Windsor Rotary Archived Bulletins

Author: Envira Gallery

  • 2018-08-28 Carrie Hunt Presents Blu Homes

  • 2018-08-28 Carrie Hunt Presents Blu Homes

  • 2018-08-31 District Governor Visit

    • Greeters, (supposed to be Karen Ricketts and Michael Rasch, but it was Susan Cole and Laura Buhrer)
    • Inspiration: Jason Black: Inspiring words from Jerry Seinfeld and Colonial Sanders
    • Song: JB Leep-“YMCA” (this was quite funny, and everyone really got into it! Singing the words and doing the hand gestures!)
    • Visiting Rotarians: Barb Spangler-our Dist. Governor, visiting from The Valley of the Moon Rotary, Janet Hyde, and Jacks asst. Pam, as well as baby Abigail. Teresa from the Windsor Times, and Tim Curry from Exchange Bank
    • Special Thank You from Pres. Sandie to Allen Christenson for the use of his office for a recent meeting.
    • News from Carol Martin: Exchange student Satoski Mathias arriving Aug. 7th at SF airport, all invited to welcome him!
    • Sandie also sent around ‘Thank You’ notes from a few 3rd graders that received dictionaries, most written in cursive!
    • Kidspree-an email was sent out to sign up to be a helper for the shopping day coming up this Sat. Aug. 4th at 6:30am. Meet promptly at Target, Coddingtown. As of today, there are 320 kids signed up! So, we need more helpers, and if we are short, then some kids might have to double up, two kids to a helper.
    • Tonight, July 31st 6:00 at the Bear Republic in Healdsburg, there will be a 3-club social! So, don’t be a poop, come meet new people, and join in on the fun!
    • Jack’s bar, this Thurs. Aug. 2nd, Wonderbread 5 will be pounding out the tunes, so come help out, it should be a VERY busy night at the bar!
    • Finemaster raised some funds with Pres. Sandie asking questions to some “off guard” members answering some of her great questions! $5 if you could answer her question, or $10 if you were wrong! Bring your $$$, so you don’t look like a penny pincher!

    -Pam Moulton introduced District Governor Barb Spangler

    Barb…out of her own mouth, “Being the District Governor is the best job” she has ever had. She attended our Board Meeting, and told the membership how proud she is to be a part of such a great Dist. and Windsor is among the best with all of the projects we have done in recent years. The group told her about the success of the Lobster Feed, and all of the funds raised from that (to include the $18,000 for the 20/30 club) she was very impressed!!  She commented on how strong of a club, Windsor Rotary really is, with many past presidents, and also District Governors still in our membership. What a rare thing that is.

    Her motto for her year is “Be the Inspiration”!!! Share her signature theme with everyone, in your own way!

    She had the group do a project where we wrote on a postcard:

    *Who is your inspiration?

    *What did they teach you?

    *Why is it important?

    *How will this affect your life moving forward?

    The date is set for a District Conference coming May 17th-19th, 2019 at the Peppermill in Reno. Speakers will be:

    • Ron Burton, past RI President, and Rotary Foundation Chair
    • Dave Dravecky, Pro Baseball Pitcher, Motivational Speaker, Author & Cancer/Amputee Survivor
    • Mike McGuire, Calif. State Senator, and Healdsburg Rotary Club member

  • 2018-07-10 Incoming Prez Sandie Krutz

  • 2018-07-17 Steve Lehmann – Windsor Historical Society

  • 2018-07-24 Craft Talks – Carlos Basurto and Glenn Sugden

    Meeting of Tuesday, July 24, 2018

    Inspiration

    From Larry Wasem: “Your body is not a temple it is an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”  Anthony Bourdain

    Warm-up

    Bev Graham had us walk around the room for two minutes, greeting each other for a lively 2-minute warm-up.

    Introductions

    • John Horton introduced: Tanya Bruno and Dustin Duestrel from the Active 20-30 Club
    • Bill Bolster introduced: Our returning short-term exchange to Italy, Andrea Meza, and her new Italian friend Asia, and Andrea’s mom, Elizabeth Meza.

    Announcements

    • President Sandie thanked Renee for facilitating the leadership retreat last Saturday
    • John Horton: KidsSpree Back-to-School Shopping
      • Shopping for and with kids on Saturday, August 4. We will accompany underserved kids one-to-one on their shopping trip. Includes dental booth, school supplies, a haircut station, and breakfast.
      • Meet 6:30 AM at Coddingtown, south side near Target. An instruction sheet will be provided for each child
      • Dennis Wilkinson pointed out that 20-30 Club helps kids considered ‘at risk’
    • Carol Martin presented a giant check to Active 20/30  for $18,600 – raised in the Fund-a-Need portion of the Lobster Feed
    • President Sandie and Renee Hyde announced that Sotoshi, our new Youth Exchange Student from Paraguay, arrives soon. We will have a calendar for activities. Everyone is encouraged to invite our student to family activities, or just to hang out.
      • Anyone spending time alone with students must be a “vetted volunteer”, as part of Rotary’s Youth Protection Policy (which protects us too). Renee will help with this.
      • Welcome Party for Sotoshi in a tent by the Rotary Bar on the Green, Thursday evening, August 16. No charge; bring something if the spirit moves you.
    • President Sandie: We have a small project to provide books to students who lost theirs in the fires; she will provide a list of needed titles.
    • Youth Service: District Governor Barb Spangler is forming a committee to revamp Camp RYLA, our summer week-long leadership program for HS seniors-to-be, held each June.  To volunteer, please connect with Sandie or watch for DG Barb’s email.
    • Rotary Bar at Concerts on the Green, Thursday Nights in Summer. Jack Hyde reports $1782 raised last week.  EXTRA help needed on Thursday, August 2, as extra-large crowds are expected for popular band Wonder Bread.

    Recognitions

    Led by Brian Ling, Finemaster of the Day.

    • John How – says he’s been absent for 70 years. Has taken recent trips to Idaho and Montana.  Will donate to PolioPlus
    • Bill Rash: 21 years this week as a Windsor Rotarian
    • Dennis Wilkinson: Had primo seats in Denver to see The Tenders, Journey and Def Leopard.
    • Renee Hyde – played a golf tournament in Carson City – tournament – Paul’s team came in first, Renee’s third. Paying $50 for WRCF.
    • Picture of Carlos Basurta in Sunday paper (wasn’t wearing his Rotary pin) at Wine Country Rescue event – raising money for those fire depts.  Carlos said he goes to a lot of events, this one was by far the best (he must have missed our Lobster Feed).  He and Mike Raasch went to a Safe Schools Conference and discovered that they actually DIDN’T know everything and got some good ideas there!
    • Brian is offering a contribution to WRCF for Alan Christenson, for helping him out with a Sonoma County Alliance project. He also noted that the flag on our slideshow had only 48 stars . . . and that the Pharrell Williams song “Happy”, playing as we gathered for the meeting, would be going through his head all day.

    Program:  Craft Talks

    Carlos Basurto

    Windsor’s Police Chief has a long history with police and law enforcement.  Born and raised in Healdsburg, a 1987 graduate of Healdsburg High, he had “ZERO” interest in law enforcement even though it was his dad’s career.  He gravitated toward science, but after a short time in junior college consulted with Dad about doing something different.  Dad said that since Carlos had (has?) common sense, law enforcement might be the job for him. He went on two ride-alongs, and these, he said, “altered the course of my life.”

    On the first, his Dad soothed a highly distraught couple whose daughter had run away and retrieved the daughter as well.  Carlos was intrigued and wanted to be able to do that – to go into someone’s home and affect their lives for the better.  He learned that more than anything else, this was the job.

    The second ride-along involved foot chases, helicopters, officers everywhere, firepower and adrenaline.  That sealed the deal. He began as an intern, then, at age 20 (when he claims, he weighed 130 and looked about 16) became a guard at the Sonoma County Jail.

    His first cop assignment was in Roseland, where he learned about community policing.  When his dad visited the station, he commented that community policing was what should be going on all along.  Carlos also worked with an FBI gang task force, up and down the state, which has helped him appreciate what we have in Windsor in terms of community support, and people “who wave at you with all five fingers.”

    He likes being able to work in Windsor with “people I know and care about” and considers it his passion to keep what we have here.  “That’s one reason I wanted to be in Rotary. What better place to come and to reach out and have someone to go to?  And it works both ways. I want to let you know that if you ever need anything, you have us.  It is our pleasure to be here and our pleasure to do what we can for you whenever you need us.”

    Glenn Sugden

    Born in Houston, Texas, Glenn grew up in Jackson, Wyoming. He got his first computer, an Apple II, in 1977.  There weren’t many opportunities in Wyoming to branch out in computer science. Because he chose to work on developing a game instead of putting a chart into Lotus, his Computer Science teacher gave him a “D”.

    After high school he thought, “I don’t need college, I’ll start working, I’ll go to California, that’s where [computer] stuff is happening.”  He began in San Rafael as a game developer – and meanwhile took up skydiving, jumping 500 times in the first year!  He began to teach the sport, and loved seeing a light bulb go off when people learn.  He realized that his calling was to be an educator.

    So, at age 40, he went to college – and, in keeping with his craving for more entertainment, he also joined an acting-improv shot called AWOL – Actors Without Lines.  As a student a Berkeley, he wanted to learn with the original founders of technology, so he took courses and also taught.  He also liked making computer knowledge available to non-Computer Science majors – and involving women and other groups historically under-represented in technology fields. Many of his classes and other work with Berkeley Foundation for Opportunities in Information and Technology are available online – the cool thing, he notes, about it being a public research facility.

    Glenn built his business, the Third Workshop in Windsor as a drop-in, come as you are place for kids to learn and play with technology.  It has no curriculum, just a bunch of cool stuff to play with.  Kids can play, experiment and explore. When there’s a question, he teaches them to think critically as they paw through google results, getting through the garbage. “Learning sticks when kids are passionate about what they’re doing.”

    His larger goals are to branch into areas beyond Windsor, that are under-represented and under-resourced.  “Technology is the great leveler.  Take a kid who’s smart, give them the equipment and they can soar like anyone else.  I felt so privileged to join Rotary, because you care, care about kids learning well in a safe environment.  This is a very passionate thing for me.”

    Glenn’s “kid” is a white cat:  Ms. Mew, Queen of Darkness.  The Third Workshop is in the Windsor Medical Building. Since he doesn’t have classes or a schedule, come in any time to chat, talk or play with stuff.

    Sue Nelson took photos

    Meeting closed with further playing of “Happy”!

    By today’s faithful Scribe,

    Maureen Merrill

  • 2018-06-12 Renee Hyde On Insurance

    The bell rang at 7:30 by President Steve Klick

    Inspiration was provided by Sandi Krutz
    Songmeister for the day was Bill Bolster, We are the Champions a tribute to the Warriors by Queen.

    Visiting Rotarians:
    George Lawson – Healdsburg  Sunrise Club

    Guests: John Jansons, Windsor Town Manager and soon to be member of our club
    Exchange Student Yanna

    Announcements:

    • July 2nd winner of the salmon fishing with Warren Parker– sign up sheet going around.
    • Thank you postcard from global press team
    • Update from George Lawson– Thank you to Healdsburg City for help with SNAP. District grant on its way. Thanks for all of Windsor Rotary’s support.
    • Sandi– books lost in the fire. List of kids in need- pick “better world books” to purchase a book.
    • Update on Polio- 10 new cases: 2 Pakistan and 8 Afghanistan.
    • 1989- Venezuela- return of polio

    Board meeting Report:
    membership dues- going up again from $295 to $324

    Upcoming community projects:

    • July 3rd Kaboom 20/30 club. $500-no? Vote during meeting- yes.
    • Relay for life- August 4th and 5th at Cardinal Newman.
    • Food bank- volunteers? 4th Friday if interested.
    • Project Linus Blanket- cancelled, Joan having surgery- rescheduling a new date
    • Kids Summer Movie Series tonight: Despicable Me 3, we have a 3-fold to hand out at booth
    • Rotary Bar $1366 last week this week’s music: Dirty Cello

    John LeCave– Debunking! July 14th 5-9pm
    Steve’s brothers home will be the location and E-vites coming your way $20 guests
    Michael Juric will be our emcee.

    Program:

    Our speaker for the day- Renee Hyde
    Home insurance- Post Fire
    Windsor Rotary 15 years. State Farm 29 years.
    “Work hard, do good, have fun!”

    Questions from customers:

    • Brice to build: $300-600+ sqft 8000 claims from fires 700 claim reps from State Farm

    Building Law- sprinklers, septic, energy laws, min 25%

    • Debris removal is covered in building coverage
    • Detached structure- included: patio, driveway, pools, fences, sheds
    • Personal property- most people are under insured 40%
    • Videos of content- 75% of home value personal property
    • Loss of use- mortgage provided for 24 months. Food-difference from eat at home and eating out

    Where are fire victims- 10-20% leaving area, 25% rebuilding

  • 2018-06-26 Outgoing Prez Steve Klick

  • 2018-06-19 Tawny Tesconi – Farming in Sonoma County

  • 2018-06-05 Marrianne McBride – Aging in Sonoma County

    OPENING:

    The meeting was opened by Steve Click at 7:30 AM.  The Pledge of Allegiance was initiated with all present.

    INSPIRATION:

    Maureen Merrill provided a nice dose of inspiration with a quote from Henry James (1843-1916), a famous author and Harvard Law School graduate. He said, “three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind, and the third is to be kind.”  Stay kind Windsor Rotary!

    SONG:

    Doug Williams led song for our group with “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad” in anticipation of the upcoming Sonoma County Smart Train extension into Windsor.

    GUESTS:

    Allison Hoover. This was Allison’s 4th meeting with our morning Rotary group!

    Hewlett.  Future 2019-2020 exchange student.

    Hewlett’s parents.

    Jana. Current exchange student

    Abigail. Robin Phillips’s baby daughter.

    Marianne McBride. President & Ceo Council On Aging.

    ANNOUNCEMENTS:

    • Diane Brabetz informed us that Jack M., Jackie Coffin’s husband, is very sick and currently at Memorial Hospital. She also said Dick Bishop is back in the hospital at Kaiser.
    • Maureen Merrill offered 4 free tickets to the Giants game!
    • JB Leep and Carol Martin shared their Project Grad experience at Windsor High School. JB wore his classic bow tie and Carol wore her dealer vest and dealt cards to the 2018 grads until 3 AM!  They said it was a really fun event to be a part of. They recognized Allison Hoover for her instrumental clean up efforts once the event ended.
    • Renee Hyde said this is the first time in many years that she can’t find enough host families for the next incoming exchange student. She needs help and asked to call if you have an extra bedroom and want to host for a two to three-month timeframe. She said it creates an international family in your house. She also said to let her know if you have a friend that has an extra bedroom who may be interested in hosting.  The incoming exchange student is a young man from Paraguay, age 16-17 years old.  Maureen Merrill announced that she will be the first host family for this student!
    • Renee Hyde discussed State Farm grants that Windsor Rotary may want to get involved with Windsor Town Parks and Recreation and Sonoma County Parks and Recreation to see if they want to compete for these funds. Grants are $25,000 in categories such as, Health and Safety, and Community Improvement.
    • Steve Click announced that June 15th is Linus Blanket Project event.
    • JB Leep announced Kids Summer Movies Series kicks off on the Town Green tonight. There will be a kids concert at 6PM with band “ABC ROCKERS”.  The movie begins at 9PM.
    • Jack Hyde announced Jack’s Bar needs more staffing for the Town Green’s first Thursday Night Market this week.
    • Carol Martin announced that we will take a break from Redwood Empire Food Bank volunteering for the Windsor Rotary group for the months of June, July, and August of this year.
    • Sandy Krutz shared her birthday experience. She said she enjoyed brunch in Geyserville and manicures with the girls in her family. She quoted that she’s older than she’s ever been!
    • Chris Landwehr shared his birthday experience. He said he enjoyed a few nights out on the Mendocino coast.  He announced he will donate $100 to the Paul Harris Fellow! Nice Chris! He followed suit and said that he’s older than he’s ever been!

    SPEAKER

    Marianne McBride, President & CEO Council On Aging

    Introduced by Diane Brabetz

    Marianne said she comes from 5 generations of family in Sonoma County. She currently resides in Cloverdale. She has past history with Rotary International and has hosted an exchange student from Germany in the past. She’s been the President and CEO of Council On Aging since August 2009, and was previously the organization’s Development Director with the responsibility of raising $4 million dollars annually. She also had prior experience with United Way of Sonoma-Mendocino as Vice President of Resource Development and also served as the Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Cloverdale.

    Marianne said we have approximately 130,000 seniors living in Sonoma County, and that number is expected to grow significantly in the future. She said 41% of seniors in Sonoma County are living in poverty due to the high cost of living. Her team has conducted many surveys on the senior population in Sonoma County over the years. She said the biggest concerns that seniors currently have pertain to high housing costs, and transportation availability. She said many landlords are raising rents on our seniors putting many in a housing crisis. She also said that 25% of our seniors will likely outlive their ability to drive. She said the Council On Aging is involved with the California State Homeless Prevention Grant, which currently has 80 seniors in Sonoma County on this waiting list. She also said they are also involved with an innovative program in Petaluma called Share Housing Petaluma, which assists seniors in shared housing arrangements.

    Marianne Sonoma County seniors were greatly impacted by last year’s recent wildfire disaster. She said many seniors faced higher fleeing risks due to some not having any sense of smell, mobility issues, and lack of access to transportation to flee the fires.

    Other survey results indicated that many seniors feel disconnected with their neighbors and the community at large.  She informed us of the Older Americans Act of 1965, which was the first federal level initiative aimed at providing comprehensive services for older adults. It created Federal Funding that got passed down to the State level, down to the County government level, and then down to our local nonprofits.  The goal of the funding is targeted towards promoting well being for our seniors, and to give them more independence.

    She shared the Council On Aging offers social, financial, legal, and nutrition services to seniors. For a fee, some of the services offered are basic daily money management, such as bill paying and balancing bank accounts.  They can provide basic estate planning, and act in the capacities of trustee, successor trustee, and conservator. They are currently acting as Trustee for 150 seniors in Sonoma County. They offer senior care program services in the home. Their adult programs provide help for many seniors inflicted with cognitive impairment and respite for caregivers. The adult programs also offer exercise programs for entire families. The Family Justice Center is involved with Elder abuse issues and family violence. They have 3 mental health programs for depression, peer support, and Project Hope, which is county and FEMA backed. Project hope is currently a 9 month program offering crisis counselors, who help seniors in the community impacted by the October wildfires in their recovery process. They have a full time Disaster Case Manager funded for a year to support the Journey’s End Mobile Home Park residents, who lost everything in the fire. They recently secured 5 modular homes in the park from a federal grant.

    The Meals On Wheels program extends from Rohnert Park/Cotati to the Russian River area to the Sonoma Valley. They deliver 1000-1200 meals per day or approximately 200,000 meals per year. Marianne shared that Windsor in the only town currently in Sonoma County to partner with Meals on Wheels to help provide a subsidy for their food deliveries.  Meals On Wheels currently has funding challenges. Their cost to deliver one meal is $7.50 and their current budget is underfunded to cover these costs. They offer seniors the opportunity to donate some money towards delivered meals.  However, only 55% of seniors receiving deliveries donate money for the food deliveries they receive. The average donation is only 65 cents per meal, which is significantly less than past average donations from these seniors. This is mainly attributed to the high cost of living in Sonoma County.

    Sonoma County Meals On Wheels provides food recipients 4 meal choices per day, which gives them more choices to select food they like to eat. Marianne said this is the first Meals On Wheels program in the country to offer this much variety of food choices. She said that they have new clients fill out a survey prior to establishing service and download it to their computer program, which then customizes meals for them. She hopes to expand this service nationally for a fee, which will help raise more money for her program in Sonoma County. The four food choices currently available in their Sonoma County program are Vegetarian,Diabetic/heart friendly, Beef, and Chicken/Fish/Pork. Some of the senior centers in Sonoma County have a Bistro set up, which provides entrees and deserts.  There is no Bistro Set up in Windsor’s Senior Center, but they hope to have one set up in 3-6 months.

    The goal of the Council On Aging is to be “Age Friendly”, where seniors wisdom is valued. Their vision is to create cities where it’s a great place for seniors to grow old, to be relevant, and to connect with the communities they reside in.  Sonoma County has adopted their “Age Friendly” program, and have gone through two phases of integration for most cities in the county. These phases include projects like reviewing adequate benches are situated in parks, walking trail safety, availability of restrooms in parks, adjusting timing for crosswalk meters, and setting up contact networks for seniors in their respective neighborhoods.

    Marianne Mcbride announced that the Wine Country Senior Games start this weekend (June 9th and 10th). She said 30 soccer teams are competing at “A Place To Play Park” in Santa Rosa. A team from Canada will be part of this event. Track and Field events will be coming soon after.

    We thanked Marianne for her thoughtful and informative presentation to our Rotary group.

    CLOSING:

    The meeting ended at 8:30 AM, with Steve Click announcing that his last board meeting as President will be on Monday, June 11th.

    Submitted by Jason Black, Scribe for the day!