Rotary Club of Sammamish Needs Volunteers for Acting, Make-Up, Construction & Security

The 5th annual Nightmare at Beaver Lake, hosted by the Rotary Club of Sammamish and Scare Productions, is seeking volunteers for the 2008 show, which will be held October 24-31. In addition to participating in a fun community event, volunteers receive community service hours and contribute to many worthwhile humanitarian projects.

Hannah Houk, a 2008 Eastlake High School graduate, related her experience as a volunteer since 2005: “Volunteering at the Nightmare at Beaver Lake is the best thing that could have happened to my life. I discovered a new talent, made new friends, and easily got the 20 hours of community service I needed for high school. As a matter of fact, the volunteer work turned into my senior project.”

Volunteers are required to attend an orientation session. Sessions are scheduled for Saturday & Sunday, September 27 & 28, from 2-4PM, at Sammamish City Hall; and Saturday, October 18, from 10-11AM, at the Beaver Lake Lodge. Volunteers under age 16 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Additional required training sessions will be announced at orientation.

Anyone interested in theater, film, or comedy is welcome to join this project. Eager participants, regardless of skill level, are trained in theatrical make-up application, impromptu acting, set design, sound/lighting, construction, security, and more.

This theatrical haunted house is organized and staffed 100% by volunteers. “Each night we need up to 205 volunteers, including 45 to 90 actors,” explained Penny Renwick, the show’s volunteer coordinator. Dee Hoeke, Past President of the Rotary Club and event manager, notes that it’s “crunch time” in October, and volunteers are needed in many different areas, especially for set-up, take-down, and weeknights during the show. To volunteer, email , attend an orientation session, or call Dee Hoeke at 425-736-7046.

All proceeds from the admissions support scholarships for local students, local families in need during the holidays, the Choices program at Inglewood Junior High School, Snoqualmie Ridge Habitat for Humanity, computers for schools in Uganda, and wells in Ethiopia.

For more information, visit www.NightmareAtBeaverLake.com (haunt details), www.sammamishrotary.org (The Rotary Club of Sammamish), or www.scare.com (Scare Productions).

Rotary Club of Bellevue Contributes $1,000 Towards Polio Eradication

Rotary District 5030 Governor Jesse Tam visited Bellevue Rotary Club recently and received a $1,000 contribution toward world-wide polio eradication! District Governor Tam is pictured here with Bellevue Rotary Presisdent Sarah Langton.

We have the opportunity to receive a huge grant from the Gates Foundation that will match our Rotary contributions. Let's make polio "history" through our Rotary efforts!

Rotary Club of Bellevue Breakfast Sponsors Bellevue Water Spray Playground, Grand Opening Held

The gray Bellevue skies did not stop 33 BBRC members and their friends and family members from joining the host of others for the Grand Opening of the Crossroads Spray Playground at noon on June 7, at Crossroads Community Park. The temperature was in the low fifties, but that did not stop some of the kids from joining in high spirited water play.

Also in attendance were Mayor Grant Degginger, assisted by Deputy Mayor, Claudia Balducci and Councilmen Don Davidson and Conrad Lee, also Rotarians, and members of the Parks Department, and others, including past president, Norm Johnson, who offered remarks and cut the ribbon opening the Park. Our newest member, Pam Fehrman, who oversaw the project for the City was present as well.

The crowd patiently listen to the speeches lauding the BBRC for taking a leadership role in bringing the park into being. Seattle dance ensemble, Phffft, performed and the sprays were turned on, even though the Park is not quite complete. It seems that the Parks Department needs two days without rain to put on the final coatings within the spray area. Gala flags from the Washingtion Kitefliers Association brought a much needed burst of color to the otherwise gray day.

The unique design of the Spray Park allows for no standing water, and the water is recycled into the park irrigation system. There is a distinctive earth sphere honoring Rotary International and the water area features a number of play creatures, including Nessie and Orcas, rocks and spouting clams. All that is needed now is summer!

BBRC was the proud provider of $250,000 for the project. Major grants came from the Washington Recreation Conservation Office, the State, King County Parks, and HUD. Major contributors included Sterling SRO, The Jordan Fund, Terranomics Metrovision, Davis Wright Tremaine, and BBRC members Howard Johnson, Colin Radford and Jim Owens.

Now, when the sun returns and the final surface is completed, this spray playground will be an awesome experience for everyone!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTO ALBUM FROM THIS EVENT.

Rotary Club Of Queen Anne Dedicates Kerry Park Bench

Queen Anne Rotarians Tuesday dedicated a park bench in Kerry Viewpoint Park to their founder and first president, Edgar (Ed) Stevens Philleo, who helped bring about a food bank which has fed hundreds of thousands since its creation. At the dedication, Rotary's District Governor Jesse Tan spoke of Ed’s significant impact on the lives of so many in his community and around the world through his contribution to the Rotary. Remembering the man were his wife Vicki, Queen Anne Rotary president Jim Erickson, Parks Department Superintendent Tim Gallagher, AJ Hedberg Rotary Assistant District Governor AJ Hedberg, Queen Anne Rotary Immediate Past President Mark Gardner, as well as several other Rotarians.

When Philleo was the District Governor from 1982-1983 he developed Rotary First Harvest into a "District" project and put the full weight of the Rotary organization behind the food bank. The concept was simple. Rotarians in rural communities would contact farmers and ask permission for volunteers to pick the leftover crop at the end of a season. Rotarians who owned trucking firms donated their vehicles which often "dead-headed" from the rural areas anyway. The results have been spectacular --  Since its inception, Rotary First Harvest has collected and distributed over 130 million pounds of produce.

Philleo, who passed away on February 21, 2007, was an active Rotarian for over 50 years. He joined the Rotary service club in 1948 and in 1986 he helped found the Queen Anne Rotary Club and served as its first president.

The main objective of Rotary is service in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotary Clubs develop community service projects that address many of today’s most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty and hunger, the environment, illiteracy, and violence. They also support programs for youth, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, teachers, and other professionals, and vocational and career development. Since the start of the Queen Anne Rotary, the Club has been involved in many local and international service projects including digging wells in three villages of Zimbabwe, building a school in Vietnam, helping to fund a micro-lending bank in Central America, providing dictionaries to third graders at Coe and John Hay Elementary Schools, and providing college scholarships to students at the Seattle Center School, in addition to many other projects.

In addition to his involvement with Rotary, Philleo was also an active board member of the Salvation Army, the Sheldon Jackson College of Sitka, Alaska, and the Washington Athletic Club. He was an elder of the Presbyterian Church and tutored at Catharine Blaine School for 5 years.  Ed is survived by his wife, Victoria, his two children, Melba Gregor (Mission, Texas) and Jim Philleo (Fairbanks, Alaska), four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

The Rotary Club of Queen Anne was chartered in 1986 under the name Rotary Club of Elliott Bay with a name change a few years ago. The club meets weekly every Tuesday at Noon at the Best Western Executive Inn at 200 Taylor Avenue North. For more information, please visit their website.