115 would be a bad golf score; it would score a ticket on Highway 3, Or a sunburn on an August day. This number though – 115 – is the number of years Rotary has been in action. Since its founding in 1905, Rotarians around the world, and here in Kingston North Kitsap, have been in action to improve communities everywhere.
The pandemic we face currently has done nothing to slow the drive to accomplish our objectives. It will not knock us off our game. Our club meets in two ways. The main club meets Wednesdays at noon at Village Green Community Center. With Village Green closed, served meals off the table (so to speak), and social distance measures in place, the club meetings have been chased online.
So too, have our satellite club meetings. Under normal circumstances, Satellite members meet monthly in the evening at local establishments which are now shut. So, they too, are joining our online meetings. Thanks to Zoom technology, members have been logging in to conduct business, but not exactly as usual. Committee reports are rendered about such things as local scholarships and upcoming — we hope — golf tournaments. Members are reporting about their daily lives as they do at every meeting, and have set up phone trees to contact other members to check on them during the virus outbreak.
Community service donations have been reported, like the one recently to Kingston Cares, which in turn was given to the Kingston Ale House to support their ongoing efforts to feed the community in this urgent time of need. Rotarian Stan Mack has reported on the Club’s support of Food4Kids spring break food distribution. The Kingston Rotary Club is part of a Rotary District stretching from Vancouver Island through western Washington, roughly west of Puget Sound. The annual district training meeting scheduled for Victoria, B.C. in May will be conducted on the web. Online meetings are no substitute for the real thing. However, they do serve the purpose of keeping us in action when the community needs it more than ever.
Seeking scholarship applicants
The Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Club has extended the application deadline for its annual scholarships to May 30. There are merit and trade scholarships. Merit scholarships, for study at the college and university level, can be in amounts up to $3,000 while two trade scholarships for study of the trades at vocational and technical schools will be awarded in the amount of $500 each. Community members who know of students that should apply should alert the students now. Complete details, including how to apply and where to apply, are available on the “Scholarship” tab of the Club’s website at kingston-nkrotary.org.
Save the golf date
Save the date. While members of our community are coming together to wash their hands, shelter in place, eat and drink at home, and stay away from one another, Kingston North Kitsap Rotarians are at work — remotely — planning the fourteenth annual Swing for Rotary Golf Tournament at White Horse. The date is Friday, June 19. Unlike past tournaments, there will be no dinner and auction following golf, and tournament entry fees will be greatly reduced. Yes, there will be winners announced and cheering and booing. It will be a fun event.
Found money
Many in our community have received, or soon will receive, “stimulus” checks from the IRS. $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for families, etc. For many, this income is urgently needed for basic needs such as food and rent. For others, however, it is “found money.” The Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Club suggests those folks consider donating all, or a portion, of their “found money” to local agencies, especially the food banks. Now, more than ever, food banks are serving the greatest demand and the greatest need.
