Chocolate Extravaganza

Our meeting began in Chat Rooms set up by Michael Juric where we brainstormed ideas for live and silent auction items.   Good ideas were captured from Chat and sent to Live and Silent Auction Chairs.

CHOCOLATE EXTRAVAGANZA!  THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH CHOCOLATE

Pledge of Allegiance – Catherine Hanron

Song:  JB Leep offered us “Day-o”, a song by Harry Belefonte, also known as the Banana Boat Song.  The kindest review offers that we did “not terrific”.

No visiting Rotarians or guests today.  37 participants, club members only

Carol Martin offered us her Rotary moment.  During the 2018 fundraising process, she was moved by all the people seeking funding for their projects.  She loved the Kidspree event where children were offered school supplies, clothes and services to start the school year.  Kidspree was selected for the Fund-a-Need portion of our fundraiser.  They were seeking two or three thousand dollars.  But as this part of the event began, the money mounted up.  There was such excitement in the room.  There was tremendous energy and excitement and in the end, $18,600 was raised!  Carol’s moment was, “this is what Rotary can do!”  She recognized how powerful Rotary can be.  The force of energy of a Rotary Club was amazing. 

President Pam recognized and thanked Chris Landwehr for being January Rotarian of the Month

Leslie Lewis returned with her cheerful and always humorous recognitions and fines.  Birthdays, anniversaries, spouses birthdays, trips, and one of 43 District-wide Rotarians of the Year  – it was an abundant field of fines.  Pegi Ball turned the tables and had Leslie acknowledge that she had a new Mazda CX5, for which Pegi fined Leslie. 

JB Leep took us on a tour of our new website,  windsorrotary.org.  The goal was to have a calendar which always showed what was scheduled, access to all members’ phones and e-mails, and our Bulletins posted and available.   This website, hosted by DACdb, meets all those criteria and more.   Go !!   Visit and become familiar with our website.

Announcements:

President Pam announced that Domingo, a former special exchange student, has relocated to Windsor and is looking for handyman jobs.  Hi, Domingo, from your Rotary family.

Jo Timmsen announced that she is putting together the Live Auction item of an “Instant Wine Cellar” for our March 26 event.  She is looking for 50-60 bottles of wine, each a $35 value or above.  Each club member is asked to donate at least one bottle of wine for our Instant Wine Cellar.

Michael Juric and Maureen Merrill offered their warm thoughts to each other about sharing time together with no agenda items for once.  They were brought together in this way by President Pam’s idea of Rotarians sharing time together outside of meetings just to get to know each other better.  Michael said he had known Maureen for 30 years and she was a dear friend and (sort of) family member.   It was a treat and a gift to have lunch together.  Maureen echoed those ideas and said lunch together was nice and she was grateful to Pam for creating this great experience.  Next week we’ll hear from Mike Merrill and John How.

JB briefly introduced our guests, Jeff and Susan Mall, owners and creators of Volo Chocolates. 

And, we were off and running in our quest to learn about chocolate making.  Jeff took us on a virtual tour of their tiny (500 square feet) factory  in Windsor (The Shiloh Center) where the chocolate beans are crushed and processed in refiners.  Last year they made 6 tons of chocolate.  We learned that chocolate is grown in different parts of the world and each region has its own terroir, just like grapes.   Jeff and Susan source chocolate beans from both Guatemala and Haiti, and they have distinctly different characteristics.  Jeff described the various flavors of the chocolates they make, and everyone on the zoom was oohing and aaaahing.  They are doing custom zoom virtual chocolate tastings now, and our committee chairs for our March 26 Spark Success event were quick to ask them if they would consider donating a zoom chocolate tasting.  Looks promising. 

Susan Mall covered the health benefits of chocolate – turns out they are for real.  Chocolate is a vasodilator – it can reduce blood pressure.  It has anti-oxidant properties, and by expanding the blood vessels in the brain, it sends more blood to the brain. 

Word on Chat is that this would have been a favorite program of our founding father, John Lewis, and that was seconded by many members who said Yes! It was their favorite program, too.   Best Ever!

Next week we wil hear from Jacqui Salyer of Habitat for Humanity.  We are still on zoom, likely through mid-February.

President Pam ended with her own chocolate story.  Her Nana made the kids memorize the names of the chocolates in the SEE’s candy box.  We all know that life is like a box of chocolates . . . you just never know what you are going to get.  But the other way to think about it is this:  chocolate is the solution to most problems, the answer to most questions, and by far, the cheapest and most effective therapist on the planet!

ESRAG and Plastic Soup – Gert-Jan and Salvador on a Big ZOOM!

Meeting started with all the usual pomp and circumstance… President Pam Moulton ringing the virtual bell at 7:30 and followed by a recital of the Pledge of Allegiance led by Chris Landwehr, which was followed by a fun video provided by Heather Cullen. Oscar the Grouch shared his love of garbage.

Guests:

Introductions of visiting Rotarians, blended with non-Rotarians, because today’s topic is all about ending the Plastic Soup problem of the world. Our featured speaker came all the way from the Netherlands to be with us. I believe there is a time zone difference that gives him the prize for the farthest away. We also got a visitor from Peru, Dominigo Lorenzini, Santa Rosa Junior College’s newest enrollee.

A special Zoom moment was provided by Michael Juric, our resident Zoom Master. He was kind enough to share the best practices for Zoom meetings, so that people can respond.

Announcements:

Pres. Pam let us know we are going to be on Zoom through mid-February. Then she reminded us of our Rotarian of the Month, Chris Landwehr. Chris is the person that assigns our duties to keep the meetings rolling smoothly.

The following was provided by Pres Pam as highlights from the Board meeting:

BOARD Highlights – January 17, 2022

BUDGET (Carol and Ed)
•All Good!! – Lots of money in our WRCF and Club
•Lots of opportunities to do wonderful projects locally and internationally
•Decided that we need to write out our procedures for future club leaders!
YOUTH (Pegi)
•Kids are gearing up for the short term exchange – we will meet them!
•CHOICES is still alive but due COVID, we need to wait…
•KOOL KIDS Camp is still on – but at a reduced scale

CLUB OPERATIONS (Chris)
•Tom Boylan going to turn in his pen as scribe due to DG job
•SCRIBE class is happening TODAY after our regular ZOOM mtg
•Will work with Wally and DACdb to start to input practices into a database

RECOGNITION (DOUG)
•Looking for new person to work on Scholarship Committee
•All good for Teacher Appreciation and Recognition for fire and police
BOARD Highlights, continued – January 17, 2022
FOUNDATION (John H and Brian L)
•Going to wait for LIVE meeting to present the new Paul Harris recipients and PolioPlus recipients
•NO new cases of the WILD Polio Virus!!
Club Culture (Joan)
•3rd Thursday is for Rotary including this Thursday at Mengler Winery @5:30
•Truckers against Traffikers is in the conversation – not sure when!!

COMMUNICATION
JB to introduce WEBSITE at next week’s meeting!!
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE (Barbara McChesney)
•We are an Ambassador Club joining 80 others around the world!
•Recommended Practices will be on Website
•Watch for HANDS ON activities for EARTH DAY and other events!

SERVICE (Sue Nelson and Susan Cole)
•We are way ahead of the curve with SERVING locally and internationally! We recommitted to over $62,000
•Planning on 2-3 International Projects SOON
BOARD Highlights – January 17, 2022

FUNDRAISING
Committed focus to:
Attendees
2. Sponsors and Donors
3. Auction Items
4. Greeters Giving
5. Broadcast Platform
Want all 63 members to register, invite friends, bid and have fun!!

Bill Conklin and Kurt Mitchler had an opportunity to talk about the committee meeting following the morning’s meeting. If you are on any of the committees for the fundraiser, you need to connect with Kurt for the link to the Zoom for future weeks.  If you have an item to contribute, look for the form for submissions on the WindsorRotary.org site.

Bill Bolster announced the incoming president selection committee is looking for your input. If you have a suggestion for president 2024-2025 please let him know.

Sue Nelson got the shout out from Pres. Pam for stepping into the presidential role last week. Susan Cole got recognition for her leadership at last week’s meeting and the introduction she made to the new Windsor High School Welding Project.

Program

Barbara McChesney reminded us of her mission to eliminate single-use plastic and her involvement with ESRAG. She did a great job of introducing Salvador Ricci, a member of District 5130 and current area governor. Salvador shared his energy in fixing the environment through his river cleanup projects, which included the Russian River.  He shared a video on how easy it is for pollution to collect, and the importance of having Rotary and its resources to repair the damage pollution causes.

Salvador Rico:  Rotarian for over 12 years and is a member of the Rotary club of South Ukiah.  He has been a passionate champion of keeping our rivers clean since his first project in 2009.  Since then, he has helped start river clean-up projects with the support of rotary clubs internationally.  He has presented his River Ameca in Mexico clean-up project to the Mexican Consular General and representative to the UN. He is a past president and Paul Harris fellow.  He is the father of five and owner of Alliance Auto in Ukiah.

Salvador shared a variety of projects that have been completed in Mexico, and let us know that a planned environmental clean-up project in Mexico is being put on hold until next October due to Covid concerns. You can contact him if you have an interest in getting involved.

Salvador Rico Assistant Governor 2021-2023 from the Rotary Club of South Ukiah D5130. 707-391-4010 salvador.rotary@gmail.com

Barbara then introduced us to Gert Jan van Dommelen, Rotary Coordinator for Huizen Gooimeer.

Gert-Jan Dommelen: Co-founder of the End Plastic Soup global environment initiative to solve and prevent plastic pollution. His experience includes program manager and consulting leader at IBM corporation and he is a Program Manager and Business Transformation consultant. 

He left his job with IBM to devote full time efforts to End Plastic Soup.  He has a successful track record in the financial, public, healthcare and industrial sectors and a deep understanding of business alignment and technology adoption to meet corporate objectives and timelines.

Leader with vision and execution drive, delivering transformation programs with a strong focus on quality control, the value for all stakeholders including long term business benefits. Gert-Jan is passionate about circular economy, next generation living, learning and building a future of inclusiveness. He is a Paul Harris fellow with Rotary International and honored Member of the Dutch Royal Order of Oranje Nassau.

The initiative to end plastic soup started 3.5 years ago. The action began locally and when the project was shared at an International Convention, the support became dramatic on Rotary’s part. The goal of the campaign is to leave it up to Rotary Clubs to take action independently to change our use of plastics, and in particular the intrusion of plastics into our local environment.

It turns out that the real problem with plastics is that they never go away, plastic just gets smaller and then it intrudes into our plankton, which is the gatekeeper for providing oxygen to the planet. And you thought it was trees that made all the oxygen…  Plastic breaks down to micrometers, which gives it every opportunity to penetrate our skin, and that is a problem, not because of the actual plastic nano-bits, but because the toxins associated with plastic production internal means these additives reach into our human bodies, which can affect our ability to produce children, and has negative effects on just about every aspect of our internals.

Plastic production is over the top. Take a look at endplasticsoup.org to see how great the problem is, and why the initiative is so important to humanity.

The meeting ended with a reminder from President Pam to attend Zoom meetings until mid-February, and the following quote:

We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
———-
Latest COVID information from your Rotary Nurse!

                If you or someone you know needs a N95 mask or needs a COVID test, call us!

01/18/22


COVID UPDATE:

               OMICRON SURGE NOT YET PEAKED!!!!  Surgeon General states that the next few weeks may be difficult with case surges.     ******* 30 DAY BAN ORDERED ON LARGE GATHERINGS!   January 12^th , this ban took place and mandated that all gatherings indoors of more than 50 people and more than 100 outdoor were to be  prohibited by Sonoma county Public Health officials in a move to curb the wide spread of Omicron.   This surge threatens to overwhelm local hospitals and medical services.  This order does not apply to normal classroom or recess activities and schools remain open.   Workplace settings, courthouse activities, places of worship, cafeterias or any venue that is open to the public as part of regular operations, including shopping malls, stores, restaurants and museums are exempt for now.    It also specifies that gatherings of individuals who are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID must be limited to no more than 12 people, except for family gatherings.  Sonoma County Health Officer has also issued a countywide appeal for residents to voluntarily stay home and restrict large gatherings.    Check the new order online for its’ entirety…..

               FDA has authorized boosters for youths, ages 12-15.      FDA also shortened to 5 months the time required between 2^nd dose and ability to be given the Booster.  

OMICRON cases are now averaging about 1255 new COVID cases per day (last week we were seeing about 600)!    We have also seen a spike in the number of people hospitalized with COVID in our county hospitals; this does not mean that these patients entered the hospital because of COVID but it does mean they have tested positive for COVID upon admission.    The numbers of health care personnel likewise are becoming positive and are sick, straining the ability to provide care in a county where we have limited nurses and CNA’s.   (nurses aides)

               Our State is now requiring masks to be worn indoors.   California is also recommending travelers who visit or return to California to get tested within 5 days of their arrival and the Federal government is imposing stricter regulations for testing when flying.    Testing can be difficult to find, but check for pop up clinics daily and I do offer testing at my office with an appointment.   Call us at 707-546-8773 if you are having any issues finding a test site.

               We do remain vulnerable to the coronavirus with more travel happening, large gatherings occurring and people letting down their guard.    
If you want to schedule either a booster or the vaccine, appointments can be found by visiting:  https://socoemergency.org/events/category/pop-up-vaccine or call 707-565-4667.

Total Cases:        62,980**   (last week 544,199)           Recovered:    44,139   (last week 43,661)             Active Cases: 18,415** (last week 10,117)        ***Please note this spike in numbers!!!  We continue to climb***

Deaths:                426   (last week 421)    Please continue to honor those we have lost by encouraging those you know who have not become vaccinated, to get their COVID shot, get a booster and their flu shot.
Do your utmost best to shelter at home as much as you can and help our community stop this current surge!   Do not go to an Emergency Room (ER) unless it is truly an emergency as you are impacting medical care for those who really need it and you do chance exposure.   Test if you have symptoms

New Cases:         8781**  cases this past week   (last week 2832) – this is a huge increase and demonstrates how infectious Omicron is and how fast it is spreading through our County.

Hospitalized:       88 confirmed and 3 suspected    (last week 76 confirmed and 2 suspected)     

Vaccination information….  As of January 16th, 2022,   956,677  doses of vaccination have been given to residents in Sonoma County.  (last week 938,476).     78% of our population 5 years and older  (5-11 year olds have now been approved and are counted in the population vaccinated or not)  are fully vaccinated and approximately 8% have received at least 1 dose.     
MASKS:               Please do not use your cloth masks –   Omicron is highly contagious and will get through.   Switch to surgical mask, KN95 or the N95.   If you must continue to use your cloth masks, then please use two and double up.    This will help with the spread of this fast spreading variant.   The CDC is also recommending if you use a surgical mask to wear a cloth mask over it, thereby making a tighter seal.   Fortunately, Omicron does not seem to attack the lungs like the Delta variant but instead causes more of a respiratory illness.
                There are now new requirements on testing before flying – our government has mandated within 24 hrs of a flight and more countries are requiring testing to travel in or out.    If you are traveling, please ensure you check with your airlines to see what the requirements are before you leave.   The State is also suggesting that anyone traveling when you return to test 3-5 days after your return.   Isolation requirements for those positive but asymptomatic, fully vaccinated and boosted have been decreased to 5 days, unless you are still symptomatic on day 5.   If you are then you should continue to isolate or stay home for the full 10 days.
Get your booster if you are eligible!  It is highly recommended to give your immune system a boost.  Also get your Flu vaccine as we do not want citizens coming down with the flu.   This not only compromises their immune systems, but can also weaken their lungs.  We need to keep our beds hospital beds free to those really sick and help our limited medical staff ready to help those with COVID and not have our county  residents admitted with the flu.
Stay home if you are able and stay away from groups as much as possible as this Omicron goes through our community.   Be cautious,  Mask up, get your booster, your flu shot and just be careful as we learn to live with this virus……..
Please know that I am always available to answer questions, help with scheduling appointment, providing a test or even FIT testing you for a N95 mask so that it fits properly.
Thanks
 
Di

Field Trip to the WHS Vasconi Welding Facility

The Rotary Club of Windsor goes on a field trip! For most School Children, a field trip takes them anywhere but school. But for us – we head back to school under the watchful eye of former President – Sue Nelson, and the wonderful staff of Windsor High School – Brian Williams, Grace Curtin-Fiano, Marie Ganister & John Brito

Our meeting was called to order by Past President Sue who reminded us “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn” (Benjamin Franklin)

Pledge of Allegiance – John Hackenburg

Guests:           

• John Nelson – husband of Past President Sue Nelson
• Grace Curtin-Fiano – Assistant Principle, WHS
• Marie Ganister – Culinary Teacher & CTE Coordinator, WHS
• John Brito – CTE teacher, WHS

Rotary Moment: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn” (Benjamin Franklin)
Rotarian of the Month – Chris Landwehr. Congratulations Chris for all that you do and have done

Announcements:

• Wally Krutz – Castañeda’s Market is hosting a Paella Pick-Up on Jan 19th to support victims of the recent Boulder Creek Fires. Please go get some delicious grub and help some people going through pain many of us are all too familiar with.
• Ed Turner – $25,007.93 donated to Windsor Rotary Community Foundation from the estate of Carl Wiuff
• Sue Nelson – We will be returning to Zoom ONLY for at least the next 2 meetings.

Brian Ling told us how the lack of shop classes in Sonoma County ended up sinking his business, Reliance Trailers, Cotati – a business with 90 employees as a way of underscoring the importance of programs like Windsor High School’s Welding Classes.

Brian Williams gave us a rundown of how tax payer funds for schools are capped to get programs to the ‘essential’ level. This really impacts the ability of a program like Auto-Manufacturing to be able to get equipment and supplies needed to meet an industry standard that really puts students in a good standing to secure a well-paying job after graduation.

Marie Ganister highlighted how these classes are so effective at building collaborative and team working skills in addition to the technical expertise and safety skills needed in a professional environment. This is a creative skill that gives many students something to really be passionate about in their schooling.

John Brito gave the club a little of his background as an Industrial mechanic who moved to teaching for a more rewarding career. He’s been teaching at WHS for 8 years now teaching ~150 students per year and already has a wealth of amazing stories of the successes his students have had on graduation and entering the professional world.

John underscored Brian’s comments about the costs of maintaining a shop in the public school system – raw materials alone amount to more than the entire budget for any other program in the school. Having funds for doing additional facilities and equipment makes all the difference. Rotary will be bringing funds to allow the students to replace the gate and fencing around the shop area as well as tarmacking the outdoor space so that it is more functional and no longer presents the health and safety risks that it currently does in moving heavy equipment over gravel / mud.

John also highlighted that Rotary’s attention on the program helps give the program more visibility more generally and that is really important for the program’s ongoing success.

Windsor High School will be providing a gift basket of items made by the students to include in the auction!!! Items include a metalwork piggie bank with business card holder that the scribe was eyeing with envy and a bunch of wrought metal roses!

John gave us a tour of the shop including a demonstration of the CNC cutter that the shop has on which he cut out some rotary cogs as trinkets for the club!

01/11/22

COVID UPDATE:

                ******* 30 DAY BAN ORDERED ON LARGE GATHERINGS!  Effective at 12:01 am Wednesday, January 12^th all gatherings indoors of more than 50 people and more than 100 outdoors are prohibited by Sonoma county Public Health officials in a move to curb the wide spread of Omicron.   This surge threatens to overwhelm local hospitals and medical services.  This order does not apply to normal classroom or recess activities and schools remain open.   Workplace settings, courthouse activities, places of worship, cafeterias or any venue that is open to the public as part of regular operations, including shopping malls, stores, restaurants and museums are exempt for now.    It also specifies that gatherings of individuals who are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID must be limited to no more than 12 people, except for family gatherings.  Sonoma County Health Officer has also issued a countywide appeal for residents to voluntarily stay home and restrict large gatherings.    Check the new order online for its’ entirety…..

               FDA has authorized boosters for youths, ages 12-15.      FDA also shortened to 5 months the time required between 2^nd dose and ability to be given the Booster.  

OMICRON cases in Sonoma County are averaging 121.4 new daily cases per 100,000 people!  This equates to about 600 new COVID cases per day and we are seeing about 16.5 % of COVID tests coming back positive compared to last winter’s surge of only below 10%.    We have also seen a spike in the number of people hospitalized with COVID in our county hospitals, going from 30 a week ago to 76 on Sunday.  It does not mean that these patients entered the hospital because of COVID but it does mean they have tested positive for COVID.

               Our State is now requiring masks to be worn indoors.   California is also recommending travelers who visit or return to California to get tested within 5 days of their arrival and the Federal government is imposing stricter regulations for testing when flying.    Testing can be difficult to find, but check for pop up clinics daily and I do offer testing at my office with an appointment.   Call us at 707-546-8773 if you are having any issues finding a test site.

               We do remain vulnerable to the coronavirus with more travel happening, large gatherings occurring and people letting down their guard.    
If you want to schedule either a booster or the vaccine, appointments can be found by visiting:  https://socoemergency.org/events/category/pop-up-vaccine or call 707-565-4667.

Total Cases:        54,199**   (last week 46,745)           Recovered:    43,661   (last week 43,136)             Active Cases: 10,117** (last week 3191)        ***Please note this spike in numbers!!!  We continue to climb***

Deaths:                421   (last week 418)    Please continue to honor those we have lost by encouraging those you know who have not become vaccinated, to get their COVID shot, get a booster and their flu shot.
Do your utmost best to shelter at home as much as you can and help our community stop this current surge!   Do not go to an Emergency Room (ER) unless it is truly an emergency as you are impacting medical care for those who really need it and you do chance exposure.  

New Cases:         2832**  cases this past week   (last week 1994) – this is a huge increase and demonstrates how infectious Omicron can and is.

Hospitalized:        76 confirmed and 2 suspected    (last week 29 confirmed and 3 suspected)     

Vaccination information….  As of January 9th, 2022,   938,476  doses of vaccination have been given to residents in Sonoma County.  (last week 917,953).     78% of our population 5 years and older  (5-11 year olds have now been approved and are counted in the population vaccinated or not)  are fully vaccinated and approximately 8% have received at least 1 dose.     Providers in Sonoma County are giving shots to our 5-11 year olds and are also providing Boosters for anyone over 18, but we are not seeing large numbers seeking vaccinations yet. 
MASKS:               Please do not use your cloth masks –   Omicron is highly contagious and will get through.   Switch to surgical mask, KN95 or the N95.   If you must continue to use your cloth masks, then please use two and double up.    This will help with the spread of this fast spreading variant.   Fortunately it does not seem to attack the lungs like the Delta variant but instead causes more of a respiratory illness.

                There are now new requirements on testing before flying – our government has mandated within 24 hrs of a flight and more countries are requiring testing to travel in or out.    If you are traveling, please ensure you check with your airlines to see what the requirements are before you leave.   The State is also suggesting that anyone traveling when you return to test 3-5 days after your return.   Isolation requirements for those positive but asymptomatic, fully vaccinated and boosted have been decreased to 5 days, unless you are still symptomatic on day 5.   If you are then you should continue to isolate or stay home for the full 10 days.

Get your booster if you are eligible!  It is highly recommended to give your immune system a boost.  Also get your Flu vaccine as we do not want citizens coming down with the flu.   This not only compromises their immune systems, but can also weaken their lungs.  We need to keep our beds hospital beds free to those really sick and help our limited medical staff ready to help those with COVID and not have our county  residents admitted with the flu.

Stay home if you are able and stay away from groups as much as possible as this Omicron goes through our community.   Be cautious,  Mask up, get your booster, your flu shot and just be careful as we learn to live with this virus……..
Please know that I am always available to answer questions, help with scheduling appointment, providing a test or even FIT testing you for a N95 mask so that it fits properly.

Thanks
 
Di

A New Year for our Rotary Club!   We were led into the New Year by the Ukelele Club of Healdsburg and our own President, Pam Moulton.

Our meeting was called to order by President Pam who let us know that in Rotary “they say the 3 most important meetings of the year are:  The first meeting, the second meeting (because everyone expects the 1st meeting to be good) and the First Meeting of the Year….. so here goes!”

Pledge of Allegiance – Mitch Grandi

Guests:   Ukelele Group of Healdsburg – Dave, Tina, Gail, Steve, Taddeus, Karen and Pam Moulton
               John Nelson, husband of Past President Sue Nelson
               Sally Spangler, sister of Carol Martin

Song:   “Oh, What a beautiful Rotary Morning” – great job everyone

Rotary Moment: Several of our members shared with us what their Rotary Moment was, commitment and goals for 2022  – seems we may have an Interact Club if all goes well……

Rotarian of the Month – drum roll please….. Chris Landwehr. Congratulations Chris for all that you do and have done

Announcements:
      Sue Nelson and Susan Cole – Next week’s meeting will be held at the Windsor High School in the Welding Facility.   If you want to see why our committee selected them to be our major beneficiary, just email Sue Nelson or Susan Cole to read their beautifully written application with letters of support. There will be no breakfast and no charge for the meeting. Coffee and rolls will be supplied. Park in the North Parking Lot at the end near the Gym. Hoping to have someone directing us.

     Wally Krutz – he will provide us DACdb classes – they will start on the 18th after our meeting

      Di Brabetz, RN CPNP PHN – shared with the Club that the CDC and Public Health are discouraging use of cloth masks and instead recommend surgical masks, KN95 or N95 masks as the droplets of the Omnicron variant will penetrate through a cloth mask. If you need to use a cloth mask, double them up. Di brought surgical masks for anyone who needs them (purple, of course!) and they will be on the table with Ed and Carol.

     Joan Mora – next Social will be on the 20th at Mengler Tasting Room – details to follow.

     President Pam shared with us that our Laura Buhrer lost her mother on New Year’s Eve.  

Word from our President:
President Pam took us on a Sentimental Rotary Journey as she shared with us some of our accomplishments for our Club in this  Rotary year to date:

• We established monthly themes for our meeting 
• She established a “policy” that any of us who travel should bring her back something – she will be auctioning off some of her items and donate the money to Polio Plus
• Our new website is up and running
• We gave toys to kids for Christmas
• Our Club participated in the Salvation Army Bell Ringing in honor of Dick Bishop
• We began sharing our “Rotary Moments”
• “Passport Program” (brain child of our Past President) has begun and we are up to our goal of 62 members
• Socials began again   

Recognitions:  Doug Williams
       Fire Service – still pending
       Law Enforcement
       Scholarships – Tom Hassur has had to step out – will need a Chair
       Friends of Rotary – need to plan a breakfast
       Student of the Year – Pegi Ball
       Student of the Month – Daniel Myers has done a great job!
       Vet Recognition – thanks Mike Merrill
       Teacher of the Year – Doug shared he had the privilege of meeting with Ken Moulton and we will probably do this in May

Treasurer:  Carol Martin and Ed Turner
Quite the Vaudeville Act, they entertained us with their “Choose the Money Bucket”!  Three Enhancements made……
#1 “Skippy” – we have named our terminal processor (for credit card transactions) and Skippy seems happier….
#2  WRCF now we have website giving – handouts made available with info
#3  Blue bucket – a new updated option that we can pay online for our breakfasts as well as donations.

FundRaiser:  Kurt Mitchler and Bill Conklin
Our Major beneficiary is the Windsor High School Welding Facility

1.  Need sponsors – Call Maureen Merrill at 484-0320 if you have ideas and she will facilitate contact with them.  Already have some $1000 level sponsors in Maureen, Kurt, Bill, Leah – thank you. And Survivor CPR is donating $500.
2.  Live Auction – Barbara McChesney. Mike McGuire will be our Auctioneer again. Have Di’s Casa Morada in Mexico for a week. Bagpipes and Brews. Italian Villa. Food events so far………….   Thanks to everyone
3. “Virtual Tables” – Past President Renee Hyde discussed the idea of inviting small groups into your home to do a social/dinner party and participate together in the event and auction.   Talk it up, have your group like we were still doing this live.

Club Operations:  Chris Landwehr
Chris thrilled us with his magic act of a blank piece of paper in the hat and ‘poof’, we have our Weekly Assignments for the next months…  This includes, Room Set up, Greeter, Inspiration, Song Leader, Scribe, A-V Set up and Zoom Team. Meeting assignments – we were reminded that IF you cannot keep your commitment, it is your responsibility to find someone to take it for you.

Environmental:  Barbara McChesney
She needs other members to join her – passionate about elimination of single use plastics. Showed us a short video of “Plastic Soup info”. Will be having a speaker later this month from the Netherlands

Training:  Michael Juric (MJ)
Discussed training for Presidents and Governors. Has  4 Strategic Priorities:

• Increase our impact 
• Enhance participant engagement  
• Expand our reach  
• Increase our ability to adapt

Rotary’s Vision Statement:  “Together we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe in our communities and in ourselves”!

Youth Services:  Pegi Ball

She discussed some of our activities such as WHS Student of the Month (now of the Year as we choose a student from each core ongoing).
Cool Kids Camp, Girls’ State and Youth Exchange:
                Youth Exchange – we have 2 students that will be outgoing and had 3 students apply for our short-term exchange program

International and Club Service:  Susan Cole and Sue Nelson

Celebrate some of our victories……..
                Wasteless Windsor – District Matching Grant
                Truckers Against Human Trafficking
                Greenville, CA Fire Relief
                Windsor Girls Softball Equipment Bags
                Windsor High School Girls Athletic Program
                Santa Tim
                North Bay Met Academy Water Catchment         
                Windsor Community Holiday Food and Toy Drive
                Peruvian Water Project (Engineers without Borders)
                Haiti Earthquake Relief

Give a huge round of applause for all that our small club has accomplished and will continue to accomplish.   Thanks to everyone!!!!

Next Meeting:   Tuesday, January 11^th at 7:15 am at Windsor High School Welding Facility

President Pam ended with sharing the definition of Commitment:  “A Noun  – the little choices everyday that we make which lead to the final results that we are striving for!”

The meeting was adjourned………………….

COVID UPDATE from Diane Brabetz:

               FDA AUTHORIZES BOOSTERS FOR YOUTHS, AGES 12-15!    FDA also shortened to 5 months the time required between 2^nd dose and ability to be given the Booster.  

OMICRON cases are here in Sonoma County!  Epidemiologists continue to warn us against an increase in COVID and continued spread if we do not get people vaccinated and boosted.   If you have not gotten your booster, please find an appointment and get one now to protect yourself. Also consider getting your flu shot and encourage those you know who have not been vaccinated, to get theirs now.  Let me know if you have issues with finding appointments.   I can and will help!

               Our State is now requiring masks to be worn indoors.   This mask mandate was put back into place because the per capita rate of new coronavirus cases jumped. This means that anyone, regardless of vaccination status must be wearing a mask in all public indoor venues. California has also mandated testing requirements for 1000 or more people attending indoor events to have a negative test within 1-2 days  before the event. The State is also recommending travelers who visit or return to California to get tested within 5 days of their arrival and the Federal government is imposing stricter regulations for testing when flying.    Testing can be difficult to find, but check for pop-up clinics daily and I do offer testing at my office with an appointment.

               We do remain vulnerable to the coronavirus with more travel happening, large gatherings occurring and people letting down their guard. If you want to schedule either a booster or the vaccine, appointments can be found by visiting: https://socoemergency.org/events/category/pop-up-vaccine or call 707-565-4667.

Total Cases: 46,745* (2 weeks ago 44,091), Recovered: 43,136 (2 weeks ago 42,253), Active Cases: 3,191* (2 weeks ago 1,422)    ***Please note this huge increase!!!!  We continue to climb***

Deaths: 418   (2 weeks ago 416)  Please continue to honor those we have lost by encouraging those you know who have not become vaccinated, to get their COVID shot, get a booster and their flu shot. Help us stop the surge and keep our residents safe….   Fortunately, this Omicron does not seem to be as deadly as Delta but more contagious.  

New Cases: 1,994  cases this past week (2 weeks ago 520) – this is a huge increase and demonstrates how infectious Omicron can and is.

Hospitalized: 29 confirmed and 3 suspected (2 weeks ago 30 confirmed and 5 suspected)     

Vaccination information….  As of January 2^nd, 2022, 917,953  doses of vaccination have been given to residents in Sonoma County. (2 weeks ago 885,527).  77% of our population 5 years and older  (5-11 year olds have now been approved and are counted in the population vaccinated or not)  are fully vaccinated and approximately 8% have received at least 1 dose.   Providers in Sonoma County are giving shots to our 5-11 year olds and are also providing Boosters for anyone over 18, but we are not seeing large numbers seeking vaccinations yet. 

MASKS: It is now recommended to not use cloth masks as the droplets of the virus can penetrate them. Omicron is highly contagious and will get through.   It is recommended that you use a surgical mask, KN95 or the N95. If you continue to use your cloth masks, then please use two and double up. This will help with the spread of this fast spreading variant. Fortunately it does not seem to attack the lungs like the Delta variant but instead causes more of a respiratory illness.

There are now new requirements on testing before flying – our government has mandated within 24 hrs of a flight and more countries are requiring testing to travel in or out.  If you are traveling, please ensure you check with your airlines to see what the requirements are before you leave. We continue to see breakthrough cases of COVID, but most people who have been diagnosed with a breakthrough are either asymptomatic (which means they are infectious and can spread it without knowing) or are mildly sick.   This is an indication of how well the vaccines are working.  The State is also suggesting that anyone traveling when you return to test 3-5 days after your return.  Isolation requirements for those positive but asymptomatic, fully vaccinated and boosted have been decreased to 5 days (from the previous 10 days)  People who are symptomatic should isolate until asymptomatic and check with Public Health or their Physician as to their safe return to work.

If you have not gotten a booster and are in a group that can, it is highly recommended to give your immune system a boost.  Also get your Flu vaccine as we do not want citizens coming down with the flu. This not only compromises their immune systems, but can also weaken their lungs.  We need to keep our hospital beds free for those really sick and help our limited medical staff ready to help those with COVID and not have our county  residents admitted with the flu.

So, I hope your Holidays were all that you wanted, that you were cautious and that if you were around groups of others, you will test.  Mask up, get your booster, your flu shot and just be careful as we learn to live with this virus.   Please remember, if you are in a meeting indoors, remove your mask only to eat and drink and then replace it immediately!  Help protect the ones you love!

Please know that I am always available to answer questions, help with scheduling appointments, providing a test or even FIT testing you for a N95 mask so that it fits properly.

Thanks, Di