Monday, November 21, 2022
By: W Todd MillerOn November 16, 2022, the Rotary Club of Washington, DC, held its regular weekly meeting in person at the University Club of Washington, D.C. and via Zoom and welcomed guest speaker the Honorable Donald Beyer.
On November 16, 2022, the Rotary Club of Washington, DC, held its regular weekly meeting in person at the University Club of Washington, D.C. and via Zoom.
President Marilyn Nevy Cruz called the meeting to order at 12:30 PM and lead everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Sergeant-at-Arms Lola Perez led the introduction of guests and visiting Rotarians.
Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms Max Salas recognized anniversaries for the week.
Sterling Hoffman discussed Paul Harris Fellowship and the importance of supporting the Rotary Foundation. He noted how easy it was to make a contribution through the website and the fact that the Club will match $500 gifts in order to secure Paul Harris status.
Past President Bill Dent reminded everyone of the new family membership option for family/domestic partners. The dues are half of regular membership and payment for lunches are only for those actually attended.
President Marilyn noted the past president’s dinner and lead a moment of silence for those who had passed, accompanied by a slide presentation on each past president and a picture of dinner attendees.
President Marilyn presented the member of the month for October to Balraj Gupta for his extensive contributions to the Hospitality Committee. President Marilyn presented the member of the month for September to Past President Tim Hanson for hosting the Centennial Party.
President Marilyn conducted an induction of new member Sibel Kulaksiz. Sibel noted how honored she was to join the Club and looked forward to serving with everybody.
President Marilyn reminded everyone to register for the holiday party by Tuesday, November 22, at 5 pm. The party will be December 8 and several email reminders have been sent.
Past President Gerry Murphy introduced the speaker, the Honorable Don Beyer who attended virtually. Congressman Beyer is serving his fourth term as the U.S. Representative from Virginia’s 8th District, representing Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, and parts of Fairfax County. He serves as the Chairman of Congress' Joint Economic Committee, and also serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, and on the House Committee on Science Space and Technology, where he chairs the Space Subcommittee. He is a Co-Chair of the New Democrat Coalition's Climate Change Task Force.
He was the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1998 and was Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under President Obama. Rep. Beyer’s signature work as lieutenant governor included advocacy for Virginians with disabilities and ensuring protections for Virginia’s most vulnerable populations as the Commonwealth reformed its welfare system in the mid-1990s. Rep. Beyer was Virginia’s Democratic nominee for governor in 1997.
After leaving office, Rep. Beyer spent fourteen years as Chair of Jobs for Virginia Graduates, a highly successful high school dropout prevention program, and was active for a decade on the board of the D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. As Chair of the Virginia Economic Recovery Commission, he helped pass permanent pro-business reforms and was co-founder of the Northern Virginia Technology Council.
President Obama nominated Rep. Beyer to serve as Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein in 2009. He used his position to advocate for stricter sanctions to compel Iran to begin nuclear disarmament discussions. As Ambassador, Rep. Beyer was integral to US Department of Justice efforts to halt the abuses of Swiss bank secrecy by wealthy Americans.
Rep. Beyer has spent four decades building his family business in Northern Virginia after a summer job at a car dealership in 1974. He is a graduate of Williams College and Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC. He was named a Presidential Scholar by President Lyndon Johnson. Rep. Beyer has four children and two grandchildren. He and his wife Megan live in Alexandria, Virginia.
Rep. Beyer discussed the barriers to a more effective Congress, caused in part by the fact that most congressional seats are safe. This leads to candidates appealing to the extremes of the respective parties’ bases. He has proposed a Fair Representation Act which would allow multi-member districts the representatives of which would be chosen by ranked choice voting. He also favors expanding the size of the House because the number of persons represented by each individual representative has increased dramatically since the size of Congress was capped at 435. After a candid question and answer period, and at the conclusion of Rep. Beyer’s s talk, President Marilyn presented Rep. Beyer with a certificate for the planting of a tree under the Club’s Trees for the Capital program.
The Raffle was won by Russ Savage but the Ace of Spades was not drawn.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:28 PM. Salvador Farfán was the Zoom producer and Sarah Ross was the producer in the room.
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