President Beth Knox called Seattle Rotary Club #4 to order at 12:30 pm Wednesday, July 20, 2022. The meeting was held at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle and via Zoom.
President Beth first acknowledged all indigenous people who were the original settlers on the land where this meeting was taking place.
She said that last year, President Jimmy’s theme for Rotarians was to “Inspire Hope”.
Our theme this year will be to “Step Up”. Actions make us feel empowered and stronger.
President Beth said that she and a delegation from Seattle visited the Major League All-Star game in Los Angeles. Seattle will be hosting the All-Star game next summer. She said it was inspiring to see the strong public-private partnerships developing in anticipation of the game.
President Beth introduced the Song for the Day, God Bless America, performed by Linda Rough and Ryan Bunbury.
The Inspiration of the Day was led by Bill Center. Bill spoke about the Pub Choir that can help strangers sing a pop tune in a 3-part harmony in 90 minutes or less. The Pub Choir has attracted over 1,600 viewers. If you would like to find out more, visit Pub Choir on YouTube.
President Beth introduced the visiting Rotarians and guests and then called on Ken Grant.
Ken introduced Jenne Oxford. Ken said he invited Jenny to Rotary because she oversees a fascinating property: The Lodge at St. Edwards State Park. Jenny has an extensive travel background and is the current Regional VP for Columbia Hospitality.
Jenne Oxford
Jenne went through the history of St. Edwards State Park accompanied by a series of slides. The 366 acre plot of land was purchased back in the 1920’s with the vision of creating a Catholic Seminary to train young boys coming through the Catholic Church in 1931. John Graham, designer of the Space Needle was involved in the design. The Seminary operated until 1977, where it stood untouched for many years. In 2017, Kevin Daniels decided to develop the property into a resort. Jenne showed a series of slides that took Rotarians through a detailed look at the resort.
The dormitory rooms were turned into guest rooms, with the addition of bathrooms. There are 84 guest rooms.
The dining hall became the restaurant. There is a barber shop. The fireplace is very close to what it looked like originally.
Jenne ended with Kevin Daniels vision for the property.
“Our aim for the lodge is embrace our community and earn a spot as a trusted partner and neighbor.”
Mat Chacon,
Ken Grant introduced the main speaker, Mat Chacon. Ken said that he was immediately attracted to Mat’s energy, creativity, how he thinks, and how truly inspiring he is.
He talked about his background as a very successful CEO, turned award winning photographer.
Mat began his presentation and spoke about the countries he has covered so far: Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the United States.
He said he had an epiphany after covering conflicts: The world needs more love.
Mat said he is a recovering CEO who raised $63 million in an IPO. He has helped startups in Phoenix and Seattle.
It appeared to many that he was living on top of the world but down deep inside he was not happy. All the business and travel caught up with him.
His first step into covering conflict zones started in Seattle during the CHOP demonstrations that exploded in Seattle. He realized that when he was covering CHOP, all he saw were people who just wanted to be heard.
When he was hitting his stride in photography he found out that he had a tumor growing in his body. When he complained to his friend Eric by saying “Why me?” Eric responded “Why not you?”
Eric counseled him that whatever you do in life, things are going to happen that are unpredictable. You just can’t avoid it. Mat said that was the best advice he has every received. He started taking more photos and submitting them to photo competitions and has accumulated his share of wins.
Mat now takes his cameras to conflicts all over the world. His goal is to tell the stories that are happening in those conflicts. He said this is evolving into something really unexpected.
Q&A
Q
What is the worst thing he has observed so far?
A
Iraq. He visited a basement that was used for torture.
Q
How do you gain access to the conflict zones?
A
Mainly through the local embassy.
Q
How do you choose the next conflict zone?
A
He doesn’t choose the conflict zone, the conflict zone chooses him. He said that one of the worst conflict zones was in Seattle,
during CHOP. There was about 15 minutes where he saw a peaceful situation, explode into violence. He described a medic who was just riding his bike, suddenly getting gassed and pepper sprayed. He also saw ordinary people coming quickly to his aid.
Q
How to you retain your objectivity?
A
Mat said he was trying to create a narrative that is not beholden to advertisers in television or social media. He said the truth remains in your head and heart.
It is up to each of us to filter out the noise and decide what’s true. He is currently taking his two trusty cameras into conflict zones all over the world.
He said he tries to tell the stories that are happening in those conflicts and is evolving into doing something really unexpected.
He realized that he wants to more than a photographer but something closer to the visual arts. When he has been taking photographs in conflict zones he has inserted graffiti and lyrics of Beatles songs. He is trying to turn his work into social commentary.
President Beth thanked Mat for his presentation and said in recognition of his generosity of time, the Seattle Rotary Club donated 600 servings of healthy produce to Harvest Against Hunger in his name. She also thanked all of the sponsors.
Next Rotary Club Meeting
July 27, 12:30 p.m. Kaj Pederson, Redefining the Value of Rotary at Seattle’s downtown Westin Hotel and via Zoom.
Sea4s Happy Hour
A gathering at the UW’s Historic Shell House on July 28, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. The event is co-hosted by Nicole Klein. You can RSVP on the events page at seattlerotary.org.
President Beth closed out the meeting where she began. She again called out the incredible winning streak by the Seattle Mariners. She concluded the meeting by saying, she hoped the “Mariners momentum fills us with hope and energy.”
The meeting adjourned 1:29 p.m.
Thank you to meeting reporter Paul Casey for this week's report!
