Author: Tom Boylan

As we gathered here today… we had a nice chat session prior to the official ringing of the bell. 32 Rotarian’s were on hand when the official start of President Maureen Merrill’s next to last meeting.

The Club Survey Results are IN! Available to view here.

Club Survey June 2020 Summary Ratings

Windsor Rotary June 2020 Survey WRITTEN COMMENTS

Rich Mucci gave us a grand ole reading of the flag salute, and he let us know that Arizona is calling so he will be moving there in July.

The privilege to serve others was the theme offered by our own Susan Cole, who was reciting words our outgoing District Governor shared.

If your scribe had not slept in you would have seen Tom Boylan on ZOOM camera.

Lamar Collins and daughter Alia were on hand and Alia gave us a beautiful song with her rendition of ‘Rise Up.’ We look forward to next week’s meeting and a time of discussion about race with Lamar and Alia. Plan to send questions to Pres Maureen and plan to be a part of “Honest Talk about Race.”

(Please see the Rotary International statement at the bottom of the meeting notes)

Announcements:

Tom Hassur continues to be the Powerhouse of the month for our Rotary club.

There is a drive around parade scheduled between 10 AM and noon on July Fourth, contact Pam Moulton for additional information on the 7:30 am set up.

Incoming president Bill Bolster warned us that next year’s theme is “Calamity” and we are ready to learn more.

Food security once again became a key topic and Barbara McChesney let us know that last Sunday was an extraordinary day for food drop offs. Pres Maureen asked that we share ideas on how to keep it going.

The Healdsburg 20-30 Club is looking for volunteers to help them provide some guidance to shop for kids in need. Each child is allocated $200 and they need a personal shopper, a Rotarian, to fulfill the requests of the child. We can donate directly to WRCF. It is a $200 donation that will go a long way toward helping. Either write a check and send it to Ed Turner, or make the donation via our club website. Be sure to use the notes section to mark Kids Spree, so we will know what to spend the money on. Diane Brabetz stepped up and made a sizeable addition to her donation from last week.

Speaking of kids, Pres Maureen had asked for photos of club members in their youth and the guessing game was on. Some have changed… OK all have changed. We got to see early photos of Michael Juric, Diane Brabetz, Mike Merrill, and Heather Cullen. 

Program:

JB Leep introduced our program for the day by handing off the introduction to Carol Martin. She let us know that our District Grant went to Windsor Rotary Robotics. The Club picked this project and offered a monetary donation which was matched with a 50% increase by the District. Glenn Sugden shared the spotlight on this unique project that allowed for a package to be created to promote robotics within the community. Mark Galli, the Robotics advisor for Cali Calmeca’s program was then handed the reins to better inform us of the program we helped fund.

Mark let us know his daughter was an inspiration for his involvement, she is a student at Cali and a robotics enthusiast. We were given an update on the program which shortly after rolling out saw a set back with all the commotion associated with last year’s fires.

The Cali Robotics Club started with nine members, eight girls and one boy, a brother of one of the girls. Robotics became an official program of the school and when it was announced to the students and their families, more than 40 students stepped up to learn more. Although there was the interest, limited resources only had so much to go around, including seven robotic kits, which typically might have two students per kit, and now needed to be stretched  to accommodate four students each.

We learned there was a lot of excitement among the parents, including a parent whose day job was working as the Robotics instructor for Windsor High School. He became so enamored with the program that he offered nine of his students as advisors to the younger students. In the end the program made available to 24 students total, fourth through eighth grade students and evenly balanced between boys and girls.

Training for parents and high school volunteers was provided by Rick Phelan with the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE). The combination of supporting cast gave the program a great boost and a plan to build on the program into the future.

We learned that when you place 24 students in a room with robotic Lego kits, you have a greater challenge to get a lesson plan put into action. For all the efforts to get the kids on track to compete in a larger year end competition, the fires last fall disrupted the programs opportunity to compete. The disappointment was felt by both the program coordinators as well as the students. However, the fall season did end on a high note with internal competition where the students raced their creations against each other’s robots.

The Spring semester kicked off with a lot of enthusiasm, but unfortunately just when the gears started moving, COVID hit. The challenges for the program became even greater to try and teach from afar. SCOE came out with an alternative game plan called the Alternative Robotics Challenge, which gave the kids imagination the freedom to explore beyond the norm.

If nothing else, students had an opportunity to find out who Rube Goldberg was. One of the winners of the awards is Gavin R., a sixth grader with Cali Calmeca,  he shared how he had an opportunity to continue with the distance learning program and then shared some of his programming skills demonstrating his entry into the alternative challenge.

Mark then gave us a look at the challenges the robotics program is facing and the plans he and his team have to allow for continued growth through virtual robotics, which they will be working on through the summer in hopes that the future will get them back into the classroom with a chance to introduce the world of robotics to an even greater number of students.

We had more than 37 people watching from the comfort of their homes when the bell rang for the end of the program.

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RI shared the following:

Statement from Rotary International

At Rotary, we have no tolerance for racism. Promoting respect, celebrating diversity, demanding ethical leadership, and working tirelessly to advance peace are central tenets of our work.

We have more work to do to create more just, open and welcoming communities for all people.

We know there are no easy fixes and that challenging conversations and work lie before all of us. Rotary’s strength has long been our ability and commitment to bringing people together. We will tap into that strength now as we stand with those who are working for peace and justice.

Rotary will do our part to listen, learn and take action to ensure that we continue to contribute to making positive change.

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Be sure to plan to attend next week’s meeting for a powerful discussion on race.

Message from President Maureen

2019-20:  Wham! Wham! Wow! Wow! 

The theme is energy, and the energy’s been wild.

It’s usual for us to take the last meeting of our year for club matters such as wrap-up memories, awards, and many remarks and rounds of applause.  But little about this year was typical.

Wham!  Sure, we had a known disruptor for a president.  As I saw it, many practices needed upgrading if we wanted to have a year full of new ENERGY.  Even so, the year started with unexpected challenges.   And yet, WOW! Windsor Rotarians stepped up with amazing creativity, grit and whole-heartedness.

• Wham!  The board determines that insufficient interest and energy existed to plan on our usual Major Fundraising Event.  Lots of ‘round and ‘round about a major or signature service project and what comes first, the cause or the fundraiser . . . and what about ongoing projects such as scholarships . . . ?  

• WOW!  All spring events were cancelled due to COVID-19 anyway; no losses in set-up or promo expense.
• WOW! We concluded a banner summer with the Margarita Booth at the Town Green, funding several life-altering international service projects.

• Wham!  Fires in late October cause evacuations, displacements and bruising economic impacts—even as three of our members were still not back in homes after the 2017 conflagrations.  

• WOW!  Direct donations to our Windsor Rotary Community Foundation went super-sonic, led by Glenn Sugden’s striking $134,000 taking us to our “spend some interest” goal point . . . and notably engaging several more members who channeled their usual fundraiser-fueled giving (and then some) to cash contributions.

• Wham! Our past President (2000-2001), Carl Wiuff, dies in December. Then we lose past member George Johnston.  And we’ve mourned Wendy How’s passing in June 2019.
• Wham!  COVID-19 threatens public health, causing anxiety, a shut-down in business, a Shelter-in-Place order and waves of economic impact to nearly every one of us.

• WOW! We inducted 7 Rotarians into our club!

• Wham!  Mass demonstrations across the country focus our attention specifically on racial injustice. Sadly, in their wake comes violence to our county. Serious threats concern downtown Windsor, where several merchants boarded up storefronts for several days and authorities call a town curfew.   

• WOW! We initiated a new approach to scholarships, one that promises to lift our program to Signature level as it grows. Seeking to identify, understand and reward the resourceful resilience that many students must employ in order to succeed in school, we positioned our club for meaningful long-term engagement with students.
• WOW! We initiated a Food Security Drive led by two of our newest, passionate members, Barbara McChesney and Heather Cullen, again touching hearts and easing hunger for local families.
• WOW! Wham!  We’ll close our year with lively meeting and a frank discussion on race and an invitation to each of us to answer the question, “What can I do?”

I could not include all the WOWs of every size that occurred throughout the year, yet I hold them in my heart forever.

Thanks for being a Rotarian with me, and thank you for all the service we do together.

Your faithful President,

Maureen

Meeting of June 30, 2020

Awards! 

“Rotarian of the Year”

Other Awards

President Brief Remarks

Thank You to Board of Directors

Presentation of Pin to Bill Bolster

Program:  Rotary’s part in the RACE Conversation: Honest, Awkward, Urgent Questions and Discussion 

“Rotary will do our part to listen, learn and take action” – from Rotary International’s Statement on Racism.

Addressing questions about race, equal treatment, white privilege and the way forward.  A conversation with Rotarian Dr. Lamar Collins, principal of Windsor High School, and his daughter, student Aliyah Collins, representing 2 genders and 2 generations of African-American experience.  Lamar grew up in poverty and had many negative encounters with law enforcement in his neighborhood.  Aliyah’s parents are an educator and an accountant; she and both of her sisters are university students.

Diversity is one of Rotary’s 5 core values.*  Lamar will tell us about his first experience with Rotarians, which demonstrates Rotary’s potential in healing racial divisions.

Rather than give talks, Lamar and Aliyah will take our questions.  With your help, I’ll collect some questions in advance; then also see what kind of time we have for back-and-forth.  Click here to send your question to me.Bold, provocative, challenging . . . whatever.  It’s clear to me that the questions we’ve already been asking haven’t had much impact. Or maybe we haven’t asked the right people.

“Let’s Get Uncomfortable” . . . Presented by our Rotary International Director Johrita Solari: Rotarian talk about race on FACEBOOK:

Our Rotary International Director from our zone, Johrita Solari, recently hosted a conversation in this FB video, featuring a Texas Rotarian CPA who is African-American

And for fun: See one of our July 30 guests, student Aliyah Collins, here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NFiBTYoa6M

*Rotary’s 5 Core Values: Service, Fellowship, Diversity, Integrity, Leadership.

We gathered together and did a little prep with instructions on how to raise a virtual hand. The bell rang out at 7:30 with 33 in attendance for President Maureen Merrill‘s final meeting as the venerable leader of the Windsor Rotary Club.

Aliyah Collins gave us some inspiration through song. We will “rise up” became the melody we walked through the day with.

Visitors

Visitors included Bill Adams a trustee for the Windsor Unified School District. Town Council member Deb Fudge was on hand. Windsor Town Mayor Dominic Foppoli dropped in as well. Jason Black introduced his wife Megan.

Maureen tried to give an award for perfect attendance, but Larry Wasem wasn’t in the meeting.

We were introduced to our topic for the day, “Honest Talk about Race.” Lamar Collins and daughter Aliyah are our speakers.

Tom Hassur once again was recognized as the powerhouse member of the Club.

Dominic Foppoli gave us a thank you for our planned participation in the Healdsburg Active 20-30 Club’s “Kids Spree shopping program.

JB Leep shared that as a result of a speaker visit by earlier this year by vendor Simply Solar California, Steve Klick put some solar on his roof and JB donated a $500 referral fee from the solar company to the WRCF Endowment Fund in Steve and Mapi’s name. If you would like to do the same, ask JB to refer you to them.  And if you up working with them, he will contribute his referral fee to a charitable contribution to Rotary in your name.

Maureen shared that she was called out to the front of her house last Saturday with a drive by debunking. Many were on hand and there were signs and thanks shared along with a special gift of a weekend at Stanford House in Mendocino, a Vegan friendly resort. She gave much praise to the friendly nature of our club and called out Mike Merrill for his support through the year.

End of year thanks went out to the collection of powerhouse Rotarians of the months. She also called out her board members for their dedication and leadership through the year.

Maureen recognized incoming president Bill Bolster with a presidential pin, and a Paul Harris Plus-Three pin for his donations to Rotary. According to Bill, “I trust Rotary International to do the right thing and that makes it easy to give them money.” He invited us all to give it a try.

Bill shared that he has a new manual for the various roles that people within the club provide. Get a look at the new Rotary Club of Windsor Manual by following the link: Windsor Rotary Manual

We found out that Maureen had a difficult time choosing only one Rotarian of the Year, but when she went through the list of support each had given to the Club, it became apparent that one stood out, and not just this year, for his entire time in Rotary. Ed Turner is the Rotarian of the Year. According to Ed, Rotary is the reason he is still in California. After his time with the New York Times he contemplated heading back East for a job, when a fellow Rotarian approached him and offered a position. Ed took that job with Larry Wasem and the Airport Business Center, and the rest is history. Special thanks to Ed!

Barbara McChesney offered to put together a bibliography of the reading material that can help us all understand the sensitivities and the subject of race in general.

Pres Maureen introduced Lamar and daughter Aliyah.

(I want to thank Susan Cole for her contribution to the newsletter. The following comments were written by her and I felt this was a great representation of our conversation with Lamar and Aliyah.)

An Essay on Race

In my professional life, I teach adults in the wine industry.  At the end of each class I ask my students, what were their ah-ha’s about the class.   What are they thinking about differently because of what we discussed?  Or, what changes are they going to make based on this class?  Today, I had so many ah-ha’s as a result of our open and honest discussion with Lamar Collins and his daughter, Aliyah that I had to record them in order to remember and contemplate them for myself.

Lamar is a great story teller and paints vivid and compelling pictures with his words.  First ah-ha was the monopoly game of Black lives in America – a masterful analogy.

Picture ourselves sitting down to a monopoly board and trying to play the game as a Black person.  Blacks were brought to America in the 1600’s as slaves and it was absolutely explicit that they were not invited to play the game.   Jump to the 1800’s and slaves were given their freedom.  But Jim Crow laws made it impossible for Blacks to acquire property on this monopoly board – segregation was codified by local laws and adhered to by custom.  Then along came the civil rights movement of the 1960’s and Blacks could finally sit down at the monopoly board.  But they couldn’t actually buy any real estate of value because all the properties were already owned by whites.  The best a Black person has been able to do is to circle the board, collect his or her $200 and hope to not be put in jail.  In the monopoly analogy it is simply not a fair game and never has been.

Why isn’t it ok to say, “All Lives Matter”, in response to “Black Lives Matter”?  Because this is the experience of Black people in America:  Black lives are on fire.  Picture this.  You’re a Black person and your house is on fire, the fire is spreading fast in your neighborhood, so you call the fire department.  They arrive with fire trucks and equipment and start spraying down the house of the white family next to you instead of putting out the fire at your house.  Your house is burned to the ground while the house next door is saved.  That’s the experience of Black people in America.  Sure, it’s easy to say all lives matter, but that has simply never been true for Black people and when you say it, you reject or at least fail to understand the experience of Black people in this country.  Or, to change words slightly from the famous book, “1984”, “all lives matter, but some lives matter more than others.”

To those who say that they sympathize with the protest movement, but do not support those who loot and damage property – that’s illegal and just plain wrong.  Here’s a different way of thinking about it:

Lamar Colllins: “Looting is the vocabulary of the unheard.”  The Hampton Institute: “You can’t commodify every single aspect of living and then not understand looting as a legitimate form of protest.  Looting is the ultimate strike against a system that deems mass-produced objects to be far more precious than life itself.   It is humanity demanding to be recognized.”

And maybe the most significant ah-ha of this morning’s meeting was repeated by Lamar several times.  He asked us to really stop and think about this:  When has there ever needed to be a law passed saying that white people had rights?”  It was the 1960’s – not that long ago! – That civil rights laws were finally passed which gave Blacks equal rights under the law.  So, when white people say, “why are Black people so mad all the time?” the answer lies in the systemic treatment of Blacks at the hands of police as well as every other institution in our country which both demeans Black people and forbids them an equal opportunity to succeed in every aspect of American life.

What can we do about this?  Recognize that we all have prejudice.  All humans have bias and assumptions which are the foundation of our beliefs.  There is a difference between prejudice and racism.   Racism is codified – not just by laws – but by actions.  We need to educate, empower, and inform ourselves.  Get uncomfortable.  Have open discussions.  Reach out to people who don’t look like ourselves and listen.  Really listen.  And invite.  It was one of the most gratifying and proud moments of our meeting today when Lamar said that when he joined our Rotary Club he wondered where he would sit.  And when he walked in to that first meeting the guys at one table said, “Come here, sit with us.”  Maybe that’s a small start.

Martin Luther King said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”  Lamar said that he was born in the 1970’s, so he didn’t see or participate in the civil rights movement of the 1960’s.  But many of us did.  I marched, spoke, and demonstrated for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  But remember, just because the act was law, it didn’t go smoothly in accomplishing equal rights.  There were years of demonstrations, burning of buildings, fights and death associated with implementing those laws.  Today, I despair that I can actually watch on video a Black man being murdered by a policeman.  What that video doesn’t show is how many Black men have had a knee on their neck and didn’t die.  What will it take for us to finally change?  To finally see more of that staircase that Martin Luther King talked about?  Have we arrived at the tipping point?   As Renee Hyde asked, “how do we keep the momentum and not just tire of the whole effort?”  If we ask the right questions, I believe the answers will present themselves.

To President Maureen, my profound thanks and admiration for generating this discussion.  Without it we cannot hope to be agents of change.  To the local politicians who attended today’s meeting, heartfelt thanks for listening and not talking.  That, too, must guide our way forward.  As will Aliyah’s hope that we will all love and understand one another.

(To see more resources to help understand race, please go to this link: https://windsorrotary.co/diversity-resources/ )

President Maureen brought her year to a close asking for a note of hope from Lamar and Aliyah. Lamar asked that the Black community look to their fathers and that the fathers be engaged. This is critical to change.  We are encouraged to reach out and talk to people of color to stop the segregation that comes with misunderstanding.

A surprise visit by Past President Sandie Krutz gave President Maureen her Past President pin.

When it comes to monuments, Lamar believes everyone has past and if we go down the path of tearing down historical monuments, all will come down. When it comes to the confederate flag, he has no problem asking for that to be removed. Aliyah backed her dad’s opinion about the flag and offered a similar understanding of the monument removal.

Lamar suggested that what is needed is a focus on economic opportunity versus the focus being directed to the destruction of monuments of the past.

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President Maureen Merrill rang a virtual bell at her home and shared it with the club via Zoom.  We had 35 people in attendance.

Is it, Is it, Will it, Will it… An easy way to recall the actual 4-way test

Inspiration  is self taught for the day… and the week.

The written words were provided by Tom Boylan.

Visiting Rotarians:

No visitors today.

Guests of Rotarians:

Bill Bolster introduced Caden Hulett, Our just returned from the Netherlands Outbound Exchange Student.

Kate Smith our outbound 2020 student was introduced by her mom, Beth Smith.

Michael Juric introduced our speaker, Dr. Steve Herrington. Sonoma County  Superintendent of Schools.

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Announcements:

Rotarian of the Month Diane Brabitz got a shout out.

For the next two weeks we will be hearing from Students of the Year, led by Daniel Myers.

Bill Bolster let us know that Caden Hulett is back from the Netherlands which is where we sent him for his modified year as a Foreign Exchange Student.  He started adapting to the country by learning the language while still in Windsor. Caden took us on a tour of his stay that started off with an introduction to the world of Cheese, and the beauty of the grounds for his host family.

We met his host family through the wonder of technology and Caden shared that he has been showing off his skills in the kitchen preparing American cuisine, Baked Beans, for the family. We met many of his friends as we toured the photos that will become his most treasured memories. We had a wrap up done in Dutch… the language.

Our newest member Mike Merrill was introduced by his President Maureen.

Carol Martin, Ken Moulton and John How were recognized for  celebrating… while in place… their birthdays.  We got to meet John’s family and took note that there are two new members to the How family one just arrived and the other is close behind.

Once more we were reminded of how unusual our club is to have four Past District Governors.

Pres Maureen offered a new character on screen that required Glenn Sugden to explain to the group how to work the Chat window within Zoom. We now know there are general comments and private chatting .

Wally Krutz was challenged to come up with an idea to augment our food drive and he came up with the”In lieu of breakfast,” idea to donate $5 for the breakfast we don’t physically attend. That small amount will go a long way towards helping to feed others in need.

Barbara McChesney gave us a Food Drive report sharing that the donations have dropped off, but they are keeping strong and  keeping the food drive open. The following locations are available should you want to get out of the house and drop off some food.

Renee Hyde’s is accepting donations at her office: 9082 Windsor Rd

Other locations include:

• 9525 Jessica Drive
• 301 Jensen Ave.
• 277 Decanter Way

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Program:

Steve Herrington was introduced by Michael Juric, who gave us a few pointers on how to thoroughly enjoy the speaker experience. We learned that Steve and Michael first met through the Windsor School District where Steve served as the Superintendent of Windsor schools. He is now the Superintendent of Sonoma County Schools.

Dr. Herrington quickly assigned Michael to become the moderator and relay the questions we have. Steve shared he has a true fondness and respect for  Windsor.  With over four decades in public schools he has spent his life working in school districts. The County Office of Education is considered a State agency , which works as a liaison between the state and the county schools.  Sonoma County is the third largest school district in the state.

We found out that the loss of students from declining birth rate, two fires and a flood has reduced student enrollment dramatically. The list of catastrophic circumstances became a highlight of the presentation and we learned that more than 750 days of academic classes were lost. This causes trauma on education and especially on the students.

Currently we have six out of ten students dealing with Student Trauma, which is a number that is expected to rise due to the Coronavirus. The effects of the trauma require our communities to support the efforts of the schools to overcome these traumas and make our communities whole with a reinforcement of our education system.

Campuses closed, distant learning, and no in person graduations. These are the new norm. Steve shared the auto graduation where you drive up in your car and take your diploma through a window, while other honk.

This new look for schools  is going to be around for a long period of time. Safety is always going to take precedence, we will also be looking at smaller class sizes and social distancing, which can include special cleaning options, new lunch programs, and just promoting the safe distance. These are complications that are going to be felt by the entire state. Windsor is a school district funded by State taxes and we can be looking at 40% which will mean less funds per student, and that equates to a dramatically modified experience.

Jeremy Decker will become the new Superintendent of Windsor Schools. He is going to be a transplant from the Cloverdale District.

President Maureen Merrill rang the virtual bell at 7:30 and 27 of our club members were signed in.

The four way test is it, is it, will it, will it. The recital of the actual test was rather harmonious

Alison Huber shared some thoughts by Tennyson to inspire us: “Hope Smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering ‘it will be happier’…” ― Alfred Lord

Your scribe for the day was Tom Boylan

Guests of Rotarians:

We had both Vittoria, our exchange student daughter, and Kate Smith, out outgoing exchange student in attendance.

Announcements:

Jim Ruppert is planning a shelter in place celebration for his birthday, including multiple room of his home with various bottles. Happy Birthday from the club and thank you for your donation to the WRCF.

Renee Hyde has great plans for golfing on the weekend with Paul.

John How is always willing to join in a golf game and he has every excuse to get to it in celebrating his birthday. Joe Deacon gave us a report on John’s travels to Southern California in expectation of a new grandson to be arriving any day.

Diane Brabitz shared that she has been ranting on her Facebook page calling out people who are failing to keep their social distancing while demonstrating for open business and social events. Diane believes the potential is there for another huge wave of the virus.

On the good news, Playa del Carmen president Dr. Mario of her other adopted club called and asked if she could ask around for a donation to help his quest to improve medical care. Her appreciation for Dr. Mario’s efforts to save her husband, Les, when he was ill in Mexico is shown in her $5000 donation to help the efforts. The club is planning to add to the amount with a global grant.

The May powerhouse of the month is Diane Brabitz. Pres Maureen ran off a long list of Rotary accomplishments over two decades.

Renee Hyde took the pleasure and the lead to introduce our newest member, a seasoned Rotarian who has been a beacon of support for Rotarians throughout the District and the World. Mike Merrill is coming closer to home after his years with Santa Rosa West. In addition to his being a past president, he is also a past District Governor and has too many accolades to mention. Make it a point to spend some time talking Rotary, or cycling.

Ken Moulton offered a boast to our club having four past district governors, possibly the only club in the world that can claim that.

This is Teacher Appreciation Week, so socially distance a hug or two.

Tom Hassur shared a report on the new scholarship program. We are currently sitting at five applications, but the cut off isn’t until May 9th, so possibly a few more to come.

Heather Cullen and Barbara McChesney gave a report on our now month long food drive. Although the donations seemed to be down, the food that was collected was greatly appreciated. We are asked to print out the flyer and make it available to the people in our community. Bill Bolster suggested that every week when he does the shopping he buys an additional case of whatever is on his list. We found out he is still using SPAM in the Wine Country.

Bill asked Alison Huber to share the story of her son’s broken arm, which meant she had to self quarantine because she had gone to the hospital with her son. Her workplace has a policy that if you go somewhere where the virus might be, you are asked to self quarantine. She shared the experience offered by Healdsburg District Hospital’s emergency room. It was eye opening to see the precautions the hospital has in place for the COVID-19 concerns.

Pres Maureen gave an appeal to try harder when it comes to supporting the community. She also reported that there was a Rotary International telethon this past weekend that raised millions to help with the current crisis. Check out the program on Youtube.

Note from President Maureen:

Here’s an example of the lasting, life-altering good that Rotarians do in our international projects. Our member Sandie Krutz led a Rotary study group to Brazil, then brought this project back to our club . . . and now, years later, we hear of the greater health and happiness of a whole community of moms and children!  The magic of Rotary occurs through people like José who has graciously written to us, Sandie who brought the project, members everywhere who see “community” wherever they look, and Rotarians like you who support our Rotary Foundation.  Fantástico!

The letter:

Dear Sandie

I’m José Luiz, from the Rotary Club of Itabira-Cauê, Minas Gerais Estate, Brazil. It’s been years since we’ve spoken. I hope you and your family are well, isolated at home from the New Coronavirus pandemic. Iris and I are fine, as are our three daughters and three grandchildren. I continue with my work (not now) and also in Rotary (virtual meetings).

I am writing at the request of the president of my club, Mr. Marco Antonio, to say that the Matching Grant 75811 we made in partnership with Districts 4100, 5130 / the RC of San Felipe, of Eagle River and of Windsor is steady.

As you know, we have in our hospital in Itabira a Human Milk Collect Service that stimulates, support and promotes the maternal breast-feeding guiding the mothers how much the importance to sucker its baby and helping those that will be with difficulties in suckling for reason of mammary events or doubts.

As a result of the partnership obtained through matching grant 75811, that you helped us, we got a car intended to collect breast milk in the homes of mothers with difficulties to go to the hospital to make donations.

During 2019, the Collect Service obtained 383 liters of milk from 188 donors and supported 1542 mothers with problems breastfeeding.

At last, thank you very much again. I ask you to give our partners news and thanks.

Hugs

José Luiz Scaglioni Filho

Rotary Club of Itabira-Cauê

District 4520 (now 4521) Governor 2010-11

Program:

JB Leep introduced our international projects team, Ken Moulton and John Hackenburg. PDG Ken Moulton started the presentation thanked his committee including John Hackenburg and Susan Cole. We heard of Ken’s travels across the globe to see the world through Rotary’s eyes, which allows us to see the Rotary world through his eyes.

We got a good look at the ways we raise money, and why we do the International projects we do. According to Ken, we do it to advance the mission of Rotary to the world population. The benefit for individuals is the ability to travel and meet others with a common bond and an appreciation for helping make the world a better place.

In a message to all, but especially the newer members, he shared the Festival of Brotherhood which gave many in the club an opportunity to offer help to rural areas in Mexico in need of medical help, housing for orphans, and other projects. A series of images gave a heart tugging emotion to why we do what we do internationally and the appreciation of people in faraway lands.

John Hackenburg took over the presentation and we all realized that many of us are equally challenged in this new technical arena. Once we had the slide show going John offered his reason to become a Rotarian, which included his trips to Mexico in search of projects that he could make a difference in.

According to John, the value of Rotary’s dollars are much greater in countries that are economically challenged. His journey to Jalisco, and Nayarit, Mexico gave him a good look at one of the poorest areas in Mexico. His discovery of the level of poverty and the lack of services, including schools. We took a tour of a series of classrooms that reflected what he found when he first went to the region. This became his motivation to continue to pursue international work through Rotary.

John shared the financial picture of how the dollars are raised initially by a local club and then added to by Rotary International. The value of a dollar is magnified and the effects of what that dollar can do is also dramatically increased.

A perfect ending to the presentation was a series of images showing Faces of Gratitude.

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The bell rang out in virtual time at 7:30 with a rousing “Good Morning President Maureen.”

Catherine Haron led us in the pledge

A little 4-way share took over the screen.

Inspiration came from Pres Maureen’s visiting the Sebastopol Club’s youth awards program. If only you loved someone…

Missed words were not provided by today’s scribe, Tom Boylan

No visiting Rotarians

Guests of Rotary

We welcomed Heather McLintock, President of World Affairs Council of Sonoma County.

Our amazing Italian Exchange student, Vittoria Castelli is with us, and sad to say she will be leaving our club, but not our hearts on June 8th.

Dr. Wendy Chen from Pasadena and professor with Cal Tech is with us and will be our speaker.

Announcements:

May’s Rotarian Powerhouse is Diane Brabetz

Happy Birthday Chris Landwher and Larry Wassem

Carol Martin let us know that the Food Pantry can acquire empty egg cartons so they can hand off eggs to people who need their services.

Carol also let us know that we are supporting the Windsor High grads, although our plans were to take part in the program this year, but we are looking ahead to 2021. Please reference the materials they sent asking for help.

We are processing refunds for those who purchased Project Grad tickets, and families may choose to donate the cost of their purchased ticket to Project Graduation.  We will be giving each graduate $20 gift cards as a small token of celebration, and also financially contributing to the High School for cruise decorations.  Your donation will help offset these costs.  Please visit our website www.windsorhighprojectgrad.org to donate.

If you were planning to volunteer at this event, we hope that you will consider doing so for our Class of 2021 Project Graduation party.  We will have the following opportunities:

• Volunteering the day of the 2021 event
• Planning Committee participation, meets monthly
• Join our Board of Directors.  (We will be voting for our Board of Director positions in June.  Meeting date to be determined.)

It is still our passion to prevent teen drinking and driving on graduation night, and we have information on how to continue to support this life-saving mission. See below.

•  https://www.responsibility.org/we-dont-serve-teens/
• https://www.madd.org/the-solution/teen-drinking-prevention/

Barbara McChesney is looking good with a box of food in front of her home. This is the last week of our Food drive efforts to help out the Windsor Food Pantry.

Tom Hassur is away and buried in the scholarship applications.

Daniel Myers Student of the Year, Kora Robinson with the Windsor Humanities Core is absent, but we look forward to seeing her in an upcoming meeting.

A special presentation:

Vittoria Castelli, our Rotary Youth Exchange daughter for the past year took over the screen to share her presentation on Living in America, which started last summer. Her second host family were the Moultons and their pets. Vittoria was excited to share her full time with the Moulton’s, hiking, studying, clam chowder, picnics, and an opportunity to become a photographer.

We found out that Renee Hyde and Paul Peloso gave her a thrill by taking her skiing in the Sierras. JB Leep and Carol Martin took her on Safari, at Safari West and this had quite the impact on her.  Good food and a few Giraffes thrown in to make the day special.

The world of an exchange student is made special because of the friendships made. Movies and dinners together allowed Vittoria a chance to really explore and understand the differences in the cultures. There was a lot of support from friends.

Vittoria’s third host family brought her more than a family with two new sisters, but this is when she found the Shelter in Place world of COVID-19. It appears she had many fun adventures in spite of the quarantine, which included picnics and outings and a pop-up Prom that took place at the Moulton’s. Pictures on the lake made her feel like a model and her dress, which she had sent from Italy in anticipation of the real deal, made her photo op session a very special occasion.

Heartfelt thanks went out to all the Windsor Rotary members.

Diane Brabetz gave us a report on the status of COVID in Sonoma County. She shared that we have done an excellent job.

President Maureen shared that she went to a testing station, as a precautionary measure and Glenn Sugden shared the following link: https://lhi.care/covidtesting
/ and more info: https://socoemergency.org/sonoma-county-increases-covid-19-testing-with-two-new-community-testing-sites/

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Program:

JB Leep introduced our speaker, Dr. Wen Chen, whose topic for the presentation focused on ‘KOREA AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO CHINA.’

Dr. Chen was born in China at the end of the Great Cultural Revolution. Being victims of the horrific atrocity that killed two million intellectuals and destroyed traditional Chinese culture, her parents had mixed feelings about her education. Despite their discouragement, Wen eventually won a national prize at a science competition when she was 16. Hence, she was accepted into a top university for undergraduate study.

In 1994, Wen came to the U.S. for graduate school and received a doctorate in Biology at the California Institute of Technology in 2000. Because of her personal experience of being brainwashed in China, she decided to be a voice for the voiceless. Since 2012, she has given over 200 presentations to community organizations about Chinese culture, history, and human rights.

Dr. Chen let us know that she is a survivor of the brainwashing that took place in her homeland China. As she ventured out of China, she came to understand that China had been giving a very opposite view to its citizens about the Tiananmen Square event. She had been told while in country that the students were doing the killing of the military and it wasn’t until she arrived in America that she learned the truth. That truth has given her the interest to be a part of the truth that needs to be shared. Human Rights

Her presentation began letting us know some of the details of life in North Korea. The same brainwashing she experienced in her youth is dominating the people of North Korea. The damages to the people of the North Korea can be seen in the details of their size. The people are underfed and

China is a sponsor of North Korea and is often used as a bargaining chip for China with regard to US relations. We were told of the time of Mao Tse Tung and the great China famine that took place between 1957 and the 1960’s when 30 million Chinese people perished. The food they grew for redistribution was sidetracked and used to build a trade for weapons.

Brainwashing in China is controlled by the government controlling all news and internet, books and movies. Materials that do make it through the censors is usually thoroughly edited prior to distribution. We also learned the amount of surveillance cameras in China are using AI and facial recognition to keep track of its people. We also learned that the technology manufactured in China has a great chance to being used to spy on the rest of the world, especially the US. We learned there are many acquisitions being made for US media.

We thought Confucius was a philosopher of China past, but the current Confucius Institute which is supported by China’s government can be found in High Schools and universities in the US. These programs funded by China modify the information about those countries that disapprove of China and supports promoting the Communist philosophy.

The Communist Party in China is powered by trade, which is built on cheap labor, and counterfeiting. There are American companies doing business with China and offering support to the Communist Government through the technology they provide, which aids the Communists to monitor the activities of its citizens.

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A special note from President Maureen regarding the Two Funds!

The Rotary Foundation and the Windsor Rotary Community Foundation – ever get confused?  Click here to see a chart presents a side-by-side explanation of the two funds. And here’s a tidy crash course:

• The Rotary Foundation (TRF) is the philanthropic arm of Rotary International, funding many of our humanitarian programs. A portion of the contributions made by the clubs in the district comes back to the district for special projects, including grants for club projects.  It is not called the RI or Rotary International Foundation; donors are not ‘giving to RI’ – it is The Rotary Foundation – a crucial distinction.
• The Windsor Rotary Community Foundation (WRCF) is the charitable organization of the Windsor Rotary club.
• Each has both a ‘spending’ fund and a Permanent Fund that generates interest for spending and growth.  TRF’s is called the Permanent Fund; WRCF’s is called our Endowment Fund.
• John LeCave is our Club Rotary Foundation Chair.
• Brian Ling coordinates donations for our Windsor Rotary Community Foundation. The WRCF has its own board of trustees, chaired by the Club President.

The bell took off at 7:36 with President Maureen Merrill letting us know we are officially underway.

A little bit of a power problem this morning was hampering the smooth transition to show a series of slides so we got to use our imagination.

Bill Arnone led us in a virtual Pledge of Allegiance.

Our Rotary Four Way Test was once again mentioned.

Words are missing because of this week’s scribe, Tom Boylan.

Note: Lauren Antoni is stepping up into the role of “sunshine coordinator”. If any of the club members know of Rotarian’s or family members of Rotarian’s who are sick or going through a difficult time, we ask that they let Lauren at antoni@sonoma.edu know so she can keep tabs on the situation and also keep the club up to date on how we can better support each other.

Guests of Rotarians:

Pres Maureen introduced Josh Allard Howells, English teacher with Windsor High School and student of the year for the Vineyard Academy, Mateo Hernandez. Mateo had several teachers on hand including Marie Ganister and Bernard Kaufman.

Pres Maureen reminded us that Vittoria, our amazing Italian Exchange student, had a graduation and going away parade in her honor last weekend.

Tim Ricard Economic Development for Town of Windsor will be our speaker.

Diane Brabetz continues to show why she is a Power Player as the Rotarian of the month.

Daniel Myers introduced two of our Students of the Year, Emma McEnhill, from Windsor High School. Each quarter we invite one student from the various core studies and today we had the opportunity to meet two.

Emma says she is interested in attending SRJC with a long term goal of studying Stage management, due to her involvement with Choral at school, and her other pursuit will be Marine Biology. She shared some great images from a recent trip she took aboard the Orion yawl in Canada. This trip gave her a chance to work alongside four other students and get a long look at whale activity. The lessons on microbiology were one aspect of the trip, while learning to sail was another opportunity found.

Marie Ganister let us know her student, Mateo Hernandez is an exceptional young man who manages to uplift a room when he walks into it. His English teacher jumped in to let us know how easy it was to choose Mateo as the student of the year. Bernard Kaufman with the Vineyard Academy also chimed in with accolades for the young man. Christopher Mitts became the fourth instructor to recognize the talents of Mateo. It was a nice gesture for Christopher to backtrack and let Emma know how proud he is of her as well.

Mateo is hoping to become a firefighter, preferably here in Windsor. He is taking classes on pre-academy for the fire fighter program offered at the JC. He found an interest through an Explorer program that he joined four years ago and now is a key member that helps to run the Explorer Club. He found an opportunity to spend time at the local fire house absorbing the atmosphere and the culture of the fire house.

We heard from past fire chief  and Rotary member Doug Williams who shared that he too started his career after serving as an Exploring Scout.

Program:

JB Leep introduced us to the economic development director for the Town of Windsor, Tim Ricard. Tim’s role has been challenging this past year but his previous experience in the same field became an asset for Windsor.

Tim reminded us that he visited with our club about 8 months ago when he informed us of what his job entails. Today he is talking more of the current scenario of being in business and dealing with the COVID-19 fiasco.

We found out there are three areas he is focused on, including creation of a website to let business owners understand the process to acquire loans, and how to work with their employees. The General Business Support includes being a member of a consortium of business leaders working on the COVID problems.

Tim shared how the Town provided free signs for restaurants to promote they are still in business and open for takeout and more. We found out there is a meals with Town of Windsor mayor and the celebrity Mayor of Flavor Time, Guy Fieri. This innovative program has increased the number of views the Town Facebook has been seeing, which can be a benefit when we finally get back to more of a normal business activity.

Promoting Windsor businesses is Tim’s major role as he shared, “We want to reopen as smoothly as possible.”

We are all challenged to become ambassadors for the Town of Windsor. Locals are the front line of sharing our stories of good news. Big Heart, Small Town. There will be a website in the future that will help us to understand the opening of businesses in the North Bay.

To reopen a business you must meet the business mitigation checklist, to minimize in-person interactions, conduct daily monitoring of employee health requirements, and adhere to health and safety guidelines to minimize any problem for clients.

Vittoria’s parting message:

Vittoria shared how excited she was to see everyone that participated in her parade and that it will forever have a place in her heart. She is leaving on June 3rd, but that might change due to flight cancellations that have affected  her previous plans to return home. The parade was a special send off.

President Maureen reinforced the importance of having an exchange program and the benefit that the club had in meeting such a nice human being, Vittoria!

Larry Wassem got the last words… Happy Birthday Larry!

The gathering began shortly after 7 AM and there were stories shared of surviving fires and pet acquisitions. President Bill Bolster rang the bell at 7:30. There were 37 in attendance

We have been opening our meeting sharing slides of past “live” meetings. Then we went to a beautiful sunset picture, which unfortunately was due to a fire in the distance. ZOOM master Michael Juric was at the controls.

John Hackenburg led us in a pledge of allegiance

Your Scribe for the day is once again Tom Boylan, and the images are courtesy of Sue Nelson.

Our guest and speaker today is Sonoma County’s 4th District Supervisor, James Gore. Due to his schedule we gave him a chance to speak first, so plan on reading the rest of the story after the first of the story.

Program:

JB Leep introduced our speaker, Supervisor James Gore,  and spent quite a bit of time sharing the Healdsburg native’s history from growing up in the North Bay to his education, and his serving in the Peace Corp where he met his future wife and more than likely opened the door for him to work within the Obama administration, before eventually finding his way home again.  Get the full story here: http://supervisorjamesgore.com/about.php  or here https://www.facebook.com/GoreCountry/

James was kind enough to share a report on the fire’s activities in Sonoma County, offering that it all got out of control so soon due to the lightning strikes and the high winds. We were told to go to either his webpage, or his Facebook to get a better understanding of the fire and what was being done to put it out.

https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Board-of-Supervisors/District-4/Contact-James-Gore/

or here https://www.facebook.com/GoreCountry/

Although he suggested there is always a need for additional funds to deal with fires, he offered that money alone won’t dissipate the potential for fire, especially in areas where homes are scattered throughout the hills outside of Healdsburg. In these areas James suggested that even with all the vegetation removed from around the homes, the embers are going to set off fires. He did offer that there are programs in place in the county to help offset costs for changing siding and roofs to a more fire tolerant material.

https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/General-Services/Energy-and-Sustainability/Benefits-of-Sustainability/Construction-Hardening/

While we are all struggling at times with technology, the same can be said for Mr. Gore’s home web service, which caused him to leave the meeting several times, but fortunately we have a fire expert in our club. Doug Williams, retired Fire Chief for the Town of Windsor, explained why the fire is lumped in with our neighboring counties fires.

The LNU Fire started in Napa and because they had an incidence control in place, and due to the number of fires caused by the freakish lightening storm, they retained control over the incident. The Walbridge Fire didn’t have the capacity to field another incident control team, so we work together and the numbers that reflect the degree of containment are somewhat skewed since they reflect the entire region.

Doug also suggested that the County could use more fixed wing aircraft and or helicopters to aid in the firefighting efforts, however, the cost for these machines is restrictive, so we have to rely on CAL Fire and other sources.

Doug suggested we visit this site for more info: http://www.alertwildfire.org/northbay

Although fire was the main topic for the day we did try to go to the COVID topic. Supervisor Gore’s perspective is that COVID is much more than the disease itself. The social repercussions and economic situations from mask wearing to supporting the business community pose significant challenges and he asked us to give him feedback on our concerns and suggestions so he can take these into consideration for defining the COVID situation more clearly and then expanding the fight against this pandemic.

Our own Diane Brabetz is now sharing her weekly observations on the COVID problem:

Total Cases – 5212
Deaths -73.     18 last week   (58 from senior facilities)

County positivity rate 10.9%  (State 5.6%)

37% are still in 26-44 year olds

New Cases – Sat 125, Sun 53, Mon 92

Hospitalizations 51

Diane adds, we continue with spread from our senior facilities and community spread.   Much of this is extended family, large social gatherings and travel. Whenever we have people who are in contact with those that they do not live with, there is a risk of transmission. Please encourage your friends to not let their guard down, wear a mask and think twice about travel. Help keep our community safe.

With all that we are seeing and hearing regarding the difficult times for others in Northern California, take time to consider sending a donation to the Rotary District 5130 Disaster Relief Fund. They will work hard to make sure every dollar donated will make a difference in someone’s life! Donations can be made by going to the website, or by mailing a check to:  Ashliegh Diehl, District 5130 Treasurer, 1315 Fourth Street,  Eureka, Ca 95501

Inspiration:

After all the gloom, it was refreshing to get a little inspiration from Susan Cole who shared some inspiring words from John F. Kennedy:

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

Rotarian guest:

From Merida, Mexico PDG Igor Peniche

No guests of Rotarians:

Announcements:

We heard that Rich Mucci is departing Sonoma County for Arizona and we had a chance to say goodbye. Rich had been a resident of Sonoma County for more than 45 years and although he is saddened to leave so many connections, he is excited to step into a new phase of his life. Rich gave a great talk on the need for a special diet to control insulin problems and it is attached here: Diet Recommendations Rich Mucci 2001. Safe travels Rich!

August Rotarian of the month… The Board of Directors for Windsor Rotary:

• Bill Bolster –President
• Maureen Merrill –Past President
• Pam Moulton –President Elect
• Leah Hansen –Secretary
• Ed Turner -Treasurer
• Glenn Sugden –Community; President-elect designate
• Carol Martin –Community
• Sandie Krutz –Youth
• Doug Williams –Vocational
• Ken Moulton (John Hackenburg) –International
• Renee Hyde –Membership
• Alison Huber –Director at large

(Did no one notice that I have been listing these folks as the July Rotarians of the month for the past few bulletins?)

Food security is catching on and Heather Cullen shared that we have a new partner in the Windsor Kiwanis Club. They are going to supply people and resources to keep the food flowing to those in need. The drop off locations remains the same. Remember you can send a donation through the Windsorrotary.org website.

Club Clipboard:

We have a need for others in the club to get involved. Please contact Chris Landwher (info@windsorrotary.co)  if you can find the time to spell someone who has been volunteering and is in need for support.

If you sing like a bird, why not get the rest of the flock chirping. We need a volunteer to lead us in a few songs. Here’s a perfect pitch for the pitch perfect, send an email to info@windsorrotary.co and let’s get something to sing about.

If you would like to have a say in how we write about our club meetings, become a scribe. The pay is negotiable and the perks are that no one gets to edit your words. Seriously looking for a volunteer, or two, or three. Let Tom know (info@windsorrotary.co) if you have a want to become a columnist for Rotary. 

The Rotary Club of Windsor needs a Social Media manager. We are looking for someone that can post to a new platform and have our notes appear in several social media. The platform allows you to create posts once a month and set a schedule to appear in Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This is a guaranteed fun job and the pay will none. Contact Chris Landwher (info@windsorrotary.co)  if you are interested, or just post it online.

Glenn Sugden gave us an update on the Robotics program and the open door policy to allowing others to help mentor young people in their pursuit of tomorrows technology. Contact Glenn, Carol Martin, JB Leep, or Wally Krutz to get onboard. Or shoot an email to Shoot an email to info@windsorrotary.co. 

Finemaster Leslie Lewis decided to take aim at JB Leep and Carol Martin for their performance in the video posted last week. JB offered to spend a little to avoid further review.

Renee Hyde shared what it was like to go on vacation to San Diego. Renee offered to pay a little more toward the John Lewis Fund based on the number of travel hours the trip took.

 John Hackenburg and wife Jean took a trip to the Pacific Northwest and can’t wait to get out on the road for the next trip. John says he is taking donations to get his truck repaired after a non-injury accident on the trip. Leslie let him know it doesn’t work that way.

John LeCave celebrated his and Donna’s 34th wedding anniversary… and their daughter Amanda’s wedding, which John had the opportunity to officiate.  The cost savings associated with a backyard wedding meant he had some spare change to donate to the Windsor Rotary Community Foundation, and the food drive.

Pres Bill shared a caring birthday message sent to him from JB and Carol. Bottom Line … You are old and could have played pool with Jesus. 

Our meeting got off to a little slower start today with 27 members present at the ringing of the bell.

President Maureen Merrill welcomed us and then shared a photo of John Nelson’s seagull.

President Elect Bill Bolster offered some inspiration authored by Charles Swindoll: “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

Technical advisor for today’s meeting was JB Leep. The scribe for the day was Tom Boylan.

Visiting Rotarians:

Pres Maureen introduced our District Governor Kathy Flamson, who shared that she is governing by Zoom today.

Guests of Rotarians:

Erica Vogel was introduced as our speaker for the day.

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Announcements:

Our newest members were once again recognized for their commitment to Rotary under strange circumstances. Katherine Haron, Beth Smith and Matt Rush are looking at 100% attendance!

April’s Powerhouse Sue Nelson was recognized for her photographic creativity and her devotion to the Club.

Sandie Krutz shared her Youth efforts and asked for volunteers to step up and become Host Parents. She gave the screen to Craig Curreri who shared his experience with hosting. He and Elaine have enjoyed their time with students and suggest that every home would have a great experience.

Sandie says there are three host families and asked us to please consider. There are possible changes to the program due to the Virus, but we are staying the course and awaiting what, if any, changes might come round.

It has been reported that David Culley and his wife Kathy are in their wonderful new home.

1. Marie Coakley enjoyed her birthday phone calls and says we can continue to do random phone calls in the days ahead. According to Sandie, E. Marie is chipper, upbeat and doing fine.

Sandie and Wally are planning and preparing for a “BIG” vegetable garden this year.

Kate Smith is getting ready to head out to Germany. She is working on the language and the various tasks that Rotary requires and her mom Beth says she is raring to go.

We heard from Bill Conklin that his newest family member, Emilia Dolores Corcoran, his granddaughter is doing well in Colorado and Bill and Julie are anxious to get the chance to visit in person. Brian Ling blew the whistle when Bill shared he is making a donation to the Windsor Rotary Community Foundation.

Carol Martin shared some exciting news regarding grants. The club will be making money available to three local organizations, including Our Lady of Guadalupe, Windsor Community Alliance, and First Presbyterian Church. Each is going to receive a grant of $2000 to assist their efforts to relieve food needs.

Craig Curreri let us know that another grant was given to Brooks Elementary School so they can build a Rotary Scholar Garden. We are sending $750 towards the scholar garden, similar to what we did for Cali Calmecac Academy.

Sandy shared that Hand sanitizer is free from Barrel Brothers Brewing, you have to call ahead to get an order in, the cost is free. Check them out at their website. (Link: https://www.barrelbrothersbrewing.com/)

Chris Landwher is on the mend and appreciating President Maureen letting us know he is feeling better.

DG Kathy Flamson shared that Rotary has managed to switch gears to combat Covid-19 over Polio when it comes to work in Third-World countries. Polio still has the partnership of Rotary, but the focus has to be on the Pandemic first and then hopefully, we get back to business of eradicating Polio. For more information on the work that Rotary is doing look here. (link: https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-monitors-coronavirus-outbreak)

DG Kathy shared a new effort by the State of California to acquire volunteers to help during the COVID-19 crisis. There is some training required and the place to get a look at what they are trying to do can be found here. (Link: https://volunteersurge.com)

Pegi Ball is asking for Farmers market volunteers to help keep people separated. Connect with her and be prepared to start your Saturday at 8:30 am.

Heather Cullen is planning a food drive and asks that we keep an eye out for additional information.

Bill Bolster asked that we recognize all the effort that Carol Martin has done to find community needs that we can assist with. President Maureen says we should take a walk around 6500 Faught Rd., Bill’s property.

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Program:

Program coordinator JB introduced our speaker Erica Vogel, She is the interim CEO of Community Matters in Santa Rosa. The organization promotes safe schools around the globe, with a high intensity of California Schools. She is a graduate of Spring Harbor University in Michigan, and has a long list of associations she has worked with.

Erica gave some praise to JB for his sharing tech tutoring.

They work with schools to provide a variety of needs for the education of social issues, including safe school ambassadors, a program that sets out to change a schools cultural understanding of topics such as violence, sexual harassment, suicide and threats to schools.

Students are being tasked with becoming the change agents to work within their school to identify potential mistreatment and understand how their actions can help to stop problems before they become extreme.

This is a program with a lot of moving parts, so I suggest you go to their website to learn more. (Link:  https://community-matters.org/)

By the conclusion of today’s meeting we had 33 people signed in. Let’s reach out to others and be sure to let them know they don’t need to have a computer to participate. Anyone with a phone, either smart phone or land line can call in and listen to the meeting.

Socializing stopped for a while at 7:30 when President Maureen Merrill rang the online bell. 28 people were online.

We were once more shown a John Nelson seagull photo and Susan Cole shared Marie Curie’s quote:

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now it the time to know more.

The scribe for the day was Tom Boylan

No visiting Rotarians:

Guest of Rotarians:

Mark Hanson, our speaker, was introduced.

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Announcements:

Newest members continue to get a shout out by Pres Maureen, including Catherine Hanron, Matt Rush and Beth Smith.

We learned that down the road we are going to have Chris Smith, Press Democrat columnist, as a speaker. Stay tuned.

April Powerhouse Rotarian and photo archivist Sue Nelson was thanked for all she contributes to the Club.

Remembering George Johnson meant sharing photos of men in kilts. Joe Deacon shared a story of sitting with George in a meeting when George offered an airplane engine to the Windsor High School auto shop class. Joe thinks it would be good to know that the engine was repaired and it is the one that George, with his kilt on, used to propel him upward for his last flight.

Bill Conklin’s granddaughter Emilia Dolores was highlighted once more and thanks went to Bill for his donation to the Foundation.

Heather Cullen rolled into the meeting in her pajamas and announced her efforts to get a food drive underway. This effort will add to the pantries of the folks we are supporting. Food drop off times are April 24th, and Sunday April 26th at 5 PM. Drop your donation at 9525 Jessica Drive, or 301 Jensen Lane.

Pres Maureen shared a few debunking pics and asked for a definition of what it means to be debunked. We all had a good laugh looking back at Susan Cole’s festivities and a photo of Bill Arnone in Tahitian drag. We looked back at President Jack Hyde’s debunking, Captain Jack and crew were looking pretty festive and ready to work as extras on a Disney set. We ended the photo memories with a group shot and Pres Maureen’s last debunking at the famed Pink Elephant in Monte Rio. The was a surely looking bunch and we are told there are no photos of Pres Maureen dancing on the bar.

We can thank Sue Nelson for sharing photos from the archive.

Carol Martin gave us a report on community service. Donations that we reported on last week, went to various food projects and now the thank you notices are rolling in from Our Lady of Guadalupe, First Presbyterian Church and Windsor Alliance. Posts promoting our good efforts have been made to the Club Facebook page and you are invited to go there and repost to your own page so that we can let others know the good work Rotary is doing in the community. Spread the good service the club is engaged in. Our money is going a long way to help others.

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Program:

JB Leep provided the introduction of our speaker Matt Hanson, the owner of the Bricoleur Vineyards and Winery in Windsor. Mark is a North Bay native who was raised in Sonoma County. His wife’s grandfather was Carlo Rossi, the famed winemaker. Mark told us he is a fairly recent transplant back to Sonoma County where he and his wife decided they wanted to open a corporate and charitable event center because retirement was too foreign a word for the dynamic couple.

The building that will house the new center is a renovated horse barn. When working for permits with the County government, it became apparent that to have an event center they had to start a winery, due to restrictions offered by the County for the building of an event center.

A cute story of the naming of the winery let us know the name, Bricoleur, is defined as having no plan, and according to Mark, they definitely were flying by the seat of their pants on the project.

A fourth generation member of a winemaking family, Cary Gott took on the role of winemaker for the company. According to Mark, their company has been expanding even though not many others have been undertaking the same aggressive stance for expanding under the current climate for business in the North Bay and beyond. The future has a 40,000 case winery being developed in the next 5 years.

The winery is promoting a variety of boutique wines so that they can promote tasting / pairings in the near future. The photos of the Winery will be all we get to see for a short time due to the current situation, so we will have to make the trek once they get the doors open with the blessing of the powers that keep us healthy. The building did have an opportunity to be used for a family wedding two years ago and the photos looked amazing.

Mark invited the attendees to feel free to wander the property without any intrusion while looking for places to go during the COVID crisis.