I am delighted to have the opportunity to introduce to you one of our newest and youngest members, Michelle Stone.

 

Michelle is the group dining and community relations manager for Ivar’s Restaurants.  She comes to us as a Young Rotary Leader and has the full support of her employer and my friend, Bob Donegan, who is here today along with Chris Gleason, Ivar’s director of operations. 

Michelle is a “small town girl” who grew up in Grangeville, Idaho.  She learned about “service above self” at a young age – her grandparents were the founders of the Idaho County foodbank, and Michelle helped at the foodbank as a young girl.  That small foodbank, started in the mid-’90’s, now serves thousands.

 

Michelle moved to our region about nine years ago with her parents and attended high school in Port Angeles.  After high school, she moved to San Diego to care for her grandmother.  While there, she worked as a personal shopper at Macy’s – a job she loved because it allowed her to help people. 

 

While she was in California, Michelle continued to serve her community.  She was a youth pastor for her church and worked to help kids get out of gangs and find other alternatives for their lives. 

 

When Michelle returned to Seattle, she worked for Artegan, a company offering assisted living and memory care options in Washington, Oregon and California.  Following that, Michelle decided she was ready to try something completely different.  She turned to bartending – the logical next step!  That’s where Ivar’s and Bob Donegan come in.

 

While serving as a bartender at Ivar’s, a position as a dining room manager became available and Michelle decided to try for it.  She didn’t get that job.  That’s because Ivar’s had recently completed a new banquet room, and Bob knew he would need someone to market the new facility.  Because she was so great with customers, and at the recommendation of three of Bob’s colleagues, Bob created a new position for Michelle as Ivar’s first Group Dining and Community Relations Manager.  According to Bob, she’s so good at her new job, she has been making more than 100 new customer contacts per month.

 

As a new Rotary member, Michelle hopes to continue serving her community – she’s very interested in service opportunities with Rotary First Harvest and the Sustainability Committee. 

 

On a personal level, Michelle sports a tattoo of a bull and loves sports.  She currently volunteers with the Seattle Sports Commission working on development and events.  Needless to say, she’s excited about the possibility of an NHL team coming to Seattle. Michelle spends her free time riding her Harley and with her dogs. Michelle lives on Vashon Island and attends Western Governor’s University where she’s getting her marketing degree. 

 

I want to thank Bob Donegan for supporting Michelle’s membership. Bob will be back with us for our first program in January, to tell us the story of Ivar’s and will be introduced by Michelle!  I also want to thank Michelle’s proposers, Mark Davis and Jann Curley, and ask all of you to join me in welcoming Michelle Stone, classification Hospitality, as a new member of Seattle 4 Rotary.