Key Points Summary by Michelle Lee

Dr. Davis’ book is available here.

Chris Davis, MD, is a lifelong ER doctor.  At age 74, he was not allowed to be back in the ER by his wife during Covid.  He pivoted to write a book detailing the most memorable 30 cases in his 35-year career. 

In the 1970s, demand for ER services was rising nationally, however, there was not sufficient ER doctor training which covering 32 fields.  Before ER, Chris interned at the Air Force.  He was trained emergency medicine at John Hopkins with a lot of work, a crushing budget, a poor community to serve and 20 hours on/20 hours off schedule.

ER doctors need to do critical and sometimes simple procedures, such as raising patient’s legs up, in the first 10 minutes to save lives.

While other doctors have linear relationship with their patients, have scheduled appointments and treat specific ailments.  ER doctors have non-linear relationship.  They have only 45 second to build relationship by saying things like “Mr. Jones, I understand you have a terrible day today” “you and I are in this together”

When Chris could not find a diagnosis for a patient, he would encourage him/her to come back and give his telephone number to call if needed.

ER doctors face fear, exhaustion, life and death chaotic environment.  They usually have military experience, the right spouse and a supportive family.  They are also comfortable with uncertainties and can make quick decisions.  One third of their working hours will be at night and on holidays.  Whoever wants this kind of life has to be satisfied that he/she makes a big difference in patients’ lives and be settled with that satisfaction.  He/she may not see their patients again not to mention any appreciation received.

Although ER doctors are the ones who burnout or died from Covid, applications for medical school has gone up 50% and ER is a popular residency.  Some of the ER doctors may not come back but 80%/core group of ER doctors who have military experience will survive.

In fact, Chris’ son is currently enrolled in Washington State University to be an ER doctor after 10-year military service. 

“Might have been” “could have been” doubts happened in Chris’ early career years.  This book also helps Chris to cope with that emotion.

No one schedules an appointment with an Emergency Room Doctor. You meet one when life doesn’t go as planned. Survival requires immediate dependence and trust in a stranger in a white coat. As soon as the imminent danger has passed— they are off to the next case. Many patients don’t realize that their stories stay with those that served them. Patients have the most to teach about humility and humanity. “Compassion Amidst the Chaos” is brimming with the tension, anguish, exhaustion, relief, gratitude, and compassion that are all part of a typical day at work in the ER. Travel with Dr. Chris Davis through the cases he remembers most from his 35-year career as an emergency medicine doctor.

Dr. Christopher Davis has cared for over 100,000 patients during his 35-year career as an emergency medicine doctor. He has taught medical students, nurses, paramedics, and doctors in the Washington DC area, the Pacific Northwest, and as guest faculty in Laos, Bhutan, Cambodia and Uganda. Dr. Davis earned his BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968, his MD from the George Washington University School of Medicine in 1972 and completed his 1 year internship there. In 1973, he started a 3 year position as a US Air Force Flight Surgeon. He recounts two stories in this book that earned him the Air Force Flight Surgeon of the Year award and the US Meritorious Service Medal. After his residencies at John Hopkins in Emergency Medicine and at Georgetown in Internal Medicine, he proceeded to teach and practice Emergency Medicine in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia from 1980 to 1996. He then taught and practiced in the state of Washington from 1996 to 2019.

Jimmy Hurd has served as a minister with the Churches of Christ for 32 years, serving churches in Seattle, WA, Southfield, MI and Rancho Cordova, CA.

He is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University and the University of Washington. After completing his master’s degree in health administration, he entered the field of hospital administration in 1981. He began his ministry career in 1988.

He has had over 30 years of effective leadership and administrative experience with churches, hospitals, nonprofit, government and military organizations.  He previously served as a diversity instructor for the Red Cross and the Boeing Company. He assisted in developing a diversity plan for Rochester College, Rochester, Michigan.

His wife (of 42 years) Jacqui is a registered nurse and has served in the Veterans Affairs Health System for over 30 years. They are the parents of two children and have two grandchildren.

Thanks to Club Member Isaac McNally for arranging this program!

Key Points:

Jimmy moved to Seattle in 1963 from Tennessee as his father wanted Jimmy and his brother to have better upbringing than him and his brothers.  Jimmy lived in Central District but he (at grade 7) and his older brother (at grade 10) were volunteered to be bused to and attended Hamilton High School and Lincoln High School.

Jimmy wanted us to be aware and think about several aspects about race:

• Race is a created idea.  There is no genetically identical traits for a race.
• As demonstrated in Jane Elliott’s blue eyed vs brown eyed experiment, how stereotypes affected third grade students’ behavior and emotion.
• Our concept of race has been historically shaped by:
  • Social Darwinism – Europeans were the most evolved.
  • Eugenics – Human race would improve if interracial marriage was prohibited.
  • Colonialism – In addition to economic benefits, the occupiers had the duties to civilize and uplift the other culture.
• Institutional racism existed in Seattle. In 1936, Seattle Home Ownership Association had a map of favorable and non-favorable neighborhoods for home loans.
• Housing covenants are still on property titles in some neighborhoods even though not legally enforceable.  It may be difficult to redact the housing covenants from titles but the most important is in the hearts, not documents.

Watch the April 8, 2021 program here. Passcode: .28gcK6K

Summary written by Club Member Michelle Lee.

Barack Obama said in 2016 that the presidency does not change who you are, but magnifies who you are.  However, it did change Chester Arthur, the 21^st President.

Scott wrote about Arthur because his presidency and the 1870-80 period are crucial to shape the America as we see today.  Also, that period has some similarities to the current times – technology gap, large corporations/super rich are bending government policies and immigrants are changing America.

Arthur was born in Vermont, because of his father’s abolition belief, his family moved town to town in Vermont and finally to NY.  As a young lawyer, he helped to desegregate the street cars in NYC, 100 years before Rosa Parks.

However, in the pursuit of power and wealth, he became a machine politician.  For example, he got a cut from the public custom house’s confiscations which was legal at the time.

In 1880, he was nominated as the VP to James Garfield due to his association with the Eastern Stalwart fraction of the Republican Party.

In July 1881, Garfield was shot in Washington, DC.  As Garfield was dying in the White House, Arthur struggled to face the reality.  People thought he was unqualified to be the president and he was accused of murdering Garfield.  In fear of his own life, he avoided the public.

At this time, Julia Sand, a literate woman who has an interest in politics, wrote letters to Arthur asking him not to resign and use the presidency to show the good quality of his soul. Arthur ultimately became a respected president who championed civil service reform and rebuilt US Navy.  Julia Sand continued to write to Arthur till 1883.  Ashamed of his career before presidency, Arthur burnt many of his papers–the letters from Julia Sand were saved, but were lost for almost 100 years.

Our speaker, Scott Greenberger, is the author of The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester Arthur. Scott was a newspaper reporter for twelve years, first at the Austin American-Statesman and then at the Boston Globe. He’s also written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Politico, and GQ. Greenberger has a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University and a master’s degree in international relations from George Washington University. He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland. Greenberger is coauthor, with former Senator Tom Daschle and Jeanne Lambrew, of the New York Times bestseller Critical: What We Can Do about the Health Care Crisis. Greenberger is currently the executive editor of Stateline, a news website funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts that covers state politics and policy for dozens of U.S. newspapers. He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland. His book, “The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur,” is available here.

Speaker: Karen Daubert, Friends of Street Ends | Summary by Michelle Lee

To view a video of the program, click here! Passcode: WvVZ10y*

Karen met Daniel Byrne, a University Sunrise Rotary Club member, when she was working on a project in Dan’s neighborhood.  Dan was curious about Karen cleaning up blackberries in a dead ended street and struck up a conversation. Dan and Karen has since worked on a few Friends of Street Ends projects. 

Friends of Street Ends started 25 years ago, its purpose is to open up shoreline street ends for safe public access, to create an open and inviting space for neighbors, coworkers, parents and kids to enjoy our beautiful shoreline.

There are total 141 shoreline street ends in Seattle.  Through volunteer effort and partnership over the years, half of them have been opened, a quarter still have overgrown and the remaining are currently permitted for private use for a fee.  The completed project will always has a sign, a bench and visual or physical access to the water.

The sites are identified by Friends of Street Ends, the clean-up are done by volunteers, site/landscape design and planting are mostly supported by cash or in-kind donations.  Of note, only manual labor, no chemical, is used for the clean-up.  The cost of construction is paid by Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).  However, Friends of Street Ends relies on volunteers to maintain the sites.

Karen is looking for volunteers to help the clean-up and to adopt the sites to clear up overgrown regularly.  Karen is also a long time Rotary Club member with Seattle Downtown Rotary Club.

Karen Daubert co-founded Friends of Street Ends in 1992.  Karen has over 30 years’ experience in environmental, trail, and open space policy, advocacy, and funding. As former Executive Director of Washington Trails Association, she oversaw the largest state trails organization in the nation.  As Founding Director of the Seattle Parks Foundation, she led the organization from a start-up to one that is recognized as a national leader in parks philanthropy and advocacy.  As King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, her focus was on real property and parks issues.  She also served as a member of the Seattle Planning Commission, Seattle Park Commission, and National City Parks Alliance.  She has been responsible for many aspects of community organizing ranging from founding Friends of Street Ends to leading several community-based groups.  Karen is experienced in working closely with board members, management teams, the public, elected officials and agencies and believes strongly in team and community building. 

Friends of Street ends (FOSE) is a city-wide all-volunteer group who members work to open and improve Seattle’s 142 shoreline street ends.  Throughout its 30 years, FOSE it has made a significant impact on Seattle.  At the April meeting, FOSE members will provide an overview of the group, its mission, its work in partnership with the City, as well as its successes and failures.  Friends of Street Ends started when three Leschi residents decided to open up four of Leschi’s shoreline street ends for public access.  At the time, these “public places” were not open for public use and enjoyment.  Rather, they were being used by adjacent property owners for their own backyards.  And on top of that, there were no City policies that clarified that Seattle’s public streets – especially those that dead-end of bodies of water – should be accessible to the public.  Thus, Friends of Street Ends was born. As a result of this leadership, Seattle is a leaders in its work on shoreline street ends. 

Cathy Gibson is the current District Governor of Rotary District 5030. She oversees a District of nearly fifty Rotary Club throughout Western Washington.

CATHERINE GIBSON’s varied career spans 40 years. Beginning in 1980, in roughly 10 year increments she worked in corporate finance in New York, then managed international development projects across Africa, in the newly independent nations of the former Soviet Union, and the South Pacific on behalf of U.S. and European development agencies, then helped build the business consulting practice as a partner at Moss Adams LLP in Seattle, and since 2010, as Managing Partner, has led Evolve Partner Group LLC, a boutique mediation and family business advisory firm. Catherine currently serves as an outside director on the board of Dick’s Drive-In Restaurants.

Beyond her business career, Catherine has prioritized community service. She is a long serving board member, and former board chair at Seattle Goodwill, the West Seattle YMCA, and the United Negro College Fund. Catherine is a 20 year Rotarian, past president of her Rotary club and is currently serving as the Rotary District 5030 Governor in 2020-2021.

She and her husband of 31 years live in West Seattle.

Cathy opened her presentation with Einstein’s “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”.  Rotary International’s (RI) Theme of the Year is “Rotary opens opportunities”.  She thinks there will be many opportunities ahead for Rotary. 

Being an experienced mountaineer (she has climbed seven summits), she shared with us her setback during the climb on Mount McKinley. Despite mapping out a well-planned route, having a good team and having learned from past accidents, she suffered snow blindness.  Nonetheless, she and her team summited by doing one step at a time.

The district goals for this year align with Rotary International’s including adding new clubs, increasing membership and continuing to fight polio.  District 5030 will launch three new clubs, Environmental Rotary Club of Puget Sound, Rotary Club of Southeast Seattle, and the Rotary Club of the Pacific Northwest Fighting Sex Trafficking, with a plan to have seven more in the next three years.  The District 5030 Foundation is supporting the “End Polio Now” program with a $2 million grant.  She also encouraged Rotarians to volunteer at Covid-19 vaccine sites.

Rotary’s brand is perceived differently in different regions.  Rotarians are humanitarians in North America while it is more for personal affiliation in Europe, and for professional networking in other countries.

Regarding membership diversity, statistics aren’t currently tracked. Cathy thinks that open culture is key. We need to think about the meals we eat, holidays we celebrate, jokes we laugh about and who the program beneficiaries are etc… and be sensitive to our members and guests.

In terms of gender equality, RI is committed to have 25% female board members.  Jennifer Jones from Canada will be the next RI president, the first female in Rotary’s 115 years history.

To attract young professional, Cathy suggested Rotarians invite someone from their profession to join as they retire and to host networking events, which young professionals are interested in.

University Sunrise Rotary Club has been given the Award for Outstanding Growth in Membership.  Our membership has risen by 20% year to date.

Todd Bishop is co-founder and editor of GeekWire, the largest technology news site in the Pacific Northwest and the hub of the Seattle region’s tech community.  A veteran technology journalist, Todd covers topics including AI, cloud computing, startups, and tech giants including Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Apple. He has interviewed many of the pioneers of the tech industry, including Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and Jeff Bezos. Todd hosts the weekly GeekWire podcast and is a regular guest on local and national television and radio shows. Before starting GeekWire with his longtime colleague, John Cook, Todd worked for newspapers including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Puget Sound Business Journal.  He graduated from California State University, Chico, with a double-major in journalism and business. He grew up in Orland, Calif., and lives in Seattle with his wife and daughter.

Todd stressed the importance of the super-power tech companies in our region. Amazon had been the most recent icon for impact in the tech industry. Amazon is now expanding into rural areas throughout the country and  its creating a culture clash throughout those communities. Their revenue this past year was 40 billion dollars.  Microsoft’s  presence with lasting tech implications and  is now rebounding with increased services in the cloud. Google’s new engineering center in our community on the waterfront and Apple’s commitment to new engineering growth in our area as well.  These companies are very instrumental for the spin-off of other diverse tech companies that have popped up in the past few years. Todd believes we will see increased growth in our region due to the tech revolution in the Life Science area because of our notable research institutions here in Seattle.   His prediction is we will not have enough engineers trained  for all the jobs that will be created in the Life Sciences to meet the demand in the coming years. 

Our speaker on March 4, 2021, was our member, Tim Lenihan, talking about the Seattle real estate market. Tim is a Partner with Modernden and a long-time University Sunrise Rotarian. Modernden was created by Tim Lenihan and Mike Ellis in 2014 to build homes that are both classic and timeless, with the best building quality possible. For more information, contact Tim at tim@modernden.com or www.modernden.com

The City of Seattle is growing at one of the fastest paces in the entire nation and it’s not slowing down.

Speaker Notes provided by Isaac McNally:

-Tim created his own Real Estate brokerage this past year, Modern Den, mostly high end residential homes 

-Seattle apartment rates have decreased about 25% this past year through Covid, yet increased demand for housing

-Real Estate prices are increasing 15-20% on most houses hitting the market. This is anticipated to continue for next 2-3 years

-Tech market increasing Seattle population, large migration from California

-Low interest rates increasing demand for Seattle housing, thus increasing housing pricing

-Covid separating the “haves” from “have nots” (restaurant businesses taking a big hit), mortgage forbearances increased at beginning of Covid but have decreased since. Banks are much more prepared for economic hits than in 2010.

-ADU, Additional Dwelling Units are increasing within the city, increasing population density. Laws now allow for three houses on one single family lot. 

-Misnomer that everyone is leaving the city

-Growth in suburban cities will temper the pace of growth in Seattle.

-With many big companies leaving Seattle for Bellevue etc., door may be opening for small companies and startups to exist once again in downtown Seattle

-Parking issues arising with population density and with DADU and ADU

-Zillow and Redfin estimate home values based upon trends, but are not always accurate

-Condo market lags behind the residential market. Currently an upswing for Condo market

-Seattle city council seems to have neglected many important issues in heightened focus of social equity issues. Parks have been neglected. Police are only partially staffed in the city because many have left.

-”Everyone will be working from home now” seems to be a misnomer. There will continue to be a demand for commercial space downtown, though reduced the next couple of years.

-Annual median income in Seattle around $108k and increasing.

-Everret is anticipated to see biggest growth in next ten years

-MHA tax has accumulated much money toward the city’s housing affordability, but it’s unclear how the city is using it. The city has not had success in attempt to solve homelessness issue

-Property taxes are increasing with home values

Melinda Haughey (pronounced “hockey”) is a researcher and Ph.D. student with the University of Washington Center for an Informed Public. 

She has spent the past three years studying online misinformation and disinformation with UW Professor Kate Starbird. Starting in 2019, Melinda began researching the emerging “misinformation beat” in journalism. She regularly works with journalists who report on the spread of problematic information online ,specifically looking for ways that academia can help them with collaborations and tools. 

Prior to joining UW, Melinda earned a Chemical Engineering B.S. from Texas A&M University and began her career with the U.S. Intelligence community in Washington DC. She later gained experience as a management consultant, data visualization expert, and program manager with Accenture before deciding to pivot to mis-/disinformation studies after the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. 

Here are Eric Ramsing’s meeting notes:

Tom Ranken called the meeting to order at 7:30am

1. Pam Mushen recited words of wisdom
2. Bob Swanson offered the Rotary Minutes, expressing how fortuitous it is that we live in a healthy Seattle.
3. Hal Beals introduced Melinda Haughey from the University of Washington, speaking of problematic online information.
   • Discussion of social media journalism and the challenges inherent with covering the new misinformation beat.
   • Introduced to the club, the Center for an Informed Public centered at UW.
   • Discussed misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories:

Misinformation = accidental presentation of incorrect information

Disinformation = presentation of incorrect information with the intent to mislead

• Key to determining (research) in exposing disinformation is determining the Source.
  • Journalists work to debunk: researchers are intent on qualitative peer review
  • Media Manipulation.
    • Embeded in online groups intent to mis-direct.
  • Journalist determination of when to Report/Publish (sequence of events)
    • Tweet (or similar event) appears
    • Research – True or False
    • False date spread (how far is dispersal)?
    • Platforms / data analysis (trustworthy or not)
    • In the end; “get it wrong” and get accused of feeding “fake news”

Plays into the narrative “don’t trust the media”

• Discussion of current challenges
  • Pam Mushen asked about the abolition of the Fairness Doctrine, eliminated during the Reagan Administration.
  • Recommended reading: Snopes.com and Politifact.com
  • Statement that intelligence communities are actively monitoring online sites
  • Question: “When to take Action”?
  • Many cannot differentiate between opinion and news (thanks FOX)
  • Discussion of the movement of hard, peer-reviewed news from traditional outlets to “nonsource” media ie., Facebook, Twitter, etc.
  • Mention of Allsides.com.
  • “Everyone is susceptible” but prime targets are the Right Wing and the Older Generation (targeted specifically for financial grift)
  • Current lawsuits filed by Dominion may be beneficial in helping to shut  down fake news.
  • “De-platforming” (closing inputs known to be false) works but tends to push such inputs further underground, such as Parler, etc.

Meeting closed at 8:30 with much more to be said…..