Linda Coble’s recent ride out to the Bobby Benson Center Open House with fellow BBC Board Member and Chair, Rick Tabor, resulted in her next Tradewind interview. Rick, who was introduced to Rotary in 2017 by member Bub Wo, says after one meeting, he was hooked.
Prior to joining our club, Seattle resident of 31 years, Rick Tabor, was semi-retired after 47 years as a mental health, manager and clinician. After a year of college, he joined the Navy “to save lives rather than take them.” Rick was a trained Field Medical Corpsman stationed with Hawaii’s Marine Corps at Kaneohe. “My niche in life has always been helping with coping skills, teaching, learning, and independent living skills…for youth, kupuna and myself.” Rick quotes Civil Beat saying, ‘only 16% of those needing mental health services receive counseling’, and he says his goal in life seems to be to help improve our broken system.
Rick serves on 10 Boards in Hawaii. “I’ve always been a multi-tasker. I am never a procrastinator, and I love being busy with new, exciting projects.” This past year, as a surprise, Rick’s wife of 30 years, Susan, put them on the list for our club’s recent Cambodia and Vietnam Rotary project. “It was one of the most meaningful projects we’ve ever done together. I think all of us learned to value each other in some beautiful ways. We loved our housing families, tour guides, and Cambodia Builder Volunteers.” Rick noted doing new things helps keep us stay fresh and alive. “Despite our human tendency to resist change, change is inevitable. Life flows smoother when we do what we want, embrace life’s lessons, grow and work through the challenges …especially if they involve Service Above Self with like-minded people we love being with. The world needs more Rotarians.”
Rick notes the fellowship of our Rotary projects and meetings allow him to get to know and love our members. (When chatting with Rick, ask him about his out of the blue 1981 meeting with Jim Nabors and Carol Burnett, and how they shared truths about their lives with each other.). Working with our next generation of leaders, he’s engaged with serving with RYLA, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. “Today’s youth always restore my faith in humanity. This next generation is ready to Rock’n’roll!! Just teach our children well, and they’ll take it from there.”
Fun Fact: Rick plays Shaka Santa every year for MANY various entities! In the above photo he and Linda (Tutu Mele) brought smiles and joy to the youth at Palama Settlement.