Category: 2019 Jan-Jun

Club Meeting, May 28, 2019

Flag Salute :  Marie Coakley

Inspiration:  Leslie Lewis, with a moment of silence in honor of our Veterans on Memorial Day.

Warm-Up:  Susan Cole

Introduction of Visiting Rotarians

There were no visiting Rotarians today.

Introduction of Guests of Rotarians: 

Member

Guest

Notes

Michael Ragsdale              Barbara Ragsdale             His wife

Robin Resendez                Abigail                                Our youngest member

Carol Martin                      Steve Mitchell                    Band Director, Windsor Middle School

Heather Cullen                  Music Goddess, Windsor Middle School

JB Leep                               Kerry Rego                         Our speaker today

Maureen Merrill              Brian Williams                   Principal, Windsor Middle School

Alison Huber                    Joella                                    Windsor Middle School

Announcements:

Status of Polio Plus as of May 20, 2019:  District 5130 have raised $149,259 towards ending polio in this Rotary year.  When the 2 for 1 contributions by the Gates Foundation is added ($298,518) we have been responsible for a total contribution of $447,777 toward saving children’s lives.  Our Pedal 4 Polio fundraiser was included in this total and was responsible for $57,800 of the District total.  Our club donated $1,942 just among our members toward this total.

Remember the blue cups on the tables and Pinwheels for Polio to contribute to get the ultimate job done – eradicating polio from the earth.

President Sandie read a lovely thank you note from Heather Christensen, one of our Teachers recognized for this year.

Diane Brabetz and President Sandie proposed that our Club purchase a park bench at the Town Green to be our “Rotary Bench” and put plaques on it for members who have died.  Dick Bishop, Skip Graham, Van Ingretson, and our founder, John Lewis.  Diane offered the first $500 to start the bench project quickly.  Michael Juric immediately offered another $100 and the Club seems positive about the idea.

Jack Hyde reminds us that this Thursday is the first Town Green Jack’s Bar of the year.  The sign-up sheet was sent around.

Glenn Sudgen announced that the Windsor Robotic Rumble competition is taking place this morning at Windsor High School.   He encourages everyone to come and witness these great kids who actually create robots!

Alison Huber announces that Project Grad is this Saturday for Windsor High School.  Helpers are needed for the late late late shifts (after midnight).  She encourages all Rotarians to stay up past our usual bedtimes and participate.

Carol Martin brought together our fundraising efforts at the Lobster Fest and the actual giving to our major projects.   Today was the great day when we actually give the checks to the community beneficiaries who asked for funding help.  Carol and Sandie gave a total of $31,100 to the Windsor Middle School for a re-vamp of the Performing Arts Center at the Windsor Middle School, and band instruments for students. Brian Williams, Principal, delivered a heartfelt thanks to our Club for this donation.  He said it was “life-changing” for the school.  They will mark their days as “before Rotary” and “after Rotary”.  He said it will fundamentally change the way we do things at the Middle School.  He said the donation was “mind-boggling”. 

Heather Cullen then invited everyone to an opera to be performed by the students, “The Root of Pure Joy”,  It was written, produced, directed and set designed by the students.

Michael Juric recognized Allen Christensen for reading the letter from a student about the need for band instruments at Windsor Middle School.  Allen’s words at the LobsterFest Fund-a-Need generated donations of over $11,000.   Way to go Allen!!!

As we begin another Rotary year soon, it is important that we always go back to the WHY of why we fundraise.  It is to enjoy moments like today at this morning’s meeting when we can actually give the money and make a difference in kids’ lives.  Always remember the WHY.

Bill Bolster gave a shout out to our local celebrity, Guy Fieri, who attended an event at Santa Rosa Country Club to raise money for the culinary arts program in Santa Rosa schools.  Guy made a fund-raising appeal and then disappeared.   Bill thought he had left, but that was not the case. Guy was in the kitchen surrounded by 40 kids, and he was teaching them how to put together an excellent meal.  Kudo’s to Guy Fieri for walking the walk.

Fines:  Bill Rash was our Fine Master this morning, and he asked for folks to fine themselves.  Leslie Lewis celebrated 31 years with Nirmal.  Sue Nelson just returned from a photography trip to Paris and the coast of France.  Jim Ruppert had his 70^th birthday and 39 year anniversary.  Bill acknowledged that his wife, Earleen, was having hip surgery and was committed to losing weight.  All made generous donations, most to the John Lewis fund.  Susan Cole reported that she is recovering well from knee replacement surgery and that Bev Graham is having the same surgery on Monday next week.

Speaker:

JB Leep introduced our speaker for the day, Kerry Rego of Kerry Rego Consulting.   Kerry consults in optimization of social media presence or “reputation management”.  She has taught at Sonoma State, Santa Rosa JC, and Windsor High School.  She has authored several books on the subject of social media and how it affects our lives. 

Today’s presentation was on how to achieve balance in our lives between our technology and our connection to people.  Our phones are designed to manipulate our emotions and keep us engaged with the messaging on the phone, creating Pavlovian reactions to a phone notification. 

Kerry had some interesting suggestions about how to deal with this and control the manipulation of our connection to social media.  One was the Pomodoro technique.  We are most productive in 20 minute segments.   Divide every hour into 3 parts and change what we do every 20 minutes.  A new task, walking away from the computer, stretching – just changing what we do.

Our eyes are also at risk with too much screen time.  Kerry recommends:  “every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away, for 20 seconds.   She also recommends blue light blockers for our screens.

Kerry described “persuasion labs” which are specific classes in how to manipulate human behavior.  App’s are designed to look like candy and invite us in to use them.  The huge social media conglomerates – Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Google, and Salesforce – FANGS – are never going to have our best interests at heart.  Her final caution is to find the balance between tech and our lives.

It was a powerful and compelling presentation today.

Sandie thanked all of our visitors and closed the meeting today with the thought, “Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.”

President Sandie Krutz rang the meeting to order at 7:30

The pledge of allegiance was lead by a leading Rotarian

The inspiration from Rich Mucci was several quotes from Lincoln, since this is Emancipation Day, celebrated in the District of Columbia in honor of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Abe Lincoln.

“On the first day of January in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred sixty-three, all persons held as slaves, within any state, or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”

“I never, in my life, felt more certain that I was doing right, than I do in signing this paper,” he declared. “If my name ever goes down into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it.”

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.”

Bev Graham provided our warm up, asking each member to turn to a few neighbors and discuss whether they filed their taxes or got an extension. Many members expressed that they were too tired to continue the meeting after this.

Guests:

Our only guest today was Jose, the student from MET Academy who is shadowing Art Diaz for a few days. It was mentioned that that must be exhausting.

Announcements:

Wally Krutz encourages folks to volunteer for Rug Readers at Cali, since we need 3 readers for April 23rd. By doing so you will be demonstrating your community service.

Sandie reminded us that the Windsor Day Parade is May 4, and we need a few more balloon holders for the Rotary float balloon.

Sandie mentioned that the District 4-Way Fest Conference is May 17-19 at Peppermill in Reno. The link for registration is www.ismyrotaryclub.org/register4/index.cfm?EventID=77399340 .

Glenn Sugden announced that the First Robotic Rumble will occur with the 15+ age group from Cali, with 3 entries for the May 4 prejudge process. Also, Kambiz, the Physics instructor from WHS, will have entries from his AP class. Glenn will be publishing more information later.

Jack Hyde announced his resignation from coordinating the Summer Town Green Concerts Rotary Bar. He will be moving to the East Coast in mid-July. He proposed forming 5 teams, each taking 3 concerts, and got 4 “leaders” to head up the teams.

Sandie handed out Award to various members for working hard on the Lobster Feed, including but not limited to Jack, Carol, Michael, John L, Pam, Allen, and JB. Michael received a Spiderman Chia Pet as a special award.

Michael Juric presents a quick report on a number from the Lobster Feed, and the bottom line was $32K net proceeds produced, subject to later correction if more financial info comes in. This is down $12K from last year. But we actually provided $10K more for our target beneficiaries than last year – we had higher targets, and had less left over for other things, $6K. Attendance down 40 from last year, live auction $21K vs $31K last year, Silent $10.6K up $800. Full numbers can be obtained from Michael.

Michael made one observation that the selling of local vacation homes does not seem to work, and that we might consider trading our homes with other clubs, like Ashland, Oregon, to bring value to both clubs.

John Hackenburg point out that the selling of Flamingo Flockings earned $1,900 with no direct cost beyond participation by the members doing the act. Of course, now he needs participants to Flock things up.

The only fines paid this meeting were from Pam Moulton, who fell and hit her head recently. She was wearing a toupee to cover her bump. She said she had a hard time driving in this morning, and paid $5 for each red light she had to stop at, for a total of $50.

Presentation:

JB Leep introduced our presenter, Past President Steve Klick, who is a Certified Engineering Geologist, and a Certified Hydro-Geologist, with 15 years of experience in geologic and related projects. He is a graduate of CSU Chico, a noted Party School. He lived in Spain for 11 years, is married to Mapi, the famous local cake purveyor, and has two children.

Steve presented ”Engineers Without Borders – Sonoma County Professional chapter” and their projects in Pero to harvest purified rain water for drinking water along the Amazon of Peru near Iquitos. Windsor Rotary has made substantial contributions to this outreach.

Steve presented what it is like to go to the Iquitos area of Peru, travel on the Amazon river for hours to remote villages of 150 residents and install water systems that they can use for proper drinking water and improvement of their general health. His latest project was in Vista Allegre.

The systems have tanks, chlorine purification features, and carbon filters to provide hundreds of gallons of water daily for the residents. His group has installed 5 systems, and nearby residents have created 5 additional copies of the systems for other villages.

The construction is done by two groups. Steve participates in a first group, who installs the gutters and foundations. The second group comes in and installs the tanks and plumbing.

Steve revealed some pictures of government projects, such as a water tower and electric power lines that have been installed at great expense but are actually non-functional. They install pumps to pump water from the river, but the residents have no way to pay to run the pumps or maintain them or purify the water that comes from the river.

The system Steve and his co-workers install have been in operation for up to 5 years with simple and inexpensive maintenance by local water committee members. The residents in general have been amazed how much pure water and basic hygienic habits can improve their health on a day-to-day basis.

President Sandie rang the bell and ended the meeting at 8:33.

Rotary April 30, 2019

Scribe for the day… Tom Boylan was nominated and graciously accepted the challenge.

The flag salute happened before the scribe was activated, so a leading Rotarian led us in the pledge

Karen Ricketts was delayed by traffic and that left Tom Boylan to fill in with a brief suggestion that spontaneity is an excellent form of inspiration.

Leslie Lewis had us all waving in the air like we just don’t care- swaying to the left and then to the right… no, the other right.

Karen made it and opted to share what she felt was an inspiring message; something about the Little House on the Prairie and sunshine and we all agreed.

Guests of Rotarians included Robin Resendez’s baby Abigail, and Jose Diego, Art Diaz’s shadow.

Announcements:

Ken Moulton shared that Saturday, May 4th is the Windsor Day Parade. We are #32 in the lineup, and we will gather across the street from the staff parking lot on the Eastside, or was it the Westside? Ken is also good at calligraphy and is willing to sign your name to a volunteer sheet.

We have been invited to attend the SRJC dance program, “Out of the Box,” this Saturday. The program goes on in the Santa Rosa high school theater.

Michael Juric could have spoken to us in French but chose English. We have a French exchange team in the District and we are having a social on Saturday from 6-8 pm at the Moulton residence. Please bring a food item or wine and possibly both.

Alison Huber suggests we volunteer now for Project Grad. When was the last time you got to hang out all night with a group of high school seniors? She says we don’t have to stay awake all night, just part of it.

Pres Sandie introduced a cool way to make a promise to give Rotary International a commitment that upon our death they will get $1000 from our leftovers. She challenged us to become a 100% benefactor club.

Glenn Sugden shared a bit of a robotic story from a gathering last week where 3rd through 6th graders attending Cali Calmecac came together to share their design of a Lego robot that will compete against other robots while many of us are holding down the balloon in this weekend’s parade. Glenn is going to try and get a meeting arranged where the kids can come in and give us a presentation… we should have Legos on hand.

Pam Moulton is stepping down as Assistant Governor and welcoming her successor, Michael Ragsdale.

Boasting and Toasting means donating to something… fines, or ??

Leslie Lewis spent time hanging with a 90-year-old aunt and has opted to donate in her honor.

Wally Krutz celebrated his 72nd birthday with a trip to see Hamilton; not the Air Force Base. He was in awe of the performance, but it sounds like the orchestra pit was pretty happening as well.

Robin let us know her aunt is moving back into their new home because they lost their previous home in Coffey Park.

Larry Wasem is a cuddly kind of guy, and he is now making it official; he is the first Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital’s Intensive Care Neonatal Unit Baby Cuddler.

John LeCave reminded us that the blue cups are on the table for a reason; to End Polio Now. Spare Change today or become Golden and donate every month.

Leslie Lewis is asking for some help in the way of gift cards, support suggestions for a co-worker that has five children and one of those have cancer and that is wearing her down in a variety of ways. Let her know if you have a good contact for someone or an organization that might be able to help her out. See Leslie for more info.

We had a guest, Julian who was sent to us by Waren Parker, inform us that there will be a special day soon to celebrate Windsor Regenerosity Day. More to come.

Tom Boylan took on the role of the auctioneer for a gift basket by Diane Brabitz. After a hearty round of bids, the basket sold to Maureen Merrill for $110. Purple purse and fan included.

Program:

JB Leep introduced our Craft Talker, Sue Nelson. He did share that he has been stalking speakers but found no trace of Sue Nelson. If you find an image, most likely it is a photo she is credited for taking. Sue is one of the founders of our club, and she took us on a journey from her early days in Santa Rosa through her formidable years with the Nuns, and then to college (Aggie) and her finding the tall drink of water known as John Nelson.

Sue’s professional life mostly concentrated on her role as a planner with Brelje & Race in Santa Rosa. It turns out there are few notable buildings or projects in Sonoma County that she didn’t have an opportunity to help create. When not building significant projects in Santa Rosa and surrounding areas she spent quite a bit of time helping the development of Sea Ranch.

After her retirement, Sue turned her skills toward the arty of photography. She shared a fantastic series of photos that you had to see to appreciate.

Pres Sandie sent us off with a catchy quote relating life to photographs, or something like that. By that time my recorder had run out of tape.

A special thanks to our wonderful photographer Leah Hansen, we appreciate you always capturing our fun!

Rotary 4/2/19

President Sandie Krutz rang the bell promptly at 7:30

(The Meeting, as told by Tom Boylan, Scribe)

Jason Black offered a rousing rendition of the Pledge of Allegiance

Bill Bolster offers a pop up inspirational moment

No singing this morning, but we had the opportunity to exercise with Joan Mora

Guest of Rotarians:

Jose Diego with North Bay Met is shadowing Art Diaz
Our new outbound student, Katon, shared that he is putting together a fundraising opportunity for this weekend at Whole Foods… it’s a bake sale

Announcements:
Wonder league starts this Saturday, April 6 at 10:30 Foss Creek Community Center

Chamber of Commerce expo on May 10th

District Conference – 4-Way Fest – May 17 in Reno

David Ruprecht is back from a film shoot and will let us know when and where the screening will be… red carpet anyone?

Wallet ready:

Janet Hyde shared an ABC of Rotary with president Sandie and we were quizzed on its contents

Pam Moulton thought Iceland made the longest drive to get to the Rotary meeting..

Papeete Tahiti gets the nod

Daniel Myers was asked the southernmost Rotary Club

Antarctic was the correct answer, but Daniel didn’t know it

Jim Ruppert what is the northern most Rotary club

Scottsdale Arizona was incorrect

Arctic circle was the answer

Craig Curreri spent 25 for having the pleasure of handing out dictionaries

Jason Black was asked what was the highest club in the world and he thought Guerneville qualified, but Argentina took the prize

Chris Landwher was asked how long it would take to go to a meeting at every club in the world… 80 years was a bit more than the 60 days that Chris answered.

Jack Hyde had the pleasure of reading to 1st graders last week and put $25 toward the fun

Jim Ruppert was disappointed that the Giants weren’t too good during spring training… and has high hopes for the go all the way year since the last time the stunk up spring training… they went all the way to the World Series. He also told us his granddaughter recently ran a collegiate 5000 meter race and won.

Ed Turner says we can all go to the movies in May to see a little Bohemian Rhapsody.

Program:

Michael Juric took on the persona of Clark Kent to fill us in on the big event. Friday night will be a put together meeting for packets.

All hands on deck at 9 am to set up the room.

Silent auction will be different this year… Chris Landwher will do a play in the clay day for the ladies and certain ladies are calling out there bids this morning

Think pink with John Hackenburg whose flamingo costume was special and worked for his pitch of 20… only 20… flocking opportunities.

4 pm starts the flow of beer and wine… followed by the announcement of the 20 flocking winners.

Silent auction is currently at 60 items, but Jack Hyde wants more… connect with him to pass along items.

Live auction update by Susan Nelson. Amazing items and thanks to the club members that helped make it happen. The items include… (use this link to see all the items we have available for this year’s special event. www.Windsorlobster.com )

MJ interrupted… to explain that Maureen Merrill has her own bottle of helium and JB Leep and Carol Martin have access to dynamite..

Ken Moulton still has a need for a volunteer. He suggested the most glamorous and sexy part of the evening will be the clean up. Marketing is everything.

From 5-6 pm Heather Cullen will be entertaining us with her singing group.

At 6 pm we will hold the first official Lobscar announcement honoring our sponsors.

The purpose of this fundraising is to promote the needs for many of our youth related programs from the arts to education. We are all being asked to continue to promote attendance. Text, call, and shout it out.

There was a lot of confusion at the conclusion of the meeting… but I did hear the bell ring.

Inspiration – Ken Moulton, “Success”!

Song – “My Country tis of Thee”

Visitors:

Luis Martinez- incoming Chief of Police

Students of the Month-will be introduced later in the program

Announcements:

Susan Cole-week 3 since surgery, and doing great! She forgets to use her walker, that is how great she feels!

Glenn-talked about the Rotary Robotics Rumble-asking who would like to help out with the students’ presentations where they demonstrate their robotic skills.

These are the upcoming dates:

Friday, April 26th at the home of Mark Galli for Cali Calmecac students.

Tuesday, May 28th at Windsor High School

Contact Glenn if you are interested in checking out what these students can do!!

John and Jean Hackenburg talked about his latest 5 week trip to Australia. They spent 9 days with Rotary families, talking about the difference between there and America. Religion, politics, and anything else they could think of! He brought back a banner from one of the clubs there. (and of course, took ours to give to them also!)

Daniel Myers introduced all of the “Students of the month”: (all were accompanied by parents, and letters from faculty that nominated them)

Isabelle Pisano-WISH/North Bay Met

*her service project was working at a refugee school in Thailand, and in So. Africa for her senior project

Landon Straub-Nueva Core (School for the Arts)

*taking classes at the JC to learn more about lighting design for theatre, and also business classes

Noah Wagner-AP Core

*knows American sign language and also in German. Worked at the Oakland Highland Hospital emergency room-volunteering to learn more about caring for the ill and injured.

Brianna Steel-Axis STEM

Fatima Vigil Figueroa-Pre-Med Core

Absent:

Alex Bullu Arete-Vineyard Academy

Ariani Garcia Mercado-Humanities Core

All students were honored with a plaque and check, from our Rotary Club of Windsor.

Closing:

President John F. Kennedy once said, “There are three things that are real- God, Human folly, and laughter. The first two are beyond comprehension. So, we must do what we can with the third.”

ROTARY CLUB OF WINDSOR MEETING
Minutes – March 26, 2019

Opening – The meeting was officially opened by President Sandy Krutz at 7:30 am followed by the pledge of allegiance lead by Janet Hyde.

Inspiration – The inspiration was given by Diane Brabatz who is inspired by the coming of spring: “Flowers bloom so does hope”! Ladybird Johnson

Song – The song, Raindrops Falling, was led by Bill Arnone.

Guests – The following guests were introduced:
Anna introduced Patty Minaker and daughter Melissa who will talk about her 4H project. Robin introduced her daughter, Baby Abigail. Jack Hyde introduced his wife Janet and Sandy and Wally Krutz’s daughter.

Announcements

4H Presentation – Melissa Minaker, age 11, spoke to the Club about her 4H project on Public Speaking. Melissa presented her short speech to the Club on “Got Goat Milk!” The speech was on the benefits of eating and drinking goat milk in its many forms. Melissa was both informative and entertaining as she completed her requirements for a 4H public speaking award. She will be going on to state and national competition.

SRJC DANCING RECITAL – Ricky Berman, our morning server, announced that he will be participating in a dancing recital at SRJC on May 3-5 and invited Club members to attend.

SCARC MONTHLY MEETING – The monthly SCARC meeting will be hosted by the Windsor Rotary Club on this Thursday, March 28, 2019. It will be held in the Agatha Furth Center, and members are encouraged to attend. The Club will pay the fee for dinner for all members that attend.

Community Choral Festival – JB and Carol will be singing Friday, March 29, 2019, in the Community Choral Festival, to be held at the Santa Rosa Bible Church at 9228 Badger Road in Santa Rosa. It begins at 7:00 pm and admission is free. Join the evening for a great show.

Healdsburg Sunrise Rotary 10th Anniversary – The Sunrise Club in Healdsburg will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary on Monday, April 1, 2019 the Coyote Sonoma Restaurant. Rotarians are welcome.

Windsor Day Parade – The Windsor Day Parade is scheduled for Saturday, May 4, 2019. The Windsor Rotary will again enter the Rotary Balloon and requests that all available members show up to support Sandy in this event.

Wonder League – The Wonder League, a baseball league for special needs children, will begin the season on April 6 and conclude on June 1. The program sponsored by the Healdsburg Sunrise Club is in its 9th year and needs to be supported by all Rotarians. Take a Saturday morning off and visit Foss Creek Community Baseball Fields and enjoy a game.

District Conference – The District Conference will be held this year in Reno, Nevada at the Peppermill Casino and Conference Center. It is held on May 17-19 and promises to be a great event with four Districts participating in this collaborative Conference.

Windsor Rotary Lobster Feed – Chairperson Michael “Captain Hook” Juric reminded the Club that our major fundraiser “A Night Out at the Movies” is rapidly approaching on Saturday, April 6, 2019. Michael reminded all members to buy their ticket and get in the silent auction items to Jack Hyde as time is running out. Committees are hard at work to make this a successful fundraising event.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Fine Master Carol Martin acknowledged the following Rotarians:

Robin wanted to recognize a special family reunion that brought her brother back into the family gathering.

Diane Brabetz was acknowledged for celebrating her birthday on March 21.

Pam Moulton announced that she was recently selected as the Resident Artist at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts and will be displaying her photographs for the next year at that location.

Bill Bolster acknowledge Dick Bishops caretaker, Pam, who is now caring for his wife and mentioned how much she enjoyed attending meetings with Dick.

Joan Mora paid a fine for her recent. “Girls Getaway” with her daughter for the first time to New York. What happened in New York stays in New York!

Guest Speaker: Dana Jones, Advisor and Counselor
North Bay Met Academy -“Big Picture Learning”

JB introduced Dana Jones who spoke about the alternative learning program “Big Picture Learning” recently established as an independent study program in the Windsor Unified School District. Dana first explained the Windsor Oaks Academy was an alternative program structured like a continuation high school. The North Bay Met Academy allows students to take academic classes three days a week and then recapture units of study by becoming involved in the community two days a week. It is a school of choice offered to students in Grades 9-12. Dana appealed to Rotarians to assist in a number of ways.

• Be a field trip destination
• Mentor a student
• Provide an information interview
• Be a guest speaker in the classroom
• Be a judge during project evaluations
• Provide a booth for Career Day Fall 2019

Dana then provided a question and answer discussion taking on all questions from the audience.

Closing – The meeting was adjourned by President Sandy Krutz with the following quote: “What we Learn with pleasure we never forget.”

Scribe: Ken Moulton

ROTARY CLUB OF WINDSOR MEETING
Minutes – March 5. 2019

Opening – The meeting was officially opened by President Sandy
Krutz at 7:30 am followed by the pledge of allegiance led by Bill
Arnone.

Inspiration – The inspiration was given by Jim Ruppert who is
preparing for the Giants spring training camp. Jim stated “Every
child chases rainbows but baseball is the way to actually catch
them”.

Song/Exercise – The exercise was led by Pegi Ball who asked
each member to turn around and greet and shake the hands of
several Rotarians.

Guests – The following guests were introduced:

Brian Ling introduced the President of Sonoma County Recovery,
Jason Wilcox. Brian also introduced members of the Town
Council present including Ester Lemus and Dominic Foppoli who
will also be our guest speaker.

JB introduced Joella Olson who is an active parent volunteer for
the music program in the Windsor Unified School District

Leah Hansen introduced Helen Pazinski, a visiting guest.

Announcements

Food Pantry Volunteers Needed – Carol Martin announced that
volunteers are needed for the monthly Food Pantry project to be
held this Thursday, March 7, 2019 at the Redwood Food Pantry.

Update Directory – Leah Hansen announced that a clipboard
would be sent around and asked each member to update their
personal information for the Club Directory.

Lobster Fund Raiser – Michael Juric, chairperson for our
fundraiser, updated the Club on our April 6 event. The Club was
reminded of the need for silent auction items and bottles of wine
for the live auction wine raffle item. Sponsorships are still needed
and Michael reminded the Club of the meeting scheduled for
Wednesday, March 6 at 5:00 pm at Michael’s home. Guest
Dominic Foppoli donated wine to the event.

Music Instruments for WUSD – Allen Christenson introduced
Steve Mitchell, long-standing music director in the WUSD. Allen
announced that this years “Raise a Paddle” fundraiser at the
Lobster Feed will be used to fund band instruments for the music
program in the WUSD. Allen talked about how music had shaped
his life and how the music program benefited students at so many
levels. Steve Mitchell then spoke and discussed the needs for
instrument replacement and the challenges for funding new
instruments. Steve also emphasized the many benefits that are
provided by the music program in the WUSD.

District Assembly – Sandy Krutz reminded that the District
Assembly will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2019 at the Finley
Center in Santa Rosa. It is a wonderful training opportunity at
many levels.

Acknowledgments

Tom Boylan was acknowledged for his anniversary which will be
celebrated on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, even though Melody and
Tom were married in a Leap Year.

Allen Christenson was acknowledged for his 40th wedding
anniversary and his recent trip to Maui.

Dennis Wilkinson revealed that he played in a band in high school
and recently found an album the band recorded. He made a
contribution to the music instrument fund in return for the promise
he would not play his album to the Club.

Michael Juric announced that his grandson, Tyler, had just been
selected as the Most Valuable Player for Windsor High School’s
varsity basketball team.

Pam Moulton thanked Michael Juric and Sue Nelson for the help in
cleaning up the family cabin due to flooding in Summer Home Park.
In addition to those two, an additional 15 people showed up from
the park over the weekend to assist in the clean-up.

Guest Speaker – Dominic Foppoli, Mayor of Windsor

Dominic Foppoli was introduced by Brian Ling. Dominic, whose roots can
be traced back to Nicaragua and Mexico, is the youngest mayor and town
council person to serve. He has grown up in Windsor and has participated
in Interact, Rotaract and the 20/30 Club. He is also a winery owner in
Healdsburg. Next stop is Rotary!

As Mayor, Dominic updated the Club on the State of Windsor and the
prospects for future development. He talked about Windsor being a great
community to live in. There is low unemployment and low crime in the area.
The economy is positive and is attracting several new businesses that will support
the town with additional sales tax revenue. Specifically, the
Russian River Brewing Company, Sweet T’s and the expansion of Micro
Vu.

Dominic also emphasized the need for and support of affordable housing.
Recently passed Measure M will provide for additional services and
facilities for Park and Recreation. Transportation will soon be improved by
the addition of the Windsor Shuttle Transport and the coming of the SMART
train to downtown Windsor. The following issues were raised in the
question and answer period. Dominic updated and addressed each of the

following:
*Prospects for new construction on 101 at the Arata Lane Exchange.
*Search for a new Town Manager and Police Chief for Windsor.
*Bicycle transportation to and from the Green on music nights.
*New District configuration with an elected mayor not appointed.
*Status of Litton Springs Tribe and the Sovereign Nation issue.
*Term limits on Council members.
*Chamber needs to be proactive in promoting small business in Windsor.
*Status and progress on Town building community pool

President Sandy Krutz closed the meeting with the following quote: “Let
us never forget the government is ourselves and not an alien power over.
us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President or senators
and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country”.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Pledge

Inspiration:  Susan Cole…Malala Yousafzai who was shot in the face attempting to go to school.  She says let us remember “one book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world”.

Song:  Bill Arnone “Singin’ in the Rain”

Scribe:  Leah Hansen

Bill Bolster introduced our Outbound Exchange Student:  Caden Huletts – Netherlands.

Michael Juric:  Rotary Friendship Exchange:  A group that’s coming from the south of France.  We have four host families:  Carol and JB, Ken and Pam, Michael Juric and Mike and Maureen.  The RFE team will be here from April 23rd to May 7^th.  We need a couple of hosts and a couple of alternates for two nights…May 2^nd and 3^rd.  The hosts provide shelter and generally breakfast and can join us on the day’s events (but not required).  Please contact MJ at his email or text 707.478.7527.

Carol Martin announced that the first Thursday of the month is the Redwood Empire Food Bank.  If you would like to participate please put it on your calendar.  She will bring the sign-up sheet next week.

Sandie announced the Rotarian meetups – if you haven’t selected a name from the hat yet please do so.

Craig Curreri announced the distribution for the 3rd-grade dictionaries at Windsor Creek.  It will be the last distribution at Windsor Creek because they are closing.  I need just one or two volunteers to meet me Friday, March 8^th, at Windsor Creek at 9:00 am.  Leah and Jason volunteered to assist.

Dine & Donate at KC’s on February 28^th:  This is to help Greg Way, a Rincon Valley Fire Volunteer who was a dozer operator fighting the Mendocino fires last year, who was seriously injured.  A portion of your payment goes directly to Greg’s recovery.  Dine at KC’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Fines:  Doug Williams.  This is the last Thursday of the month and a time you can recognize or commemorate any event that happened in February.  Maureen got a new car.  She has wanted a Hybrid for a while.  She ended up with a dark blue Hybrid Kia.  She just has to remember to “plug it in”.   Jason has been wearing his three suits for four years now and he bought a new suit…the one he is wearing.  Doug committed to another $50 himself.

Caden Huletts…our ‘19-‘20 Outbound Exchange Student.  He will be going to the Netherlands. He loves that they have bicycle freeways in the Netherlands and the country itself is pretty small so he will be able to ride his bike everywhere for the year he is there.  Second, he is excited about the Dutch Game Garden which is a government-funded program to help people develop video games.  He still needs to raise money for it so he has come up with fundraisers.  One is a tournament…a game where there are five different versions and people sign up to play games they remembered from long ago.  Another fundraiser is working with other exchange students for an event at The Raven theater.  The idea is on an unpopular night for one of their shows you buy a bunch of tickets at half price and sell them at full price.  They get seats filled they wouldn’t have had filled.   On a side note he is studying Dutch because he doesn’t want to get to the airport and not know what to say.  His hobbies are art, programming, video games and reading.

Sandie announced that the SCARC dinner on March 28^th will be hosted by our club.  Presenters will be Tom Boylan and Wally Krutz.  It will be at the Mary Agatha Furth Center.

Ken Moulton introduced Heather Cullen, Director of the Windsor Performing Arts Academy, who is here to talk about the Windsor High School Grad Night…a project our club will be funding as part of our grant program.  She mentioned she has been in communication with a consultant, Roger Oblad, who is volunteering his time to design sound and lighting for the event.  It can be controlled anywhere in the room from your laptop or phone.  Her organization is one of the beneficiaries of our Lobster Feed.

Michael Juric discussed the Lobster Feed.  We already have four $2,500 sponsors thanks to John and Craig.  We already have 11, in the queue, for the Live Auction and Jack has a list for the Silent Auction Donation.  Sue Nelson asks for us to just make a commitment to donate a bottle of wine…doesn’t matter what kind.  It should be a bottle valued at least at $20.00.

JB introduced our presenter for today: Pam Moulton.  Pam was born in Oakland and raised in San Francisco.  Her father was a Rotarian for 50 years.  Pam has degrees in Comparative Literature and Psychology.  She enjoys cooking, travel, and photography.  She has children, grandchildren, and two Rotarian dogs.  Pam and Ken have been married for almost 30 years.  Pam is also a Paul Harris fellow.  Pam participated in Rotaplast in India in December 2018 and that is what she will be presenting today.  Rotaplast started as an International Project by the San Francisco Rotary Club in 1992.  The Rotaplast mission is to eliminate cleft lip, cleft palate, burn scarring and other deformities.  It is funded by other rotary clubs and private donations and has served more than 17,000 patients in 26 countries.  The mission cost ~ $100,000 to operate.  This mission was the first in Namaui and people traveled up to 15 hours to attend.  Pam said you can feel the anticipation and anxiety in the air.  One lady who brought her child in for surgery was pregnant and didn’t want anymore children if they would be born with a cleft lip.  She said the grandmothers tend to take on the primary responsibilities in the families.  The missions usually go a full 10 days.  Pam said she feels blessed to have been involved in this mission and travels with all of us on her back.

Rotary 02-12-19

President Sandie Krutz called the meeting to order at 7:30

Anna Smith led the pledge

Michael Juric shared a “Survive and Thrive through Service inspiration”

Susan Cole decided we should sing “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.”

Tom Boylan was the meeting scribe

No visiting Rotarians so we went to guests:

Janet Hyde introduced herself while Jack Hyde was retrieving food

Kim Phillips introduced herself as Robin Lea’s mom and Abigail’s Grandmother

Abigail is present for her first birthday

Sato is literally on track and running with a special Windsor High track fundraiser at Lupe’s on the Town Green

Announcements:

Maureen Merrill shared that “Sex with Strangers” generated $1250 to benefit Rotary

David Kahn was introduced to share a message about the Vietnam Wall memorial that will be arriving in Windsor March 28 – 31. He thanked David Culley for stepping up as a major sponsor and invited others to become a sponsor as well.

A Fine Time

Joan Mora took on the role of finemaster and immediately got to work:

David Culley went to the Caribbean and had money to spare for a fine.

Tom Hassur announced his daughter Megan is now engaged.

Robin and Sue Nelson had a birthday and so did Michael Juric

Rene Hyde thinks it is a worthy investment to announce she and Paul are celebrating 9 years together.

Laura Buhrer’s Exchange Bank branch was awarded  “Branch of the Year”

Leslie Lewis is planning a Valentine celebration at the airport to greet Nirmal and something to do with a fur coat.

Program

Master of Lobster ceremonies, Michael Juric (MJ), got the session going to discuss the Lobster Feed.

Sue Nelson got the Live Auction rolling with a variety of options passed along by members. She would also like to have those members who drink wine look in the cellar and come up with multiple bottles of wine instead of one… or bring one if you like. There is a nifty tax deduction letter available from Ed Turner for donated wines.

MJ says… “Repeat after me, I can do that”

The club broke into groups and came up with ideas to create silent and live auction items. Many great ideas were percolating. Notes were taken and now we can all expect an email from MJ asking for a follow up to lock these items in.

Pres. Sandie asked MJ and Rene Hyde to sign up those who have yet to sign on to Amazon Smile. This is a shopping rewards program that makes a donation to the Windsor Rotary Community Foundation on every purchase.

A special chorus of Happy Birthday to You rang out for Sue Nelson and Abigail, who got to eat the whole cake, while the adults in the room were offered Champagne. Might I suggest the Champagne could be a signature close to every meeting?

President Sandie gave us a get out and do something Rotarian moment, but the Champagne caused this scribe to forget to write it down.