Communiqué: The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial

CREATE HOPE IN THE WORLD

Monday, November 20th, 2023

Bainbridge Island Rowing or ZOOM

11:30am Lunch/Noon Meeting

The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association

with Guest Speakers: Val Tollefson and Ellen Sato Faust

The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association (BIJAEMA) is completing the final phase of development at the Memorial, the culmination of a 20+year grassroots, community effort. Val Tollefson and Ellen Sato Faust will give an update on the status of the project and what the new Visitor Center will mean for the community.

The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial stands as a tribute to the courage and resilience of the Japanese American community forcibly removed from their homes under Executive Order 9066 and Exclusion Order No. 1 during World War II. Located at the historic Eagledale ferry dock on Bainbridge Island, the Memorial serves as a vital educational resource and a testament to the enduring spirit of unity and remembrance.

Ellen oversees administrative and fundraising activities for BIJAEMA. She is the principal of Corner Solutions, a consultancy that provides marketing analytics and strategic marketing services. Previously, she was SVP of Strategy and Analytics for SolutionSet. Ellen holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A from the University of Chicago. She and her husband have a son who attends Bainbridge HS, in addition to four grown children.

Val is a founding member of BIJAEMA. He first got involved in the development of the Memorial site while serving on the City of Bainbridge Island Wyckoff Superfund Taskforce, followed by the Pritchard Park Acquisition Committee. He then participated in the BI Japanese American Community’s Memorial Committee, which later became BIJAEMA. He is a retired lawyer.

Ellen Sato Faust

Val Tollefson

ZOOM LINK HERE

Order Food Here by 5pm Friday

11/27/2023: No Meeting & No Communiqué

12/04/2023: Evening: Activities Committee presents: Holiday Fantasies Miguelito's Grill & Cantina and Lynwood Theater to follow.

12/11/2023: Midday: Annual Meeting @ BIR

Our Club Calendar Website is HERE.

November is Foundation Month

November is Foundation Month in the Rotary calendar. The Rotary Foundation (TRF) is the charitable arm of Rotary.

As you consider your year end giving, give some thought to The Rotary Foundation. If you have questions, reach out to Joanne Croghan or Charlie Averill. A big thank you to the many Rotarians in our club that support The Rotary Foundation and make the future a little brighter for so many in our world. Link HERE.

The Activities Committee cordially invites you to:

Holiday Fantasies!

A Bainbridge Island Rotary Club Holiday Social

December 4th at 5:30PM

We'll start at Miguelito’s Grill & Cantina for food, drinks and socializing, then head over to the Lynwood Theater for movies, laughter, and music.

Be prepared to walk the red carpet...

And did we mention prizes?

Guests are welcomed!

Please click the link below to buy your tickets.

RSVP & PAY HERE

Leadership Positions for Annual Meeting Election

We are in election season. Nominations will close November 27th. You can nominate yourself or another willing member. You can consult the names listed below that currently hold these positions. They are ready to rotate off and will be happy to hear from you.

President Elect: Fredric Hoffer

Secretary: Cindy McGregor

Assistant Auction Chair: Phil Toohey

Auction Treasurer: David Brown

Club Service Director: Carol Reitz

Vocational Service Director: Winifred Perkins

Holiday Toy Drive for Ukrainian Refugee Children in the Seattle Area

Thank you for participating in our Annual Toy Drive for Ukrainian Refugee Children!

The Ukrainian Association of Washington is helping about 500 families. Let's help to make their holidays a little brighter with a donation of a gift worth $25-$30 or a gift card for the same amount. We are providing gifts for kids up to 18 years of age. Gifts should be unwrapped and new. Focus your efforts on games, toys, books, kits and items that spark creativity in children.

Bring your donations to any club meeting up to and including our Rotary Christmas party, and we will get everything to the kids by Christmas. Thank you for your support of this program!

The Ukrainian Subcommittee and WCS Committee

Volunteers Wanted:

The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community

would love to have you help with the largest cultural event on the island:

Mochi Tsuki 2024

Saturday, January 6, 2024

11am-3pm

Woodward Middle School

Kitchen Signups HERE.

Front of the House Signups HERE.

Thanks from Carol Reitz, President

Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community

www.BIJAC.org

See Kitsap Sun: Sights and Sounds - Mochi Tsuki 2023 HERE.

Foundation Month:Rotary Earns our Donations!

By Ann Marie Kimball

This morning Emory University offered a launch session of “Modernizing Global Health Security to Prevent, Detect and Respond”. For the past three years I have had the privilege of working with 120 other authors on this work. (Link HERE.) Why am I sharing this with you all? Because at the beginning of our work we all vowed to donate any proceeds to charity; Rotary International is that charity. It is a testament to the global impact of our beloved organization. This is not a pitch for you to buy this book (unless you are an academic, public health practitioner, simply love pandemics or need a soporific). What astonished me when I proposed this as an editor was how quickly the team aligned on the Rotary Foundation to benefit.

This is Foundation month for Rotary International. Rotary has clubs across the world. These clubs have been instrumental in the fight to eradicate polio, and in many other life saving efforts. To more fully appreciate the breadth of this work check out Rotary Showcase under my.rotary.org. It is impressive..and actually only captures some, not all of the worldwide activities of Rotary.

Rotarians are encouraged to donate, not only this month but throughout the year. Our net auction proceeds are put to work at home and abroad, the Foundation provides matching funds for global grants and grants of scale which impact distant communities. All of this work is channeled through club to club relationships such as we enjoy in Guatemala, Uganda, Tanzania, Ukraine, India and Nepal.

Here at home, our own club is working to position our collective Kitsap clubs to support our County Health Access initiative. When the independent assessment is complete in December 2023 and publicly shared in January of 2024 we will have Rotarians poised to consider best ways to respond. This new initiative seeks to build county wide awareness. We want to say “ Never again” to collapse of our county health system and mean it!

Outside view of Monday noon at Bainbridge Island Rowing

Distinguished Rotarians Pat & Mary Callan arrive ensemble

David Brown of the Greeters Committee can see you coming

AMK watches the show

Norm Davis introduces our speaker

Capt Brent Paul

Facilities Engineering

NAVFAC Northwest

We plan, build, and maintain sustainable facilities while delivering facility planning, design, construction, services, utilities, facilities maintenance (public works), environmental, real estate, cybersecurity, and contracting services to our supported commanders.

Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) at Naval Base Kitsap is a comprehensive approach to address the necessary infrastructure components (dry docks, capital equipment, facilities) at the nation’s four public shipyards in order to improve Navy readiness and lethality.