Dorothy Bullitt, our member and Club President from 2001-2002 introduced our main program speaker, Trish Bostrom, who won the Pac 8 singles championship, played in the French and Australian Opens, defeated Billie Jean King at Wimbledon, and is a member of the UW Hall of Fame as well as the Pac 12 Hall of Fame. She then went onto law school and practiced estate planning and corporate law and became a civic leader, serving on several boards and government commissions.
Trish began her inspiring presentation explaining her passion for Title IX that is celebrating 50 years since its passage in 1972. She walked us through her journey to being an advocate for women’s sports, equal rights for female athletes (and all women), and a fantastic tennis player from her days growing up in West Seattle and then during her historic time at the University of Washington.
It was during her tennis career at the UW that she discovered how underfunded or not funded at all women’s sports programs were, so she became determined to change that unequitable situation. She challenged UW with the help of a local attorney and they were successful with the UW admitting fault and vowing to fix the situation.
Shortly after this victory on campus, Title IX passed at the national level that stated if a university receives federal funds, it cannot discriminate against women athletes and programs. She pointed out that Title IX did not just benefit athletes but also women in medical and law school and with access to science labs, etc. She said that the UW women’s tennis team has a great coach now and that their women’s program is 99.9% equal to the men’s. There is still an issue with girls’ sports at the junior and high school levels, but that the situation is “100% better than in 1972”.
She encouraged us to speak out when we see inequitable treatment like she did: 1) Don’t let it the issue die, 2) Have courage to raise your voice, and 3) Be a mentor to young women.
There were numerous accolades for Trish and what she accomplished and there was agreement in the chat that if we were in-person, there would have been an instant standing ovation!
Jeff Pritchard introduced our Short Program speaker, Martha Lungo of Malaria Partners Zambia, which was formed in 2018 and is an official affiliate of Malaria Partners International. Martha was tragically impacted by Malaria as her son died after contracting it. Jeff commented on how inspiring her commitment is to this effort and that she is “part of the reason for the success we are seeing in that part of the world”.
Martha thanked us for the role that our club played in establishing Malaria Partners and the Copperbelt Malaria Elimination Project in October 2017. She explained that Malaria Partners Zambia has a management team comprised of Rotarians.
She shared these facts about Malaria:
- It is the number one cause of hospitalization in many of the world’s poorest countries
- It is a major cause of morbidity and mortality; globally, a child dies every two minutes from it
- One in five children under the age of five are infected
- 40% of the world’s population is at risk of Malaria infection
Their main mission is to strengthen the country’s health system by training and equipping 2500 health care workers which will increase access to malaria diagnosis and treatment for more than 1.3 million people in the heaving affected areas of Zambia and “greatly contribute to the national effort to eliminate the deadly disease”.
Learn more about their efforts via www.malariapartnerszambia.org.zm
President Jimmy started with two opening thoughts: how much he enjoys The Lion King and in particular, “The Circle of Life” and the symbolism of “cradle to grave” and how it relates to “our collection of past Club Presidents” as he announced the passing of our past member and president, Bruce Walker. Kirk Greene gave a very nice remembrance of “his client and friend”. Kirk mentioned that Bruce was a member from 1977-2015 and served as president in 1994-1995, and that the most important things for him were family, community and reputation. Kirk announced that there will be a small family service on July 28th that will be recorded and distributed for viewing.
President Jimmy then encouraged us to donate to the Rotary Foundation which is part of our annual commitment as a Seattle Rotarian: our goal is, of course, 100 percent of members contributing and he reminded us that if we fail to get 60%, then we lose out on matching funds for our club’s projects and that we are still not at that level of participation. Our support of the Foundation “is critical to support Rotary’s efforts, both worldwide and here in our community”. Donate by going to www.rotary.org/en/donate .
The Rotary Rogues then performed a special tribute to President Jimmy and his unusual COVID/social distancing year as president, “It Was a Very Good Year – Jimmy Collins”! It was very clever and well done!
IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR – JIMMY COLLINS
ooooooh, oooooooh, oooooh, ooooo
When we were quarantined,
It was a very weird year.
It was a very weird year for downtown clubs -
No fellowship nights.
No bright city lights,
Just computer screens
When we were quarantined.
oooooooh , oooooooh, ooooooh, oooooo
In twenty twenty-one,
It was a lot better year.
It was a lot better year for Seattle Four
After living on zoom,
Now a bi-weekly room!
And Jimmy would steer,
It was a lot better year!
oooooooh, oooooooh, oooooh, oooooo
In twenty twenty-two
It’s been an even better year
It’s been an even better year; we’re back in gear!
And Jimmy stayed the course.
He never used force,
He’s fair and he’s true,
With a strong mighty crew.
ooooooh, oooooooh, oooooh, oooooo
ALL: And now his term grows short.
His final meeting draws near.
He modeled how to cope,
(SPOKEN: “ROTARIANS INSPIRE HOPE!”)
He gave lots of rope,
He always was here.
Jimmy, thanks for the fun
Faith Ireland’s inspiration focused on a “moment of gratitude” for our main speaker, Trish Bostrom and what she did with for Title IX so that girls receive all of the same benefits.
Mary Goldie recognized the several guests with us today which included Bruce Walker’s children and two former district governors from Australia.
In closing, President Jimmy offered his “very special thanks to Trish for paying it forward for women” and for what a wonderful role model she is.
He then reminded us that “words matter in how we interact with others.” He shared three concepts to bring good will:
1) Practice the art of disagreement to promote civil discourse, 2) Begin with “help me understand?” when we don’t agree or understand another’s views, and 3) Offer, “best wishes for your continued success" to reiterate that you are expecting future success beyond what the person just achieved. His hope for all of us was for “continued success in our challenges and missions.
1) Practice the art of disagreement to promote civil discourse, 2) Begin with “help me understand?” when we don’t agree or understand another’s views, and 3) Offer, “best wishes for your continued success" to reiterate that you are expecting future success beyond what the person just achieved. His hope for all of us was for “continued success in our challenges and missions.
Thank you to meeting reporter Dann Mead Smith for this week’s report!