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Family of Rotary
03.14.08 ... No Rest for MI Rotarians after the Run
In the aftermath of throwing a Half Marathon March 9 for 4,000 to run their soles off for charity, the work is just beginning to put the proceeds to good use. Once the top percentage goes to Colon Cancer Awareness, the club invites other requests for scholarships, community projects and ways to match funds for the greater good.
Its 140-some members aren’t resting on Service Above Self Day March 29. You’ll find about a dozen at Secret Park dismantling an igloo that’s outlived its intended purpose. Others will pop over to Forest Ridge school for lunch to help raise funds for projects in Uganda. Some will “Walk for Water,” put on by another club in West Seattle.
Our Planet Earth committee gears up for a presentation on Earth Day (April 22) to raise awareness about waste-to-energy – to recycle and incinerate garbage when the Cedar Hill landfill eventually closes. We invite you all to attend that day at noon, MI community center.
President Bo Darling likes to use the Paul Harris metaphor about Rotary – “the sum total of contributions of thousands of little brooks and rivulets, which come tumbling down the hillsides and mountains, singing as they go, eager to cast themselves into the channel of the great river.” Rotary World Day of Service will demonstrate that when more than a million Rotarians put their humanitarian convictions into action.
MI Rotary Club is active with First Harvest to distribute food to the hungry; supports literacy projects at home and abroad; sponsors a teen Interact Club and its projects, a Student of the Month recognition program and student international exchanges. More than a dozen of us bring our 4-way test to 8th graders on the island, giving them the framework to make ethical decisions as they prepare for high school.
We plant trees in Rotary Park, deliver meals to house-bound families, provide drivers and activities for seniors, ring bells with the Salvation Army, help the Lions sell Christmas trees and put on a pancake breakfast at Summer Celebration. We send bicycles and wheelchairs and computers and concerned contingents to Third World countries to help with health, clean water, polio eradication and education projects.
But, we know you’re right there beside us, doing the same thing, in different ways.
03.01.08 ... Akola India & Mercer Island Clubs Meet on Common Ground
Late January, 21 Mercer Island Rotarians and family members joined with four Akola, India clubs to distribute 1,100 wheelchairs to crippled citizens, check the progress of small dams being built to store water for agriculture and visit schools needing support.
Eva Agrawal, who, with her husband Yogi, operate an NGO -- Vishal Himalaya Foundation “ – initially sparked interest that culminated with this goodwill mission.
Ray and Gay Brook helped raise $24,000 for the purchase of wheelchairs from Wheel Chair Mission, and Dr. Nikhil Kibe of Midtown Rotary in Akola, masterminded their distribution.
“What had begun as a passing thought a year ago had become a reality in which disparate people -- the wealthy from the first world, and the poorest and most challenged of the third world -- came face to face with one another. And, were moved by each other’s humanity,” said Eva.
Mercer Island Rotarians say they are changed by the trip, recalling the elated smiles of gratitude on the faces of the beneficiaries. John Matthews, district governor nominee designate, and his family of four were struck by the three-week travel “looking out for each other and lovingly helping when needed...being greeted so warmly by the Akola Rotarians and people in the schools we visited. I especially enjoyed the power of 250 kids clapping and singing together for us visitors.
“Visiting the projects of the Akola Rotary clubs reminded me that while their needs (crematorium) may be vastly different from ours, Rotary is there to serve the community the world over. India is on the move...everywhere we saw things being built or repaired, the population and economy growing.”
12.19.07 ... Celebrating December Birthdays
On December 19, Assistant District Governor Bill Taylor and Dr. Sam Castillo, Rotary Club of Duvall Club member, helped celebrate all December birthdays in the Duvall Club. This picture was taken at the regular 7:30 am meeting of the Duvall Club that date.
A very happy birthday to ALL December babies!
10.19.07 ... Groundbreaking Ceremony for Water Spray Playground
The City of Bellevue and the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club celebrated the beginning of construction of a new water spray playground at Crossroads Community Park on Friday, October 19. Contractors began work the previous week on the approximately 25,000-square-foot play area, which will feature a variety of theme landscapes and play features such as spitting frogs and squirting clams. Crossroads Community Park is located at 999 164th Ave. N.E.
The Crossroads Park Water Play Area, expected to open in spring 2008, is designed to provide fun and recreation for all ages and physical abilities, while engaging children and their caregivers in interactive and accessible water play. While many of the features, from the Loch Ness Monster to orcas, will spray or squirt water, only the "Floating Granite World" is expected to spout water year-round. The playful theme elements will offer play and climbing opportunities in all seasons.
To be located next to a traditional playground already at the park, the new playground is designed to have no standing water. The water will be potable and, in keeping with Bellevue's environmental stewardship efforts, will be naturally drained from the site and recycled to supplement irrigation at the park.
The Crossroads area is one of the most densely populated, and ethnically and economically diverse neighborhoods in Bellevue. The diverse play features of the playground, which include Asian rain drums, are consistent with the international approach promoted in the Crossroads Park master plan. It is hoped that the playground will bring together people of all ages, abilities and cultures.
The Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club is leading the fundraising effort for this project. The organization has raised approximately $250,000 in cash contributions from local businesses and individuals, and supported the city's applications for more than $600,000 in federal, county and state grants for the project. The Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club continues fundraising, aiming to help secure the last $150,000 needed to build family picnic shelters. Interested donors should email Norm Johnson at or call him at 206-979-9400. For more information about the Water Spray Playground project, email Pam Fehrman at , Bellevue Parks & Community Services Project Manager, or call her at 425-452-4326.
09.04.07 ... Long-Time Emerald City Rotary Member Stuart DeLima Passes Away
Stuart de Lima, 63, died Monday, August 20, 2007, in Cape Cod Hospital, Hyannis, MA, after a brief illness. He was the beloved husband of Elizabeth (Cochran) de Lima.
Born in San Francisco, Stuart spent his early childhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and San Francisco where his father was a captain for Pan American World Airways. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1966. During his career, he was a media director in advertising in New York City, and in Los Angeles. More recently, he worked in insurance and financial services in Seattle and Orleans.
Before moving to Orleans, MA, two years ago, Stuart and Elizabeth resided in Seattle. They shared a love of travel, sailing, tennis, and summers on Cape Cod.
Dedicated to the ideal of service, Stuart injected his energy and enthusiasm into every organization he joined. A member of the Finance Committee for the Town of Orleans, he also belonged to the Rotary Club of Chatham, the Nauset Rotary, and the Orleans Chamber of Commerce. He had served on the Board of Directors for Nauset Newcomers and Friends of Orleans Affordable Homes. He was previously a member of the Emerald City Rotary Club in Seattle.
Besides his wife and mother, he leaves two daughters, Stacey Finch of Lake Havasu City, AZ, and Leslie Ingiald of Woodbury, MN, and one grandson. A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, September 7, 2007, at 11:00 a.m. in the Church of the Holy Spirit, Monument Road, Orleans.
08.09.07 ... Former Gig Harbor Club President Floyd Olson Passes Away
It is with sadness that I relay this message to Rotarians in District 5030. Floyd Olson (1932-2007) passed away at noon on August 8, at the Franciscan Hospice in Tacoma. He was peaceful and Sandra, his wife of 52 years, was at his side. Floyd was 75 and has been a Rotarian for 33 years
Floyd was a true Rotarian giant. He was President of the Gig Harbor Club in 1990-91, District 5020 Governor in 1994-95, and Rotary International Director in 2001-03. He and Sandra have expressed a strong conviction to humanitarian service in the international community and, in particular,, encouraged Rotary projects to provide clean water. The Floyd and Sandra Olson International Foundation was established in 2006 to honor their work and to continue their service in the international community.
08.05.07 ... Craig Sternagel Completes Cross USA Bike Ride
Craig Sternagel, Rotary Club of Lake Forest Park, just completed a cross USA bike ride as a local Rotary project to raise $$ and awareness for the club's Sudan Relief project. Craig spent 51 straight days cycling nearly 4,000 miles. Quite an adventure! Craig would be happy to present his observations and slide show to area clubs. Please contact him at .
07.23.07 ... West Seattle Rotarians Off to Kenya
On August 3rd, 15 West Seattle Rotarians, friends and family members will leave for a 2-week stay in Kenya. The first week will be working at the East African Center for the Empowerment of Women. The club has supported the center for over 5 years and has sent them treadle sewing machines, a van, furniture for a clinic and last year a solar-powered refrigerators to keep the meds cold at the health clinic. During the second week, the group will be participating in an Eco-Safari in the Tsavo National Park. There will be a follow-up article on the trip.
07.03.07 ... RI Convention Information on Family of Rotary
PDG John Gardiner
Zone 23 Family of Rotary Coordinator, 2006-2008
Zone 23 A.P.F.S.A., 2005-2008
Please use this form to publish events in the lives of District 5030 Rotarians, e.g., weddings, births, passings, promotions, graduations, running a marathon, Seattle-to-Portland bicycle run, named to a Board of Directors, accorded some civic or professional honor.
Late January, 21 Mercer Island Rotarians and family members joined with four Akola, India clubs to distribute 1,100 wheelchairs to crippled citizens, check the progress of small dams being built to store water for agriculture and visit schools needing support. 
12.19.07 ... Celebrating December Birthdays
The City of Bellevue and the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club celebrated the beginning of construction of a new water spray playground at Crossroads Community Park on Friday, October 19. Contractors began work the previous week on the approximately 25,000-square-foot play area, which will feature a variety of theme landscapes and play features such as spitting frogs and squirting clams. Crossroads Community Park is located at 999 164th Ave. N.E.
Stuart de Lima, 63, died Monday, August 20, 2007, in Cape Cod Hospital, Hyannis, MA, after a brief illness. He was the beloved husband of Elizabeth (Cochran) de Lima.
It is with sadness that I relay this message to Rotarians in District 5030. Floyd Olson (1932-2007) passed away at noon on August 8, at the Franciscan Hospice in Tacoma. He was peaceful and Sandra, his wife of 52 years, was at his side. Floyd was 75 and has been a Rotarian for 33 years 
