Events

Autism at Work: Making Diversity and Inclusive Hiring Work for All

Despite often possessing valuable skills for the workplace, autistic individuals have traditionally had alarmingly high unemployment and under-employment rates. With an estimated 50,000 autistic adults entering adulthood annually, overcoming the barriers to successful employment has become a pressing national issue. During this program, Dr. Stobbe and colleagues, Hala Annabi and Natasha Harrington, will highlight some of the current barriers to successful hiring and will focus on strategies that are showing promise not only for the autistic adult, but also potential benefits for the businesses focusing on diversity and inclusive hiring.

Technology and the State of the World: A View from Canada
 

The Rotary Club of Seattle is hosting a business networking event at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Seattle. This is your chance to build business connections with Rotary members as well as other professionals in the downtown core.

Here are the details:

• Thursday, September 26 at the Hard Rock Cafe
• $8 for non-Rotarians
• Free for Seattle 4 Rotary members
• No-host bar plus delicious appetizers

Grab your business cards and get ready to connect!!

Seattle Chief of Police

The Seattle Police Department continues to set a national standard for equitable and constitutional policing. Through the hard work of the women and men of the department and the support of the Seattle community, the Seattle Police Department has made numerous achievements in the pursuit of public safety, public trust, and employee wellness. This work has been led by the department's five guiding principles: Service Excellence, Reducing Crime and Disorder, Data-Driven Policies and Practices, Honor and Professionalism, and Business Efficiencies. These principles summarize the department’s goals and priorities during the next few years as outlined in the Seattle Police Department’s 2019 Strategic Plan.

This week, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best will discuss the recently released plan, which captures key accomplishments and future goals. She will also highlight recent investments that address public safety challenges in our rapidly growing city.

Defeating Malaria

Every two minutes, a child dies of malaria. And each year, more than 200 million new cases of the disease are reported. Although countries have dramatically reduced the total number of malaria cases and deaths since 2000, progress in recent years has stalled. Worryingly, in some countries, malaria is on the rise.

Philip Welkhoff is the Director of the Malaria Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Previously, he served as Director of Research at the Institute for Disease Modeling.  There, he helped develop computer simulations of malaria, polio, and other disease transmission dynamics to assist public health professionals and other scientists in planning the eradication of different diseases.

Philip will explain the scope of malaria’s deadly impact, the challenges in its elimination, and what is being done across the globe to eradicate the greatest killer of mankind.

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Join Rotarians and Rotaractors from around the district for a morning of hands-on service. We'll start at 8:30 AM with donuts, coffee, and orientation, then move into the warehouse to pack food until 11:00. You'll be helping to pack some of the millions of pounds of healthy fruits and vegetables RFH provides every year for families and individuals in need.

Optional brunch/social afterward. Children 3rd grade and above are welcome.

Northwest Harvest Warehouse 
22220 68th Ave So., Kent

For more info contact Joyce Robertson

ISC Committee is thrilled to announce our guest speaker for our monthly Committee meeting to be held on Wednesday, October 16th at 10:30 at the Skinner Building located at 1326 5th Ave, Seattle, at the 7th-floor conference room. 

 Zainab Al-Tameemi is a  physician from Iraq. She was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq, and obtained her medical degree from Baghdad College of Medicine. She was awarded the Fulbright Foreign Student Program Scholarship and graduated from the University of Washington with Master of Public Health.

Dr. Al-Tameemi completed her residency in primary health care in Iraq. She is the founder and manager of the Iraqi/Arab Health Board in Washington, and a member of Community Health Boards Coalition at Public Health - Seattle & King County. 

Dr. Al-Tameemi is passionate about clinical research that addresses health disparities affecting refugees and immigrants in Washington state. She is an advocate for culturally sensitive health services for minority populations in Washington.

The End of the Crime Wave of the 90s, the Incarceration Crisis, and Public Safety Downtown Today

The King County Superior Court has 61 judicial officials, 53 of whom are elected judges.  These officials are located in four courthouses, where they render decisions and hear trials every day, in one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States.  Judge James E. Rogers will discuss the state of your County Superior Court, the crime wave of the 1980s and 1990s and the resulting incarceration crisis and where we stand in King County as well as the current safety challenges faced by anyone seeking to enter the downtown King County Courthouse.

Judge Jim Rogers currently serves as the Presiding Judge for King County Superior Court.  Elected in 2004, he has presided over many trials for cases involving civil, criminal, family law, dependency, and involuntary treatment issues. 

Four Seasons Parking Info:

Meet fellow members, learn more about the club, and check off another item on your yellow badge checklist!  Jessica Bhuiyan, Executive Director of World Without Hate, Rotary District 5030 Peacebuilder Chair, Commissioner for the City of Seattle’s Human Rights Commission, and Seattle 4 member, will be our special speaker.  Because the Rainier Club needs to prepare for our group, please get your ticket in advance. 

Harvest Against Hunger is looking for volunteers to help in harvesting thousands of pounds of apples from Ringsrud orchard in Cashmere, WA on Saturday, October 19th.  Our friends at Upper Valley M.E.N.D. contacted Rotary First Harvest to help them rescue fruit from several acres of beautiful apple trees that were not picked due to market conditions.  Last year volunteers gleaned 20,000 pounds of apples. The orchardists estimate that this year, there may be as much as 35,000 pounds of apples available.

The glean is scheduled for 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, and at least 30 volunteers are needed to get the job done. Harvest Against Hunger is partnering with local apple warehouses and our friends at Northwest Harvest to get picking bags, ladders and bins for our volunteers, but ask that you plan to bring gloves, a water bottle, snacks and weather-appropriate clothing.

Cannabis: A Fast Growing Industry Investors and States are High On 

In the last five years, marijuana has been legalized in 33 states and has generated $750 million in revenue.  The $10 billion legal marijuana industry is growing alongside the CBD industry, with each expected to be a $40 billion industry by 2030. Constellation, Altria, Scott’s Miracle Grow, the Pritzker family and more have invested.  It seems everyone wants to ride the “high” tide of the market, but there are warning signs for companies.

This week, JJ McKay will provide his insight on the legal marijuana and CBD industry.  With a rich history in consumer appetites, JJ McKay has worked on programs with companies that include Costco and the American Heart Association.  In 2016, McKay founded The Fresh Toast, a media content company and lifestyle & health platform with a side of cannabis. It is an award-winning digital leader for the industry.

You are invited to attend an official Rotary regional event to celebrate World Polio Day 2019 at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Discover Center.

Former Seattle Rotary President and King 5 Evening Anchor, Mark Wright, will moderate an engaging panel discussion with prominent polio figures on progress and the remaining challenges in achieving eradication. Speakers include:

• Sidney Brown, Program Officer with the Gates Foundation’s Polio Team;
• Denny Wilfrid, a Rotarian and polio survivor; and,
• Ezra Teshome, a Rotarian who has been leading vaccination campaigns in Ethiopia for over 20 years.

The evening will also be an opportunity to socialize with passionate Rotarians, learn more about Rotary’s long-standing partnership with the Foundation and explore the Discovery Center exhibits.

Refreshments and appetizers will be served. 

This event is invite-only, and an RSVP is required.  Further information on the evening’s activities will be sent beforehand.

Fellow member and Consul General of Korea, Mr. Lee, has invited our Diplomatic Task Force and other Seattle Rotary members for a personal tour of their new consulate office in Seattle.

This tour will be on October 28th from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm and will include a box lunch. We only have 10 spots left. Please email directly to Paul Ishii, task force chair, if you would like to attend, by October 22nd. His email is pauljishii@gmail.com

Paul, will confirm your attendance and provide additional information.

Now that we've all had some time to reflect on Jeff Robinson's powerful presentation about racism in America, your Peacebuilders Committee invites you to continue our journey exploring race, racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life with your fellow Seattle 4 Rotary members. At 11 am before the luncheon on Wed. October 30, we'll be holding a group discussion around Seattle author and activist Ijeoma Oluo's book, "So You Want to Talk About Race?" which delves into subjects ranging from intersectionality to affirmative action to “model minorities.” Together we can have an honest conversation and help each other navigate the questions of race that arise in our daily lives. Come even if you haven’t read the book yet. Facilitating our discussion will be Seattle Rotary's own Paula Houston and leading the meeting on behalf of the Peacebuilders Committee will be Roberta Nestaas. RSVP here and find the book here: Amazon Smile, KCLS, SPL. 

Cybersecurity for the Defense of Democracy and Cyber-Diplomacy

Nation-state attacks are more common than you think, and patterns suggest elections and democracies are at risk. Tom Burt will share updates on what Microsoft has been doing to help protect candidates and the election ecosystem. Globally, we need better policies and solutions. To that end, Microsoft is leading change and working with governments, industry and civil society to come together to collaborate on solutions to these issues. Tom will share progress on these commitments and what we can do together to protect the hopes technology offers against the very real threats it also presents.

Tom Burt has been with Microsoft since 1995 and currently serves as Corporate Vice President of Customer Security and Trust. He leads a cross-disciplinary team of engineers, lawyers, policy advocates, project managers, business professionals, data analysts, and cybercrime investigators to drive continuous improvement of customer security in Microsoft products and online services.

Four Seasons Parking Info:

This event is brought to you by the Peace Builder Committee of Seattle #4 Rotary and Seattle City Rotaract. Both of these organizations have directly supported REST and are excited to see where our donations are going! Seattle #4 Rotary Peacebuilder Committee put forward a $500 Assistant Governor Grant to purchase red jackets for the social workers who do outreach to prostituted individuals on North Aurora. Seattle City Rotaract organized a drive to stock the REST Drop-In Center with feminine hygeine products.

Please join us for a site visit of the REST Drop-In Center and a FAQ with Engagement Director Julie McNamara-Dahl. The REST Drop-In Center provides a safe space to rest, connect with other survivors, build a community of support, and get assistance in accessing resources like housing, employment, education, transportation, and our newly launched Integrated Health Clinic. The Drop-In Center is open four days a week, and guests have access to food, including a hot dinner served nightly, quiet and relaxing spaces, and the resource closet where they can pick up clothes, hygiene items, and other necessities.

Rotarians and Rotaractors will be visiting the Drop-In Center on an evening when it's not serving survivors, a Friday night. Due to the tight quarters, the maximum head count for this event is 20. The tour and FAQ will last about 75 minutes. Immediately afterwards we'll adjourn to dinner at a nearby restaurant, for those who are interested.

We hope to see you there!! Questions about this event can be directed to Virginia McKenzie at virginia.mckenzie74@gmail.com or 425-785-7946.

Adventures Among Wild Chimpanzees:  Lessons Learned from Our Closest Relatives and Understanding the Roots of Human Behavior

Dr. John Crocker is a local family physician, author and speaker who will share lessons learned from his time studying chimpanzees with Jane Goodall in Tanzania. An advocate for the environment and for better understanding of emotional well-being, he speaks and writes about the importance of protecting all living things and his own experience as a physician in understanding why anxiety, depression, and even ADD have remained in our human genetic make-up. 

He combines his work alongside Dr. Goodall with his 35 years of experience as a family doctor in the Pacific Northwest in his book, Following Fifi. In addition to appearing on King 5 and writing for the Huffington Post, Dr. Crocker’s work has been featured on the Jane Goodall Institute’s news site.

Dr. Crocker was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and attended Stanford University where he met Jane Goodall.  He received his MD from Case Western School of Medicine in Cleveland. He has two sons who occasionally help validate the closeness of chimpanzee and human behavior. 

Join Rotarians and Rotaractors from around the district for a morning of hands-on service. We'll start at 8:30 AM with donuts, coffee, and orientation, then move into the warehouse to pack food until 11:00. You'll be helping to pack some of the millions of pounds of healthy fruits and vegetables RFH provides every year for families and individuals in need.

Optional brunch/social afterward. Children 3rd grade and above are welcome.

Northwest Harvest Warehouse 
22220 68th Ave So., Kent

Sign up at https://www.harvestagainsthunger.org/volunteer-hub/ or for more information, contact Joyce Robertson.

The Seattle Real Estate Market: The Correction, the Recovery, and What's Next

Home prices in the Seattle metro area have risen steadily in recent years, usually outpacing the national average. However, a recent Seattle home price forecast offered a different picture, suggesting that house values could drop slightly over the course of the next year. According to this same source, house values have declined by 4.5% over the most recent 12-month period. Is it time to start worrying about the housing market again?

Lennox Scott is the third-generation Chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate founded in 1931 by his grandfather in Seattle. He is very involved with the National Association of Realtors as past Chair of both the Large Residential Firms Advisory Group and NAR Research Committee.  Lennox has been recognized by Realtor Magazine as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Real Estate Brokers in the nation.

SAVE THE DATE FOR NETWORKING NIGHT - KEEKS EDITION

Network with fellow members, learn more about the club, and check off another item on your yellow badge checklist!  Mary Johnstone, Community Service Committee Co-Chair, will be our special speaker.  Because the Rainier Club needs to prepare for our group, please reserve a spot in advance. 

This event will include appetizers and a no-host bar. 

From Kindness to Climate Change: Transforming the World through Positive Action

There are one trillion hours of human good intentions that go untapped every year.  Recent studies show Millennials, people ages 18-35, are the most likely to take action to help one another or support a cause they care about. Volunteerism is experiencing a paradigm shift in how these young people contribute to their favorite causes with an unprecedented increase in the use of social media and text messaging to show their support.

Giovanna Mingarelli is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of two international companies: M&C Consulting and MC2. Her reach extends from northern Canada to Washington, D.C. to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.  Giovanna is an avid contributor and speaker at events and conferences relating to Millennial leadership, crowdsourced social action and the gamification of politics and business. For this work, she has been cited by Harvard Business Review and Forbes, and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. In 2015, she was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN).

Members, Taylor Shimizu and David Kraft, are putting together a team for the Cystic Fibrosis Climb.  This is a fun and unique event that empowers participants across the nation to step up and take the search for a cure for cystic fibrosis to new heights.  The 56 floor and 1,120 step vertical challenge you conquer brings us one step closer to a cure for cystic fibrosis.  

After the climb, the celebration will await you in the atrium at our finish line party with delicious food and drinks provided by BJ's Restaurant, Georgetown Brewery and more!

Contact Taylor Shimizu to join the Seattle 4 Rotary team. 

Registration Fee: 
$25 10/24/19 - 11/21/19

EVENT SCHEDULE
4:30pm - Packet pick-up and check-in
5:45pm - Relay teams begin
6:15pm - Individuals and teams begin
6pm-8pm - Happy Landings Party, results posted and award ceremony

The Holiday Spirit: Reveling in Our Differences and Affirming Our Shared Ideals

Senior Rabbi Daniel Weiner believes passionately in building Judaism for the 21st century and in healing the world through social justice.  Weiner and his team won the Religion Action Center’s Fain Award for their campaign on gun responsibility.  His efforts with other clergy contributed to the founding of the Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility, which drafted and helped pass Initiative 594 in 2014.  This measure was designed to require background checks to be run on every person purchasing a gun in the state of Washington, even those who do so via private sales.  Work on implementation of the law and about gun responsibility continues.

Rabbi Weiner's columns have appeared in The Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Haaretz.  Weiner wrote Good God: Faith for the Rest of Us about the dangerous polarization between fanatical faith and soulless secularism.

The 2019 98.9 The Bull St. Jude Radiothon is just around the corner and we’re looking to involve local Seattle and Bellevue area groups, businesses and organizations in our volunteer efforts on behalf of the kids of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Volunteers are essential to the success of the St. Jude Radiothon, and funds raised from this event will help ensure that families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food - because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.  

 When: Thursday and Friday, December 5-6, 2019

 Volunteer duties: Volunteers will help answer incoming phone calls from Radiothon supporters and input payment information from donors into a computer system during the St. Jude Radiothon. Volunteers will be given everything you need at the event itself. No preparation or training is needed.

 Who: We’re looking to invite existing and new partners, groups, and organizations for this opportunity to give back to the community. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age.

 Where: Station Studio, 3650 131^st Ave SE, Suite 550, Bellevue, WA 98006

To Sign Up to Volunteer: Please email Jill Witsoe: Jill.Witsoe@stjude.org your name, phone number and shift(s) you are available.

All volunteers will receive this year’s NEW This Shirt Saves Lives t-shirt post-event as a Thank You and snacks/light meals will be provided.

Join us in a time slot below: (We need 8 volunteers per shift for both days; priority time slots are highlighted.)

Shout, Sister, Shout!   A World Premiere Musical at the Seattle Rep

Join the Arts Committee and fellow Seattle 4 Rotarians for this special event on Thursday, December 5th!

Long before ‘women in rock’ became a media catchphrase, Rosetta Tharpe proved in spectacular fashion that women rocked.  Ambitious, courageous, and uncompromisingly public, Sister Rosetta Tharpe became a legend who redefined the international music scene in the 1930s and 40s.  See the debut before it moves to Broadway!

$52.25 includes ticket and pre-event reception with heavy appetizers & drinks  (that's a 25% discount for Rotarians if purchased by November 25th!)

6:30pm Reception
7:30pm Show starts   

Seattle Rep Theater
155 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA 98109
(Enter through Stage Door on Warren Street)

To purchase tickets, call Veliere Crump at 206-443-2224 or email at veliere.crump@seattlerep.org and mention you are part of the Rotary group. 

For other questions, contact amy.bautista@kosmosllc.com or jeff.parker@bristleconeadvisors.com.

30 tickets are reserved until Monday November 25th.

Each year the Rotary Community Service Committee, in conjunction with the Rotary Boys & Girls Club, creates a wonderful opportunity for all Rotarians and their friends and families to take a deserving, less-fortunate child on a holiday shopping outing.  All of the children are from the Rotary Boys & Girls Club and are selected for the program on the basis of need.

The idea is simple: on one day in December, volunteers who are willing to donate and spend their own money are paired with a child (typically ages 6-16) and accompany them on a 1-3 hour shopping excursion in downtown Seattle.  Typical destinations are Macy’s, Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, or other stores that may have what each particular child needs (within the $200 spending limit).  Meeting at the Club at 19th and Spruce in South Capitol Hill, transportation is provided to and from the downtown shopping core.  Many volunteers, who often bring members of their own family to participate, have included lunch with the child as well (no obligation, of course).  This event is a wonderful way to help a child in need during the holidays.

Our meeting/departure times will be between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm.  Vans from the club will depart approximately every 15-20 minutes from the club and will rotate between the club and our drop-off/pick-up point at or near the Convention Center.  Our last pick-up from downtown back to the club will be at 3:00 pm.

Please contact Joel Ferrell as soon as possible if you are able to join us this year.  We have a limit of 40 pairings available and last year we had to establish a waitlist!  Please provide a meeting time that works for you, any age/gender preference, as well as a cell phone number in case we need to contact you while you are shopping.  

A Partnership to Eliminate Malaria with Elaine Gibbons and Neal Myrick

Malaria exists in 103 countries worldwide, affecting 3.3. billion people, but about 90% of malaria-related deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of those affected are children under the age of five.   In the US, about 1,500 cases of malaria are found every year.  PATH is a nonprofit creating vaccines, finding treatments, inventing faster diagnostic tools, piloting new approaches, and putting data to work in completely new ways to prevent and stop outbreaks of malaria.   We will hear from Elaine Gibbons, Vice President of Global Engagement and Communications with PATH, as well as Neal Myrick, Global Head of Tableau Foundation, as they discuss lessons learned from the collaboration to address and help eliminate one of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Join Rotarians and Rotaractors from around the district for a morning of hands-on service. We'll start at 8:30 AM with donuts, coffee, and orientation, then move into the warehouse to pack food until 11:00. You'll be helping to pack some of the millions of pounds of healthy fruits and vegetables RFH provides every year for families and individuals in need.

Optional brunch/social afterward. Children 3rd grade and above are welcome.

Northwest Harvest Warehouse 
22220 68th Ave So., Kent

Sign up at https://www.harvestagainsthunger.org/volunteer-hub/ or for more information, contact Joyce Robertson.

Join us on December 18th at the Sheraton for a very special holiday celebration! Ring in the holiday season starting at 11:00 am with a cocktail (or two) and caroling with the Rotary Rogues. Then experience a unique Rotary lunch starting at 12:00 pm with your fellow Rotarians and their families and some world-class circus performers in an interactive and entertaining program brought to you by the people behind the amazing Teatro Zinzanni.

As always, you’ll be on your way by 1:30pm, but not without a memorable experience to cherish and share with friends and family. Don’t miss it!

Schedule of events:
11:00 Caroling with the Rotary Rogues and pre-luncheon reception
11:45 Ballroom doors open
12:00 Program begins
1:30 Program concludes

Members on the program plan do not need to RSVP for this year's event. For members not on the program plan and guests, tickets will be available online through Eventbrite until Friday, December 14.  Click here to for tickets. 

If you have any questions or would like to reserve a table, please contact Mariah at mariah@seattlerotary.org or 206-623-0023.

Celebrate the season as we gather for the last Rotaract event of 2019. Seattle 4 Rotarians are invited to join these young leaders for an evening social on December 19 at Old Stove Brewing. We can't wait to see you there!

Your Seattle Rotary Peacebuilders Committee invites you to attend the upcoming Rotary World Peace Conference 2020! The conference is two days packed full of sessions designed to deliver proven solutions for you to bring back to our club. If you want to learn even more, you can add on two incredible dinners and our Saturday night Peace Concert to make this an unforgettable conference! More details can be found at https://peaceconference2020.org/

Join fellow members for a special ethnic dinner of authentic Turkish cuisine at the Kitchen Istanbul in Ballard.  Cost is $47.00 per person including tax and tips.  Istanbul native, Fedva Dikmen, will select the menu which will include:

 APPETIZERS

• A combo appetizer plate including four kinds of Turkish mezze and a shepherd salad

ENTREES  (everyone chooses one entree)

• Kofte (Turkish meat patty)
• Chicken shish kebab
• Eggplant delights (vegetarian)
• Filled flounder (pan-fried)

DESSERT 

• Baklava and Turkish tea

Space limited. Please RSVP to Fedva by email or by phone at 206-852-5595.  Mail the checks payable to:

Fedva Dikmen
2040 43rd Ave E #405
Seattle, WA  98112

Please note: no refunds after the 26th of January.