After another excellent pre-meeting concert by Sandy Roeger, mom of Rotarian Jeff Roeger and substitute pianist for David Dix, President Kathy called the meeting to order at 12:10. Sandy led today’s patriotic song, “America,” followed by the invocation by Rick Bissler and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Sandy led us in singing “Baby Face” from the Rotary Song Book.
Visitors: There were no visiting Rotarians at today’s meeting. Guests were Jerry Curry, who joined us online. Amanda Senn’s guests were Jaycees Calley Mitchell, owner of Talk On Speech and Language Therapy, and Nate Watson, former Kent Rotarian and current president of Kent Jaycees. Soon-to-be Rotarian Bill Russell was the guest of President Kathy. Asad Khan’s son Simon was his online guest.
Announcements:
- Carol Crimi asked President Kathy to remind Rotarians that requests for grants from the Kent Rotary Foundation are due to her by January 31st.
- President Kathy also asked for volunteers to help Rotarian Stacey Richardson plan this year’s Rotary Auction fundraiser.
- Curtis Stumpf noted that, during the recent Story Walk event in downtown Kent, we collected 12 boxes of warm clothing for kids, which has been distributed through Kent City Schools.
- Nate Watson invited Rotarians to participate in the Jaycees Reverse Raffle at Bell Tower Brewing on February 18. Tickets are $100 apiece for a chance to win $3000 and are available through Amanda Senn or any member of Jaycees.
Happy Bucks:
President Kathy, David Myers, Will Underwood, Bill Russell, Laing Kennedy, and Tom Hatch all had Happy Bucks for Sandy Roeger, neighbors who help with snow plowing, our awesome book club, and time with family.
Today’s Program: The Famous Rotary Book Club
Mary Beth Harper introduced today’s presentation reminding us of this month’s theme, “Let’s Talk.” The Rotary Book Club was the idea of Will Underwood, who founded it with Mary Beth’s help in September, 2018. Charter member Laing Kennedy subsequently dubbed it “The Famous Rotary Book Club.” Mary Beth passed out a list of books the club has read – one each month since its inception.
Mary Beth pointed out that the club has five guiding principles: Monthly meetings are held in the home of the person who selects the book; the selected book must be one the host has already read; the book may be fiction or nonfiction; wine must be served, (red for Mary Beth is required); and those who attend must have read the book.
These rules are often followed.
The current members of the club are Mary Beth, Will Underwood, Laing Kennedy, Brad Ehrhart, Tom Hatch, and Anita Herington. Anita was in Florida for this presentation, but each of the other members presented a book the group has read recently. Will Underwood led off by commenting that every book club member has read books they likely would never have otherwise read – and is glad to have had the experience.
Will discussed “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr set in France and Germany during the war years in the1930s and 40s. It’s the story of the accidental relationship between a blind French girl and a German boy who wind up together in a war-torn Normandy village and the hunt for cleverly-hidden treasure.
Laing discussed “Best Seat in the House” by sports journalist Christine Brennan. It’s the story of a family connected by their love of sports and attending games together and the special relationship between a father and daughter.
Brad presented “We Should Hang Out” by Billy Barker, a journalist who was given an assignment by his editor to investigate the increasing isolation and loneliness of men in our society. His reporting led to this book about his sometimes successful, and sometimes not, search to create lasting friendships with other men his age.
Tom discussed “Sailing Alone Around the World” by Joshua Slocum who was the first to circumnavigate the globe alone in a sailboat. Slocum tells about his adventure with remarkable precision and candidness. For example, “I met a group of savages who had never seen a white guy before and some of them want to eat me and some of them wanted to worship me.” An amazing tale by a remarkable sailor.
Mary Beth discussed “The Dutch House” by Ann Patchett, one of her favorite authors. It’s the story of siblings who, even in their adult years, still seek to understand and come to terms with events of their childhood in the house where they grew up. “The Dutch House” is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past.
Mary Beth ended by inviting interested Rotarians to join the club. The next meeting will be held on February 18th at Will Underwood’s home. The book the group is reading this month is “The Overstory” by Richard Powers. It’s a challenging book, but like the others, well worth the effort.
Today’s Response: Stacey Richardson thanked the group for a great presentation and encouraged everyone to tap into the resources of the Kent Free Library for recommendations and free books from its knowledgeable staff and top-notch collection.
Respectfully submitted
Thomas Hatch
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