2010 June luncheon - Kevin Clark '77

Kevin Clark ’77    

Kevin traveled an interesting path through accounting to become the CEO/Owner of Argosy Cruises.  If you are not familiar, Argosy Cruises is a family-owned and Seattle-operated company that has become the Northwest's premier cruise company operating from the historic downtown Seattle waterfront, South Lake Union and Kirkland City Dock.  Kevin shared the stories of this path to becoming commander of a fleet of boats, head caterer for the food operations, and a leader in the tourism community.  Last year Kevin became the operator of the Tillicum Village concession on Blake Island, which made Kevin the impresario for the dinner show presented to boat loads of visitors to the long popular Tillicum Village.  As the new operator of the Village, Kevin is working to modernize the operations as well as the show.  The insider info was interesting, and Kevin invited all Fijis to visit the new Tillicum Village by saying “Just contact me”.  Here is Kevin’s e-mail to contact him J   KevinC@ARGOSYCRUISES.COM   

Aaron Schulte '03 remembered by members of Class of 2003 -- Form Memorial Foundation

Aaron Schulte '03

Aaron's passion for international travel exemplified his desire to live life to its fullest.

Through an annual study abroad scholarship at the University of Washington, the Foundation encourages and supports those students who have a similar passion for life.

In April 2007, Aaron Schulte (Washington 2003) lost his year-long battle with colon cancer. Although only 26 years old, Aaron lived a rich and full life and left an amazing legacy. He was a member of Fiji Sires & Sons with his dad, Steve (Washington 1973).

 Since the time of Aaron’s passing, Kris Lindquist '03, Hamilton Gardiner '03, Ben Adams '03, Jeremy Kuhlmann '03, and Sean Newell '03 have dedicated much of their time and emotions to celebrating Aaron’s life by creating a scholarship fund in his name. On June 5, 2007, the Aaron Schulte Memorial Foundation (ASMF) was incorporated

The goal of the foundation is to grant an annual educational scholarship to one Fiji student at the University of Washington.  The scholarship funds are to be used by the recipients for tuition in study-abroad programs. During their time abroad, the recipients will experience an adventure similar to the one that changed Aaron’s life forever, when he studied abroad in Florence, Italy, during the summer of 2001.

You will find more information about the Foundation at this link.   If you would like to contribute to the Foundation, you can also use this link for more info.  http://www.aaronschulte.org/

2010 May Luncheon - Eric Campbell '87

Eric Campbell '87

Eric Campbell ’87   

 Eric heads CamWest Development which is one of the five largest home builders in Puget Sound.  He gave us a good analysis of the shifts in home development from when he started in 1989 by founding his company upon his graduation from the UW.  With a few fellow Fijis, Eric has been an aggressive innovator over the past 20 years.  As a result, CamWest has built a reputation as a premier home building in King and Snohomish counties.  CamWest has continued their home building pace – even in this soft economy.  Eric shared statistics as well as strategies that took us inside the development business.  And he shared his projections for the future for housing in this area.  A large number of contractors and sub contractors have fallen in this downturn – Eric observed that probably 75% of the subs have gone out of business.  CamWest has encountered success even it this economy with its focus on the customer experience and walkable communities.  Eric’s developed a very Nordstrom-like approach to housing development.  It was a superb presentation.  And the attendance at the luncheon (40+) boosted him to "rockstar" rating for being an audience magnet.  You can reach Eric at ECampbell@CamWest.com  

Warren Johnson '85 - Bayley Construction

Warren Johnson '85

Bayley Construction, Commercial Construction; www.bayley.net

2010 March Luncheon speaker Don Shelton - Idaho '76

Don Shelton - Idaho '76

       Don Shelton, Idaho ’76  The 24 years of sports reporting with the Seattle Times saw the recent promotion of Don to the position of Sports Editor for the Seattle Times.  Under his leadership and management, Don put his management view to the test by planning, deploying, and managing the challenges presented by two weeks of continuous, near-round-the-clock coverage of the Winter Olympics by the largest such team ever assembled by the Seattle Times.  (This team was the third largest print team covering the Olympic events.  Only the New York Times and USA Today fielded larger corps of reporters/photographers.)  The planning and the decisions to muster a team of this size pursuing such an ambitious reporting goal were relayed in first person by Don.  From the photos on the front page of each special Olympics section to the logistics of the operation, it was a well told story offering the insider view.  This is the third luncheon presentation by Don, and everyone has been informative, entertaining, and engaging.  You can reach Don at the Seattle Times at dshelton@seattletimes.com

Jeremy Dodd '02 -- RedGreyConcepts.com - a digital ad agency

Meet Jeremy Dodd '02.  Jeremy might be just the guide for your business to avoid getting lost in the woods of the digital forest.

2010 February Luncheon - Jamey Stoner '05

Jamey Stoner '05

Jamey kept everyone asking questions long past our usual ending time.  It’s a credit to his engaging presentation.  First he shared “Hedge Fund 101” which was an introduction to the hedge fund business.  How they work, what they charge, and why the recession created a double-big hole for the hedge funds.  With his three years of experience with hedge fund, Tremblant Capital, this alone was worth attending the luncheon.  Then Jamey moved on to “Non profit 202” to explain the motivation and process that drove him and his cohorts to create “Construction for Change”.  With a bunch of bright young guys volunteering their time (like Jamey) the contributions flow nearly 100% to the end projects.  What’s not to like about a bunch of committed, earnest young guys doing good in highly leveraged situations to maximize the impact of every contributed dollar?  The back story was very interesting, and the description of the schools they’ve built in Africa was quite interesting.  The need for school facilities is high, and Construction for Change has taken on projects in Brazil (Orphanage), Zambia (School), Kenya (Housing), Cambodia (School) and India (Hospital). 

The Sigma Tau chapter’s 2009 fundraising effort generously funded a second school for the Zambia project.  And, more importantly, four current fraternity undergraduate members (Brad Bissell ‘10, Nate Thramer ‘11, Pete Montgomery ’12, and Sam Barnes ‘12) were able to travel to the project site and assist with the school construction.

The presentation give and take included recommendations that Jamey’s group approach the national fraternity to expand their efforts to partner with local chapters.  You can find more information on Construction for Change at this web site  www.constructionforchange.org     We appreciate Jamey’s flying in from New York to speak to the luncheon group.  You might enjoy reading the latest newsletter update about Construction for Change.  Click here to view the news letter.    And by all means, we encourage you to contact Jamey at this e-mail:  James Stoner jstoner@tremblantcapital.com