Kelli Thode started the 39^th meeting of the year and the 5,639^th meeting of the Rotary Club of Everett with the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

John Olson spoke about Paul Harris and his vision to make the world a better place through fellowship and goodwill. Originally, there were two “blind spots” in Rotary model, no women members and one club member per profession. Those blind spots were corrected over time along with other fine tuning. Our club is reviewing our strategic plan for the next three to five years. Hopefully, we can find the right balance between change and continuing to do the things that make us a successful club.

 

Danielle Mullen from the LaConner Rotary brought tulips to sell for their club fundraiser. Thanks Danielle! She also invited the membership to their fundraiser and dinner auction August 29^th. The theme is “Let the Good Times Roll”. Prime Rib and seafood are on the menu.

 

Tasha Boston, a potential new member, is the owner of KRB Concepts which is a residential and commercial construction and remodeling company located at 2815 Baker Ave, Suite 200 in Everett.

 

Ashley Bolden announced the next Rotary Coffee hour is April 8^th at 9:00AM at The Loft Bakeshop & Café located at 1309 Hewitt Ave.

 

Heather Barnhart Blood drive April 24^th at the Everett Elks.

 

Walt Greenwood is looking for a few members to join the Public Relations Committee next year. Bring your social media skills and promote the good Rotary provides to the community.

 

Ryan Willis reminded the members about the District Assembly this Saturday in Surry, BC. Registration starts at 8:00AM. Be there!

 

Kellie Thode reminded the members about the District Conference May 1-3 at Harrison Hot Springs. Sign up on the district 5050 website.

 

Kelli Thode gave a recap of the Finale Celebration at the Imagine Children’s Museum on April 2. There were around 150 people that attended including Rotarians, family members, neighbors and coworkers. This was a gift back to the community as the Rotary Club of Everett celebrate 109 years of community service and positive impact in our community and around the world! Big thank you to Neil, Sandy and Bambi for all their help with making a great evening for all.

 

Henry Janicki had happy dollars for Easter time spent in San Diego with his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law. He also had sad dollars for one of his employee’s whose niece received a head injury on Friday and passed away on Easter Sunday. Life is short, be grateful for the time we have together.

 

Kari Quaas and Ashley Bolden were pictured on page 6 of the Everett Chamber of Commerce Guide book.

 

Will McMann was happy Brian Hollingshead inspired him to sign up for an event he was not planning to attend but was happy he did.

 

Keeli Thode is happy to travel to Billings this weekend to see her grandchild.

 

There was a reminder to donate more prizes to the Raffle Committee.

Winner Number 1 – Henry Newton selected wine and playing cards.

Winner Number 2 – Will McMann selected a Rotary Hat and hot chocolate

Winner Number 3 – Jim Schrader selected Sake and peppermint patties.

Paul Harris raffle – Bruce Timm.

 

Ryan Willis reported on the 2026 Club Assembly and Strategic Planning Session held last January. The Rotary Action Plan is a nationally created “Strategic Planning Guide” used to collaboratively identify where we want our club to be in the next 3 to 5 years and how we can materialize our vision by setting clear, attainable goals. Areas we looked at during the planning session were membership, participation, funding, and vision. Membership is declining all over the country. What are we going to do to increase membership?  Participation - making sure we are getting all members involved. Funding - some members are able to contribute more dollars than time. Vision - there were several great ideas expressed at the planning session.

 

There were about 20 Rotarians from our club who participated in the Strategic Planning Session led by Rob Martin, Linda Murray, and Shawn O’Donnell. With the guidance of District 5050 advisors, we were led through several exercises trying to answer these questions. 1. How is our club doing now? 2. What do we want our club to be like? 3. How can we achieve our vision? 4. How close are we to our goals?

 

Membership attrition is due to several factors including the passing of members, relocation, and our own failure to effectively communicate our value proposition. This is an issue affects service clubs all over the US. In order to demonstrate our value to the communities we serve and continue to grow membership, we might have to look at Rotary differently then we have in the past. We must embrace the following: Networking and business development matters. Value proposition matters. Community engagement keeps us relevant; we must do more than just donate. The appeal of Rotary is different for young people. We have to embrace that and find ways to use technology and creative advertising to our advantage. We need to grow our club and attract new members but we also need to focus on engaging our current members.

 

There were several great ideas presented by club members during the session.  The top ideas were selected by the most voted for format. The following is the results.

 

In three years, the Rotary Club of Everett stands for: 1. Being a strong community partner. We want to be known as the club that gets things done in our community and can be counted on. 2. Maintain a good relationship with the Port of Everett and Naval Station Everett and have members who regularly attend from those organizations. 3. Continue to improve and address our two Rotary community parks to revitalize their beauty. 4. Continue building a demographically diverse club and be a leader in our district demonstrating how to grow and thrive.

 

In three years, the Everett Rotary Club will be known for its relevance to the community by: 1. Our excellent mentorship program for new club members and our outstanding leadership program where our members regularly participate. 2. Our club introduces two “business” meetings (typical Rotary meeting but includes networking and business development) per month and one service project and social gathering each month. 3. Having a more affordable fee structure to offset some of the high costs of membership for younger members. Potential sponsorships? 4. Attracting many new members from underrepresented groups in our community through the use of relevant and engaging marketing materials.

 

In three years, the Everett Rotary Club will be more relevant to our membership by: 1. Collaborating with other Rotary Clubs and community organizations as partners to increase our impact and leave a larger footprint in our community. 2. Having 20% of our club consist of members 25 to 40 years of age. 3. Five or more members (who regularly attend) representing Everett’s largest employers. 4. Having all members connected on our social media accounts including Facebook, Instagram, Linkin, and Club Runner.

 

In three years, the Everett Rotary Club will engage our members by: 1. A revamped new member orientation process (and perhaps a welcome video). Revisiting the “Wheelers” process for new members. 2. We have one or two regular firesides on an annual basis to gather input from our members. 3. Inviting local business owners and representatives to our meeting when we have special speakers.

 

Three years from now our public image has: 1. Established a relationship with Cruzin’ to Colby coordinators. Possibly creating a new fundraising opportunity for us. 2. A beer garden on the water at an event during the summer. 3. Public events at least twice per year. 4. Publish a club brochure to reflect our mission. 5. Create a Rotary Club of Everett Promotional video.

 

Three years from now our community service programs include: 1. Scholarships for local youth. 2. Student exchange programs. 3. Sponsoring RYLA/YAIL students each year. 4. Sponsoring an Interact Club at Everett High School. 5. Service hours opportunities for local high school students.

 

Three years from now our International Service is: 1. Continuing to work with the Dajabon Rotary Club to provide clean water, education and economic development to villages there. 2. Sponsoring an outbound and inbound Youth Exchange student.

 

At the April Board Meeting we will establish the final list of action items for committees to carry out. We should consider the viability of these ideas and consider that in order to take on something new we may need to discontinue something we are doing now.

 

The April Board meeting is open to all members. You are encouraged to join. The meeting is a Zoom meeting schedule for April 24^th at 7:30AM. Neil will send out an invitation to join.

 

NEXT PROGRAM: Paul Harris Fellowship Awards.

 

Respectfully Submitted,