1.8 million, King County is home to about 30 percent of Washington state's population and alone accounts for more than 40 percent of the state's jobs. The County government has a workforce of over 13,000 and an annual budget of $4.4 billion.
Sims is the former chairman of the Sound Transit Board of Directors, a member of the advisory board of the Brookings Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Co-Chair of the Committee to End Homelessness, founding Chair of the Puget Sound Health Alliance, and on the board of trustees for Rainier Scholars.
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Each year milestones of generosity and commitment are attained by Bellevue Rotarians. I am proud and honored to support each of you in your efforts in our community and around the world. This Rotary family means more to me than you’ll know. Thank you for your recognition at last week’s meeting. I look forward to another outstanding year. Warmly, |
Request for Proposed Project Grants
Peter Kalunian, WCS Committee Chair
Humberto Acevedo, WCS Committee Vice-Chair
Our World Community Service Committee will be studying and recommending international projects funding in the next following weeks. For maximum funding, we are strongly encouraging to apply for Rotary Matching Grants as well. Matching funds are received from District 5030 and The Rotary International Foundation. Matching grants require paperwork and the involvement of a foreign Rotary Club. Generally, the funds from RI run out by the month of March. Therefore, we strongly urge that matching grant proposals be submitted ASAP.
We are now asking for your proposed project grants to be submitted for consideration. Our Bellevue Rotary club website includes several World Community Service downloads, including a grant proposal form that needs to be completed and submitted to the committee for review. Click here to go to the World Community Service page.
For Rotary Matching Grant forms, please go to the RI International website www.rotary.org, click on Foundation, click on Humanitarian grants programs, click on matching grants to download the forms. Our first World Service Committee project review will be on Tuesday, July 31, following the club meeting.
Please contact either Peter Kalunian or Humberto Acevedo if you have any questions.
Club to Club Nepal Project
Rob Rose is Readying for Another Trip
This coming February Rob Rose will be taking another trip to Nepal to help uplift the lives of people with disabilities in Nepal, those who are on the lowest rung of the societal ladder in Nepal.
This Rotary Group Trip to Nepal is planned for February 15-25th, 2008, and all Rotarians, their spouses and families are invited to come along. There are already a number of people confirmed, so be sure and let Rob know soon if you’d like to go too! The Nepali Rotarians are warm and hospitable. The trip will include Rotary project visits, sightseeing and a volunteer day in Kathmandu. The Rotary friendships you’ll make along with the history and scenery in Nepal will make for a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
Stay tuned to the weekly bulletin (online and printed) for updates on Rob's nepal journey. When the trip begins, we will be posting Rob's trip headlines as they come in with RSS feeds right here on the site. In the meantime, you can visit Rob's Rotary Nepal website to find out more about this project.
Rotary Milestones — The First 100 Years
1905 ... First Rotary club organized in Chicago, Illinois, USA
1908 ... Second club formed in San Francisco, California, USA
1910 ... First Rotary convention held in Chicago, Illinois, USA
1912 ... The Rotary Club of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, becomes the first club outside the United States to be officially chartered. (The club was formed in 1910.
1917 ... Endowment fund, forerunner of The Rotary Foundation, established
1932 ... 4-Way Test formulated by Chicago Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor
1945 ... Forty-nine Rotarians help draft United Nations Charter in San Francisco
1947 ... Rotary founder Paul Harris dies; first 18 Rotary Foundation scholarships granted
1962 ... First Interact club formed in Melbourne, Florida, USA
1965 ... Rotary Foundation launches Matching Grants and Group Study Exchange programs
1985 ... Rotary announces PolioPlus program to immunize all the children of the world against polio
1989 ... Council on Legislation opens Rotary membership to women worldwide; Rotary clubs chartered in Budapest, Hungary, and Warsaw, Poland, for first time in almost 50 years
1990 ... Rotary Club of Moscow chartered first club in Soviet Union
1990-91 ... Preserve Planet Earth program inspires some 2,000 Rotary-sponsored environmental projects
1994 ... Western Hemisphere declared polio-free
1999 ... Rotary Centers for International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution established
2000 ... Western Pacific declared polio-free
2001 ... 30,000th Rotary club chartered
2002 ... Europe declared polio-free; first class of 70 Rotary Peace Scholars begin study
2003 ... Rotarians raise more than US$118 million to support the final stages of polio eradication
2004 ... RI’s largest convention with 45,381 attendees, held in Osaka, Japan
2005 ... Rotary Celebrates centennial in Chicago, Illinois, US
Presidential Membership Conference
Chris Offer, PDG & Chair, Presidential Membership Conference
Rotary International President (2007-08) Wilf Wilkinson invites clubs, districts, and Rotarians to a Presidential Membership Conference in Vancouver, BC (Richmond) on Friday and Saturday, August 10-11, 2007.
Rotarians from Canada, USA and international delegates will attend this outstanding event. This conference is one of only seven Presidential Membership Conference being held by RIP Wilf Wilkinson. Targeted to Rotary clubs, this conference will focus on the need for change and practical ways to increase membership, retain existing members, and extend Rotary through new clubs.
Keynote speakers will include RI President Wilf Wilkinson, Past RIBI President John Hockin (from the UK) and an exceptional line up of speakers with experience in membership development. Speakers will include a non-Rotarian exploring changing community demographics and volunteering trends. The conference will feature interactive roundtable discussion opportunities to exchange ideas and best practices.
Who should attend?
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Club membership committee chairs and members
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Club presidents and club officers
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District membership committee chairs and members
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District Governor, DGE, DGN, AG and past officers
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All Rotarians enthused about strengthening Rotary
Conference details, agenda, list of speakers, hotel information and registration are all available at www.RotaryEvents.ca. Preferential hotel room rates are available and for those areas served by WestJet there are discount flights available.
Many clubs see this conference as an investment in their club's future and are paying the registration and expenses of the club president and club membership chair. A net increase in the club's membership will recoup these costs.
I hope to see you in August at the Presidential Membership Conference.