On Tuesday, December 5, our lunch speaker will be Derek Abbey from Project Recover.

Derek spent 23 years in the US Marine Corps, serving as an enlisted Marine and an officer, both on the ground and in the air. He served as an F/A-18 aviator and in the special operations community, with multiple deployments in the Hornet and holds more combat time in the jet than in peaceful skies. Additionally, he is a plank holder (original member) at 1st Raider Battalion and Marine Special Operations Company Delta.

He has been a member of Project Recover for 20 years and currently serves as the President and CEO. Project Recover searches for Americans missing in action (MIA) from our nation’s previous conflicts with the intention of providing answers and closure to Gold Star Families and helping to heal the wounds of war.

Since retiring from the Marine Corps in 2014, Derek has remained committed to serving the military populations in a number of capacities. These not only include Project Recover, but also working extensively with military in higher education at San Diego State University and University of San Diego, as well as several military-connected nonprofits.

Derek is an avid outdoorsman. He believes that spending time in the outdoors and nature while maintaining a hardy lifestyle are key elements to physical and mental health. He strives to spend time in the outdoors on a daily basis. This includes trail running, hiking, camping, spending time on the river in multiple ways, birding, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and more.

He studied history at Oregon State University for his undergraduate education while he was an active duty Marine. He holds an M.A. in Higher Education Leadership and a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego. Additionally, he holds a credential from Stanford University in Non-Profit Executive Leadership and is a 2019 President George W. Bush Scholar.

He was raised in and around Seattle and today lives in Bend, Oregon with his wife, Michelle.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person at the Riverhouse (Deschutes South, our usual room), and virtual. Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link. You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

On Tuesday, November 14, our lunch program will be autobiography presentations from three of our members: Adam Osborn, Neal Bordenave and Jonathan Baker.

Come get to know a whole bunch more about 3 of our amazing members! We’ll be at the Riverhouse, in our usual room (Deschutes South).

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

On Tuesday, November 7, our lunch speaker will be our club member Kent Vander Kamp.

Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp started his law enforcement career 18 years ago with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff in 2002. He was hired as a Seasonal Special Services Deputy in 2006 and then as a Patrol Deputy in 2008. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2017. Kent currently leads the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team (CODE), a multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional drug enforcement task force, as a Detective Sergeant. In addition to CODE, Kent currently leads the Deschutes County Illicit Marijuana Enforcement Team.

He has also been recognized as a Cascade Business News “Top 40 under 40” leader, awarded the White House ONDCP 2020 Award for Outstanding Public Health/Public Safety in a Collaborative Effort, the HIDTA Award for Outstanding Investigation Impact by a CODE Investigation, recognized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the Deschutes County DUII Investigator of the Year.

Kent also serves his community through volunteerism. He currently serves as a Board Member with CLEAR Alliance, a local non-profit drug educator; a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight West, a non-profit providing free non-emergent medical air transportation to rural Oregon, a member of the Redmond Area Community Coalition, a volunteer Committee Member of the Deschutes County Facility Project Review Committee, as well as being a proud member of the Rotary Club of Greater Bend.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person at the Riverhouse (Deschutes South, our usual room), and virtual. Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link. You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

On Tuesday, October 24, our lunch program will be presentations from two local non-profits: Christa Nash-Webber from SheJumps, and Laura Handy, Executive Director of Heart of Oregon Corps.

Christa was born into an outdoorsy, traveling family in the Pacific Northwest – evergreens, mountains, and crystal cold lakes are a part of her DNA. Christa spent 11 years living overseas in Hong Kong working for an outdoor education company followed by a one-year travel sabbatical in Central and South America with her hubby and two kids. Having recently settled in Bend, Oregon, Christa is loving putting roots down and creating community in the high desert. She’s an active member of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue team and an avid skier, biker, paddler, yogi, and trail runner.

Laura Handy has been working as a Executive Director at Heart of Oregon Corps for 18 years. Heart of Oregon Corps’ six programs engage 225 youth annually in meaningful, growth-filled workforce development and educational opportunities that help address the negative impacts of poverty. They primarily serve low-to-moderate income Opportunity Youth ages 16-24 who are disconnected from school and work but are ready to thrive when given adequate support. With the goal of career readiness, HOC programs provide training in conservation, construction, childcare, and customer service. Since its inception over 20 years ago, HOC has grown into a nonprofit leader with programs and projects in Deschutes, Crook, Jefferson, and northern Klamath counties, including the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person at the Riverhouse (Deschutes South, our usual room), and virtual.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

On Tuesday, October 17, our lunch program will be an update on our Greater Bend Rotary Club Foundation progress. Kyle Frick will be reporting on our financials and Gift of Literacy involvement, and Wendy Patton will be reading a letter from a scholarship student.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person at the Riverhouse (Deschutes South, our usual room), and virtual.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

On Tuesday, October 10, our lunch program will be autobiography presentations from three of our members: Adam Osborn, Neal Bordenave and Jon Baker.

Come get to know a whole bunch more about 3 of our amazing members, and a tour of Ronald McDonald House, where the lunch will be held this week. Address: 1700 NE Purcell Blvd, Bend, OR 97701.

Note that there will be time to take a tour of the beautifully renovated RMH as the lunch programming concludes.

Signup for lunch here.

Parking notes: a reminder about the road closure at Neff and Purcell. You can use the dirt parking lot directly behind RMHC and walk to the house, as the main parking lot will not be able to accommodate 50 cars. To access the RMHC driveway you’ll need to cut through loop road of St. Charles parking lot, use the Purcell Exit (closest to The Center and RV Parking for the hospital), turn left and then drive past the signs that say “Road Closed Local Access Only”. RMH’s driveway is the last driveway on the left before the big barricades.

This meeting will both in-person at Ronald McDonald House, and virtual.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

On Tuesday, October 3, our lunch speaker will be Alan Goggins, a PhD research scientist who will share stories about his path to now, as well as what his day-to-day role looks like in the world of cancer research and drug discovery. Alan is an Associate Principal Scientist in the Pre-Clinical Development Group (PCD) group within Merck Research Labs – South San Francisco. In this role, Alan supports Merck’s discovery pipeline by characterizing the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic drug properties of candidate compounds, with particular emphasis on immunogenicity risk assessments.

Prior to his role in PCD, Alan completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Biologics and Vaccine Bioanalytics group at Merck, where his research project focused on developing assays to characterize the antigen-specific cellular immune response to mRNA vaccine platforms. During his postdoc tenure Alan served as the President of the Merck Postdoc Association, facilitating career development and training opportunities for the postdoc community; and served as New Jersey’s Young Science Ambassador for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

Alan obtained his PhD in Biomedical Sciences (’16) from the Microbiology and Immunology department at the Tulane University School of Medicine and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health from Western Carolina University (’10). In 2014, Alan was awarded the ASM Robert D. Watkins Minority Research Fellowship to support his dissertation research. Alan is a Latinx, first-generation college graduate, and a passionate advocate for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in microbial sciences and STEM.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person at the Riverhouse Convention Center in room Cascade B, and virtual.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

On Tuesday, September 19, our lunch speaker will be our new District 5110 Governor, Jim Polk. Jim’s career in the U.S. Air Force started in 1971 and lead to him being an Aircrew member serving as a Far East Cryptologic Linguist (Chinese Mandarin). Upon retirement for the military, Jim accepted the challenge of serving the City of Cave Junction as the City Recorder/Treasurer. Jim’s Rotary experience began as a Charter Member of the Rotary Club of Illinois Valley in 2007 when fellow public officials pressured him to become involved with the formation of the new club.

Belonging to the club was anticipated to be a short experience and the intent was to help with the numbers for chartering and then to step away. The shared experiences and the friendships made provided a renewed desire in a different avenue of service and to become more involved. Jim was elected to the position of Director in 2011 and advanced in the leadership roles to serve as Club President (2015-16).

Jim is a multiple recipient of his Club’s Rotarian of the Year, is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, a member of the Paul Harris Society and a member of the District Polio Plus Society. His initiative led to the implementation of a community service project to conduct a quarterly litter patrol along the state highway that was expanded into a quarterly community-wide cleanup project. He is a vocal and involved participant in the Rotary Duck Derby fundraising effort for local community projects.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person at the Riverhouse (restaurant side, Deschutes South), and virtual.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

On Tuesday, September 12, our program will consist of a presentation of Club Member Survey Results by President Brian, followed by some team-building activities. Note: we’ll be at the Riverhouse Convention Center, in the Cascade G Room.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person at the Riverhouse (restaurant side, Deschutes South), and virtual.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

On Tuesday, September 5, our lunch speaker will be Michele O’Hara, Executive Director at Opportunity Knocks. Opportunity Knocks is a peer mentorship program for Founders, CEO’s, and Leaders in Central Oregon. Founded in 1996, their mission is to help leaders grow. Michele O’Hara will share information on how leadership transformed the organization to ensure that OK remains relevant to a new generation and steps you can take to better serve your key stakeholders and the community.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person at the Riverhouse (restaurant side, Deschutes South), and virtual.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.