IN THIS ISSUE

The Camino de Santiago or Way of St. James, is the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain.  Last May, Jenny Andrews did the last 115 miles of the 500-mile Camino Frances (the French Way).  Chase told us he had a spring in his step when he heard he had been chosen the BBRC Student of the month.  Sheldon Sweeney became BBRC’s newest member. Scott replaced Tanya Franzen-Garrett’s Red Badge with a Blue Badge.

SPEAKER PROGRAM

Ann Norman introduced Jenny Andrews. Jenny has been a member of the BBRC since 1997 and served as Club President in the 2008-09 Rotary years. She has been active on a number of committees over the years but has a special interest in PolioPlus, having twice traveled to Ethiopia and Uganda on immunization missions.

Jenny has also traveled to Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Turkey and England on Rotary International projects. She is passionate about Rotary’s ability to have a positive impact on the lives of people in the developing world.

Jenny currently works as a Major Gift Officer at PATH. Previously, Jenny worked as the VP of Development at the Freedom Foundation, a public policy think tank in Olympia. She has an MBA from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Science from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

She is the proud parent of Ben, an Eagle Scout, black belt in Tai Kwon Do and former employee of Norman Kitto. Jenny inherited her parents’ travel bug and, today, is sharing with us the journey she recently made on the Camino de Santiago.

THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

The Camino de Santiago or Way of St. James, is the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Here, legend has it that the remains of the apostle, Saint James the Great, are buried. It is difficult to define where exactly the Camino starts, as pilgrims used to start their journey from their own home and over the years, different Camino ways have emerged. Last May, Jenny did the last 115 miles of the 500-mile Camino Frances (the French Way).

Jenny told us that she had always traveled with others until this pilgrimage and believes she was called to follow the Camino de Santiago alone. Her journey began in Sarria, where an old woman advised her to follow the yellow arrows. On Jenny’s first day, she tramped through 17 miles of mud and wondered what in the world she had gotten herself into.

Although Jenny hadn’t anticipated that her pilgrimage would be a faith-building experience, she found herself having out loud conversations with God.

She stayed at inns along the way that were specially built for pilgrims. Although she was once an avid backpacker who could carry a heavy load along the trail, Jenny hired a travel agency in Scotland to pick up her bag at each inn and bring it to the next inn at which she would be staying. Along the way, she enjoyed wildflowers in bloom and café con leche and cerveza con limon (beer and lemonade, also known as a shandy in Ireland).

Jenny began every day asking herself this question: What is the lesson I’m supposed to learn today? Over the course of the six day pilgrimage, the lessons she learned were:

Day 1: Step boldly in life – you will be given everything you need to survive.

Day 2: Slow down and relax. Don’t have a big agenda. You have everything you need to be happy.

Day 3: No matter how bad your problems are, somebody else is much worse off. Your problems will take care of themselves.

Day 4: Focus on the subtleties of nature.

Day 5: The importance of people in your life.

Day 6: You don’t have to leave the transformative experience of the Camino de Santiago behind.

One problem which Jenny encountered that took care of itself was when she arrived at an inn and discovered they didn’t have a room for her. She called her travel agent in Scotland, who calmly told her to relax and have a glass of wine as everything would turn out fine. Everything turned out more than fine as Jenny ended up staying in an amazing ancient mill where a massage therapist was waiting to soothe any aches or pains.

Jenny passed around her Pilgrim passport, which included a stamp from every place she visited along the way. In order to obtain her Compostela or Certificate of Pilgrimage, Jenny needed to collect at least three stamps per day and an overall total of at least three stamps from churches.

Someday, Jenny promises to return and do the entire 500-mile trek.

CLUB BUSINESS

Ben Mathews gave the Invocation and John Schwager introduced visiting Rotarians and guests.

STUDENT OF THE MONTH

Larry May introduced Chase Johnson, a 10th grade student from Eastside Prep. Chase told us he had a spring in his step when he heard he had been chosen the BBRC Student of the Month. Chase’s volunteer experience includes more than 120 hours at the KidsQuest Children’s Museum, an innovative, hands-on museum designed to engage kids from infancy to age eight and serving on Eastside Prep’s Peer Mentoring Program. During Eastside Prep’s community service days, Chase has worked with the King Conservation District. Chase loves music and drama and is involved in the Youth Arts Forum. He wants to study Urban & Regional Planning.

Paul Chapman remarked that given Chase’s oratory skills, he could teach the BBRC a thing or two about public speaking.

BBRC’S NEWEST BLUE BADGER

Scott replaced Tanya Franzen-Garrett’s Red Badge with a Blue Badge. Congratulations, Tanya.

SHELDON SWEENEY INDUCTION

With sponsors Paul Martin and Traci Tenholzen by his side, Sheldon became BBRC’s newest member. Paul told us that Sheldon has five children, lives in Maple Valley and enjoys swimming and golf. Sheldon is Paul’s business partner. Traci told us that one of Sheldon’s goals is to swim across Lake Washington. Sheldon joined BBRC because he is touched by how the members reach out to the special needs community. Sheldon’s youngest child has Down syndrome. Congratulations on your induction, Sheldon!

FUN & GAMES WITH THE SERGEANT-AT-ARMS

Given the playoff game on Sunday, Paul Chapman asked members dressed in Seahawks regalia for some predictions. Ann Norman predicted the final score will be 38-23, Seahawks. Chris Monger believes there will be six interceptions by the Seahawks defense and Jeff Kaiser predicts Russell Wilson will reach 212 yards passing and Marshawn Lynch will achieve 197 rushing yards. Mike Ralph bet the game will be a “Beatdown” on Sunday.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

About the Speaker