Founded 1909 Weekly News and Highlights July 24, 2026
Next Zoom Only Meeting on July 29
Wednesday, July 29 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM Zoom Only
Seattle Sports Commission President & CEO Beth Knox
Coming off the success of Seattle on the global stage as a World Cup host city, club member and Seattle Sports Commission President & CEO Beth Knox joins us to discuss the games and the impact sports currently has on the livelihood of our city.
In addition to Beth's main program, we will also present the results of our most recent club survey.
Last Thursday evening club member Jevon Powell hit the stage at Gas Station Blues, a summer concert series in Issaquah hosted by the Washington Blues Society. Alongside long-time band mate Mary McPage, their duo known as McPage & Powell have been gracing stages since 2003!
Connecting with Our Grantees—One Child at a Time
Tatyana Tsyrlina-Spady and Lori Walker
As the new fiscal year begins, the Local Service Committee (LSC) seeks to connect all Rotarians with opportunities to experience the work of our SRSF Grantees.
School Connect Washington is running the largest summer program of its kind in Seattle Public Schools, serving 140 students at Rising Star Elementary School on Beacon Hill. Last week, six Rotarians participated in a tutor training session alongside several other volunteer coaches. Clear guidelines and practical strategies were provided, making everyone feel well prepared to work with the students. It was especially exciting to see fellow Rotarian Marc Kurose bring several colleagues from his company, Ernst & Young, to join the effort.
The children were enthusiastic and eager to learn, and they worked diligently on their reading, English, and math assignments. Their smiles, curiosity, and determination made the experience deeply rewarding for everyone involved.
Volunteering with these students was pure joy. It was a wonderful reminder that just one hour of encouragement can help a child move closer to grade-level success while giving volunteers something equally valuable in return—the positivity, energy, and hope that naturally come from working with children.
Many thanks to School Connect Washington and its founder, Roy Chang, for the opportunity. We encourage fellow Rotarians to visit one of our grantees in person and experience firsthand the remarkable work they are doing in our community.
The summer school program is in session until July 31. One additional Rotarian session is planned for July 30th, 1:00 – 2:30 pm. Please contact David Farrell at david.p.farrell@me.com or Lori Walker at lwalker@thewalkergroupnw.com if you are interested.
Have you heard?!? Your Young Rotary Leaders (YRLs) ARE BACK!
After a few coffee meetups this spring, the group coordinated to host a casual happy hour Monday night at the law offices of Carney Badley and Spellman. Thanks go to YRL club member Ashley Burman for the use of the space!
The Rotary Club of Seattle’s annual Seafair meeting blended pageantry, local tradition, and national service, culminating in an insightful address from Rear Admiral John Townsend, Commander of Navy Region Northwest. From the opening strains of the national anthem with a Navy woodwind quintet to a closing flag exchange with visiting Rotarians from Bangladesh, the program underscored both Seattle’s maritime heritage and Rotary’s global reach.
Introduced by past president Jimmy Collins, Rear Admiral Townsend used his remarks to connect the Navy’s 250-year legacy with its modern mission in the Pacific and right here in Puget Sound.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be here,” he told Rotarians, adding that there was “no place that I would rather be than in this room with you all this afternoon.” He framed the Navy plainly: “Our navy, because that’s what it is,” emphasizing that the fleet ultimately belongs to the American people whose tax dollars sustain it.
Townsend described his command, Navy Region Northwest, as spanning 11 states, anchoring the Navy’s third-largest fleet concentration area, and contributing roughly $15 billion annually to the regional economy. The region includes Naval Base Kitsap, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, and the newly homeported USS Ronald Reagan, which recently arrived to replace the USS Nimitz.
He noted that Naval Base Kitsap—including Bremerton and Bangor—has now become the second-largest U.S. Navy installation in the world, behind only Norfolk, Virginia, and even ahead of San Diego. That scale is matched by investment: Townsend highlighted an estimated $25 billion in military construction for the multi-mission dry dock (M2D2) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, calling it “the single largest investment that the Department of War has ever undertaken.”
School Connect Washington needs you. One of our six SRSF Local Service Committee grantees this year, School Connect is running the largest summer program of its kind in Seattle Public Schools: 140 students at Rising Star Elementary on Beacon Hill, and they could use Rotarians in the room.
In an effort to better inform membership of the health of the club, we will start posting member additions and resignations after each month's club board meeting. Please see below for our June/July report.
New Members: Helary Rakete-Yakub and Allie Rice
Resignations: Irv Sandman, Lillian Sherman, Max Martina, Mike O'Byrne, Ev Billingslea, Jeff Pyatt, Brenda Barnes, Lindsay Klarman, Rajeev Agarwal, Fred Grimm, Bindiya Patel, Cathy Gibson, Dulcie Patner, Maureen Brotherton, Charmaine Vazquez, Alan Kunovsky, Adel Sefrioui, Derryl Willis, Stan Foster, Suzanne Fortune, Bonita Towne, Dorothy Miller, Mike Harney, Laurie Jonsson, Jennifer Hohnstein
We love to see our Rotary members promoting good works in our community and abroad! If you have a project or fundraiser that you are excited about and would like to promote to your fellow club members, please check in with our Club Director, Mary Goldie, before distributing information or invitations through our email roster. We value the privacy of our members’ contact information and can let you know the appropriate ways to reach out to folks in our club. Thank you!!
School Connect Washington needs you. One of our six SRSF Local Service Committee grantees this year, School Connect is running the largest summer program of its kind in Seattle Public Schools: 140 students at Rising Star Elementary on Beacon Hill, and they could use Rotarians in the room.
Serves to fulfill Rotary's mission of "advancing international understanding, goodwill, and peace." The committee selects projects that positively impact the health, education, and welfare of less advantaged people in other countries, with a particular emphasis on youth. Actively works with clubs in our District and abroad to leverage — via matching grants — the amount of money available for a project. Members get involved through direct knowledge of the project or by volunteering. Prior focuses have included malaria projects in Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda; microcredit and water projects in India; de-mining projects in Vietnam and Lebanon; AIDS orphan support in South Africa and Ethiopia; education/literacy projects in Nepal, Chile, and Hungary; and more than a decade of wide-ranging projects in Russia.
For more information on this committee, please email info@seattlerotary.org.
Meet fellow Rotarians and get involved in service. See below for a list of committees. Email the committee chair by clicking on their name. Or, contact Mary Goldie for more information.
4. Invite your connections to a weekly meeting, and let mary@seattlerotary.org know so they may be introduced.
If you don't already have a LinkedIn profile, CLICK HERE to learn how to get started.
SEATTLE 4 ROTARY AUDIO VISUAL SPONSORS
Video of Seattle 4 Rotary Programs are available online thanks to the generous support of our Seattle Rotary Audio Visual Sponsors.
In addition to supporting our club, becoming a Seattle 4 Rotary Audio Visual Sponsor brings many benefits. To learn more, click here, or contact Mary for more details at mary@seattlerotary.org.
Do You Have Any Musical Instruments to Donate to Students in Need?
Music4Life is a non-profit and project of Rotary District 5030 that distributes musical instruments to public school students in need.
We welcome any gently used musical instruments you wish to donate. They can be delivered directly to these local music stores that are now open: American Music in Phinney Ridge and Kennelly Keys Music in Bellevue, Lynnwood, and Everett.
Please accompany your instrument with the PDF donation form, linked below.
Our Rotary Cares team is ready to listen and to support you. One of the wonderful things about our club is that you have many friends --you just need to reach out to tap into our amazing network of caring people. Please contact our Rotary Cares Committee Chair to let us know how we can help.
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