Our featured speaker on this crisp and clear fall day was Lewis Rudd, the co-founder of Ezell’s Famous Chicken. He was introduced by Skip Rowland, who delivered a passionate and heartfelt introduction for an extraordinary and determined man.Skip said he was honored to be “part of this inspirational program; be the inspiration!” He introduced Mr. Rudd as a “brother from another mother” who was a high school dropout from Marshall, Texas, who served in the military and then moved to Seattle in 1977.
Lewis told us his story of “two childhood friends from Texas who cooked chicken and who took pride in what we did.” They learned many of their key traits in the military: honor, discipline and a “don’t quit attitude.”
They purchased the property for what would become the location of the first Ezell’s Chicken in 1978, after commenting as they drove by the Central District corner that “this would make a great chicken restaurant.” They finally got the financing five years later with the goal to “make a world-class brand.”Some of the key highlights from when they started to their success today included:
- Their expansion plans in the early days did not go as planned; they were not able “to manage the growth.”
- They had difficulty getting financing from the SBA and from private banks.
- “The power of Oprah!” – one of the key moments when their business took off was when Oprah ordered their chicken while in Seattle and then mentioned that “it was something special” on her show.
- His heartfelt thank you to Skip and others in the audience that he brought up on stage whose relationships were instrumental to the success of Ezell’s.
He answered questions including:- What do you look for in new hires? “Attitude and personality; you can’t teach attitude and we are looking for employees that are friendly so they can provide fast, courteous service.”
- What does the future hold? They have plans to open two more stores in 2019 including a location in Beaverton, and the growth plan is to have 25 locations over the next three to five years. He also mentioned that they even have a location in Dubai!
- What impact have you had in the community? He mentioned that they hire teenagers and at-risk kids and also talked about their visits to the state prison in Monroe and their offer to give some of the inmates they met a job when they get out.
Trish Bostrom and Todd Summerfelt kicked off the meeting with a “whistlin’” “Singin’ in the Rain” that featured Trish on banjo and Todd on guitar. Rabbi Daniel Weiner gave an inspirational reflection on the recent shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue and thanked the community for the “outpouring of care and support.” He encouraged us to “live by the courage of our convictions” and reminded us that “it is our future” and that we need to forge and fix it together, and to “will it and build it as sacred and secure.” President Cindy said that we “stand in solidarity with you.”Ken Colling and Susie Roe reminded us to make our two annual Rotary contributions! President Cindy then introduced David Woodward who recognized and bid a fond farewell to our diplomat member Vincent Yao, the director general of Taipei’s Economic and Cultural Office here in Seattle. David thanked Vincent, who is returning to Taiwan, for encouraging other diplomats to get involved with Rotary and for being the first diplomat to co-chair our diplomacy task force. Mr. Yao commented that he was “sad to leave Seattle and Rotary so soon” but that he looks forward to seeing many of us at the Rotary Conference in 2020 that will be held in Taiwan!
District Governor Alan Merry went over the district’s top three goals:
- Build friendships
- Have an impact in the community
- To network
In order to reach these goals, the District is planning four networking sessions to help them reach their goal of 3000 members in 2019. They also want to have everyone in the district make a contribution at some level to the Rotary International Foundation. He announced the annual district conference which will be held for the first time in Spokane on May 16-18 will be a joint conference with District 5080 that encompasses part of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. He concluded with, “thank you for your service, there is lots to do in 2018-19 and we can’t do it without you.”Jimmy Collins led us in a special tribute to our veterans as we looked ahead to Veterans Day this weekend. He reminded us that a veteran is someone who has served honorably in uniform/in the military and that it was first celebrated at the end of World War I. We are celebrating its centennial this year! He introduced a tribute video to our members that served in World War II that was produced by our member Steve Crandall’s video production company. The special video featured conversations with Don Kraft (Navy), Rex Clark (Navy), Art Mazzola (Air Force), Jerry Costacos (Navy), and Tom Hayward (Navy) and received a standing ovation as it concluded.
Jimmy encouraged us on Sunday to thank a family member, friend or someone you meet; and to tell them “why their service is important to you, so they know.”
President Cindy concluded the meeting with an African proverb, “When the roots are deep there is no reason to fear the wind.” She mentioned the qualities that Lewis Rudd reflected on during his presentation: honesty, relationships, and loyalty. “Be the inspiration.”
