President Beth opened the meeting at the Rainier Club and on Zoom, introducing Linda Rough & Jevon Powell with the day’s song, Try a Little Kindness, followed by Nick Anderson for the day’s inspiration about the importance of preparing to make time for the important things in life, when there is no time left.

 

President Beth attended a recent Rotary District 5030 event where $60K was raised to eradicate polio.  The meeting also confirmed District Governor nominee and past Seattle #4 Rotary president Jeff Borek, who came to the podium with remarks about how he got involved with Rotary in the eighties, and why he values Rotary to this day.  He encouraged Rotarians to share their Rotary value statements with colleagues & friends as prospective Rotarians.  

Seattle Rotary Service Foundation President, Dave Kraft, said the annual fundraising campaign is launching and encouraged all Seattle 4 Rotarians to pitch in, step up and contribute to support SRSF for local community grants, and Rotary International.  “How much we raise for SRSF will determine the number of grants we can make next Spring,” he said.  “Impact is an important word for what we do to carry out the work of Rotarians past and carry on that work in the future”.

 

He displayed slides showing the number of grants SRSF provided this year for a variety of programs and projects in our area.  He described the criteria for grants and how they are evaluated.  “SRSF has impact on downtown Seattle, communities of color, children and families,” he continued.  “The SRSF annual report details how the money was spent in the past year, based on their impact on the community”.  The report can be viewed on the Rotary website.  Contributions are tax deductible.  Sustaining Rotarians are asked to contribute a minimum of $400, plus $100 for Rotary International.  

 

VP programs, Ken Grant, introduced Curt Blake, president/CEO of Spaceflight, inc. that provides launch integration and in-space transportation services.

“Spaceflight’s mission is to get your satellite into space, exactly where you want to go and exactly when you want to go,” he began.  “Spaceflight is a global launch service provider of ‘rideshare launches’ to share costs for dedicated satellite launches, assistance with licensing and management.”

 

King County-based (Bellevue/Westlake and Renton) Spaceflight has been providing launch services for more than 10 years and has launched more than 500 satellites.   He said, “Spaceflight provides launch vehicles and flexibility with end-to-end launch integration services, in-space orbital transfer vehicles, transportation and launching multiple satellites in rideshare – is like riding a bus to a deployment site in space.”

 

He described Spaceflight’s Sherpa vehicle as a safety component in space with cameras to inspect satellites in orbit for functionality and repair. He said, “five Sherpas have flown on behalf of 50+ customers enabling missions, deployment of sequencing with plug and play features”.

 

From a regulatory standpoint he said there are “a lot of regulations” about what you can put into space. “You have to get a license from the FCC for communications, NOAA license if you want to take pictures from space,” he said, “and regulations on where to get your satellite launched.  These regulations are in place to protect U.S. industry and security interests.”

 

Membership Co-Chair, Nicole Klein, announced several upcoming fellowship events including World Polio Day on 10/20 at the Gates Foundation, an Elwa River tour in Cashmere, and many other activities in the planning stages.  Details about all fellowship events can be found on the Seattle 4 Rotary website.

 

VP Programs, Ken Grant, said next week Rotarians will welcome city attorney Ann Davison, followed by presenters about what is fake vs. real news, and Mike Gastineau - a freelance writer, author, broadcaster, and communications consultant.

 

President Beth closed the meeting describing what promises to be a trifecta on Saturday with the Huskies game and homecoming, Kraken, and Mariners vs. the Astros. President Beth closed the meeting with a quote from Ken Griffey, Jr. “When you lose, you smile and come back the next day, and when you win smile and come back the next day.”

 

  Many thanks to meeting reporter Pete DeLaunay for another fantastic meeting report!