It was a great pleasure to have District 5020 Governor J. Ross White and his wife, Pam, visit our club earlier this month.

Trained as a teacher, the retired educational consultant praised his East Jefferson County "class".
"I'm not here to tell you how to run your club. This club runs so remarkably well," White said.

Instead, what he hoped to do is leave with us a sense of his Rotary dreams and goals.
"Rotary is not the same club as it was when it was formed (in 1905).

The club of yesteryear was different than it is today," he noted. Indeed, the abundance of female faces in the sea of Rotarians confirmed his observation.

Rotary may have changed, but our foundation remains the same: Rotary is a grassroots approach to "Service Above Self". Quality of membership is more important than quantity of membership. . .and united, we are a powerful force.

"No one can whistle a symphony; it takes a whole orchestra to play it," White said. "People come to Rotary because they have a social conscience. There is no better exercise for the heart than reaching down and lifting someone up."

If you haven't signed up to help. . .before. . .after. . . or during. . .the Ritz, please give John a call, at 385.9009, or e-mail him and ask, "What can I do?"

Puttin' on the Ritz
Saturday, Sept. 14
Port Ludlow's "The Bay Club"
5:30 p.m. until midnight

Be wined and dined
Enjoy auction fun and madness
Then, dance the night away. . .

Sadly, this is the last "Mystery Grad" I have from Chimacum. If you know of any more of them. . .or you're one. . .send me a photo and a bio from way back when.

Port Townsend grads: Send me a photo, or bring one to lunch. . .and we can continue the "Mystery grad" feature. (You won't let Chimacum one-up you. . .again. . .will you??)

What Rotary Means to Me

"What has Rotary meant to me? This is a good question that I may not have a very good answer for at this time. From the time I was 18, to the age of 48, I spent my life in service to my country in the United States Navy. During that time I also did some community work with the Boy Scouts of America when I was on shore duty.

After I retired from the Navy, I helped build ships for the United States Navy for eight years, which I still considered service to my country, except I was getting a little more money for that service. Still, I was helping ensure that the taxpayers were getting the best bang (no pun intended) for their buck, and the sailors that will have to go in harm's way would have the best ship and combat systems we could provide.

When I retired from that career, I moved to Chimacum, helped build a house to live in, and went crabbing. Sometimes I went clamming. Occasionally I went out and picked up some oysters. I even caught a salmon or two. Now this was all fun but something is missing. All this stuff I was doing was for me, except the house. The house was for my wife and myself.

One day Mel Gates asked me if I would go to lunch with him at a Rotary Club meeting in Chimacum. I did not really know what the Rotary Club did, but I did remember that I had an uncle that was very active in the Rotary Club in Napa, California. I believe he was there treasurer for 25 or 30 years. He took it very seriously and strongly believed in supporting his local Rotary Club.

Now I knew two guys who were associated with Rotary – and I liked both of them – so I said yes to Mel Gates. After a few meetings, I joined the Rotary Club of East Jefferson County and have met a lot of really nice people that I would not have met otherwise.

I have found out that the Rotary is a service organization that does things for the community. I have spent my life providing service for my country; and now that I am retired, maybe I can provide a little more service, but without the long periods of family separation, and all the other minor inconveniences that go along with being a sailor at sea or overseas.

So far in the Rotary Club, I have only picked up some trash on a road through town, contributed a little bit of money, passed a basket, led a Pledge of Allegiance and tried to sell some roses. But, I guess every little bit helps. I am retired, but I am doing a little for East Jefferson County and that is good. So, until I get some time in the Rotary Club, I can only say that Rotary to me is a learning experience. A learning experience that I would not be having if Mel Gates had not asked me to lunch."