We had a special treat at the BBRC meeting at The Broken Yolk. No, not mimosas like I asked for, but certainly a close second as our own Athena Collup took over the helm to serve as president for the day. She honestly did an amazing job. In case you have missed the past couple meetings, or have not read in The Beacon, President Dave Spalinger has initiated a program in which each month he will choose a member of the club to substitute as president (at least during the meeting.) If President Dave had been at the meeting, he would have been proud seeing the skill Athena showed as the meeting leader.
Oh yes, for those of you BBRC members who were curious at to where President Dave was, it is said that he was presiding over a wedding in Lake Tahoe as a $50 ordained minister. What would compel him to drive all the way up there to do that? I didn’t see Dennis “I have a home in Lake Tahoe” Scott at the meeting, so maybe The Prez is hangin’ out with Dennis. Keep your eye on Facebook for evidence that may appear of them together.
Jeff Bell got things off the ground with our morning Invocation asking for members to receive blessings towards our Rotarian community service efforts, and that Athena would enjoy a non-stressful, yet successful morning serving as president. Harry Bryant led America’s Flag Salute, as Songstress Chelsea Ashcraft brought the “pipes” and enthusiasm in having us join in singing her rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”.
**Featured Program**
Things moved at breakneck speed as there were no Visiting Rotarians or Guests early in the meeting. It should be noted that Past BBRC President Don Trybul joined via Zoom from Peoria, AZ during the program. Welcome Don!
Pete Leveroni was shortly on his way to the podium to introduce this morning’s speaker, Allison McClain, founder of the Bakersfield Angels, a chapter of the National Angels. The Bakersfield Angels chapter will the fund-a-need recipient of this year’s BBRC fundraiser, Wine, Place, and Show. Not too long ago, Allison heard a radio show about how difficult it is for foster children and the how many there are in our nation. Allison listened to the statistics of the high number of foster children who fail - failure in the workplace, failure in education, and coming full c
ircle, failure as parents when their own children enter “The System” and become foster children.
ircle, failure as parents when their own children enter “The System” and become foster children.Allison shared that her program is brand new in Bakersfield; a formal launch is planned for September. The National Angels began in 2009 in Austin, TX. Your Beacon writer comes from a 30+ year law enforcement background. I know there will be challenges Allison and her team will face. There are hundreds of foster children (her “kiddos”) that Allison hopes to reach. All of whom need support and encouragement.
Allison found gaps in the current foster care system which she has plans to fill. The Bakersfield Angels will address the kiddos needs from two fronts. The first is “THE LOVE BOX” which are monthly care packages for the foster children. Packages could be a birthday gift, transportation costs, or an outing. Secondly, there is the “DARE to DREAM PROGRAM”. This program enlists adults willing to spend one-on-one time with a current or aged-out foster youth between the ages of 15 and 21. The adults serve as mentors and advocates for the youth. Mentors offer emotional and practical needs of the youth while demonstrating honest-to-goodness human life skills.
Essentially, this is why Allison and her mighty committee decided to take on this daunting task. She said the goal is to break the chain and address the issues these children face in the foster system. Yes, there are other programs for foster youth in Bakersfield. One would think that should address the problem. Still, sometimes children fall through the cracks. Allison shared that nationally 50% of our homeless population has spent time in foster care. Nearly half of all children that age out of foster care will be incarcerated within 2 years. Statistics show that a shocking 66% of children in foster care will be homeless, go to jail, be sex trafficked or die within one year of leaving the system. Allison says we can do better, and we as Breakfast Rotarians agree. Allison is seeking “People with Hearts”. She will be pursuing case workers, volunteers, and financial donations to support The Bakersfield Angels. And that is where BBRC comes in.
I suggest visiting The Bakersfield Angels at https://www.facebook.com/BFieldAngels or, email them at info@bakersfieldangels.org I expect we will be seeing more of Allison and her band of Angels more as we slide toward our annual fundraiser, Wine, Place, and Show slated for September 9th, just in time for The Bakersfield Angels launch. So, let’s get busy, and make this fundraiser for Breakfast Rotary and The Angels the best ever. Thank You Allison for visiting and y’all come back soon!
**BBRC Bits**
With Athena back up at the podium anything goes. With two swipes of her gavel, Athena wanted to know which Breakfast Rotarians knew the “clue for fine redemption” embedded within The Beacon this week. Again, Athena went to our Bree Goodmon. Ummmm she doesn’t know the clue…$10, then off to Deidre Brown…ah another missed opportunity $10. Dave “Newsmagazine Man” Perkins raised his hand with confidence. When Athena yielded to Dave, Dave announced out the correct clue…WPS is September 9th! Good job Dave!
Athena was relentless, she next sprang on to members who joined the meeting on Zoom for a Pin Check. You could hear ZOOM attendees scrambling to grab Rotary Pins from their home stash.
There is that rare occasion when Past Presidents assemble to decide fine one of their own. In this case, triggered by the Pin Check, President Dave’s whereabouts were questioned. The past presidents showed no remorse for President Dave given that he did not even Zoom into our meeting. For that miscalculation in judgement, they fined The Prez $50, which coincidentally happens to be the cost of his wedding officiant license.
Athena went on to announce the “ugliest” mask contest winner. Yes, we actually had a contest for this announced last week…She declared Sandra Parnell the winner by a snot, literally. You’ll have to ask Sandra about her snot if you were not at the meeting. Doubling as the Birthday Girl, Sandra was the recipient of a fine bottle of Conundrum wine for her mask.
Other celebrants were Past President Kay Pitts who has served our club with honor and distinction for 20 years! Wedding Anniversaries include Dan and Char Johnson 5 years and Mary Jo and Tom Pasek 48 years. Wow, they must have had a pre-arranged (not pre-arraigned) wedding at 12 years of age. They look so good!
**Vocational Moment**
Michele McClure is “Taking Care of Business”, the banking business that is. Michele has been working in overdrive these days with the number of federal business forgiveness loans, and payroll programs she and her staff at Pacific Western Bank have been processing over the last 4 months. It’s a wonder Michele has had time for herself, or even Rotary, but she does because she is a Breakfast Rotarian. On top of these federal assistance programs, Michele told us she is still processing the regular business development and loan programs at breakneck speed. Michele told us that because of recent rapid demand for business loan programs she became an overnight specialist in loan processing and underwriting, which are not even in her job description. She said to try to keep up with demand from account holders she had to step up her expertise and expand her job duties.
Working 7 days a week,12 hours days is not a regimen Michele recommends, but even with the extra work from the federal programs, she and her team continue to provide advantageous banking resources for their business clients. With all that energy tapped out of her tank, Michele still had a bit left over to share with us that her bank offers competitive real estate loans, refinance, and business equipment loan opportunities. She said some of these business loan programs are being offered through SBA, and the time to act is NOW. Michele is available to assist anyone with these products and if she is like me in business…SHE LOVES REFERRALS! Some of the loan programs expire September 27th so call her today if interested. She is located at 11120 Stockdale Hwy. Suite 101, (661) 664-3440.
**Wine, Place, and Show**
With the Bakersfield Angels team at our meeting we wanted to demonstrate our efforts in rallying support for Wine, Place and Show. Sandra Parnell expressed the need for additional Breakfast Rotarians to take advantage of the opportunity to host 10 to 20 people at their home for a Wine, Place, and Show party event – (This week’s quiz question is how many people are we asking you to host at your home for WPS). Sponsorships are actively being sought; ticket sales of $100 each will soon begin. Remember, Luigi’s is catering the home party events. Now how can you beat that? Contact Sandra or Alison Hickman to reserve a spot as host while space is still available.
In her closing comments Athena thanked our guests and announced that next weeks “mask contest” will be the funniest mask.
Rotary Brings out the Goodness in Us,
By: Frank Wooldridge
7/22/20