This Tuesday we will be presenting a memorial resolution to Carole Keller in honor of past governor, club president and member, Gordon Keller.  I look forward to seeing her again and to recognizing a fine man and good friend.

 

Details will be forthcoming on our Rotary Holiday Cocktail Party.  It will be on Friday, December 3^rd and include appetizers and a cash bar.  Many thanks to Rebekah Kulis for stepping up (once again) to chair the event.  Who else is willing to help?  Please let me know.

 

Please send me nominations for the Kent Rotarian of the Year.  We will present this award at the Holiday Party.  We have lots of “Service Above Self” folks in our club… send the names and the reason why your nominee is a good choice.  The Board will discuss at our November meeting.

 

Speaking of upcoming events… we are the VERY early stages of planning our spring auction.  We need to assemble a committee of dedicated folks to help.  Stacey Richardson is considering chairing the event, but she has some big events happening in her life at about that same time next spring. There is much to be done and we need lots of members to get involved.  Please let me or Dave Myers know if you will be part of this wonderful and important event.  It is because of the money that our auction raises that we are able to financially support various worthy causes in our community.

 

We need more members to help with the audio/visual aspect of our meetings.  The committee of about six has dwindled to two or three.  If we are going to be able to have hybrid meetings, which have been wonderful, we need more assistance.  The more people we have helping, the less the burden is on any one member. 

Thank you!

 

Tuesday will be a full, fun, and entertaining meeting.  I look forward to seeing all of you there!

 

Let’s Serve to Change Lives!

 

With gratitude,

 

Kathy

This month’s Stanton Middle School Student of the Month is Jax Wilson, a member of the 8^th Grade Voyagers Team and an excellent student. Jax is a two-year member of band and active in Scouts. He’s currently working toward his Eagle Scout badge. Jax plans to attend college and train for a career in cyber security.

 

David Patterson is a resident of Kent and the Operations Director at Wastebits, a software company that streamlines waste management for service providers and waste treatment facilities.  David attended Kent State where he met his wife, Libby.  David and Libby have two young sons, Tom and Michael, who keep them very busy.  Aside from enjoying time with his family, when there is the rare free moment, David enjoys reading, the outdoors, and his dogs.  David is eager to become an active member in our club. Welcome to Rotary, Dave.

 

Asad Khan introduced today’s speaker, his longtime friend Henry Wong, who appeared via Zoom from his home in Seattle. His presentation, From Idea to Product, launched this month’s program theme -- Entrepreneurship. Henry is a consumer electronics innovator who is responsible for market development at Bluetooth SIG. He is also an inventor, entrepreneur, and community collaborator. Henry’s family emigrated to the US from China when he was a child. He has worked and lived on three continents and speaks five languages.

 

He outlined the steps he has taken as an entrepreneur, beginning with “Where to Start?”. He advised attending Maker Events and Hackathons to share and develop ideas and connect with like-minded potential funders and team members. The second step, “How to Find an Idea,” involves following your passion (what do you love?), defining your mission (why do this?), and devising an MVP - minimal viable product (do one or two things really well).

 

Step three, “Understand the Market” requires researching direct and indirect competition, knowing your customer, determining the right price point, defining your value proposition, and planning for distribution. In step four, the successful entrepreneur builds a team consisting of others who share a passion for the product. Finally, during the execution phase, it’s important to maintain a focus on the goal, establish milestones, and stay on course.

 

Henry described his own experience with this process when he, in 2014, created a product designed to help motorists avoid fender benders. He created a sensor that attaches to the license plate on automobiles to gauge the space between cars and other objects and send a signal to the driver’s smart phone. He received a patent for his fender bender sensor.

 

In closing, Henry advised would-be entrepreneurs to never stop learning, leverage the expertise of others, ignore the naysayers, and do your homework.

 

Today’s Response: Matt Carter thanked Henry for a great presentation and echoed his advice to do what you love and love what you do.

 

Respectfully submitted

Thomas Hatch