April is normally a very busy month for the Rotary Club of La Conner with our annual tulip sales, and it was compounded this year by a longer-than-usual tulip season and a six-day visit from 12 Rotarians from Thailand on a Rotary Friendship Exchange.
Our Thai guests were hosted in the homes of Rotarians Dan & Carol Cain, Christi (& Chris) King, Susan Macek (& Dave Buchan), Whitney Meissner, Marge & John Milnor, Jerry (& Kathy) Willins, Marty Pease. Other members who were drivers and sponsors who helped defray some of the costs for our guests were Carol Johnson, Doug Jones, Cheri Lenssen, Karen Ryan, Alice Collingwood and other anonymous club members. Some of the home hosts also served as drivers and sponsors.
We took our guests shopping in La Conner, for a VIP tour of the Boeing Everett plant (with a lovely hosted lunch), a ride on the Deception Pass Jet Tour Boat and visits to Tulip Towne and Friday Harbor. One of the highlights was their presentation to our club over dinner at the La Conner School District board room, where Swinomish Elder and carver Kevin Paul shared stories and native drum songs.
It was a jammed packed few days, and we all learned a lot from each other and shared more than a few laughs – and many photos. Chief organizers were Susan Macek and Marty Pease. Danielle Mullen of our club is the District 5050 Friendship Exchange Chair, who orchestrated the exchange and was also a sponsor and driver.
Our tulip season was longer than usual, thanks to some cool weather that made the tulips last about five weeks instead of the usual four. Thanks to amazing efforts from too many club members to name, we exceeded last year’s sale amount, meaning more scholarships and support for local non-profits.
Special thanks go to chief tulip wrangler Randy Goembel; his partners Martin Howard, Dan Cain and Jerry Willins; and Linda Ryan, who set us up with a great on-line scheduling tool. Countless club members staffed three tulip booths, visited many area Rotary clubs, and sold and delivered tulips to merchants in La Conner, Burlington and Mount Vernon.
We survived and thrived!