Events

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Learn the key tools on how to engage in civil dialog when faced with disagreements and receive information on The Center’s work to make this a reality in our community. 

Maralise, and her husband Julio (former Rotary 8 member), chose to “retire” in Tacoma because 20 years ago Tacoma was internationally known for successful community response to violence. Since 2007, Maralise has brought her academic interests of conflict resolution, international relations, anthropology, and law to her work as the Executive Director of the Center for Dialog & Resolution.  She shares her enthusiasm for lifelong learning and her curiosity about what motivates each of us to help make our community a better place. Her background with Julio at the United Nations University for Peace Conflict Resolution Program and the years of work in violent settings, brings an optimistic approach that encourages us all to be better!

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Tacoma resident David Mikkelson is the founder and CEO of Snopes.com, the oldest and most respected fact-checking site online. In his visit to Tacoma Rotary Club #8, he will speak about the company he founded and his daily work fighting "fake news." Mikkelson founded the site in 1994 and today the site receives over 20 million unique monthly visitors. He speaks worldwide about combating “fake news” and the rise of the digital age and its impact on investigative journalism and is excited to bring this conversation to his own community. Managing everything from researching and writing articles about urban legends to overseeing the site’s technical infrastructure, David made Snopes.com the go-to place for Internet users to query the veracity of anything questionable they encountered online. www.davidmikkelson.com 

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A Conversation with Melannie Denise Cunningham

2018 Greater Tacoma Peace Laureate

Melannie recently returned from a 10-day adventure in Norway representing the South Sound as the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize winner.  She will chat with us about her experiences shooting a television documentary of her adventures and attending the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies.   

Meetings will be held at the Rotary office 9-26, 10-24, 11-14 12-12 2-6 2-20 and 3-13

The Esplanade

1515 Dock Street

Press 0102 at the door to be let in.

Light refreshments served so please RSVP

Thank you!

Dorothy is retired from government service and is currently a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Encorps program working social justice issues.  She began volunteering with AIDNW in 2017 as part of a grad school project and remains committed to supporting the legal immigrants who are released from the NW Detention Center.

Shauna is a stormwater engineer and has worked for the City of Tacoma Environmental Services Department since 2002.  She is the mother of three boys ages 5, 8 and 10, and recently became interested in volunteering for AIDNW when she learned about the Northwest Immigrant Detention Center operating down the street from her office at the Center for Urban Waters.

David L Hirschberg is an Affiliate Professor and Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Urban Waters. He also has appointments in School of Engineering and School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, at the University of Washington, Tacoma (UWT). He is a Science and Technology advisor supporting the Joint Program Executive Office and Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC, US Army RDECOM).  At ECBC, Dr. Hirschberg has been working with ECBC leadership to develop long term research programs in biosecurity that leverage technologies being developed in the commercial sector. At UWT, Dr. Hirschberg trains students in critical thinking and to foster careers in biotechnology. He founded and directs the RAIN Incubator, an entity focused on exposing students, colleagues and community members to molecular tools for biomarker discovery in environmental surveillance and medical diagnostics. Dr. Hirschberg’s current projects center on developing accessible technologies that can rapidly detect microbial threats, and on assessing and optimizing devices for commercial, community and military applications.

 Dr. Hirschberg earned his BS degree in Cell Biology from Washington State University, and MS and PhD degrees in Neuroimmunology from the Weizmann Institute of Science, in Israel. He completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford University and is the founder and board member of several biotechnology companies focused on biomarker discovery and measurement. He was part of a collaborative multidisciplinary research group in industry for several years before returning to Stanford to form the Human Immune Monitoring Center, a core facility dedicated to facilitating collaborations in clinical research and development between academia and industry. He was invited to develop a similar core at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University where, as Chief Technology Officer and Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology, he developed and adapted technology for the rapid identification and characterization of pathogens.

meeting on the 3rd Thursday prior to the weekly meeting

Need volunteers to reserve for the afternoon session from 12:00 – 2:30 pm. to pack  do a repack

Minimum Age: The minimum age to volunteer as an individual at the Repack Project is 16. Youth ages 14-15 can volunteer with a parent or guardian.

Join us for our Thursdays at 5pm!

For the event, we are requesting 5-8 volunteers to assist with demolition of the old equipment. The date is April 13^th and it will probably take 2-3 hours. 

Elizabeth Pauli is Tacoma's first female City Manager. As City Manager, Ms. Pauli is the Chief Executive Officer for the City of Tacoma government, overseeing a staff of more than 2,000 and a biennial General Government budget of over $1.9 billion, which includes a General Fund budget of $460 million.  
Prior to her appointment as City Manager, Ms. Pauli served as Interim City Manager. Prior to that, she served as the City Attorney for the City of Tacoma. She had joined the City of Tacoma in May 1998, as Chief Assistant City Attorney. She was appointed Acting City Attorney in 2004, and was named City Attorney in 2005.  Prior to joining the City of Tacoma, she was a partner at McGavick Graves, a well-established law firm in Tacoma.  
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, Ms. Pauli also has Bachelor of Science degrees in education and social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Ms. Pauli is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and the Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys. 
A mother and grandmother who lives in Tacoma with her husband, Dave, Ms. Pauli enjoys tandem bicycling and running the trails near her mountain cabin.  

The City Manager will talk about what she has learned in her first two years as City Manager, as well as what to look for in the next two years, and where there is the greatest need for collaboration with community leaders.

Hear from 20 of our great members as you learn about their business and be entered into a drawing for a gift card...and more!

Following the lunh meeting. 

Join us for our Thursdays at 5pm!

Rick Garza is director of the state agency that regulates the cannabis industry. He has been with the WSLCB since 1997, and spent the 13 years prior to that in various staff roles with the Washington State Legislature. Fun fact: in 2016 Rick was inducted into the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators Hall of Fame.

Meet the third Thursday, unless otherwise posted

Chairs: Diane Tilstra (inbound) Marsha Burns (outbound)

Registration is required.  Sign up sheets will be at the meeting a few weeks prior or you can contact the Rotary office.

Meeting on the Webster Deck

Co-Chairs: Carol Webster and Tony Belot

Dr. Matthew Kelley is a member of the Urban Studies faculty at the University of Washington Tacoma where he spends his time researching how maps, spatial data, and new information technologies can be leveraged to improve or augment the ways that we approach community development – the ways, in other words, we work to make our neighborhoods more livable. For the past several years he has been building the Action Mapping Project (AMP), which is a youth-centered community mapping and neighborhood improvement initiative that is empowering thousands of Tacoma’s middle school and high school aged youth to be a part of the urban planning and community development process in their own neighborhoods.

Meets the first Thursday of the month

meeting for committee chairs and board members

Welcome TACOMA Rotary 8 to the Sprague Home Office on Thursday June 13th at 5:00 pm.  We are delighted to open our doors to all of you to better explain some of the “inner workings “ of this TACOMA based firm that started in a Garage and now has expanded throughout the western States.  We will explain how this 4th generation- family owned business continues to grow and why millions of people live and work and live in healthier because of the work that we do.  We will also tour one of or Branch Offices and view and sit in our Dad’s actual service vehicle - a 1948 Plymouth wagon - which was completely restored nd is preserved as part of our legacy.  Put this on your schedule and join us for a great evening and to look behind the scenes at a 93 year old TACOMA based firm.  2725 Pacific Ave.  Be there or be square!

Join us for our Thursdays at 5pm!

Roger has spent the past few years serving as Metro Parks Tacoma’s project manager on the huge project to convert the contaminated Asarco slag heap into a world-class waterfront park. Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance opens to the public on July 6^th. The project also includes the Wilson Way bridge that finally provides a way for pedestrians and cyclists to connect between Point Defiance Park and the Ruston Way waterfront without crossing a major traffic route. After the meeting, attendees will be allowed inside the construction fence for a sneak peek of Dune Peninsula.

Meets the 3rd Thursday, unless otherwise posted

Meeting will be called as needed

Meetings to be announced

John Gaines aka “John PUSH Gaines” is a former at-risk foster kid turned youth advocate.

John has spoken at universities, nonprofit organizations, youth conferences, NBA skill camps, churches, and schools. He has worked with groups of parents, civic groups, educators, coaches & mental health professionals.

His ultimate goal is to inspire young people with his life and to help them realize regardless of the adversity or obstacles they may face; they can still PUSH to be the great human being that they were created to be.

He attended Bellarmine and then moved on to East Central University where he graduated Outstanding Student in Business and won a football championship as captain of the football team! He graduated from Liberty University with a Master degree in Business Leadership, and in 2019 he graduated with his Doctorate in Business Administration.  John currently is working at his dream job as the Community Relations Manager for Tacoma Public Utilities.  In his free time, he spends time mentoring and inspiring youth through the PUSH for Dreams Leadership Academy, a small nonprofit he founded. He lives in Tacoma with his wife Emily, newborn baby Anorah and dog Lola.

More information regarding ferry times to come hold the date!!

Dr. Frank Senecal has practiced oncology in the South Sound for more than 30 years. He is the founder of Northwest Medical Specialties and serves as St. Joseph Hospital’s Director of Oncology. Dr. Senecal is also the Medical Director of Hospice of Tacoma, Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Chief of Staff at St. Francis Hospital, and is a Fellow of American College of Physicians.

Dr. Senecal graduated with high honors from Indiana University for both undergraduate and Medical School and continued his post-graduate medical training at the University of Washington. He completed his fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and  is also Board certified in Internal Medicine and Hematology & Oncology.

Passionate about cancer research, Dr. Senecal founded the South Sound Cancer Awareness Research Expansion (CARE) Foundation in 2008 to help bring top research trials to the South Sound and has published several scientific research articles. He firmly believes that research is the path to the cure and making research available locally to advanced stage patients – so that they may receive treatment close to home surrounded by family and friends – is a top priority.

Our Rotary Club is gearing up for the annual giving campaign, Project Greater Good (PGG), join the committee to discuss goals and outreach for the new Rotary year! 

In the Centennial Year of the Congressional Passage of the 19^th Amendment.”  Bill will share stories of  some of Tacoma’s most notable “Woman of Destiny” from Thea Foss--to arguably the most improbable Olympic gold medalist in modern history—Tacoma’s own Gretchen Kunigk Fraser. Some remarkable stories of  personal achievements and how that defined our City. 

Bill was born and raised in Tacoma, graduated from Stadium and attended the University of Puget Sound where he received a BA degree in political science in 1964. After graduation, he became the first Tacoma student to receive a Scottish Rite Masonic Fellowship for graduate study at George Washington University in Washington D.C.

 In 1968, he accepted a faculty position at the University of Puget Sound where he taught courses in political science, business management, public administration and urban studies.

In 1991, he was elected to the Tacoma Council as an at-large council member. Since the council position was part-time, he continued his career at UPS where he established the public administration program. In 2001, Bill retired from UPS upon being elected Tacoma’s 37^th mayor.

During Bill’s terms as council member and mayor, Tacoma participated in the successful completion of the Museum of Glass, the Tacoma Art Museum, the restoration of Union Station, the Murray Morgan Bridge, the Seaport Museum, the Albers Mill and the environmental cleanup of the Foss Waterway. The University of Washington -Tacoma became a four-year undergraduate institution during his tenure as mayor. Tacoma also constructed the largest municipally owned telecommunications system in North America (Click network).

Bill is now retired and volunteers as the president of the Tacoma Historical Society and as a board member for several non-profits. He and his wife Carol live in Tacoma’s North End. He has a son, Bill, a daughter, Katya, and three grandchildren.

George Bridges came to Evergreen after serving for ten years as president of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He previously served as Dean and Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education at the University of Washington, where he also served as Professor of Sociology. 

After earning his undergraduate degree in 1972 from the University of Washington, Dr. Bridges pursued his graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. There he earned his M.A. in criminology and Ph.D. in sociology. Prior to pursuing an academic career full time, Dr. Bridges worked as a social scientist in the staff office of the Attorney General of the United States. In this capacity he assisted in the design and implementation of research programs on federal law and justice policy.

Over the course of his career Dr. Bridges has taught and lectured at many universities, holding faculty appointments at American University, University of Maryland, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Washington. He has testified numerous times before legislative bodies, including the U.S. Congress, the Washington State Legislature, and the U. S. Civil Rights Commission, primarily on subjects pertaining to legal policy and treatment of racial and ethnic minorities in the administration of criminal justice.

The Evergreen State College, a nationally recognized public liberal arts and sciences college with campuses in Olympia and Tacoma, has produced outstanding alumni such as Macklemore, “Simpsons” creator Matt Groenig, Lynda.com founder Lynda Weinman and U.S. Congressman Denny Heck.  A recent economic impact study found that that for every state dollar spent, Evergreen returns $4.68 in economic activity to the state of Washington.  George will talk about the renewal work we are doing to better serve the future entrepreneurs, teachers, artists and leaders currently studying at Evergreen.

Committee Meetings 3rd Thursday 
Chair : Barry Benson or Fred Matthaei

districtwide activity

Tailgate starts at 5:15 and games agianst the Fresno Grizzlies at 7:05 Tickets are $18 for the game and tailgate and $10 for the tailgate only. The club will bill your account when you register.