The Rotary Club of Tacoma #8 went LIVE at 12:10 pm on Zoom to start the May 21st meeting. With 94 participants in our video boxes, Moderator Chis Serface, Tacoma Little Theatre, gave us an introduction on how the meeting will run. Then President-Elect Nominee Kim Bedier, Tacoma Venue and Events, brought the meeting to order at 12:11 pm with a warm welcome and a deep thought, that not everyone was ready for thinking so early in the day! Kim then reminded us how adaptable we are as Rotarians and recognized the 20 club members that recently attended the online District Training to represent our Rotary Club.
President-Elect Nominee Kim Bedier then asked Kirsten Willis, that name sounds familiar, to share an invocation. Keeping the Memorial Day weekend in mind she reflected on the meaning behind the holiday and recalled a quote from former President Barack Obama from 2018: “We can never truly repay the debt we owe our fallen heroes. But we can remember them, honor their sacrifice, and affirm in our own lives those enduring ideals of justice, equality, and opportunity for which generations of Americans have given that last full measure of devotion.”
Next,
Elliot Stockstad, Lutheran Community Services, led the National Anthem with his velvety, smooth voice and followed with the 4-Way Test. Our meeting was sponsored by
Past President Pat Steel who donated the time to the YWCA.
President-Elect Nominee Kim Bedier introduced
Miriam Barnett, YWCA for the meeting sponsor announcement.
Miriam conveyed the impacts that the pandemic is having on victims of abuse and how the YWCA is responding. Like many non-profits they are seeing an increase need for help while trying to adapt and be flexible with fundraising events. Visit the
YWCA today to make a donation.
President-Elect Nominee Kim Bedier celebrated the following anniversaries: Sabrina Ahrens, 2 years; LaTasha Wortham, 9 years cumulative; Past President Mike Dunbar, 28 years; Steve Bader, 36 years; and Jeff Lyon, 37 years. It is truly inspiring to see such dedication with continued membership at Rotary 8. It is because of the longevity and leadership that our club is able to make a great impact in our local community. Each year at the auction we raise money to support the works of our club including the Grants Committee. This year the committee awarded 18 grants and we heard from three of the recipients:
1. Rachel Boisen from Bobcat Learning Center told us about the after-school tutoring and mentoring program for at-risk students at Jason Lee Middle School. After COVID-19 hit, staff began working from home to connect with students and families. They’ve taken care packages around to the students and are also supporting Bryant Montessori families in need.
2. Desiree White from Community Health Care’s Foster Care Clinic informed us about the new clinic at their Downtown Tacoma Hilltop Regional Health Center facility. This new service will be focused on meeting the needs of children in the foster care system or those immediately aged out of the system. CHC will have a space separate and distinct to this program with a separate entry, waiting and exam rooms designed specifically to meet the needs of these individuals in a Trauma Informed Care model. It is expected that the program will serve 1,900 youth annual
3. Johnathan Jackson from Palmer Scholars thanked us for supporting underrepresented Pierce County students of color to overcome the financial, cultural, and social barriers in their pursuit of higher education. During the pandemic all of the Scholars are connected via the online platform GradSnapp, so staff are keeping in contact with all college Scholars. They are doing trainings on Zoom and following up with all Scholars via text/phone calls throughout the week to make sure they have all needs met. They have also created a needs assessment and survey Scholars on a bi-weekly basis to make sure things are staying as stable as possible.
President-Elect Nominee Kim Bedier introduced our speaker Michael Liang, Program Director for Spaceworks Tacoma. Michael has a ten-year career as a designer and creative leader with the National Park Service and since 2018 has strengthen Spaceworks as a pillar of Tacoma’s creative community.
Michael shared that since moving to Tacoma he has enjoyed the welcoming community and credits Rotary members for providing that leadership and support. The mission of
Spaceworks makes Tacoma culturally vibrant and economically strong through training and support for artists and creative entrepreneurs. Michael told us that the organization was launched in 2010 as a joint initiative of the City of Tacoma and the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber to approach community transformation and small business development in a new way. One program, Incubator cultivates innovative, creative businesses through training, workshops, one-to-one coaching, and peer-to-peer support. Already 85 businesses have participated in the 12-week program and Spaceworks will start a virtual cohort due to the pandemic in June.
Michael helped the audience understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on the community. One way that Spaceworks has been able to respond and help serve the business and creative economy is the Rapid Mural Project. The temporary murals, painted directly onto installed plywood panels, serve to 1) reduce crime and graffiti, 2) support local businesses, 3) provide income for local artists, and 4) offer civic hope and positive messaging. Artists are commissioned at $75 per 4’x8′ panel. For businesses downtown, the Downtown Tacoma Partnership is offering these murals for free. Additional funds are available for murals in other business districts. So far in 8 weeks 15 murals have been created. You can request a rapid mural through
their online form. Michael also encouraged our assistance with the new
Creative Business Directory. It is free for all local artists/creatives to post and if you are looking for help – maybe signage for your business or new artwork for your home – they have it organized for you! Another resource Michael talked about is
Rapid Response South Sound which has information, resources and support for your business including an option to ask an expert. The Tacoma Pierce County Chamber is also hosting
COVID-19 Business Info webinars every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11:00 am. Spaceworks has been asking Tacoma’s creative community to participate in a survey to help quantify the impacts of COVID-19. Here is a
summary of the results as of April 3rd. Michael also talked about and invited us to visit the website of the
Arts & Culture Coalition of Pierce County.
If you have not already realized it…we are REALLY lucky to be in a city like Tacoma. And the voters recently approved an initiative to increase access to arts, culture, heritage and science experiences by reducing barriers to access and expanding offerings. The City of Tacoma’s Office of Arts & Cultural Vitality recently launched the inaugural year of
Tacoma Creates funding with contracts totaling just under $1 million to 58 organizations, including Spaceworks. Lastly, Michael was excited to share that Tacoma has been selected by
Wh!psmart to be a case study to help measure the creative economy – visit their website to learn more.
Words really cannot convey the visual and fun presentation from Michael and Spaceworks. I really encourage you to click into some of the links that are provided to see our creative community here in Tacoma and Pierce County!
President-Elect Nominee Kim Bedier thanked Michael for speaking and in his honor made a donation to the Tacoma Rotary Foundation. She then asked Diane Kelleher to make an announcement from the Projects Committee. Diane told us about the 1st Annual Virtual Daffodil Dash to support agencies who support the Health Departments healthy county initiatives.
President-Elect Nominee Kim Bedier allowed time for true confessions and Maria Harlow, Names Family Foundation, celebrated and thanked Chris Serface for his superior moderator skills on the zoom meetings. With no more volunteers, we were invited to come back together next week when we will hear from our wonderful, amazing, engaging, and super-awesome exchange students Gabe, still here in Tacoma and Nico, who will be joining us from France!
With many thanks to end the meeting President-Elect Nominee Kim Bedier closed the meeting down with encouraging us to be People of Action!
Reporting from video square #19, Kirsten Willis.
