Melanie Barstow, Following the Boys in the Boat

*Onward like the swallow going
Flies the speed of oar and shell.
Oh the wild delight in knowing, ‘
Tis our pow’r that does the rowing…..


Captivated by the book ,”The Boys in the Boat”, Melanie Barstow has successfully volunteered to conduct tours of the University of Washington shell house and related historic spots. The response has been large.

 

 

 

In her talk, she reviews the book’s story, noting:

  • the Depression era
  • the fortitude of the rowers
  • the privations of the young men
  • the hard and dangerous jobs they had to take
  • the adversities, including the family’s abandonment of the principal character at his age of 15.

Altruism, self-sacrifice, and fortitude were the sine qua non that made possible the successive triumphs of this Husky crew, This culminated in their Olympic triumph in Berlin in 1936 as they represented the U.S. Specifically, the order of finish; USA/Italy/Germany. It is notable that the margin between winning and not winning is at times measured in hundredths of a second. In 1936, the times were 6:25.4, 6:26, and 6:26.4.

*All in unison of action, with the noble satisfaction….
…..Coolly every power invoke…
Onward, make her cut the water,
Onward make her cut the water—
And for fame of alma mater, stroke, stroke, stroke.

*Excerpts from the Cornell Rowing Song.

Julia Cosse’ of Cosse’ International

Julia Cossé, well immersed in the family securities business, Cossé International, spoke on the subject of “How to Pick Stocks that Go UP”.

An exhaustive study, identifying stocks that doubled within six months, found a certain commonality among them. From the results of this have evolved principles to guide one in choosing such companies.

To wit, look for:

  • Increase in earnings of the stock’s underlying company to have increased.
  • Moreover, the earnings’ increase has accelerated, preferably into double digits.
  • The accelerated increase should be due to something, i.e. a new product.
    Example: Microsoft’s periodic new devices to meet demand.
  • The industry that includes the company has been doing well as a group.
  • Volume. Institutional investors, as contrasted to individuals, create volume changes. Therefore, increased upside volume is a good indicator.
  • Medium-sized companies. These have good growth potential. Very large companies have already seen growth. Small companies’ stock may be hard to exit at the right time.
  • Pay attention to what kind of market we are in.

Comment: Be thus guided and you cannot lose. Maybe

Christy Goff is Sleeping in Seattle

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

If you, or anyone within earshot, does this at night, there may exist a case of sleep apnea. This is a condition in which an intermittent cessation of breathing temporarily starves the heart and brain of oxygen.
This is one of the points made by Christy Goff of Pacific Science Centers.
In case of the above, a night in the sleep lab would be a well-advised move. If such is the diagnosis, a number of treatments is available.

Other facts about sleep included in her talk:

  • Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep.
  • Cortisol and epinephrine are active in the waking process
  • Melatonin, building during waking hours, causes crepuscular drowsiness.
  • Serotonin acts to help a happy awakening.
  • There are 3-4 sleep cycles per night. Deep sleep comes first, followed by REM sleep. It is during REM that we dream.
  • Naps should be limited to about 20 minutes, lest a hormonal imbalance occur.
  • As we age. deep sleep time decreases. By age 85, 20% of the night is spent awake.
  • Insomnia risks include stress, anxiety, PTSD, and depression.A relation exists between obesity and sleep. Those who sleep less tend to gain weight. The appetite increases in such cases, entailing the hormones Ghelin (appetite enhancer) and Leptin (satiety indicator).

To enhance sleep:

  • Finish water intake an hour before retiring.
  • Exercise early in the day.
  • Get on a schedule for sleep, to balance hormones.
  • Restrict time in bed.
  • Arise at the same time each day regardless of energy level.
  • Do not get into bed until sleepy.
  • Don’t stay in bed if not sleepy.
  • Read. Do not  use TV or phone.
  • Turn off electrical devices 30-60 minutes before wishing to go to sleep.
  • Do not use caffeine at the end of  the day. It blocks the hormone, Adenosine, which causes drowsiness.
  • Keep it cave like–cool and dark. 65 degrees is the ideal temperature.

See a sleep specialist when–

  • There is snoring
  • There is a use of sleeping pills
  • It is difficult to fall asleep.
  • Tossing and turning occur.
  • Interruption in breathing occurs
  • There is frequent or early awakening.
  • Irritability or inability to concentrate during the day occur.
  • Tiredness or depressing happen on awakening.
  • There is a desire to take frequent naps.

Join Us June 29th Annual Sand Point Block Party

On Thursday, June 29th our Rotary Club is hosting its annual block party for Solid Ground Housing in Sand Point. Solid Ground believes that housing & family stability are foundational to ending poverty in our area. This event which started out years ago as a small barbecue has turned into one of the primary social events of the summer for the residents. Be sure to block out your calendar from 4pm to 8pm on the 29th and be sure to invite your friends to help. If you need additional information reach out to Jeff Mushen at jeffrey.m.mushen@ampf.com.

David Allen, McKinstray Construction

Seattle’s degree of growth and development is directly proportional to David Allen’s enthusiasm thereof. A scion of the McKinstray Family, he has done much to further the company’s fortunes.
Seattle leads the nation in growth and is at the convergence of an astounding array of top businesses, entertainment, education, shipping, aerospace, philanthropy, transportation, and a ferry system. He foresees the boom to extend into the ’20s and ’30s. It has encompassed WA, OR, and BC.


What engendered this state of things? He dates it to the era of Expo in the early ’60s. Leaders bearing the names, or affiliated with them, met with a vision. They included such as Weyerhaeuser, Nordstrom, Boeing, and the many others, all with an average age of 40.6. They laid the framework of clusters of industries, Indeed, several are spinoffs of original businesses. The work is still in progress.
68 cranes is the current count in the building sector. Each represents $10M to $15M. Overall sectors include Government, Civil, and Private.
Latter-day innovations are in Cyber Security, Virtual Reality, and Artificial Intelligence.  In every sense of the idiom, things are looking up.

Comment: Jobs abound. As has been averred, we must fill them with local manpower, else there will be dependence on outside talent. The pressing assignment is to keep the supply of local trainees current. Moreover, in this climate of prosperity, work needs to be done for benefit of the working poor,  those priced out of dwellings and—lest we forget—the homeless.

Thursday’s speaker WA Attorney General Bob Ferguson

Bob Ferguson is Washington’s 18th Attorney General. As the state’s chief legal officer, he directs 500 attorneys and 600 professional staff providing legal services to state agencies, Governor and Legislature.

General Ferguson’s ongoing priorities are:

  • Protecting consumers and seniors against fraud by cracking down on powerful interests that don’t play by the rules;
  • Keeping communities safer by supporting law enforcement;
  • Protecting our environment; and
  • Standing up for our veterans by advocating for service men and women and their families.

Bob received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1995. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington, where he was student body president. Bob began his legal career in Spokane where he served as a law clerk for Chief Judge W. Fremming Nielsen of the Federal District Court for Eastern Washington. He then clerked for Judge Myron Bright of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Midwest. Ferguson returned to Seattle and joined Preston, Gates, and Ellis (now K&L Gates), one of Washington’s leading law firms.

In 2003, Bob was elected to the King County Council. In 2005, after the council was reduced from 13 to nine and Bob’s district was eliminated, he was re-elected. He was unopposed in 2009.

Bob is a fourth-generation Washingtonian. His family homesteaded on the beautiful Skagit River, which may explain why Bob is such an enthusiastic mountain climber, backpacker, and birder. He has hiked hundreds of miles of Washington trails and climbed many of the state’s highest peaks.

Bob is an internationally-rated chess master. His games have appeared in local, national and international chess publications. Bob has twice won the Washington State Chess Championship.

Bob, his wife Colleen and their 9-year-old twins, Jack and Katie, reside in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of North Seattle.

Credit: http://www.atg.wa.gov/about-bob-ferguson

Goodbye Mike Gillespie

The two remaining Charter Members from 1984, John Reynolds and Jim Miller, wish Michael Gillespie well on his last scheduled Club meeting before he leaves.

David Ellingson, Outdoorsman

Having kayaked the Mississippi from its origin to Memphis, David Ellingson, outdoorsman extraordinaire, was not satiated. This ultimately enabled him to narrate and colorfully illustrate his journey through the Erie Canal in NY and down the Hudson to New York Harbor. He got as close to the Statue of Liberty as the law allowed.

In this aquatic odyssey, he took us through locks, under bridges, and places of rest. We also, got a glimpse of the fauna and flora, as well as geologic formations, i.e., the Palisades, that passed in review before his eyes and camera.

The presence and numbers of River Angels, those hospitable and of help to him, was heartening. They gave of their time, substance, and shelter to strangers in transit. One feels that such kindness is in the majority, despite those that the media hold before us as otherwise.

Unspoken but communicated was the courage involved in this endeavor. There is rough water, the presence of fatigue, fog, and the debt that muscles must pay for the constant need to paddle a frail craft safely.

Comment: While the many may float a loan, it is the few that float alone.

Neil Strege: Washingon Round Table

Neil Strege is Vice-President of the Washington Round Table. This group of senior executives has focused on education reform. Their main objective is to fill the teeming job market with WA graduates. Otherwise, talent from outside shall have to be imported. And presently, the demand exceeds the supply. It is projected that 740,000 job openings will occur in the next five years.

 

He described three major career pathways, to wit:

  1. Career. High skilled, high pay. Academic credentials needed.
  2. Pathway. Blue collar. Skilled. Pathway to career jobs over five years
  3. Entry level. Low skilled, low pay.

Today 31% of WA high school students go on to earn a post-secondary credential. The goal is 70% by 2030. That is, a credential by age 26.

Not good! WA is 47th in the nation in college-going high school graduates. The 70% goal, if achieved, will yield significant social benefits, i.e., reduction of unemployment and poverty. It will be necessary to improve the performance of the K-12 system, enhance the participation of WA State in post-secondary education, and help students develop better awareness of careers that will be available.

It is a fact that poor students start behind and finish behind. There have been identified 255 low performing K-12 schools; more than one-third of school districts have at least one. However, only 100,000 students attend them. The challenge extends beyond low performing schools:

  • There is a correlation between poverty and race
  • Other factors include homelessness and the various reasons for it.
  • Steps to be taken:
    • Improve K-12 financing.
    • Enhance support and accountability
    • Increase access to educator talent
    • Close achievement gap early.

Comment: This is an important and far-reaching undertaking. The more successful  these efforts, the more everyone, statewide, will benefit.

Arnold Swanberg, Resident Historian-Last Years of WWI

Arnold Swanberg, Resident Historian, spoke characteristically without notes. On this occasion, his topic concerned the last year(s) of World War I.

1917 was the most decisive year, entailing such events as: The Russian Revolution and army collapse; The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, allowing the German army’s transfer to the western front; the battle-weariness of all combatants. Meanwhile the British under General Allenby had routed the Turks and marched into Jerusalem. This led to the British mandate over Palestine.

President Wilson, who had avoided US participation, had hoped to be the voice of mediation. For a while, German submarine warfare had been conducted in keeping with the rules of warfare. Then came the sinking of the Lusitania and the institution of unrestricted submarine warfare.

In addition, Germany had embarked on a Mexican strategy, hoping to entice Mexico to go to war with the US to gain back the territory it had lost in the southwest. This became known when the British deciphered a cablegram containing the Zimmerman Note which defined the plan. Moreover, Germany asked the Japanese to go to war with the US, the incentive being a Californian port. Overwhelmed by events, Wilson requested and got a declaration of war against Germany.

Events that soon followed: Our non-membership in the League of Nations, the temporary expedient of the income tax, and women’s suffrage.

Comment: It only took 20 years for global carnage to resume.