Wednesday, April 22 Socialize @ Noon! 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM RAINIER CLUB
Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman
“What the world needs now is a new era of cooperation centered on saving and improving lives.” - Mark Suzman, Gates Foundation CEO
Next Wednesday, the Rotary Club of Seattle continues its April theme of Global Citizenship with a timely and consequential conversation featuring Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation.
At a moment when global health and development efforts are facing significant headwinds—declining foreign aid, rising debt in low-income countries, and troubling reversals in child mortality—Suzman is leading one of the world’s most influential philanthropic organizations with a clear and urgent call: stay engaged, and do more.
Under his leadership, the Gates Foundation is not retreating in the face of these challenges. Instead, it is doubling down—committing to spend $200 billion over the next two decades to combat infectious diseases, reduce maternal and child mortality, and expand economic opportunity around the globe.
Suzman brings a unique blend of global perspective and strategic leadership to this work. A former journalist with the Financial Times and a senior advisor within the United Nations system, he has spent his career at the intersection of policy, storytelling, and international collaboration.
Since becoming CEO in 2020, he has guided the foundation through a period of profound transition, including its ambitious plan to spend down its endowment by 2045—an effort designed to accelerate impact in a finite window of time.
His message is both sobering and hopeful. While today’s constraints are real, Suzman believes they are not permanent—and that renewed cooperation across sectors and borders can reignite progress.
For Rotarians, whose mission has always been rooted in service above self and global connection, this conversation could not be more relevant.
We’re also proud to note a personal connection close to home: Mark Suzman is the nephew of our fellow club member Paul Suzman.
Join us next Wednesday for what promises to be a compelling discussion on leadership, philanthropy, and what it truly means to be a global citizen in a rapidly changing world.
Saturday, April 25th 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM 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!
Water and Sanitation Project of Obuasi, Ghana, Global Grant 25-72618, with a budget of $190,000, aims to provide clean water and sanitation to over 34,254 beneficiaries.
The project includes drilling 68 new wells and the construction of 133 household Microflush toilets in communities in Ghana. The microcredit loan budget is $114,572 for new wells, toilets, farms and small business loans. The grant was approved by TRF on December 22, 2025.
We started drilling boreholes on March 21, 2026 after collecting all the funds from Rotarians, including the Rotary Club of Seattle.
To ensure the sustainability and self-sufficiency of the established infrastructure, water, sanitation, hygiene and empowerment training will be provided to each local committee operation, maintenance, and management. The local community contributes to each clean water project by providing sand, gravel, rebar, cement and other support.
Rotary District 5030 RISE leadership program registration opens up on MAY 1!
Get Involved!
Saturday, April 25th 7:30 PM Taproot Theatre
Discounted Tickets to Ain't Misbehavin'
Our friends at Taproot Theater have come up with another great event for Seattle Rotary Club Members and their families. The Taproot theater’s production of Ain’t Misbehaving is selling to sold out houses through the end of April and they have reserved a special set of tickets exclusively for Seattle Rotary Club members and their families for Saturday night April 26th.
The show is filled with the songs and lyrics of Fat Waller. The composer whose music created and exemplifies the early 30s Harlem night club district in old New York.
As a special treat for Rotary Club members, the Theaters in house historian along with maybe one or two actors will join us in an after-show talkback just for Rotary. Learn more about the man and the music that filled this genre.
This will be an entertaining, moving and informational night just for Seattle Rotary members and their families.
There is a limited number of tickets, and they will only be available on a first-come, first served basis. Please click on the link below to register and secure your tickets before it’s too late! Any questions? Please reach out to John Steckler at johnsteckler@comcast.net or 206-999-5776.
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:
The Future of Public Media: A Conversation with Cascade PBS featuring Chief Revenue Officer Kerry O'Keefe and Director of Original Productions and Content, Sarah Menzies
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.
Wednesday, May 27th 6:00 PM Harissa Mediterranean Cuisine
Fedva Dikmen's Ethnic Dinner
Please pre-register by paying Fedva using the payment methods outlined below.
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.
New Members: Zack Glass and Dakota Keene
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!!
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.
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 and support from their Mentor and the Mentor Committee. New members earn their Blue Badge, and find their way within the Club, by following the path provided by the Blue Badge Checklist. Once the Blue Badge Checklist items are completed, the new members will have a better perspective about the Club and know more people.
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 25, 2026 7:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-07:00)
Our friends at Taproot Theater have come up with another great event for Seattle Rotary Club Members and their families. The Taproot theater’s production of Ain’t Misbehaving is selling to sold out houses through the end of April and they have reserved a special set of tickets exclusively for Seattle Rotary Club members and their families for Saturday night April 26th.
The show is filled with the songs and lyrics of Fat Waller. The composer whose music created and exemplifies the early 30s Harlem night club district in old New York.
As a special treat for Rotary Club members, the Theaters in house historian along with maybe one or two actors will join us in an after-show talkback just for Rotary. Learn more about the man and the music that filled this genre.
This will be an entertaining, moving and informational night just for Seattle Rotary members and their families.
There is a limited number of tickets, and they will only be available on a first-come, first served basis. Please click on the link below to register and secure your tickets before it’s too late! Any questions? Please reach out to John Steckler at johnsteckler@comcast.net or 206-999-5776
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
Roy Wild Rachel Ligtenberg Michael Fors Josh Lieberman
3 Years
Dorothy Echodu
5 Years
Brian Goodwin
Gina Hall
Jenn Gladish
Rachel Smith
6 Years
Dewitt Jensen
8 Years
Nicole Klein
11 Years Jon Scholes
18 Years
Steve Boyd
20 Years
Steve Sundquist
21 Years Linda Cheever
22 Years
Hollie Ellis
Freeman Fong
26 Years
Jean Bateman
33 Years
Michael O'Byrne
39 Years
Bob Parks
42 Years
Jim Burdett
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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