This reporter was on a 3 day get away to Palm Springs and was frantically trying to find a place to drop off my daughter to shop and then find a shady parking space so I could join the Rotary meeting via ZOOM.  Luckily, my daughter stayed with me as I tried to navigate my way into the ZOOM meeting with my phone.  I sensed I was inept (she already knew it) and I quickly handed the phone to Elise and she got me connected just as Walt Greenwood was at the end of his song singing the last line “But I’m doing the best that I can”.

 

The 43^rd meeting or our Rotary year and the 5,495^th meeting of the Rotary Club of Everett started at 11:59 am.  Kari Petrasek filled in for President Tammy Dunn and Vice President Michael Kvistad and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Even though VP Michael was not able to attend he did provide a Thought Of The Day for Kari to read to us.  This quote is from non-other than Paul Harris. “This is a changing world: We must be prepared to change with it.  The story of Rotary will have to be written again and again”.

 

Walt entertained us by signing Willie Nelson’s song titled “It’s Hard To Be Humble”. I entered the meeting at the end of the song as expressed in the final line shown under the Pre-Meeting above.

 

Jose Garcia introduced 3 of his guests who are here today to support him as he will be giving his classification talk.  I caught the names of Chris and Sharon but I failed to hear the third name.

 

John Chambers was visiting with us again today.  John is with Heritage Bank.

 

Brian Hollingshead asked that all of us who can, join him and others for Rotary after Hours from 5:00 to 6:00 pm on Thursday the 11^th at the Courtyard by Marriot on Colby, in the lobby bar.

 

Anna Marie Laurance reminded us that the scholarship awards will be at the Everett Civic Auditorium on Monday May 22^nd at 6:30 pm.  Rotarians are to be there by 6:00 pm.

 

Kari Quass is heading up the Shopping Spree for AVID students. Please help Kari out as she needs volunteers to help the students shop.  Please contact Kari at  kari.quass@gmail.com. to get specifics on the date(s) and time(s).

 

Past President Will McMahon was in Mississippi with the Red Cross to help in an effort to support the population following recent tornadoes.  Where they sent PP Will he didn’t see the tornado damage, as he wasn’t on the “front lines”, but his work with the Red Cross did provide the relief they were seeking.

 

Sonja Kraski gave100 happy dollars for her position at the county, a wonderful Florida trip and a aribbean cruise.

 

President Elect Neil Angst was $100.00 happy for his daughter who is graduating next weekend from Veterinary School at LSU.

 

Paul Stoot, after a very busy Sunday morning at his church, dealing with a flat tire that afternoon, etc. was tired and just wanted to go home but a friend invited him to that nights Kraken game and the excitement of the game and the Kraken win were enough to rejuvenate Paul.

 

PE Neil said the cupboards are still pretty bare and we need more donations to the raffle.  Please help if you can.

 

Listening on a phone through ZOOM and not having my cheater glasses with me, I was somewhat at a handicap getting all the information correctly during the raffle.  I know someone won red wine and a mini golf club.  But I apologize that I didn’t catch the name.

 

Past President Steve Juntwait won another free lunch and an AquaSox tee shirt.

 

Chris, one of our guests, won some white wine and some candy.

 

Jose Garcia is the executive Director of Second Chance Outreach (Home for Homies). The mission of his program is to bring Hope and Purpose to those marginalized by gang affiliation and its impact on communities.

 

English is Jose’s second language.  To learn English Jose’s older sister told him to watch TV, so he did and his idle was Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli (Fonzie).  Besides watching Happy Days, he liked to watch Sanford and Son.  Jose’s early English lessons consisted of learning how to say Fonzie’s Ayyyyyyy and Red Foxx’s (sometimes off color) one liners.  These early inspirations lead to the well-spoken person he is today.

 

His early life growing up in poverty and in neighborhoods that were ruled by gangs provided the unfortunate environment that shaped Jose as a child and young adult.  He was incarcerated for 18.5 years with 5.5 of those years in solitary confinement.  Jose has been out of prison since 2014 and at 41 years old he is helping others who had similar backgrounds find their way to a crime free/productive/better life.

 

Kari introduced our speaker today who is author Jennifer Bardsley and she will be speaking to us about How to Get Books Published.

 

Jennifer is an author of numerous books under her name and under the pen name Louise Cypress.  She is a graduate of Stanford University and until recently was a weekly columnist for the Everett Herald.

 

There are three main ways to get a book published.

-  Traditionally Published Books.

-  Self-Published Books.

-  The Seattle Connection (Vanity Press)

 

Traditional Route:

-  You need an agent, and they take 15% of your earnings.

-  It is difficult to get an agent.  There are only between 100-200 of them.

-  All dollars go to the publisher and not the agent.  The publisher usually pays

   for everything for at least the first 3 months.

-  An author may get paid an advance or royalties or both.

-  No royalties will be paid until the advance has been paid off.

-  It usually takes 2-3 years to get published.

-  The author has no final say on the look of the cover.

-  Traditionally published books have a better chance than another other

   method of being in bookstores and in libraries.

 

Self-Publishing Route:

-  Advantages

   -  Lots of money can be made by these authors.

   -  Published quickly.

   -  Final say on everything.

-  Disadvantages

   -  Difficult to get into bookstores and libraries.

 

The Seattle Connection Route:

-  I am so sorry I did not hear this portion of her presentation.  It was 12:58 pm and my wife was calling me on my ZOOMING phone. I thought I was blocking her call but when I pushed the button I lost my ZOOM connection and my ineptness shined through again.

-  I apologize to our speaker.

 

Kari thanked Jennifer for coming to our club today and sharing the information she presented to us.

 

Everett Station District Alliance & Upcoming Neighborhood Events and An Introduction to the SnoCo Transportation Coalition.  Presented by Ben Austin and Ed Engel

 

Kari adjourned the meeting at 4 minutes after I lost the ZOOM connection.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Photography Submitted by.