Last Updated: January 3, 2023 by aechilds

Public Safety & Banquet News

Welcome to The Keyhole!

Volume 2021-2022 – Issue 46

Date: August 31, 2022

Scribe: Carol Truex

Overview

Our President, Jim, called The Kiwanis Club of Kirkland business meeting to order at 12:10 pm.
Summer is winding down, but the weather is still giving us hot and unusually humid days, (I’ll take
a few more please) but it’s comfortable and air conditioned inside the Eagles. We had a little over
20 in attendance at the Eagles and a few more on Zoom. We are making the Eagle’s work and it is
fun to get together. I encourage all who are comfortable getting out to give it a try.
President Jim and First Lady, Irene set up the AV. Don C. set up zoom, Kathy was our greater and
did happy dollars, Hal led us in “Our Country Tis of Thee,” the “Pledge of Allegiance” and “O
Canada,” Jay sold meeting raffle tickets, Ron sold raffle tickets for the upcoming banquet and
auction, and Tom brought us a lighthearted and clever inspiration. Thank you to all the helpers!

President – Jim Hutchinson
Pres. Elect – Kathy O’Connell
Vice Pres. – Todd Pemble

Secretary – Tom Pendergrass
Treasurer – Cris Pederson
Imm. Past President – Carol Truex

2021-2023 Directors

Bonni Sundberg
Don Jury
Paul Richardson

2022-2024 Directors

Dave Asher
Christopher Boyd
Don Corning

Tom’s Inspirtation

Where to Go Without Leaving Home

I have been in many places, but I’ve never been in CAHOOTS. Apparently, you can’t go alone.
You have to be in Cahoots with someone.
I’ve also never been in COGNITO. I hear no one recognizes you there.
I have, however, been in SANE. They don’t have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have
made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work. I live close so it’s a short drive.
I would like to go to CONCLUSIONS, but you have to jump there, and I’m not too much on physical
activity anymore.
I have also been in DOUBT. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.
I’ve been in FLEXIBLE but only when it was very important to stand firm.
Sometimes I’m in CAPABLE, and I go there more often as I’m getting older.
One of my favorite places to be is in SUSPENSE! It really gets the adrenaline flowing and pumps
up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!
And, sometimes I think I am in VINCIBLE but life shows me I am not.
People keep telling me I’m in DENIAL but I’m positive I’ve never been there before!
I have been in DEEPSHIT many times; the older I get, the easier it is to get there. I actually kind of
enjoy it there.
So far, I haven’t been in CONTINENT, but my travel agent says I’ll be going soon

Guests

We had one guest, our speaker, Kirkland’s Chief of Police, Chief Harris. We were all on our best behavior.

Birthdays

Angela Semerjiants, August 28thHappy Birthday Angela!

General Announcements

Dennis Welch is hosting our own Paul Richardson, in person, all the way from Michigan, at a
speaking engagement at St. John’s next Thursday Sept. 8th, at 6:30 in the evening. Paul will be
speaking about his life’s journey and I’m sure he will be inspirational and entertaining as always.
This is typically St. John’s “Men’s Night”, but all Kiwanis members are welcome and expected.
There will be a hamburger dinner before the talk so email Dennis and let him know if you will be
attending so he can estimate attendance. This is a great opportunity to get together and to see
Paul. If you have any questions email or call Dennis, 425- 827- 5475.


Carol Truex – As you may have heard we have an Installation Banquet coming up, September
16th, 5:30 pm at the Kirkland Woman’s Club. In addition to installing and recognizing new and past leadership, the banquet is our only fundraiser for our administration fund so come prepared to win fabulous prizes and win great auction items. There will be a great dinner of BBQ salmon, Walt’s Paella, pulled pork and lots of sides. Many of you have generously volunteered to help, donated auction items and side dishes, THANK YOU! This is our first in person banquet in the last two years and we look forward to seeing all who can make it. Tickets are $35 a person. If you haven’t already purchased a ticket, you may purchase on the “Join us for dinner and an Auction” payment
page https://kiwanis-club-of-kirkland.square.site/product/join-us-for-dinner-and-an-auction-/58
You can link to this page from the home page of the Kiwanis website https://kirklandkiwanis.org

Reports

Treasurer – Tom is reminding everyone to pay their upcoming year’s membership dues. He has
sent you all invoices. You can pay by mailing a check to him our click on the link in the email. Tom
also recognized Todd for the outstanding work organizing events in the community and getting the
Kiwanis name out there. And, finally, Tom gave a big shout out to Jim, Irene, Todd and Karen,
thanking them for attending and representing our club at the NW district convention in beautiful
Kennewick. This was Todd and Karen’s first exposure to the dry side of the state. Sounds like they
won’t be moving soon.


Convention Report – Irene had the opportunity to present our video game at the convention and
the audience was blown away. Once they understood the game and its potential there was a lot of
support. The decision to keep it our game or make it a Kiwanis International resource is a ways
from being decided but it was very well received. Great job Irene! Also, at the convention Tom was
recognized with the Outstanding Secretary award, congratulations! The club was recognized for
our participation in the Save Our Spectacles (SOS) program. Thank you Matt Gregory!

Marketing and Programs – Todd is querying interest in volunteering at Kirkland’s Octoberfest.
Most of you know what this is, food, drink, music, and dance. It will be held at Marina Park,
September 23-25. Let Todd know if you think we should participate and if you’re interested in
volunteering.


Fundraising – Kathy reported that the tree lot is moving right along. The trees and other products
have been ordered and we are looking forward to a great selling season. She is also investigating
having local Girl Scott troops or school organizations sing Christmas Carols at the lot. I think that is
a great idea!


Aktion Club – Matt shared that the club recently assembled 12 backpacks with school supplies
that went to students in need at Kirkland Middle School. He also shared that our member Ralph
Villavicencio dropped off 94 used eyeglasses that Matt will be sending on through the SOS
program to be refurbished and passed along to help those in need. Matt will be placing our See’s
candy tree lot order. If you would like to include a personal order let him know, right away. Online
ordering through Yum raising will begin in September.

Happy Dollars


John H – happy to have such a great secretary in Tom, always
recognizing other people never himself. Congrats on his award!
Hal – happy he ran in to our member Ralph Loveland at Juanita and they had a nice conversation.
We miss him.
Matt – happy to have presented at the Bellevue Rotary last Friday morning and escaped with no
tomatoes thrown.
Todd – happy he doesn’t live east of the mountains.
Irene – was very happy to have attended the convention with the dream team of Todd and Jim.
They represented very well.
Ron – was happy just to be there! We love you too, Ron.

Speaker

Chief Harris of the Kirkland Police Department
It was an honor to have Chief Harris join us for our meeting. She started with a big shoutout to our
member Don Corning, who is retired from the Kirkland Police and to Dave Asher, former city
council member who was a member of the Public Safety Committee. She worked and learned from
both Don and Dave. Chief Harris is about to finish her 29th year in law enforcement. She has been
with the Kirkland Police department for the last 10 years and the Chief for the last 6.


She wanted us all to know that they are hiring officers, and that it is a great job, so pass it on. A
highlight since her last visit is the August 2020 passing of resolution 5434 which ensures respect
for the treatment and safety of Black people in our community. The public can now access a Use
of Force, Interactive Dashboard on the Police Department website. You can see where and why
force is used. Most force occurs during an arrest.


There is also an interactive Crime Dashboard, you can see what, where and when crime is
occurring, demographics etc.


She shared 911 calls are the biggest source of arrest and of solving crimes. A big project and
upcoming program are the use of body cameras. The department has received the necessary
funding, they have had community input on appropriate use, and have worked with other cities on
best practices. The City Council has also passed a resolution governing the use of body cameras.
The program will be deployed January 2023.


She then moved on to what she called the gem of the community policing program, the School
Resource Officers. Kirkland has had school resource officers for a very long time. The primary
purpose of this program is to defer kids away from criminal justice system. The police website also
has a School Resource Officer Dashboard to see what these officers are doing. The school district
works closely with this program and pays part of the officer’s salary. These officers have specialized training to meet the needs of the students and the school environment.


There is much more information the community can access on the Police website.
https://www.kirklandwa.gov/Government/Departments/Police-Department
That’s all for now. See you next week, same time, same place.



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