Bill Bryant, Port Commission President

Our speaker March 12th was Bill Bryant, Port Commission President and Seattle 4 Rotarian, who has long advocated a merger between the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle. The consolidation into a single seaport would keep jobs in Seattle. Some 200 thousand jobs are at stake in an industry whose marine cargo accounts for 1/3 of Washington’s GDP. The competition between the two ports has to cease. If cargo is divided between them, shippers would often decide to use Vancouver. Moreover, if each overbuilds to stay ahead of the other, the unsustainable result would land in the laps of the taxpayers. Note should be made that Elliott and Commencement Bays offer deep water that needs no dredging.

The overriding reality is that if one of the 4 huge merged shipping companies is lost to us, the job loss would be calamitous. Our ports are not ready for the larger ships and their larger cargoes. We must make ready for this, with limited time remaining. The merger would entail not only consolidating the single terminals of each port, but the necessity of offering four to the shipping companies. To that end, Terminal 5 is closed for the time being as it undergoes refurbishing. It is ideally situated: deep water, proximity of I-5 and I-90, the nearness of the airport (where Delta is to move its international hub from Tokyo to Seattle), and location at the terminus of transcontinental railroads.

Drawbacks to the merger, expected soon to get federal approval, consist of deficiencies in:

—Education. The appalling high school dropout rate and poor qualifications for community colleges leaves vital jobs in high numbers going wanting. Also it deprives people of the chance of a good living.
—Transportation. There is a crumbling infrastructure in regard to bridges, antiquated rail system, and worsening truck routes. If the merger is to reach all that it promises, these must be corrected. An impetus for us is that B.C. is seeing to its rail system in a tidy fashion. Then there is the airport. It needs to be greatly overhauled in regard to baggage, the North Satellite, elevators, escalators, arrivals facility, and replacement of the center runway. (Not cheap).

Summing up: From what Bryant tells us, this implementation is a must, as is the matter of expediting it

Bright Future with Reza Khastou

Our speaker for March 5th was Reza Khastou, founder of Bright Future & Basic and Transitional Studies, posits that our education troubles stem from two internal enemies. They are the unjust distributions of wealth and of knowledge and skills. Despite several government attempts at remedy, nothing availed. Moreover, appallingly low graduation and high dropout rates, mainly among black and Hispanic students, needed to be addressed. Other issues entailed, for those who made it to graduation, insurmountable student debt and inability to find work in one’s field. In many cases, career training should have begun much earlier, to wit, in high school.

To deal with these troubling circumstances, Khastou instituted the Bright Future & Basic and Transitional Studies program. Its aim: to make education meaningful to targeted students…to provide workforce education with hands-on…to have this work force education focused and intensive…to provide a tighter community that can focus on the individual. Case management is an integral part of the program.

Bright Future provides that students enter a college-level training program in the high school of parents’ choice. Credits go to both high school and community college. There is academic career counseling for either a job or further education.

Transition to a job is the ideal to be aimed at. Programs include Health Care Specialties, Cosmetology, Applied Math, Elective English, Social Studies, and more. Some scholarships and other financial aid are available.

Benefits from the program, already observed include:

–Higher high school and college graduation rates
–Close advisory system by the staff leads to students’ success.
–Unlike much college preparation, this program is practical.
–Dropouts often return and are re-engaged.
–Many benefactors have become interested.
–Skills can be taken anywhere there may be opportunities.
–Income from jobs circulates through the community and in turn aids the base.
–Social Security benefits are enhanced.

Comment: A vision whose results speak for themselves

Debuts and Discoveries: March 21st – Save the date

University Sunrise Rotary presents a tasting smorgasbord of the latest local beverage creations. Complementing these new flavors in the historic Sandpoint Naval Air Station Hangar in Magnuson Park will be the varied bites of five of the hottest new food trucks. Purchase bottles of the beverages that you liked best as you leave!

Buy tickets now!

  • 30 of the newest Washington state wineries, breweries, distilleries and cideries
  • 5 new Seattle food trucks

For a full list of participating businesses, click here.

All benefits go to the University District Food Bank’s Packs For Kids program providing age-appropriate, nutritious meals and snacks to children at risk of going hungry on weekends when free or reduced school meals are not available.

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Brightening the Holidays

Hi All –

To get everyone on the same page, I’m going to start from the Very Beginning.

A long long time ago, in a land…well, not far away at all…actually it was here in Seattle… I hung Christmas lights – professionally. Don’t believe me? Click on this link and you can see a little of what I did once… http://youtu.be/NCxFEG-SSXM?list=PL99E902F33D3935DA

Things have changed a little bit since that time. I evolved into a Mortgage Loan Originator, and operate within the warm, dry, confounds of Guild Mortgage’s Nortgate Offices. However, one thing has never changed, and that’s my desire to do whatever I can to help brighten someone else’s holidays.

Last year my rotary group, Sunrise Rotary funded holiday lighting projects for a couple homes – aimed at Brightening the Holidays for those less fortunate than ourselves. If I do say so myself, it was a huge success. Check out this video of last year’s work!

Post by University Sunrise Rotary Club of Seattle.

 

This year we are at it again. Sunrise Rotary worked with the University Food Bank identifying a couple families who could really use a little extra holiday cheer this year. Check out their stories!

Who Are We Helping??? (email from University Food Bank)

Hi Kyle,

I talked with the driver for the Home Delivery route that Catherine and two other families are on and she gave me a lot of good information. In addition to Catherine, there are two other families who live in the same apartment complex. Catherine has custody of 3 of her grandchildren. The youngest boy is right around 18 months old and the other two boys are in kindergarten and first/second grade. The driver notices that they do not have much of anything that she has seen. Catherine has to arrange transportation for her grandsons so they can make it to different therapy appointments each week. She also has shared that a tutor for the older boys would be very helpful because she has trouble helping them with their homework.

Hoa is another woman who lives in the apartment complex. She lives with two of her sons, I believe, who are in their teens.

Karen is the last woman who lives in the apartment complex. She lives there with her 18 year old daughter. The driver shared that their apartment is very sparsely furnished and that their dog recently passed away unexpectedly.

As far as Betty M., I haven’t heard back from the driver yet. I know that Betty has 4 other people living in her home. She has a disabled son who lives there, as well as her grandchildren and possibly a few foster children. When I hear back from the driver, I can email you any additional information that might be helpful for you. (I will update you all when I get updated on Betty Mosley)

I hope this gives you enough information to get to know these families a little bit. It seems to me like some sort of home furnishings might be appreciated by all the families in the apartment complex, as well as warm clothes for the winter for these families and also Betty’s household. The driver also shared that some sort of gift cards might be greatly appreciated as well. If you have any other questions. Feel free to email me with any questions you may have. Thank you for coordinating this for the Home Delivery families. I know they really appreciate it!

What Are We Doing???

A small group of Rotarians and myself will decorate the outsides of these homes as described in the pictures below, but more than the lights, what would REALLY Brighten these families holidays would be gifts. As you read above, these families don’t NEED lights, they NEED the basic essentials! …The lights are just the cherry on top.

If you are able and willing, let’s give these families a little something extra this year.

Let me know if you are able to “Gift” clothes, food, toys, gift cards.

Like we did last year, I would love to leave these families with something to unwrap, or go to the store with this holiday season (gift cards).

Please Let me know if you would like to participate in installing lights on these houses, or if you cannot do install, if you would like to donate something to the families. Email me directly if you would like to remain anonymous – your secret (Santa) is safe with me. ,

Cheers,

Kyle Bergquist

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kyle Bergquist

TINFA gets its first grant!

Because every child deserve a great education!

TNFA1

TIMF Graphic

 

We support students and teachers in under-served areas of developing countries, through the use of simple and applicable technology in the classroom.

TNFA Donation Pres.

That’s right, today, TINFA received its first grant. We are excited and grateful.  Through this generous donation of $6000 from the University Sunrise Rotary club of Seattle, TINFA will be able to provide the equipment kit and the initial training to one additional new school in Guatemala this coming year. We look forward to a long lasting and fruitful partnership with the club.

Thank you!

UW Rotaract & Christmas Forest

This year UW Rotaract is partnering with Christmas Forest to sell wreaths, swags, and garlands.  The funds raised by this project will contribute to UW Rotaract’s general development as well as the International Service Scholarships.  The wreaths smell wonderful and last a long time!

To order, go to www.ChristmasForest.com, “Add to Cart” and enter UWROTA in the club code field, at checkout.

 

Tim Burgess, Seattle City Council President

Tim Burgess, Seattle City Council President, quickly piqued the collective interest when he proposed a remedy for poverty. He advanced several factors in its perpetuation which are axiomatic, to wit:
–It is race-based.
–Children raised in poverty are likely as adults to remain poor, less educated, and more likely to encounter early parenthood.
–Persistent poverty tears at our social fabric. It weakens the city via the costs of remedial education, crime, and the support of indigent families.
–The single most important step to preclude the above is to invest in children and to do this early by means of home visitation.

There are three proven methods in place to give children a fair start in life, i.e.:
I. The Nurse-Family partnership, wherein twice-a-week visits are aimed at effective parenting. Providing parents and kids with higher self-esteem leads to better school performance, higher graduation rates, lower crime statistics, and a likelihood to escape poverty.
II. The Parent-Child Home Program. A trained reader visits a low income family and includes both mother and child in readings. A book is left behind. A toy at the next visit is related to the story recently read. Result: children do well in prekindergarten, require less special education, and have a 55% higher high school graduation rate than those not benefited by such help. NYC reports an ultimate saving of $210,000 per child as a consequence of the program. The one in Seattle reaches half of the families in need of it.
III. The Preschool Home Program. This readies children for kindergarten. It raises the standard found in low-quality prekindergarten classes, crowded classrooms, and poor reading fundamentals. It is predictable that a child not reading at the third grade level–and one-fourth of Seattle’s children cannot–will not be graduated from high school. This program has made inroads into these dismal statistics.

Tim Burgess has laid down the principles. Further implementation of them seems imperative.

Comment: In his excellent focus on the prevention of future poverty, Mr. Burgess did not address existing poverty, evidences of which we see daily, inflicted upon youths and adults. It is an enduring concern. For even as he spoke, the rain was falling on the homeless.

Risibles

#1. The owner of a clothing store, returning from lunch, was met by his jubilant salesman.

“C.J.,” exulted the salesman, “I just sold that suit that had been hanging for years in the corner!”

Owner: “You mean the plaid, double breasted one with the pink lapels and the gold stripes running down the bell-bottomed trouser legs?”

Salesman: “Yes, and I got top dollar for it, too!”

Owner: “Nice going—-but why is your hand bandaged?”

Salesman: “As the customer was leaving, his seeing-eye dog bit me.”

#2. The rescue party arrived at the scene of the plane crash. The sole survivor was observed leaning against the fuselage. He was surrounded by a small mountain of bones and was busily gnawing at another one.

Noting the aghast stares of the rescuers, he remonstrated, “Look, I know what you’re thinking. But I had to survive. It has been done before. Think of the Donner party!

Said the leader of the group, “Yes, but good God, man–your plane went down only last night….”

District Governer John Enger Visits

DG

In his sweep through the district’s clubs, DG John Enger alit chez nous.


His address began with the exhortation that a 30 year old club should do something celebratory. He then celebrated the Beals administration by presenting the Presidential Citation for the good events on Hal’s watch. 
His other remarks included: A question to Nancy about the Frog Award…Merrill to take on the web site…An occurrence in Kenya showing how a selfless gesture by a boy changed his life through education…The Candle is an instrument to unite and connect the district’s clubs…A pitch for attendance at the Tulalip District Conference, 5/15-5/17…Rotary’s President’s encouragement for family members to join the clubs…Foundation’s thanks for our contribution. $600K was raised in the district, putting us fifth. We came in at $306 per member…North American Rotaries has had a net loss of 51,000 members per year. He urges keeping members engaged, contacting absentees, and giving jobs to RINOs.

Mike, for his part, had words to utter and slides to show. He named officers, committees, and the current activities of each. He reported 12 new members last year; UW Rotaract; the newsletter; The great programs and activities, to wit: Block Party…Books for the World…Dictionaries to the third graders…El Centro de la Raza…Food Bank…Holiday Lighting (and more)…Urban Rest Stop…Food Lifeline…Rotaract Food Harvest.
To come: Tree-planting…Continued holiday lighting…Debuts and Discoveries (and the story of its explosive evolution)…U District Food Bank….Priorities include:  Debuts and Discoveries; an international service project; and a monthly community service event.