Wednesday, April 1 Socialize @ Noon! 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM WAC
JBLM Commanding Officer LTG Matthew McFarlane
On the Front Lines of Readiness at JBLM
“Every exercise we do is a rehearsal—and every rehearsal is a chance to learn, adapt, and be better prepared for what may come.” — Lt. Gen. Matthew W. McFarlane
What does it mean to prepare for the next global conflict—before it happens?
At Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Lieutenant General Matthew McFarlane is leading that effort every day. As Commanding General of I Corps, he oversees the Army’s senior tactical headquarters in the Indo-Pacific—arguably the most consequential region for global security today.
His command spans Alaska to Hawaii and operates across the Pacific with more than 20 allied nations, executing over 40 multinational exercises each year. The goal is clear: strengthen partnerships, build readiness, and prevent conflict through credible deterrence.
But the nature of warfare is shifting rapidly.
From drones and cyber disruption to contested supply lines and communications, McFarlane describes an environment where success depends on the ability to adapt quickly—learning in real time, integrating new technologies, and operating across vast and challenging terrain.
And yet, for all the change, one constant remains: People. And for them, trust, cohesion, and preparation—physical, mental, and strategic—still define success when it matters most.
Why This Matters Here
Joint Base Lewis-McChord is more than a military installation—it’s one of the largest employers in Washington and a critical hub in America’s global defense posture.
The work happening there connects directly to the security of the Indo-Pacific—and to the role our region plays on the world stage.
Join Us
This is a rare opportunity to hear directly from one of the Army’s most senior leaders about how the U.S. is preparing for an uncertain future—and what it takes to stay ready.
If you want to understand where the world is headed—and how close to home that story really is—you’ll want to be in the room for this one.
Club member Josh Lieberman invites members to use his discount code to attend an upcoming performance of Giselle at the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Running from April 11-19, use code BOARDFRIEND for a 30% discount.
Josh will be attending on the 11th and can give 5-6 members access to the VIP Lounge and backstage tour after if attending.
We received a surprise message in our club inbox this weekend from the Ascot Rotary Club of Perth, Australia. They have a tradition of doing a “cheers” for another club doing good work in the world and OUR CLUB WAS HONORED at a recent meeting!
What are ways we could be better at connecting with other clubs in our community, world?
This Wednesday club members gathered in the spirit of fellowship for a joint happy hour with the Columbia Tower Club!
Thank you Stephen for organizing the event and providing this picture!
President Jan opened the day’s ZOOM only meeting by introducing the day’s featured speaker, Philip Pitruzzello, a nationally respected real estate and development leader who helped reimagine successful urban transformations in several U.S cities, as well as being a student of urban renewal worldwide. He has been a leader in the ongoing evolution of urban neighborhoods and recently recognized as Executive of the Year.
He began with an overview of the “urban development and reenvisioning” that took place to develop Battery Park City in lower Manhattan. “Battery Park City was successful once people understood the vision,” he said. “The challenge was balancing open space with commercial influences.”
“When I think about Seattle and the new waterfront, the push to engage community members should continue on design, rethinking over built retail, the vibrancy at the street level and its importance,” he said.
He explained that the development of the Battery Park City master plan in 1966 was a complex and thorough process, with one-third of the area set aside for parks and public spaces. Revisions to the plan in 1979 and again in 1993 were made to better promote diversity and foster economic growth. Ultimately, one-third of the lower Manhattan area was allocated for parks and public spaces. A place where a neighborhood would grow vs. a mega-project.
“Culture was first and foremost creating open spaces, devoting space to public art and the Battery City esplanade to give people a sense of access and vision of what parks could be in the future,” he continued.
He described how large retail spaces are being repurposed to residential apartments with amenities that foster trust, privacy, and dignity to activate a space to generate interest.
Sunday, March 29th 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM Benaroya Hall
Key to Change Spring Salon Community Concert
The concert is free and open to the public with pre-registration. It will feature soloists from our student community alongside the Federal Way Symphony.
After the concert, a public reception will occur in the main foyer to allow guest to gather and meet Key of Change students, families, and Staff. We hope you will consider joining us for this meaningful performance and community gathering.
Thank you for caring about the next generation of musicians! You can reserve your free tickets through this link here.
Tickets are limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible.
Thursday, April 16th 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM Frolik Bar at Motif Hotel
Club Happy Hour Hosted by the Young Rotary Leaders
In an effort to offer more non-ticketed evening and weekend events, our Young Rotary Leaders aged 40 and under would like to invite you to a casual social happy hour at Frolik Bar inside the Motif Hotel. If you are looking for an opportunity to get to know other members outside of the lunch setting, then this event is for you!
Guests are welcome, especially prospective members or companies from the downtown core. If bringing a prospect to this event, please email mary@seattlerotary.org in advance so we can track and follow up.
Saturday, April 25th Time TBD Rotary Boys and Girls Club
Rotary Boys and Girls Club Annual Clean Up Day
Our club established what is now known as the Rotary Boys and Girls Club in the basement of Plymouth Church 1944. The club grew so popular they moved to their own standalone building in 1954, a building funded by member donation dollars and used to this day.
Each year we return in service for an annual clean-up day, tackling tasks such as landscape improvements, kitchen clean outs, painting, and organizing. There is a role for everyone; we hope you “save the date” and join us!
Bellevue Breakfast Club All in for Autism 5K Walk/Run
Calling all Seattle Rotarian walkers, joggers and runners!!
Be part of our SEATTLE ROTARY TEAM for the “All In for Autism” 5K Run/Walk.
Let’s show up TOGETHER for the All In for Autism 5K Run/Walk in downtown Bellevue on Sunday morning, April 26th. The Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club is sponsoring the event to benefit local organizations that empower children with autism.
Register in advance for our Seattle Rotary team by clicking on the QR code that takes you directly to our team page or click on this link:
Our club members will enjoy exclusive access to the new Cascade PBS headquarters for this special "end of Rotary year" evening event. The evening will feature tours, presentations, and plenty of time to socialize in Cascade's special indoor/outdoor welcoming center space.
Thursday, May 21st 5:00 PM -8:00 PM Hotel Sorrento
Major Donors Pinkham & Skeel/President's Circle Reception
The SRSF Board of Directors and donors to SRSF at the $1,000+ level this Rotary year will receive an invitation to our annual appreciation reception. The evening will feature refreshments and updates from grantee organizations on the impact our donation dollars have made to local and international projects.
Saturday, May 30th Shifts from 10 AM-5 PM Rainier Community Center
Volunteers Needed: Launch Learning Family Carnival
Volunteers are needed for several shifts and roles at this annual event benefitting nonprofit Launch Learning. For more information, please see the volunteer info and email Jessica.ivins@launchlearning.org to sign up to volunteer.
In an effort to better inform membership of the health of the club, we will start posting member additions and resignations after each month's club board meeting. March membership changes approved by the board are as follows:
New Members:
Resignations: Carla Fowler, Andrew Rapp, Ravi Keelveedhi, Kari Rallo
We love to see our Rotary members promoting good works in our community and abroad! If you have a project or fundraiser that you are excited about and would like to promote to your fellow club members, please check in with our Club Director, Mary Goldie, before distributing information or invitations through our email roster. We value the privacy of our members’ contact information and can let you know the appropriate ways to reach out to folks in our club. Thank you!!
Meets 10:30 am on the second Tuesday of each month via Zoom; please contact Jevon Powell for calendar invite and link.
The mission of the Local Service Committee is two-fold: to coordinate hands-on service activities for club members, and to accept and process grant applications for local service projects and forward those applications to Seattle Rotary Service Foundation for final evaluation and award.
New Members get to learn about the Rotary Club of Seattle (RCOS), Seattle Rotary Service Foundation (SRSF), and what it means to be a Rotarian, by doing. With guidance from their Mentor, every step of the way, and support from the Mentor Committee, New Members get to earn their Blue Badge by completing the Blue Badge Checklist. Once the Blue Badge Checklist is completed, the New Member will be announced formally in front of the Club and presented with their Blue Badge.
Your Rotary Club of Seattle members 40 and under invite you to a casual happy hour! Get to know your fellow members in a relaxed setting. The group hopes to offer more evening and weekend service and social events in the future, so stay tuned!
Serves to fulfill Rotary's mission of "advancing international understanding, goodwill, and peace." The committee selects projects that positively impact the health, education, and welfare of less advantaged people in other countries, with a particular emphasis on youth. Actively works with clubs in our District and abroad to leverage — via matching grants — the amount of money available for a project. Members get involved through direct knowledge of the project or by volunteering. Prior focuses have included malaria projects in Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda; microcredit and water projects in India; de-mining projects in Vietnam and Lebanon; AIDS orphan support in South Africa and Ethiopia; education/literacy projects in Nepal, Chile, and Hungary; and more than a decade of wide-ranging projects in Russia.
For more information on this committee, please email info@seattlerotary.org.
Join us from 9 AM - 12 PM for a day in service to the Rotary Boys and Girls Club-the club your very own Rotary Club of Seattle helped establish! If wanting to attend, please RSVP at jared.grose@industriousoffice.com.
Apr 26, 2026 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-07:00)
Join the fun! Register for this 5K run/walk as a member of the Seattle Rotary team. Bellevue Breakfast Rotary is hosting the event in support of local projects helping to empower children with autism. Here is the registration link for Seattle Rotarians: https://runsignup.com/RaceGroups/177622/Groups/2048568
There is a Kids Dash @ 7:50AM; the run/walk starts @ 8:30AM. Dogs are welcome!
These are club membership (not total years of Rotary membership) anniversaries only
1 Year
Alex Cyrus
2 Years
Joanne Miller
3 Years
Maddy Vonhoff Garin Wedeking Ani Black
8 Years
Bonnie Towne
9 Years Roberto Dondisch
13 Years
Jimmy Collins Mark Long
20 Years
Candy Lee AD Vickery
22 Years
Liv Wernecke Manny Ramos
24 Years
Skip Kotkins Jim Odom
25 Years
Tatyana Tsrylina-Spady Joel Ferrell
26 Years
Einer Handeland
28 Years
John Steckler
34 Years
Laurel James
36 Years
Rich Lacher
44 Years
Stan Foster
48 Years
Fred Weiss
Get Involved
Meet fellow Rotarians and get involved in service. See below for a list of committees. Email the committee chair by clicking on their name. Or, contact Mary Goldie for more information.
4. Invite your connections to a weekly meeting, and let mary@seattlerotary.org know so they may be introduced.
If you don't already have a LinkedIn profile, CLICK HERE to learn how to get started.
SEATTLE 4 ROTARY AUDIO VISUAL SPONSORS
Video of Seattle 4 Rotary Programs are available online thanks to the generous support of our Seattle Rotary Audio Visual Sponsors.
In addition to supporting our club, becoming a Seattle 4 Rotary Audio Visual Sponsor brings many benefits. To learn more, click here, or contact Mary for more details at mary@seattlerotary.org.
Do You Have Any Musical Instruments to Donate to Students in Need?
Music4Life is a non-profit and project of Rotary District 5030 that distributes musical instruments to public school students in need.
We welcome any gently used musical instruments you wish to donate. They can be delivered directly to these local music stores that are now open: American Music in Phinney Ridge and Kennelly Keys Music in Bellevue, Lynnwood, and Everett.
Please accompany your instrument with the PDF donation form, linked below.
Our Rotary Cares team is ready to listen and to support you. One of the wonderful things about our club is that you have many friends --you just need to reach out to tap into our amazing network of caring people. Please contact our Rotary Cares Committee Chair to let us know how we can help.
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