President Beth opened the meeting at The Rainier Club on a smoky, foggy fall day. Raymond Tymas-Jones and Ryan Bunbury led us in “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” Bill Center inspired us by reminding us that even though life is not fair, an essential ingredient in productivity and success is something distributed fairly and equally to all: time. The question is, “how do we spend our time? Time is precious, but we can share it with those in need of encouragement, help, and relief.” He has never regretted the time he has invested in others…
There were several prospective members in attendance as well as our past member, Rob LoBosco.
President Beth introduced our first speaker, Mike Gastineau: sportscaster, writer, and author. He started off by remembering last Saturday when the Mariners had their 18 inning playoff game, the Huskies played at a similar time and it was also opening night for the Kraken; and the emotions that sports bring to a community: “the surge” and then “the emptiness” and how they were felt by everyone at the same time. He suggested that these emotions and shared experiences make a community stronger; it’s unique to sports, he said. He also mentioned the recent passing of Bill Russell, who was one of the first sports figures to confront racial injustice and other “uncomfortable topics.” Mike offered these as examples of how sports unite a community and “force us to discuss uncomfortable topics.” He said that sports are playing a crucial role in bringing people back downtown.
His final three points: 1) the Sonics/NBA basketball will be back; just does not know when. “Todd Leiweke knows something…” Mike predicts it will be sooner vs. later… 2) What is wrong with the Broncos starting QB!? His analysis is that Russel has been in a bubble for years and that it was burst on opening day when he was booed by the Seahawks’ fans; his confidence is not right and where it needs to be for all NFL quarterbacks to succeed; and 3) Where to purchase his book!, Fear No Man:
Our member Mark Wright interviewed Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison for the main program. Davison is the first woman and mom to hold this office. Mark started with what a great topic the conversation would cover as there is not a greater question than “what do we do about public safety?”
Ann answered Mark's first question, why she decided to run for City Attorney: it was the last day to file for office and she was looking for someone who was brave enough to enforce our laws and our shared values, and no one had filed that fit those criteria.
Some of the topics covered in Mark’s conversation with Ann:
- Her office only handles misdemeanor cases; all felonies go to the King County Prosecutor’s Office
- She took office with a 5,000-case backlog with no public access to their office’s data and what is happening with these cases; she reminded us that all of these cases and police reports represent victims and that misdemeanor crimes do matter
- All cases are now handled in “real time.” And filing times are way down, it was three months and now it’s 3 days to make a decision to file!
- This reduction of time to file has also increased the number of domestic violence victims that have agreed to participate; she told us that domestic violence often starts in the home and then these abusers move to committing crimes in the community so it’s important to address right away
- She mentioned as part of her High Utilizer Initiative that 118 criminals are responsible for 2400 crimes in our city! “Repeat offenders mean repeat victims.”
- Misdemeanor crimes are not “low level,” it’s important that they are taken seriously as we cannot have a “social erosion” of our laws; we “need a parallel track with felonies.”
She told us that she will “go everywhere,” no matter the size of the group and how important it is for our decision makers to talk and work together. President Beth thanked her for “an amazing presentation with sobering content” and we “appreciate all that you’re doing.” She received a standing ovation.
Nicole Klein, our Co-VP/Membership, announced our upcoming events including: YRL’s event on 10/27 and the Elwha Exploration Day on 11/6.
President Beth reminded us of Todd Summerfelt’s Memorial this Friday the 21st at 2:00 PM at the Mountaineers Clubhouse in Seattle.
She encouraged everyone to participate in our club’s volunteer and “give back” opportunities, such as the Education committee’s mentorship program, speaking at an upcoming business career fair, and mentoring opportunities with UW Business School students and urged attendees to contact VP Service Doug Seto to learn more. She closed with a reminder of the OL Reign semifinal playoff game this Sunday at Lumen Field.
Thanks to meeting reporter Dann Mead Smith for another fabulous meeting report!