On Saturday, April 13th Rotary Secretary Kim Cade gave an inspiring speech about her two brothers who suffer from a  gene mutation condition with a long name and the initials of ALSP (Look it up!). Kim's speech told the heartbreaking story of how her brothers suffered with misdiagnosis until finally being tagged with ALSP. Kim also has the gene that causes this disabling disease but is not symptomatic from it. While there is some limited treatment, there is no cure for this disease that leaves its victims unable to walk, speak and do the ordinary things of life that we take for granted. You can search YouTube for Kim Cade ABF Speech-ALSP to see and hear Kim's speech. See photos below.

Sgt. Angel Salcido offered MB Rotary an informative program on the Grizzly Youth Academy that is located on the adjacent grounds of the California National Guard in San Luis Obispo. This is a free 5-1/2 month residential program of leadership training within a quasi-military environment with an onsite Charter school. The program operates with the San Luis CA National Guard and the San Luis Obispo County Board of Education. Credit deficient or children from 16 to 18 who are at risk of dropping out of high school are eligible. They must be drug free and legal residents. These youngsters participate in rigorous physical training along with classes and can earn 60+ high school credits. They leave the program with their GED and are either college ready or with good career explorations. There are also scholarship opportunities available. Most graduates go on to higher education or good entry level jobs. Some go into the military. Angel walked the audience through the application for attending emphasizing that parents must be involved in the process.

On January 30th the Rotary Club of Morro Bay was treated to a great BBQ lunch and tour of the Morro Bay Police Department. Commander Tony Mosqueda was Chef for the day and cooked up some great Harris Ranch hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill along with baked beans, potato salad and lettuce and tomato salad. While we enjoyed our lunch, Chief Amy Watkins brought us up to date with the state of the department and a bit about her personal sports history. 

On International Peace Day in September Peacebuilder Chairperson Ruth Ann Angus and Interact/Youthact Adviser Jessica Weiss went to the Morro Bay Kid's Club and joined with kids ages 5 through 8 doing a special art project. The kids used photos from Rotary magazines and stickers and other art pieces that emphasized nonviolence and peace designing a Peace Blanket. The blanket is being produced at a photo lab and will be an auction item for the Morro Bay Rotary Club to bid on. Then it will be sent somewhere in the world to some needy child who needs a blanket to keep warm sleeping at night. These are the community peace projects that this Rotary club is concentrating on for this year. Stay tuned and check back for new information on Morro Bay Rotary Club Peacebuilder Projects coming soon!