Rear Admiral (RADM) Keith A. Taylor
District Commander
Thirteenth Coast Guard District

Rear Admiral Keith A. Taylor serves as the Commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District headquartered in Seattle. As District Commander, he is responsible for U.S. Coast Guard operations covering 4 states, more than 4,400 miles of coastline, 600 miles of inland waterways, and a 125 mile international border with Canada. Prior to this assignment, Rear Admiral Taylor served as the Assistant Commandant for Resources and Chief Financial Officer, where he was responsible for Coast Guard financial management and resource activities including planning, programming, budgeting and execution of the service’s appropriations. He was promoted to flag rank in March 2008.

Rear Admiral Taylor is a 1983 Graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He first served aboard USCGC SPAR in Portland, Maine, followed by Naval Flight Training in Pensacola, Florida. His first aviation unit was Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts where he qualified as an Aircraft Commander. In 1989 he was assigned to Air Station Sitka, Alaska, and in 1991 he was designated an Aeronautical Engineering Officer. From Alaska, RADM Taylor moved to Air Station Traverse City, Michigan where he “fleeted-up” to Engineering Officer and served as an Instructor Pilot.

Liberal Arts Degrees Foster Breadth of
Understanding Across All Cultures

by Pete DeLaunay

A day filled with special programming delivered thoughtful insights to Rotarians about the value of a liberal arts degree, the pre-world war II Japanese baseball league, and how two Iranian U.S. citizens describe relations between the U.S. and Iran. 

David Powers, Seattle University College of Liberal Arts & Sciences dean since 2009, said the buzz about technical-skill education is important,  but employers also want graduates with excellent written/verbal skills and an understanding of ethics. “Liberal arts graduates bring the richness of creativity into their lives and the outer world,” he said. “Access to information is easy but understanding how to learn of its quality enables them to move forward ethically into the greater good.”

He cited an SU political science undergraduate’s study of the popular pre-world war II local Japanese baseball league, and its untimely demise.  Mr. Powers called it an example of how ‘the breadth & depth of mind & spirit can last a lifetime’; as he introduced recent graduate Phil Bruan to describe how his project helped prepare him as he enters ‘the other law school’ at the  University of Washington in the fall. “The league played hard from 1920-1942 at Jefferson Park, the old Sick’s Stadium, and all over western Washington,” he said.   In the wake of World War II all that changed, but the importance of maintaining the heritage of Asian Pacific Islanders in the Seattle area did not.  He thanked professor Wong for her inspiration, and now brings a difference perspective to the study of law. 

It was an easy transition to then learn of fellow Rotarian David Woodward’s Iranian birth and upbringing, and his friendship with Cascadia Community College professor Dr. Nader Nazemi.  David is President/CEO of the Seattle-based  Associates in Cultural Exchange (ACE) for language and intercultural education. David posed topical-typical U.S. questions while native-Iranian Nader responded with casual yet measured responses to traversing the relationship between the nations of Iran and the U.S. As they settled into armchairs on the stage, David offered a wide range of considerations that we can’t detail here; but what follows is one attendee's take. 

‘Should the U.S. bomb Iran?' Both agreed it would be a ‘big mistake.’ It was the topic of Sunday talk shows -- whether to assume Iran has means to build a nuclear weapon and where the ‘red line’ is drawn and force is applied. At this point the deeper dialogue got interesting as comparisons to another president’s ‘weapons of mass destruction’ without evidence prompted years of war -- not to mention crippling disabilities for thousands of veterans. The ‘Iraq Syndrome’ refers to entering a war without real evidence in a region the U.S. has attempted to ‘stabilize’ for many years.  “The U.S. will rehabilitate its image in the world with patience.”  Whatever the Iranian nuclear capability, it likely is not in one place but spread over and deep underground – bombing would accomplish what?

‘How has Iran changed since the good old days of the Shah?’ The Shah of Iran was a great friend of the U.S. and the CIA, and a pillar with Saudi Arabia in a position of regional power.  The Shah met every president of the U.S. since Truman, and was the legislative monarch king in a line of 2,500 kings.  The Shah’s reign ended in 1979, and since then the Islamic Republic of Iran has developed relations with most countries in the world except the U.S.  Status quo vs. revisionist aspires to make Iran a regional power. The discussion extended to voting in Iran, which Nader said was an Islamic vs. an imperial tradition, and is done on a regular basis now in Iran as the process of voting is the best way to learn.  Legitimacy from the people derives from the people at the ballot box. 

They had much more to talk about and hoped the relationship with the U.S. can be built back over time..

President Paul opened the meeting and introduced Mike Colbrese with a rousing spring anthem accompanied by the dynamic dueling duo (take note Sue Nixon) of Ken Grant on the piano and Trish Bostrom on the banjo!!!  Anna Liotta settled things down with the day’s thoughtful invocation.

John Durbin introduced two new members with predictable subtlety: Dennis ‘Alex’ Burlingame  of Morgan Stanley, of whom Mr. Durbin said:  ‘Alex chose to attend PLU in Tacoma on a sunny day when the wind was blowing the other way.’  And Michele Shaw, criminal defense attorney in private practice, who Mr. Durbin said did not join in search of new clients!

Special announcements –

MAY 23 ROTARY OPEN HOUSE – Visit the Rotary office and perhaps sit in Val Elliott’s chair on Thursday, May 23, 4-6P.  You’ll find the office at 1215 4th Avenue, Suite 1215.

JUNE 6 ‘REGULATORY FAIRNESS HEARING’ OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL OMBUDSMAN, REG 10, U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION – Thanks to fellow Rotarian and advisor to the National Ombudsman, Rich Gaspar, for leading the Seattle effort!  Gotta gripe? Experienced excessive fines, penalties or unfair regulatory enforcement by Federal agencies, including repetitive audits or investigation in retaliation....Here’s  your chance to comment and/or complain! Contact Rich for more information. 

JUNE 19 ROTARY EVENING MEETING – Thanks to President Paul for hosting this evening event with appetizers from Wolfgang Puck, followed by Seattle Symphony music director Ludovic Morlot with his vision and a performance by members of the orchestra.  Bravo!

May 22
RADM Keith A. Taylor, US Coast Guard
Homeland Security and Economic Trade in our Region
Sheraton

May 29
Steve Johansson
The Evolution of the American Cocktail
Westin

June 5
Bill Foege
Eradication of Smallpox
Westin

What is far better than a potluck at YOUR house:
1. You don't have to clean it first
2. You don't have to bake a noodle casserole
3. You can arrive at your leisure
4. It's a work day...the wine and beer will taste even better
5. Great appetizers: we bought 'em!

It's the SEATTLE #4 OPEN HOUSE!
Join us in the club offices on Thursday, May 23, anytime between 4 and 6 p.m.
The Financial Center Building is at 1215 4th Ave., Suite 1215, Seattle

Get better acquainted with the staff...
look through some of the archives...
and reaffirm why we still hold the title as the Best Rotary Club!
 
Let us know if you'll be stopping by ...
and it's also OK to just show up -- 
and leave the casserole at home. 

206.623.0023
Valerie@seattlerotary.org

District 5030 Assembly
June 1, 2013
7:30 am to Noon
Seattle University* - 901 12th Ave, Seattle, WA  98122

No charge for attending; *Please be advised that there WILL be a charge for parking on the Seattle University Campus.

We are going to light YOUR fire with the new IGNITE program and introduce you to the Future of Rotary here in District 5030. Learn how to get involved, hear what is happening in District 5030 and Rotary International, and have leadership training. With nearly 20 sessions there is something of interest to everyone.  Great fellowship too as Rotarians from all 53 clubs will be in attendance. District Assembly is open to all Rotarians and an event not to miss!

To register for the District Assembly, go to the District website: www.Rotary5030.org, and click on the line “Get involved” on the right hand side of the screen, and then click on “DaCBD” on the right hand side of that screen.  That is the sign-in screen for DACbd, the Rotary District 5030 district and club database.

After you sign in, click on “calendar” up at the top of the page.  All the events are in date order, with the date showing in the far left column.  Because there is a lot going on in District 5030, you'll need to scroll down a ways to get to June 1. Once you find the District Assembly listing (you'll probably notice the "Ignite" black logo first!), you can see the Register Now option a couple of columns to the left.  Just click on that and let them know that you are coming!

We hope to see most of you there.

Wider World of Rotary
Brought to you by the Rotary Relations Committee
Chair: Roberta Greer
Liaison: Lisa Mayfield (lisa@agingwisdom.com)

Seattle 4 was well represented at the annual District 5030 conference held May 3-5 at the Coeur d 'Alene Resort.  President Paul Ishii was honored by District Governor Steve Lingenbrink with the "Out of the Box" award for his creativity leading our Club this past year.  Seattle 4 also received the Presidential citation and acknowledgment for meeting Ignite goals.

Sten Crissey, Steve Crane and Jim Moore were honored for their work with the District grants project with the EPIC award.  EPIC was one of the themes for the District's Rotary year and stands for: Education, Public Image, and Communication.  Seattle 4 was also given acknowledgment for starting District collaboration with the Malaria project.

Steve Crane and Jim Moore gave a presentation on the new District and Global grants program.  Jean Thompson and Virginia Kirn gave a presentation on Attracting and Retaining Young Members to a standing room only crowd.

President Paul Ishii and Tom Betts had the opportunity to each give an invocation before Plenary events.  Cathy Gibson was a part of the conference planning committee and was busy organizing this conference for over a year.  She served as Plenary Director during the conference and did an excellent job keeping the program running smoothly.  Ed Futa, RI President's Representative and former General Secretary of RI from 2000-2011 was one of the keynote speakers.

The conference theme was "To Russia with Love" and at the Friday evening Plenary the District Governor gave a big shout-out to Bill Robinson and Seattle 4  for spearheading 27 service projects in Russia over the past 12 years.  This is in collaboration with 14 other Clubs within the District and 62 other RI Clubs and Districts.  The total for projects funded in Russia through Rotary is over half a million dollars – leverage of 14-to-1 on dollars contributed by a club.

Seattle 4 hosted a hospitality suite open to all conference attendees thanks to the generosity of Lynn and Ralph Davis.  Thank you to Kathy Williams for serving as the suite hostess. A big thank you to the conference planning committee and District Governor Steve Lingenbrink for a terrific conference.  Fun was had by all.

Seattle 4 Rotarians in attendance: Tom Betts, Patricia Bostrom, Brook Buchanan, Cathy Burnell, Ken Colling, Steve Crane, Sten Crissey, Mark Davis, Cathy Gibson, Heidi Happonen, Carolyn Hojaboom, Paul Ishii, John Iverson, Marli Iverson, James Keating, Virginia Kirn, Gerry Maurer, Lisa Mayfield, Jim Moore, Bill Robinson, Bill Sperling, Jean Thompson, Kathy Williams, and Janice Winemiller.  Special congratulations to Heidi Happonen who graduated from WSU with her MBA over the weekend and still fit in attending the conference!

Save the date: Next District conference hosted by Ezra Teshome in Vancouver, B.C. April 25-27, 2014.

Pedro A.L. Costa
Introduced by Joe Phillips on May 8, 2013

It is my pleasure to introduce our newest member, Pedro Augusto Leite Costa.  Pedro is CEO and Founder of The Information Company and honorary Brazilian Consulate in Seattle.  He has the classification Brazilian Honorary Consulate and has been nominated by Dick Bangert and Skip Kotkins.

Pedro has more than two decades of experience in public relations and business development work.  His firm, the Information Company, is one of the leading public relations and strategic advisory firms advising organizations on doing business in Brazil and the US. He and his family, which includes his wife, Freida, and twin 13 year old twin daughters, Georgia and Clara, moved to Seattle in 2005.  Why did they move to Seattle??  Well, Freida is from the Tri-Cities and was teaching English in Brazil when they met.  That led to them marrying in 1996.  In 2004, while on vacation and momentarily spellbound by some gorgeous Seattle summer weather, Pedro jokingly said they should relocate from their coffee farm in Brazil to Seattle.  You can connect the remaining dots on your own.

Today, Pedro counts as some of his clients PATH, the Gates Foundation, Amazon, and Rosetta Stone.  In Brazil, a major client is the 5 million member National Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock.  Today, his energies are focused on fostering business development between Washington and Brazil, including having organized visiting delegations from Brazil to Seattle and Seattle to Brazil.  It was in recognition of his success in this arena that the Brazilian government named him honorary consul in 2010. Pedro is also a journalist.  He writes for Valor Economical, the Wall Street Journal of Brazil, and has written a book about life in the US for Brazilians.  He has also created several business film documentaries on the US for broadcast in Brazil.

What you might not know about Pedro is he swims in Lake Washington every day – sometimes for 15 seconds and sometimes 15 minutes, but tries to do it daily.  What you can guess about Pedro, being Brazilian, is that he is a soccer fan, or rather football fan, and he is not shy about reminding you that the best football can be found in Brazil. Let’s welcome our newest member as he shakes hands with President Paul.

We have 2 new members today.  You may think that, because of their occupations, it is ironic that they are both being introduced on the same day.  Why, you ask?  Because one works for an investment banking firm and the other is a criminal defense attorney.  But you should not read anything into that.

Alex Burlingame
Introduced by John Durbin on May 15, 2013

First, with the first two letters of the alphabet we have Alex Burlingame.  His classification is Financial Services—Management.  Alex is with Morgan Stanley, but not in the Investment Banking group.  He was proposed by Joel Ferrell and Todd Bonime.

Alex was born in Paris, France.  He lived the lavish Paris high life until age 8.  His family then moved to Los Angeles.  Eleven years later he was trying to figure out what college to attend.  One of several he visited was the University of Puget Sound on a warm sunny day in August when the wind was blowing the aroma of Tacoma away from campus.  He thought U.P.S. was the perfect school for him.  It turned out that even when he realized that the weather was not what he had bargained for, the school was great and he met his soul mate and future wife, Nancy. 

When Alex Burlingame graduated, he was hired by Morgan Stanley and he started, not climbing, but running up the ladder of success.  Alex and Nancy first moved to Atlanta, then San Francisco, then Portland.  Seven years ago they finally made it back to Washington State.  They live with their two daughters, ages 8 and 13 in Beaux Arts, Washington.  That must be a very snooty place!  It is spelled B-E-A-U-X, very French!  And instead of calling their governing body—the Town Council, they call it the Western Academy of Beaux Arts.  It just doesn’t get any snootier than that.  Alex served on that academy for 3 years.

Two things I must tell you about Alex is that he will take your money and he will run.  His job title is Managing Director and he is responsible for the Morgan Stanley Wealth Management group covering most of Washington.  He is responsible for 10 offices and 400 employees.  All of whom are trying to get your money to manage it for you. Alex is an avid marathon runner.  He has completed four of the five “grand slam” marathons.  Those of you familiar with the runs know what they are—New York, Chicago, Boston and Berlin, all of which he has completed, plus London which he will do after he runs the next and his second Boston Marathon.
He promises to get off to a fast start in Rotary service.

Michele Shaw
Introduced by John Durbin on May 15, 2013

Michele Shaw has the classification of Law Practice-Criminal Defense.  She is a sole practitioner—exclusively criminal defense litigation.  She assures me that she is joining this Rotary club because it is about “Service Above Self” and not because she thinks it is a fertile place to find new clients.

Michele grew up in Texas and developed a strong interest in geology and a love of the outdoors, which still continues.  She found that Kentucky has a lot of caves and a good geology program at Western Kentucky University.  So Michele was off to the land of the Hatfields and the McCoys.  By the time she graduated, oil prices had dropped precipitously and geologists were not being hired.  The only job she could find was as a bartender.  She decided to take a small step from a bartender and become a lawyer.  She moved on to Gonzaga Law School.  Her first law job was in Seattle as an assistant district attorney which was great experience for trial work, which she loves and, at which, she was very good.

She set up her own law practice 17 years ago.  I can best describe her law career to this point by quoting her proposer, Faith Ireland, and if you don’t trust a judge and a State Supreme Court justice, you have to trust someone who can bench press your body weight!  Justice Faith Ireland, please stand up and raise your right hand. 

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!  I do.
Did you say in the Proposer’s Responsibility Form that you submitted, in describing Michele Shaw’s qualifications—“this candidate is a highly regarded criminal defense attorney often representing the most vulnerable, such as children and homeless.  She is admired and a role model.   I did.
In describing her character and ethics, did you say-- “I have seen Michele Shaw in trial many times.  She is both tough and compassionate.  Her character is just what we seek in a Rotary member.  I did.
Were your final comments about Michele’s outstanding work in the community to help the homeless and the ill in the Pike Market area and also her Pike Market board work and teaching in the legal field?  They were. 

Thank you Faith Ireland for bringing us this outstanding new member, Michele Shaw.

May 22
Tom Bordner, Frank Meyer

May 23
Roy Robinson

May 24
Walter Smith

May 25
Tom Jaffa, Beth Knox

May 26
Brook Buchanan, Tom Norwalk, Harvey Rubinstein

May 28
Alan Kunovsky