Posted by Dann Mead Smith on Jul 28, 2021
President Jimmy opened the meeting on a nice summer day which was our second in-person meeting since moving from all virtual.   Trish Bostrom and Jevon Powell led us in a rousing “This Land is Your Land.”  And Nancy Cahill inspired us with an Olympics-themed Inspiration for the Day with a focus on how the power of sports brings us together.
 
Jane Pryor introduced us to our new member, Mark Miles of Pilgrim Africa who is joining our club as their new corporate member representative.
 
We recognized our member anniversaries, which ranged from those celebrating their first year as members to a 37th year anniversary, with a “The Incredibles”-themed Anniversaries video.
 
David Fain provided a preview of next week’s meeting and John Steckler plugged the upcoming Rotary Mariners event on August 10th.  Then on to our speaker for the day. 
Our main program was an interview format with our member Lauri Hennessey of League of Education Voters having a conversation with Angela Dunleavy, CEO of FareStart.  Lauri mentioned that under Angela’s leadership FareStart has provided over 3 million meals to those in need during the COVID pandemic!  Prior to leading FareStart, she was the co-founder/CEO of Ethan Stowell Restaurants and she has been recognized by The Puget Sound Business Journal and Seattle Met for her leadership in the community.
Here are some of the highlights:
  • She is grateful for her restaurant skills; it gives individuals a fresh start like it did for her
  • COVID brought FareStart back to their roots:  jobs training program to provide economic security via a job
  • How they worked with DESC and Plymouth to deliver meals and feed the community which gave them a new purpose beyond job training
  • The challenge of alleviating poverty, homelessness and racial equity in the Seattle area; it’s bigger challenge than ever before and that we will continue to see inequities until there is more policy changes especially at the federal level
  • They plan to reopen the FareStart restaurant in early 2022 (they are being mindful of their neighboring restaurants and they are currently using their dining room as a staging area for their new meal deliveries)
  • She is excited about their shift to how they serve individuals in their program with a new focus on higher ed, certifications, etc. outside of restaurant placement
  • How to help: change your mindset from charity to a community investment mindset and get civically involved and be part of the movement for social change
President Jimmy closed the meeting by recognizing today’s program participants, highlighting the new issue of the Rotary magazine that features a picture of Jeff Borek and Kim Moore, and thanking past President Jeff for always being available for guidance and counsel as Jimmy starts his new term.
 

Thank you Reporter Dan Mead Smith

 
 
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