Bellingham Kiwanis Soundings

February 19, 2008

The meeting began with Ken Nuckolls taking a minute to remember Al Couch. Al Couch died this week at the age of 102. Al was president the year that Ken joined our club. Ken told us that Al had been involved with planning the District Convention in Bellingham. The District Convention earned some much money that it paid for all of the clubs expenses for the next ten years. Ken said that they taught the District a lesson, and that the District have planned and run the Convention ever since. We inherited the club from some pretty smart guys.

Al was also remembered for taking and passing both the "written" and the practical portion of the Driver's License exams last year. It sounds like Mr. Couch forgot to get old.

Committee Reports:

Vaughn spoke on behalf of Elizabeth, reminding us of upcoming Interclubs. The Sardis club had its curling event coming up on February 24th. Elizabeth was also planning to visit the Ferndale Club on February 26th. Call Elizabeth for more information, or to sign up.

Dick announced that the Club retreat was being planned for April 19th. Everybody is invited.

Rich reminded people that the Board was on February 20th, and that they would be making a decision about the Fairhaven Cinema project, and considering a project proposal submitted by the YCPO committee.

Dick said that they would also be discussing the Key Leader program, which is a leadership training program for High School students. The Key Leader program is available to every High School student, not just Key Club members.

Bruce handed around the One-Day project sign-up sheets.

Jan A. updated us on the Neighbor to Neighbor food drive. She handed out food collection bags and asked us to bring them back (full) on March 4. She will have a truck at the meeting that day to take the food to the Salvation Army. Dick Z. volunteered his pick-up.

There was a reminder that there was BINGO tonight. We've making between $200-$230 a night. We've had high attendance so the pay-out has been $40 a game. We've been so successful that we bought ourselves a new money box. I saw it, it is quite nice, and it keeps the money in much better order than what we were using before.

Membership reported that it is looking for ten new members. They discussed having "career days" in which they would invite guests from a certain job group," Lawyers", or" Bankers", for example. Rich emphasized the importance of following up with visitors, check in with them, invite them back etc.

Happy Dollars:

Will D. is back! Which I think made people happy. Doug D. gave $2, saying that he was glad to be back. Several members offered to introduce him to the club. He's a good sport.

Mike O. was happy because he "survived" Carmel. People were not impressed with his adventurous spirit.

Bill L. gave a dollar because he was looking forward to a weekend of Grandchildren birthdays. He said that the party was going to start Saturday afternoon and go all the way through to Sunday. None of us would ever have guessed that he was such a party animal!

Vaughn was happy because his brother and sister (in-law?) visited from Olympia.

Barb A. pointed out that Bill A. was not amongst us. Instead, he was in Las Vegas visiting their daughter. He"visits" us so often that I forget that he's not a member of the club.

Jan A. had a happy dollar because she got all of her windows cleaned inside and out, and because Mt. Baker had been so beautiful.

Drawing:

Barb A. had the ticket and drew a Queen of Diamonds.

Program:

Jessica and Claire spoke to us about the Senior Center. She described it as a "pretty vibrant" program. She described the center itself as "Hopping". She emphasized that one of the things that the senior center does is reduce isolation and promote socializing. She handed around a long list activities that the centers offer, including dancing, latch hooking, weightlifting and many other things.

She stated that remaining active was a key to longevity, and that weightlifting in particular improves bone density and maintains mobility. They have Cybex equipment for weight training, and it is very popular.

She listed the many senior centers in our area. They are responsible for centers in Welcome, Point Roberts, Everson, Friday Harbor and Lopez. She discussed program funding some of which comes from the members themselves, and some of which comes from various governmental groups.

She encouraged, all of us to come and visit, and pointed out that you could join at 50. She also commented on the challenge of meeting the needs of the WWII seniors, while also meeting the needs of the in-coming Baby boomers. They talked at length about the nutrition programs and other activities. I will leave it to you to go and check out.