Author: Tom Boylan

The Meeting Briefs:

We had our own Kevin Bacon Covid experience last week as one of our members tested positive.  Fortunately it seems to have been a mild case and no other members tested positive.

Our guest speaker for the day, Glaydon de Freitas, took ill last night and had to postpone.

Michael Juric led us in a rousing song of “My club” sung to May Wells “My Guy”.

Bill Conklin shared his Rotary moment about the club passing a hat for donations when his daughter was born.  He has valued the connections he has been able to make with the people in the club.

In appreciation of our club’s support for the schools, the high school is providing season passes to club members and their families to all sports events.  They were passed out at the meeting. Information was not provided on how you might get one if you were either online or didn’t attend.

We grossed $1228 from the bar on our first night of concerts on the green.

Pam Moulton shared a summary of last week’s survey.
Pam Moulton presented Diane Brabetz with our thanks and a pin for going above and beyond in her service to the club members not only for her informative updates on covid but for how she helped organize our response last week when we had a positive case.

Leslie Lewis fined Joan Mora, Chris Landwehr, Karen Ricketts, and Patrick Dunn for their recent travels.

Thanks to this week’s helpers:

• Setup/greeter: Steve Klick
• Scribe: Mike Freedman
• Technology: Michael Juric and JB Leep

Quote for the week: “The Greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members ….” attributed to Coretta Scott King

The Meeting in Detail

First, apologies but the sound over Zoom this week was quite muffled so  its likely I have made mistakes and/or neglected some things.  All mistakes are my fault but not intended.

Ron led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Bill Conklin shared his Rotary moment(s).  He talked about how the club passed a hat after his daughter was born to give as a gift to her and of traveling to Nicaragua with others in the club to work a project.   These and other examples expressed his moment(s) of value of the friendships and connections the club has provided.

Announcements were made:

• Sandie Krutz got her final congratulations and thanks as August’s Rotarian of the Month.
• As appreciation for our support the H.S. is providing season passes for all members and their families.
• Patrick Dunn announced our holiday party will be December 10th.
• Renee Hyde announced we had a good opening night grossing $1228 at the “Summer Concerts on the Green” bar.
• Maureen Merrill announced this months birthdays but the poor sound prevented me from getting the names.  Happy birthday to all anyway.  Maureen also mentioned we might start having monthly birthday lunches for those with birthdays in the that month.
• Sue Nelson updated the club on the Service committee’s work.  A $1000 donation to the Greenville Rotary club has been approved for help recovering from recent fires.  The committee has also established a calendar so a beneficiary for our April fundraising can be identified on time.  They are also looking at what Christmas events we might support but are trying to not over extend ourselves.
• Joan Mora provided a summary of last weeks SCARC at Tu Mole Madre.  The mole dishes where wonderful. We had a great turnout with 32 attendees.

Pam Moulton summarized last week’s survey results.  She displayed a long list of top vote getters.  She also highlighted some common themes for future meetings including having small group get togethers, having a hopefully reestablished Interact club lead a meeting, doing a joint meeting with another Rotary club, and meeting with the Holiday Inn staff and residents.  She also summarized a number of new speaker ideas that were submitted including a talk on working with our Chamber of Commerce, a panel discussion with downtown merchants, a discussion about suicide prevention, a talk from someone familiar with the Sonoma County Economic Development organization, a discussion of the causes and remedies of our housing issues, and a historical talk about our local cemeteries.

Our speaker for the day was to be Glaydon de Freitas but he unfortunately took ill a few hours before the meeting and needed to reschedule.  Instead Pam Moutlon and Diane Brabetz led a discussion about our response to having someone in our club test positive last week.  First its a reminder that though most of us a vaccinated, the vaccine doesn’t make one immune from Covid rather it reduces your chances of catching it and reduces the likelihood you will get seriously sick.  However, with the Delta variant, there are many more cases in vaccinated individuals and many vaccinated individuals who test positive can transmit the disease.  So it was a reminder we still need to be careful and cautious and wear our masks, etc.  Diane indicated that Delta infects more quickly than other variants, usually within 3-5 days vs up to 14 days in the past.

In providing an update on the events from last week, Diane talked about calling our public health department and they recommended we consider pausing or dialing back out in person meetings.  In addition that all members as well as Charlie’s staff be notified of a possible exposure and be encouraged to test.  They also recommended that if the meetings continue that in person attendees get tested every 2 weeks.  It was passed along that if you have even a loose affiliation with the Windsor schools that you can get tested at the H.S on the 2 days a week they are testing or at the other schools where they are testing once a week.

Pam finished explaining that at least for the moment we will continue to hold in person meetings but will be prepared to go all online if the circumstances change.  For the time being the Board meetings and most if not all Committee meetings are online only.

When discussion was opened a number of pointed were raised:

1. The club should acquire self antigen tests for those members who volunteer on behalf of the club in situations where they interact with the wider community.  For example, volunteers working the concert bar.
2. Provide more information on resources to our membership.  Where and when testing is available nearby, etc.

After discussing Covid and our protocols for handling positive cases in our membership we got an update about Rotary’s work to eradicate Polio.  There hasn’t been a Polio case since January this year.  And though there are continued worries that we might lose our gains in Afghanistan, the Taliban has indicated they want to encourage polio vaccinations and are even willing to provide security for these efforts.

COVID UPDATE

NEWS FLASH!!!!   Delta variant breakthroughs surging and unvaccinated adults and children fill hospitals in southern States and States with low vaccination rates.   EU recommends preventing US citizens from travel because of our increase in COVID cases nationwide.

Total Cases:        36,515    (last week 35,562)

Recovered:    33,633    (last week  32,604)

Active Cases: 2529   (last week 2699)

Deaths:                353 of our county citizens  (last week 344)  this is no longer about the frail elders in nursing homes, but there has been a death in the 18-24 age range, 2 in the 25-34, 3 in the 35-44 and 30 people in our County in the 45-54 age range who have died.   Deaths can be prevented – Get vaccinated.   Protect yourself and others……………….

New Cases:            We continue to see an increase in new cases – 851 new cases in just one week in Sonoma County!    Be aware that you can still catch COVID even if you are fully vaccinated so be careful to protect  yourself and  others with good hand washing, wearing your mask indoors as mandated and ensuring you are around others fully vaccinated.   Please also do not take for granted that being outside makes or keeps you safe.   If you are outside and cannot socially distance, wear your mask.    Do not take risks and realize this virus has not gone away and is just looking for an opportunity to strike.

Hospitalized: 70 confirmed and 0 suspected    (last week 81 confirmed and2 suspected)

Vaccination information….  As of August 30th,  659,353  residents in Sonoma County have received the vaccine (last week 649,222).     74% of our populations 12 and older are fully vaccinated and approximately 82% have received at least 1 dose.     With the FDA fully approving Pfizer vaccine and Moderna seeking full approval, we are already seeing large employers as well as government entities mandating the need for vaccinations.

Test regularly if you are attending in person meetings or in an office setting.  Put your masks on indoors but also outdoors when you are in crowded situations and cannot socially distance.  Stay away from others if you have any symptoms and get tested.   Fully vaccinated does not mean you cannot get or give COVID.    Stay safe and be wary………

Thanks

Di

Special Guest – Dustin Littlefield, Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise, District 5130 Governor 2021-22

President Pam welcomed the Dustin to our Club and asked him to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Immediate Past President Bill Bolster led us in Tom Petty’s We Won’t Back Down.  Not a highlight for our DG Meeting!

Jim Rupert gave his Rotary moment of growing up in Cloverdale with his father being a very avid Rotarian.  Jim knew that someday he’d be a Rotarian too and has been in our Club for over 15 years and enjoyed every minute of it.  So have we!

Visiting Rotarians (in addition to Dustin Littlefield) – Randy Seelye

Guests – Jamie and Brian Williams, Rodrico Pettus, Jeannie Fournier, and Janet Pavley.  Brian Williams will be joining us as the representative from the WUSD and Jamie Williams will be inducted as our newest member today.

New Member – President Pam brought up our District Governor to induct Jamie Williams as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Windsor.  Jamie is the Athletic Director at Windsor High School and will be a fantastic addition to our club.  Thank you to Renee Hyde for sponsoring Jamie to the club.  Following Jamie’s induction, the Club gathered for our traditional group welcome to our new member.

Rotarian of the Month – President Pam thanked and congratulated Wally Krutz as our Rotarian of the Month for August.

Secret Greeter – Our first secret greeter was Sandie Krutz!  Everyone that didn’t say hello to Sandie was up for a $5 fine.  We’ll keep doing the Secret Greeter for a while so arrive a little early and work the room.  You won’t regret it and you might just save $5!

Calendar and Announcements – President Pam reminded us to watch the pre-meeting slides for upcoming events and Club announcements.

Member Introductions – In keeping with request for more storytelling and to reacquaint with each, the membership introduced themselves along with any current position in the Club and what year they joined.

Guest Speaker – Past District Governor Michael Juric introduced the new District 5130 Governor, Dustin Littlefield from the Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise.

Following a warm welcome and (Rotary tradition) standing ovation, Dustin thanked the Club and mentioned he wanted to visit us early in his DG year as we are one of the more inspiring clubs in the district!  He emphasized our years of success in reaching out to many clubs locally and internationally and having numerous members take District Leadership roles in the past and future.

Dustin spoke to the Rotary International theme this year, “Serve to Change Lives.”  His District theme is “This is Rotary.”  DG Littlefield will do all he can to help strengthen each club resulting in a stronger District.  When we are asked, “What is Rotary?”, we all have a variation of service and fellowship.  He continued his presentation “What is Rotary? – This is Rotary.”

The DG is encouraged by all the club’s versatility and response in reaching out to their members and the community.  Expanded website communications and virtual fundraisers have kept clubs going and surviving the past year.  Be creative and if one idea doesn’t work, “Throw it over the fence and try something else!”  One of his personal objectives is to create Leadership Pathways for Young Professionals, and sharing the Rotary message throughout the District.

The Governor reminded us that meetings are only one way to share the Rotary experience.  Rotary International has 1.3 million members!  How we all rebound from the year plus of the pandemic will strengthen every single club.  Rotary is in a competitive world, and he encouraged us to reach out to everyone, be creative with technology, and maintain a flexible meeting format for remote access.  We’re all looking to expand our membership and otherwise finding “followers”.  He observed that Rotary could be considered the original “linked in” with the network and impact far reaching.

Lastly he reminded us of the areas of focus with the addition this year of the Environment as our 7^th area of focus.  Everything we do is important to our members, our families, and the people that we serve.  “What is Rotary?  This is Rotary”

Thank You to DG Littlefield – President Pam presented our new flag for the Rotary Club of Windsor to the District Governor and thanked him for his time yesterday and today.

Closing – President Pam thanked everyone that participated to make today’s meeting a success, reminded us that Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore will be here next week, and closed with a quote from Henry Ford, Coming Together is a Beginning – Keeping Together is Progress – Working Together is Success!

COVID UPDATE

NEWS FLASH!!!!   There continues to be a large increase in new COVID cases and infections are being seen in our young.    You can do something about this………

Total Cases:        32,325     (last week 31,763)

Recovered:    30,827    (last week  30,530)

Active Cases: 1169   (last week 926) – this is 243 more than previous week a trend we do not want to see!

New Cases:            New cases continue to increase at an alarming rate in the unvaccinated but we are seeing it in the vaccinated, especially those with young children who cannot get vaccinated.   We owe it to our young to spare them by getting vaccinations and avoid super spreader events.  Spread is more prevalent as we have relaxed our policies and recommendations and people are going without masks.  The largest group continues to be the 25-44 age …. But it has been reported that a 5 year old died of COVID as well as babies becoming infected because their parents are not vaccinated.

Deaths:  329     (last week 327)

Hospitalized: 42 confirmed and 3 suspected    (last week 44 confirmed and 0 suspected)     Very alarming increase in hospitalizations we are seeing and in the ages of 25-44 – also being reported that the largest percentage of hospitalizations and new cases is in the unvaccinated.  Hospitals are worried about the increase in numbers and the increase wait time in their ER’s due to COVID.    Care is being delayed to people needing emergency care for diagnoses other than COVID which is alarming.

Vaccination information….  As of July 26th,  619,721  residents in Sonoma County have received the vaccine (last week 613,003).     70% of our populations 16 and older are fully vaccinated and approximately 78% have received at least 1 dose.     Because of the hold out among groups and parts of our County that will not consider vaccinations, we are beginning to see employers notify them of deadlines to become vaccinated.   The Governor has issued a mandate for all state government employees and all public and private sectors in health care to become vaccinated beginning August 2^nd and implemented by August 23^rd.  In California we have had a 200% increase in the past 2 weeks of new cases with State wide only 64% fully vaccinated.    This has to change in order to prevent breakthrough but even more importantly to prevent new variants and replication and mutation of the virus.

Please continue to be cautious while you are enjoying our new freedoms of getting out, socializing and feeling like we can live again.   Remember not all people are vaccinated and unless you know the people you are with have been vaccinated, wear your mask to protect others that may not be.   It is being recommended that you wear your mask indoors when you are in stores and crowded places.    Help others to see the value of vaccinations so that we increase our numbers.   We want to see this over but still need to be cautious and very careful.    Just be careful and help to spread the word that our safety and that of those who cannot get vaccinated depends on those who can!!!!!

Thanks

Di

We kicked off our HYBRID Rotary meeting with a ring of the bell by our new President Pam Moulton. 

There was a pledge of allegiance, but those of us on the ZOOM side of the meeting had to lip sync while the microphone was still trying to connect.

Rotary Moment came from Susan Cole, who informed us that she joined Rotary because she wanted to be a part of the organization that was going to eliminate Polio from the world. Her Rotary moment came on a Festival of Brotherhood visit to Mexico, which she and a group of others from our club attended. On that trip she went on a tour of the local dump in Puerto Vallarta. The poverty and lack of health was rampant. Children and families were there combing through the garbage, including a young girl dressed in a blue dress. That vision became Susan’s Rotary moment and the acknowledgment of never wanting to see another experience she called Children of the Dump.

Guests of Rotarians

Pres Pam introduced Jim Yule, Steve Morris and Gail Ginder, a trio of Ukulele players from her Uke club… they gave us a dose of “Ain’t We Got Fun.”   Ain’t we?

The tech for the day was provided by JB Leep and Michael Juric. Photos were courtesy of Sue Nelson, and the meager words were offered by Tom Boylan. 

Sarah Law director of resource development for Healdsburg schools was introduced by Michael Juric.

We found out there are a lot of horoscopes in the room as everyone present shared their zodiac sign.

Rotarian of the Month

• Pres. Pam let us know that all the backroom workings of our own Wally Krutz to figure out how we can all use DACdb is reason to award him with the first Rotarian of the Month recognition.

Sue Nelson promoted our participation with the Children’s Spree, a program offered by the Healdsburg 20-30 Club and one that gives us an opportunity to shop for kids!

Leah Hansen will be holding a service for her recently deceased daughter this Saturday, 2 PM at St. John’s in Healdsburg next Saturday.

A board meeting is planned for at Ed Turner’s office in the Airport Business Center.

If you would like to have a special photo added to Pam’s pre-meeting slide show, send it along to Pam.

We found out there is a lot of talent on the Windsor Rotary Board when Pres Pam let us know that each of the Board members will have an opportunity to entertain us with what they are going to accomplish in the year ahead. As president, Pam decided to go first and she took us on a “Sentimental Journey” to explain her plans for the year ahead.

Chris Landwher took over the reins and explained what Club Operations are all about. He refrained from singing, but shared there are a lot of moving parts to keep us moving forward. Especially important is the schedule of meeting assignments. You might have thought that Chris was going to be very stoic about his presentation, but in reality, he had a variety of props that he shared from the comfort of his home. Be sure to check the schedule that will be posted on the Club website.

Michael Ragsdale shared the various roles that members will be undertaking to promote our club to the community.

Michael Juric stepped up to explain his role as Club Trainer and Club Facilitator.

Bill Arnone let us know there is a Past President’s Advisory Committee working in the background to assist when needed in a club advisory role. The PP group will not be competing with the Board, but offers a sounding board for things that come up.

Carol Martin introduced us to the Money Bucket, which Ed Turner stepped in to explain how the money needs to go to a specific area, including Rotary International dues and international projects (think of the Rotary Bar on the Town Green as our commitment to international projects). We were told there are two foundations that we focus on. The Windsor Rotary Community Foundation, which provides support to our community, and Rotary Foundation. Understanding the various ways your donation or gift will build dollars to be spent on the areas you choose to support.

Barbara McChesney let us know that Rotary’s concern for the environment should be all our concerns. She let us know that she joined Rotary because of the opportunity to have an impact on the World, which will benefit her children and grandchildren. She gave us a challenge to become plastic free in our world.

Sue Nelson and Susan Cole are the members who will lead the efforts into Service to Local and International Communities. We heard from a youth choir that we have the power to raise people up to more than they can be. Enough said!

Pres Pam reassured us that there was no practice for today’s program. Those responsible were recognized for their support and commitment.

COVID UPDATE

NEWS FLASH!!!!   We have seen an increase in new cases and in deaths this past week.   The majority of both have been in the unvaccinated……………   this is cause for concern and caution.    With the County now fully open and people socializing, not wearing masks and traveling, there is a very big risk for our unvaccinated population.   Hopefully the request by the vaccine manufacturers to the FDA to fully approve the vaccines rather than the current emergency designation, may sway some of those unvaccinated who are in the “wait and see” mode.

Total Cases:        31,435     (last week 31,160)

Recovered:    30,300    (last week  30,165)

Active Cases:  812   (last week 721 – 91  more cases than previous week)

New Cases: 

Fri    67

Sat    61

the problem with the reporting is that the lab is no longer open on weekends and so reporting is difficult

Sun     0  (110 new cases were reported last Wed!)

Mon    0

This is a total for 4 days of 128  (last week for 4 days was 70) – as alarming as the increase in new cases is, it is also scary that the new cases are largest in the 25-44 age group and in the unvaccinated!

Deaths:  323     (last week 317)       Of the 6 new deaths in our county, 5 were people unvaccinated and the other was a man in his 90’s, fully vaccinated but with underlying health issues!

Hospitalized: 41 confirmed and 0 suspected    (last week 33 confirmed and 1 suspected)     Very alarming increase in hospitalizations we are seeing and in the ages of 25-44 – also being reported that the largest percentage of hospitalizations and new cases is in the unvaccinated.

Vaccination information….  As of July 12th 28th,605,057  residents in Sonoma County have received the vaccine (last week 599,473).     68% of our populations 16 and older are fully vaccinated and approximately 75% have received at least 1 dose.

Please continue to be cautious while you are enjoying our new freedoms of getting out, socializing and feeling like we can live again.   Remember not all people are vaccinated and unless you know the people you are with have been vaccinated, wear your mask to protect others that may not be.    Help others to see the value of vaccinations so that we increase our numbers.   We want to see this over but still need to be cautious and very careful.

Thanks

Di

It is all about the hybrid meeting today… We are live… and on TV.

President Bill Bolster had to bring everyone having fun socializing to a halt with the ring of the bell… there is work to be done with only two meetings left before he hands the reigns over to Incoming president Pam Moulton. 

Good Morning President Bill… your mic is a little difficult to hear so my apologies for missing some of the formalities.

I think Sandy Krutz gave us an opportunity to recite the four-way pledge.

JB Leep sang a song about a rubber ducky and people actually joined in.

Visiting Rotarians included several Davis members, including Don Winters, Don Mills, and another person.

Barbara McChesney introduced our speaker Barry Cogbill with ESRAG, the Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group.  

Tom Hassur introduced one of our $1500 scholarship recipients and it appeared she did a good job relaying her future plans.  Thanks to our slide show I was able to relay the name is Kaitlyn Erickson!

There was a check presentation for the 20-30 Club of Healdsburg Children’s Shopping Spree.  The total was $7245 raised.  Samantha Marshall represented the 20-30 team and thanked the club for its participation. 

Wally Krutz and Kurt Mitchell are going to a barber that works for St. Baldrick’s Foundation. The two of them are due to get their heads shaved so they can donate the follicles to people with cancer. Saturday, June 26th at the Publican in downtown Windsor to catch all the commotion. 

According to Carol Martin, Amazon Smile paid off for those who chose Windsor Rotary as their vehicle for shopping online. We made just under $30, and if you switch your regular Amazon account to an Amazon Smile, every purchase generates money for our Community Foundation. We also heard that Dave Culley’s KC’s Grill on the Town Green makes a donation when you identify yourself as a Rotarian. 

You might take that first night out after the Pandemic watching students of Windsor Middle School perform Pirates of Penzance on June 25th and 26th. Contact Heather Cullen to learn how to get tickets.

Mike Freedman is captive due to concerns for his wife and COVID prevention, but he would like to meet up in his backyard when you have time. mike_freedman@yahoo.com will get you directions to his backyard.

There was a Fractured Fairytale, but I couldn’t hear it, so you have to attend Pre Bill’s debunking this Saturday evening and ask him to tell it again.  

Program

Barbara McChesney was asked to introduce our speaker today, Barry Cogbill with the Environmental Stability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) gave us the lowdown on what the new area of attention is for Rotary, our environment. 

ESRAG.org  will give you a good look at our new area of focus. District 5130 currently has the largest number of Rotarian Members in the world. We care. The cost to join the group is $30 per year and the information is priceless.  the Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group.  

ESRAG assists Rotary clubs, districts, and multi-district in planning, implementing and evaluating service projects, building awareness, and inspiring action. These projects promote environmental sustainability, awareness of climate change, and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate disruption on a local and international scale.

Resources & Training to support your Club’s Environmental Activities:

We are actively encouraging clubs to form their own Environmental Sustainability committees.  This is the perfect time to get started as the new Rotary year and the new Area of Focus begin on July 1.  Please click here for an excellent overview of how to get started.

Here is a toolkit specifically designed for projects in the new Area of Focus:

Template for project planning and development

Need help organizing?   If you have an idea for an environmental project/ timeframe, but don’t have the time to make it happen, we have partners who can help you. You can hire Katrina’s nonprofit, Aranya Solutions, to make it happen or put together a sustainability workshop! www.AranyaSolutions.com

Link to the ESRAG presentation

Please encourage your clubmates to join ESRAG.  It’s only $30/yr and provides needed support as Environmental Sustainability takes the main stage starting this July. The membership connects you to more resources, greater community of people passionate about the environment, and larger scale projects. This is your opportunity to leverage Rotary in making a positive impact to Protect the Environment. Share with people, even those outside of Rotary can join ESRAG to make a difference – spread the word! Check out www.ESRAG.org!

MOVIE NIGHT:

The movie presentation for June will be The Science of Climate Restoration, from the 2nd Global Forum on Climate Restoration in September 2020. This month Movie Night is June 26, 2021 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Dr. Erica Dodds, PhD, and the CEO of the Foundation For Climate Restoration (F4CR.org) is coming to speak with us and answer your questions after the Movie! Erica has been an Executive of the Foundation since its inception in 2017; she is particularly committed to actively engaging and empowering youth in climate activism. She believes that the key to success in this amazing task is setting a goal for a proven safe climate.

It is going to be a great conversation!

Register in advance for Movie Night. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The Meeting Briefs:

• Our Motto for 2021-2022 is “Embrace”.
• Covid cases are up and the delta variant is having some success with breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people though the symptoms tends to be milder with fewer hospitalizations.  Sonoma County, along with neighboring counties, are encouraging all people to wear masks inside.
• Maureen Merrill shared her Rotary moment about realizing how simple acts can lead to to enduring change and how its the action that counts more than the act itself.
• Let’s celebrate with Wally Krutz who is (still) Rotarian of the month.
• Board Highlights were reviewed covering topics such as budget, youth, club operations, club culture, service, and communications.
• Party/Social with the District Governor on July 26th @ 5:30pm at Pam and Ken Moulton’s house.
• Megan Lazzarini, one of our recent high school scholarship recipients, expressed her thanks than talked of the challenges faced during her high school years with both the fires in 2017 and 2019 and then the pandemic.
• John LeCave updated us on changes and improvements coming to our website.
• Dr, John Blount, former Rotary International Director, gave an inspiring talk on what we should strive to bring to and get out of our club.

The Meeting in Detail

First, apologies as a new member and first time scribe and doing this via Zoom its difficult to keep track of common references like associating first names with people and or missing names/info that doesn’t get captured clearly by the microphone.  All mistakes are my fault but not intended.

Shout out to my fellow Zoomers at the meeting: Arnone Merrill,  Bill Bolster, Brian Ling, Leslie Ivie Lewis, Megan Lazzarini, Doug Williams, Chris Landwehr, Beth Smith, Karen (Ricketts?), and Michael Raasch

Tanya led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  As there is no Tanya in our club (according to DACdb) maybe this was Tanya Bruno, one of our guests?

Maureen Merrill shared her Rotary moment about realizing how simple acts can lead to to enduring change and how its the action that counts more than the act itself.   She talked of attending a district meeting shortly after the Windsor club was formed in 1987.  First she was impressed by all the club banners hung around the meeting room.  They were ordered from date of club inception from the earliest (back in the early 1900s?) to the newest (Windsor in 1987).  During the meeting, a member from another club asked her about our club’s projects.  Maureen told about one of our first projects providing a scoreboard for a baseball field.  The response she received was “anybody can do that but not everybody does”.  And that was her Rotary moment.

J.B. Leep led us in a resounding sing-a-along of “You are my Sunshine” after citing that it has been an often recorded song by many different types of singers.  You can read the details on its wikipedia page.

Wally Krutz got congratulations for being named Rotarian of the Month.  Just call him Mr. DACdb.

We had many visiting guests including John Watson from Sebastopol, Randy a retired publisher for the Press Democrat, Tanya Bruno, Director of Operations at the Healdsburg School, Rodrigo ??? who was apparently younger than all of us, Megan Lazzarini, H.S. Student and Brian and Jamie Williams (Brian is the Windsor H.S. Principal and Jamie is a Windsor H.S. Phy Ed teacher and Athletic Director)

Pam Moulton reviewed some recent Board highlights:

• Budget:
  • On the budget, we should have all received an e-mailed invoice for our 2021/22 dues.  Time to cough it up!  Pam also reminded folks attending in person that the fee is $20 per meeting whether or not you eat breakfast.

• Youth Services:
  • Pegi Ball, our Youth Services Chair, is setting up for an International Student Exchange for 2022-23.
• Club Operations:
  • Chris Landwehr, our Operations Chair, is organizing a rotation for various weekly meeting assignments including getting more help for running the Zoom portion of these meetings.
• Membership:
  • Renee Hyde, our Membership Chair, is organizing a new member program called “Passport to Success” where new members are introduced and get to talk to various members of the club after they join to both mentor them and integrate them more quickly.
• Club Culture:
  • Joan Mora who is leading our Club Cultural events cited some upcoming events. There is a Social at Pam and Ken Moulton’s house next Monday the 26th at 5:30pm with the new District Govenor.  There is a SCARC on August 26th focusing on Environmental Issues, hosted by Windsor Rotary.
• Service:
  • Susan Cole and Sue Nelson, our Service Co-chairs, with Sandie Krutz, our Grants Chair, announced we will be supporting “Truckers against Trafficking” in the upcoming year.  They are also preparing a District Grant proposal to educate elementary students on Environmental Issues.

Tom Hassur then introduced Megan Lazzarini our H.S scholarship recipient.  She thanked us for the scholarship then talked about her challenges during her high school years and how she is looking forward to attending UC Santa Barbara in the fall.  Her biggest message was how grateful she is.  All in her H.S class had numerous shared challenges including the Tubbs fire in her Freshman year, the Kincaid fire in her Junior year, and then the pandemic that extended from the end of her Junior year into her Senior year.  These contributed to increased stress both from days lost at school as well as the personal anxiety created by each event.  All this was on top of the normal craziness of fitting in in High School.  Though her path forward in life is still unknown at its root is a career in service of others as she wants to make a difference.  Her study interests are eclectic ranging from public health to marine biology and sociology.  She is looking forward to exploring these fields at UCSB and finding her path.

John LeCave and J.B. Leep gave a short update on what the Communications committee is up to.  Basically we are in the process of making strategic improvements to the way we communicate to the public and internal membership.  One pillar of this is a new website as the existing one is obsolete.  Work is being done to have a tighter integration with information in DACdb and hence reduce the need for membership to access the database directly.  Things like looking up members phone numbers, accessing the calendar at a glance, and seeing club stories is going to be made easy and available via the website.

Leslie Ivie Lewis asked all in the room who had birthdays in June and July to standup.  Unfortunately being on Zoom I couldn’t capture and hence honor those here but Happy Birthday to all.

PROGRAM:

The Speaker for the week was Dr. John Blount, from the Sebastopol club which he joined when he was 27.  He was Rotary International Director from 2009-2011, Moderator and Vice Chair, Rotary International Assembly in 2015 and Chair,of Rotary International Convention in 2019.  He gave a motivation talk about Rotary highlighting its ability to provide powerful connections. After lauding the benefits of in person meetings vs Zoom because it increases our ability to foster interpersonal relationships he talked about how one of the club’s great value comes from these personal connections.  He related how in 2011 Rotary hired a branding firm to rebrand the organization and though organizations can usually be distilled to a single value, surveys of membership yielded 2 distinct values:  About 50% of membership mainly joined Rotary for Service either local or global while the other 50% mainly joined for Connections both personal and professional.  This led to the brand of “Rotary is Connecting for Good”.  This duality in the club was reconfirmed with a subsequent survey in 2020.

The issue facing Rotary is membership retention.  In the past 10 years for every 1.3 members that join 1.8 members leave.  How do we keep members once they have joined?  Those leaving most often cited that opportunities they wanted didn’t meet expectations. This was true for both those who joined for service and those joining for relationship/socialization.  We seem to be missing having a value statement and executing on it.  We need the clubs to answer the question for potential members of what is in it for them and how we can provide it.

The meeting closed with this inspiration from Dale Carnegie “You can make more friends in two months by being interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you”.

COVID UPDATE

NEWS FLASH!!!!   44 people currently being treated in our county hospitals with COVID!   We are seeing an increase in new cases and in deaths this past week.   The majority of both have been in the unvaccinated……………   this is cause for concern and caution.    With the County now fully open and people socializing, not wearing masks and traveling, there is a very big risk for our unvaccinated population.   Hopefully the request by the vaccine manufacturers to the FDA to fully approve the vaccines rather than the current emergency designation, may sway some of those unvaccinated who are in the “wait and see” mode.

Total Cases:

• 31,763     (last week 31,435)

Recovered:

• 30,530    (last week  30,300)

Active Cases:

• 926   (last week 812 – 114 (91 last week)  more cases than previous week)

New Cases:

• New cases continue to increase at an alarming rate in the unvaccinated but we are seeing it in the vaccinated, especially those with young children who cannot get vaccinated.   Spread is more prevalent as we have relaxed our policies and recommendations and people are going without masks.  The largest group continues to be the 25-44 age ….

Deaths:

• 327     (last week 323)

Hospitalized:

• 44 confirmed and 0 suspected    (last week 41 confirmed and 0 suspected)     Very alarming increase in hospitalizations we are seeing and in the ages of 25-44 – also being reported that the largest percentage of hospitalizations and new cases is in the unvaccinated.

Vaccination information….  As of July 19th,  613,003  residents in Sonoma County have received the vaccine (last week 605,057).     69% of our populations 16 and older are fully vaccinated and approximately 77% have received at least 1 dose.     However, we are now seeing real hold out among groups and parts of our County that will not consider vaccinations.    It is these people that efforts to identify them, try and educate them and appeal to them on the importance of vaccinations that are being done.   Many of the young group coming down with COVID who have refused to become vaccinated also are those who shun masks and are traveling.   This virus replicates and changes and grows more virulent.   We have seen this with the Delta variant.

Please continue to be cautious while you are enjoying our new freedoms of getting out, socializing and feeling like we can live again.   Remember not all people are vaccinated and unless you know the people you are with have been vaccinated, wear your mask to protect others that may not be.    Help others to see the value of vaccinations so that we increase our numbers.   We want to see this over but still need to be cautious and very careful.  Consider going back to wearing masks indoors especially in stores where you have no idea if the rest of those there have been vaccinated.

Thanks

Di

Call To Order:

• Our first Rotary Year for new President Pam Moulton was called to order.

Pledge of Allegiance:

• Laura Buhler led us in the Pledge of Allegiance with a full house in person and on zoom! 

Inspiration:

• Pam switched into the Inspiration time but discussed she wanted to try something new and use this time for a “Rotary Moment”.  She went on to say that many of us have had “ah-ha moments in Rotary and wanted to have someone share one such moment with us. 

Your scribe for the day was:  Di Brabetz, RN CPNP PHN. Photography was made possible by Sue Nelson and her sidekick, John Nelson. The technical portion of the program was taken care of by JB Leep and Michael Juric. 

Ken Moulton, Past President, Past District Governor, and our President’s “First Gentleman” shared with us while he was District Governor in 2007, he and Pam traveled to Nigeria for a Project Fair.   It was during this time that Polio immunization Day was being held and they had the opportunity to participate.   There was a lineup of children for the drops and one woman handed him a baby girl – this was his “ah-ha” moment as he dropped the lifesaving polio drops in this baby’s mouth and realized the Power of Rotary.   It made him realize immediately that Rotary provided this extraordinary thing!

Introduction of Members and Guests:

• President Pam shared with us that so many members when surveyed wanted to get to know our fellow members better so she had each one in person and on zoom share with the others who they were and what their classification was.    In the early days of our Rotary Club when we met in the bar, this was our norm – going around the bar and introducing ourselves or even each other! 

Guests:

• President’s Pam sister, Sheila Meehan, John Nelson (photographer extraordinaire!), Larry Mills, President of Healdsburg Sunrise, Nancy Palumbo, Past President of Healdsburg Sunrise, Jess Shaw, Gail Ginger, Tanya Bruno, Tom Lane, Chris Leffer, Jannette Ines, and Mary Johnson.    (please forgive this scribe if I missed anyone or butchered your name – this was a big crowd!)

Happy Dance:

• And so, the theme of this year and Pam’s bubbliness erupted as she and the other dancers tore off their shirts to show their Rotary blue T-shirts with “Happy Dance” inscribed and began to dance to the music.    They had everyone up, out of their seats, and clapping their hands!    Go Pam!!!!!

Thank You to our Past President:

• President Pam presented our Past President Bill Bolster with a plaque and our heartfelt thanks for all that he did this past year.

Speed Dating:

• No, that kind of speed dating…………  President Pam turned the mike over to Renee Hyde who had us talking with someone and finding out either something that you didn’t know about the other, something you have accomplished that you are especially proud of or how you met your significant other.   And so, the games began and we paired off while Renee allowed us time to get acquainted.   Then, the bell was rung and we moved on….    It was a bit more difficult with our round tables (rather than long tables where we could shift…) but a fun time was had by all and I think we actually did get to more people!

Board Information:

• President Pam shared with us the sad news that our Glenn Sugden, our President-Elect, has resigned.  The Board has proposed and agreed on Brian Ling to fill this position.   It was put forth to the general membership and over no objections with all in favor, was passed.   Welcome, President-Elect for 2022-2023, Brian Ling. 

Thanks to all:    

• President Pam thanked all who helped make her first meeting a success and especially thanked all of those in the background with setting up, re-arranging the room, fresh flowers on the table, and the scribe.  She also thanked all those who came to support her and her many visitors.

Meeting July 13th– Be prepared for a “Variety Show” President Pam warned as the Board and Leadership comes to entertain us with their goals and objectives next week.  If today was the Happy Dance, what will next week bring?????

Final Words:

President Pam read the following:

“Don’t be afraid of new beginnings….

                Don’t shy away from new people, new energy, new surroundings

                Embrace new choices of happiness”

Go forth and do something Rotarian………………