One of the highlights of being President of the Club is the opportunity to visit with new members. Meeting with me is one of the items on the checklist to become a member of Rotary 21(along with attending a Board meeting, attending a committee meeting, and- when it’s time- greeting at a regular meeting.)

 

While taking a half-hour to chat about Rotary with me may have been fundamental for them, hearing their backstories has been fun for me. 

 

For example, Trina Murphy – Trina moved to Spokane a few years ago and shares the Rotary 21 passion for Service. As a Senior Home Loan Officer for STCU, Trina channels that passion into helping the home challenged find affordable housing, particularly Veterans. Before moving to Spokane, in Missoula Trina volunteered with Habitat For Humanity, Missoula Food Bank, and the Kiwanis Club. Be sure to ask her about her son the basketball star.

Amanda Markley – Amanda has managed to be active in Rotary activities despite dealing with COVID-19. Thanks to Zoom, Amanda has not only joined us for meetings, but she’s even attended our Member Engagement events. Amanda has an interesting background – financial adviser at Thrivent, pageant winner as Miss Spokane for America, and avid mountain climber (and instructor.) But her real passion is working with children, both here and abroad. If you have the chance, ask her to tell you more.

 

 

Tina Thorson – And just last Friday, I had the pleasure of chatting with Tina Thorson. Tina is a Rotarian through and through – having been a member of both Aurora Northwest and Spokane Valley Rotary Clubs. Tina owns her own Title/ Real Estate business and is active in community volunteer work. She’s also a Navy veteran who served on submarines. When I asked her about committees that piqued her interest, she mentioned Support Our Veterans, Vaccinations,  and Marketing/Communications. 

 

Those are just a few of the new Rotary 21 members I’ve had the honor to get to know. Though I haven’t been able to meet them in person, thanks to these Zoom meetings, they already feel like family. 

 

Thank you to all of them and the rest of the (Zoom) Class of 2020-2021. I look forward to meeting them in person and giving them a much-deserved handshake and welcome to Rotary 21.