Leveraging LinkedIn (Oct 14, 2021)

Notes/Dates of Interest:

* Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Club’s Community Services Committee approved a $4k grant to Kingston Cares Food4Kids.

* The next meeting of the Noon KNK Rotary Club will occur at 6:30p, Wed, Oct 20, at Village Green Community Center in Kingston.

* KNK Rotarians are encouraged to join with other Kitsap Rotarians Mon, Oct 25, 5p, at Western Red Brewing in Poulsbo. It is Pints for Polio night. Quaff a few.

* KNK Rotary International Committee will meet by Zoom, Wed, Oct 20, at noon.

How to build your LinkedIn presence into a powerful branding and marketing tool. That was the subject of the latest presentation to the Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Club at its meeting, Wed, Oct 13. Thanks to a link from Club Member Clint Boxman, Ross Ruthman and Bruce Johnson “zoomed in” to describe LinkedIn’s value and flexibility in developing business relationships. Ross called LinkedIn the Facebook of today. Bruce explained there are currently 766m LinkedIn users, 171m of whom are in the U.S. 41% of millionaires use LinkedIn. 44% of users have annual incomes in excess of $75k.

LinkedIn is much more than a base of contacts. It is a powerful platform for building a professional presence, establishing a brand, and reaching out to specific audiences in a very granular way. And it is not just personal. Companies and organizations, such as Rotary Clubs, can use the technology to their benefit.

The presentation offered specifics of how to build a presence, how to target audiences, and how to keep that presence fresh and up to date.

KPUD Updates Rotarians on Water and Telecom Services

OK. Let’s face it. We sort of take clean water from the tap, at the turn of a valve, for granted around here. After all, this is not California. Free-flowing water from the tap would not happen without active management of six wells in Kingston, eight in North Kitsap, and a large aquifer in Seabeck, discovered in 1995. And the community would be less connected without 250 miles of broadband in Kitsap County managed by our local PUD. Kingston North Kitsap Rotarians heard a presentation from Kitsap County PUD Commissioner Debra Lester, Telecom Director Angela Bennink, and Water/Wastewater Director Dave Epperson at their meeting Oct 6.

Rotarians learned the PUD was formed in 1940 to explore providing electrical service as a special purpose District instead of a private company. U.S. entry into World War II and rapid growth in and around the naval shipyard at Bremerton initially delayed and eventually precluded assumption of electrical service by KPUD.

KPUD began providing utility service as a water system manager in the 1970’s. In 2003, with a desire to connect schools and libraries, KPUD began providing telecom service in the County. Such service has gone to areas of the county especially underserved by traditional internet providers.

Next week, Kingston North Kitsap Rotarians look forward to learning how to leverage Linkedin from Latitude 48’s Mel Filbin.

Busy September Rotarians

September. 9th month of the year, and first in the reminder, "30 days has September, April, June, and November." With those 30-days Kingston North Kitsap Rotarians were busy.

What goes up, must come down. Or, in this case the 110 - give or take - flower baskets of spring found their way to the Kingston ground under the direction of Rotarian and basket organizer, Kris Libby. Note in the photo, older Rotarians remained on that ground, while youngsters were sent to the top of the ladder.

One full-member blue badge was awarded to Jon Sunderland in September, while newest member Ross Patton, an investment advisor at Edward Jones, was awarded his red badge, signifying Ross' initial qualification to become a Club member. Here member Stan Mack awards the red badge.

Kingston North Kitsap Rotarians celebrated the September conclusion of another successful, though shortened, concerts-in-the-park-beer/wine-tent operation. What remained of the beer and wine supplies was served at a joint social event sponsored by KNK Rotary, Kingston Kiwanis, Kingston Chamber of Commerce, and Port of Kingston. After sufficient skill-building bubbly was served, Rotarians Breane Martinez and Julie Fox conducted a hard-fought trivia contest.

The final meeting of the noon KNK Rotary Club on Sep 29 featured a presentation by Marnie Gustavson, Executive Director of Parma, a non-profit NGO operating in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. Currently in Port Orchard, Gustavson escaped Afghanistan only days before Kabul fell to the Taliban. She had been there seventeen years overseeing the work of Parsa, an organization that operates a small farm, works with women, and re-established a Scout program after the Russians left the country. Youth leadership, economic empowerment, and social protection are the principle focus of Parsa (more info at www.afghanistan-parsa.org). When the Taliban returned, Gustavson said protecting NGO's was one of their highest priorities. They need the NGO's, which are experiencing, currently, a lot of cooperation because the Taliban was not prepared for such a fast takeover.

Gustavson was introduced to the Club by member Alice Amas, who grew up with and attended school with Gustavson's husband, in Mount Vernon, WA.