Featured Speaker: Dean Jodi Sandfort, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance
Past President Beth called Seattle 4 Rotary Club to order at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, August 09, 2023. The meeting was held at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle and via Zoom. She asked Rotarians to continue to support Seafair going forward.
The Song of the Day: Puget Sound Lament, (to the tune of Look Away) was sung by Linda Rough and Trish Bostrom
Inspiration for the Day: Marsha Mutisi provided Rotarians with Inspiration for the Day, with lyrics from the book of Ecclesiastes.
Former President Beth introduced guests of Rotary.
Short Program: John Steckler VP of Programs, summarized the remarkable history of Dorothy Bullitt, Rotary’s Spotlight Member of the Month. John highlighted her incredible journey of leadership. He spoke of her family history and their role in philanthropy. Dorothy went to Garfield High School, then to law school, and became Assistant Attorney General. John recounted a not so great time, when a contract was put out her life by a local mobster. Dorothy has served on a number of boards in the Puget Sound region, including the Seattle Rotary where she served as President in 2001. She was CEO of Habitat for Humanity. Her goal now is to: Learn how to play and goof off.. . John said she has certainly earned that.
Featured Speaker: Dorothy Bullitt introduced the featured speaker of the day: Jodi Sanford, Dean of the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington. Her focus: Building the Democracy we Need. Dr. Sanford described herself as a pragmatist. She summed up a brief history of higher education during the post war era. She said higher education had something referred to as a “code switch,” where minorities didn’t fit into higher education model. She said confidence in the Federal Government is at an all time low. Much of that is due to insufficient leadership during the Covid crisis. Other contributing factors include the decline of local media and the rise of radio hosts like Rush Limbach and wannabe’s, during the late 80’s and 90’s. Dr. Sanford said our knowledge of civics is low and that we haven’t invested in modernizing government. She noted that Civil Service was weakened under President Trump. She cautioned that democracy is not a spectator sport. Dean Sanford spoke about the mission of the Evans School: History of bipartisanship. Inspire to public service. She noted that this was the legacy of Governor Dan Evans.
She outlined some aspirational goals of the Evans School.
- Service: Think beyond self.
- Courage: Speak up even if unpopular.
- Equity
Other goals:
- The Evans School endeavors to push students out of their comfort zones.
- Innovation and Collaboration
- Partnerships with states agencies.
- Mission: Don’t take Democracy of granted.
Dean Sandfort’s speech was followed by a Q&A session.
Past President Beth said donations will be made to Harvest Against Hunger in Dean Sanford’s name.
Past President Beth said donations will be made to Harvest Against Hunger in Dean Sanford’s name.
Past President Beth summed up the performance of local sports before closing: She brought attention to the demise of the PAC-12, the current state of US Women’s soccer, OL Reign, and the Sounders, the struggles of the Storm, and highlighted the fact that that the Mariners are on fire.
Meeting adjourned at 1:27 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 1:27 p.m.
