Jack Tibbetts is the Director of Government and Community Relations at California Clean Power, which was acquired by Pilot Power Group as of July 1. CCP is an advisory firm that leads local communities through the process of setting up community-owned electrical power companies such as Sonoma Clean Power.
Jack is a candidate for Santa Rosa City Council but will be speaking today about one topic at the forefront of local issues in which he has been involved- homelessness.
Jack was born and raised in Santa Rosa. He attended Saint Eugene's Cathedral School where leading a life of "service to others" was instilled. When visiting home from UC Berkeley in his Junior year, Jack read that homelessness in Sonoma County had risen 40%; he convened a group of friends and business owners to create the nonprofit, Warm for the Holidays. Each year Warm for the Holidays partners with local businesses to collect and distribute thousands of coats and sleeping bags for local homeless service providers. Jack has since worked on a number of housing initiatives for the homeless and, while working for the Sonoma County Economic Development Board, crafted policy-based solutions to help low-income entrepreneurs get onto a pathway to earning higher wages. Most recently, Jack pushed the concept of "Empowering Housing" with the County of Sonoma, which has become known as the Tiny Home Initiative. Jack is committed to supporting public-private models to tackle homelessness, and sits on the Fund Development Committee for the Palms Inn, working to create a sustained funding model to support the Palms Inn in perpetuity. Jack also serves on a number of local boards and commissions, including the PDI Surgery Center, the Sonoma County Public Library Foundation, Roseland University Prep, Children's Humanitarian International, as well as the City of Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities.
Above, Sunriser Rob Sanville, Bulletin Sponsor for July reminded members and guest of the truth and value of business referrals in Sonoma County: "That's the way it works here." Business is built on reputation. Word of mouth referrals is what Rob credits for growing his company, Computer Link PC and Network Management, an IT services and computer repair company.
Shauna Lorenzen, SRKSEP aka Santa Rosa-Kagoshima Student Exchange Program Chair announced this year's incoming group arrival Sunday August 7. Members interested in helping transport these students in their travels about the northbay please contact Shauna. The seven young ladies and one brave young man are eager to discover and share insights during their 12 day stay.
Dave Lorenzen, club database and Web Master was recognized for his invaluable, unsung, keep it going expertise!!
Del Raby hoists his empty coffee cup in defense of his earlier cross table exchange of an empty carafe. His boldness initiative cost him $5!!
All in all, Merle's first meeting was a great start to her new year. Her closing thought from Mahatma Ghandi set a fine tone!
On a regular basis, our resident photo pros Warren Smith and Jack Strange submit pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren and Ross! Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
Lorenzo Dueños, Chief of Police for Santa Rosa Junior College, Marine Veteran and local Community development advocate became Sunrise Rotary's first new member of Merle's 2016-17 year.
A recent featured speaker at Sunrise Rotary, Lorenzo was introduced to Rotary by Ross Andress and sponsored by Warren Smith., to his left above as he is inducted by Jim Moir.
Lorenzo receives a club banner from President Merle, encouraging him to visit other clubs and bring back one of their banners.
Hmmm? Lorenzo examines his newly minted-temporary Red Badge. No stranger to identification badges, Lorenzo will be exchanging this one for a standard issue permanent Blue Badge soon.
Sunrise Rotary commenced it's 31st year as President Merle Hayes accepted her gavel. Handed down from Charter President Warren Smith (1986-87) through 23 Past-President's, Merle accepted her Bell Ringer from 2015-16 President Eloise Tweeten. This "passing of the gavel" tradition demonstrates the strong leadership and succession depth within Sunrise Rotary.
Merle's theme for the year is "Believe in the Possibilities of Rotary." A fourth generation Sonoma County native, Merle's heritage is mapped in the Occidental area, on Harrison Grade, named after a great grandparent. Raised in Healdsburg, Merle became aware of Rotary as a child through that city's Rotary Club adopting an American Battalion in Korea. Merle later deferred applying for a Rotary scholarship offer in lieu of employment. Her father, a local Kiwanian inspired an ethic on service, and as a high school teacher and multi-sport coach, generated Merle's lifelong love of sports.
Attending as Merle's guests were daughter Cathy and grandson, John.
Merle believes in the power of dreaming, and how history can inspire us. One of her plans is introducing us regularly to Sonoma County historical facts. BE FOREWARNED: You may be quizzed on a few!!
Merle asked several Board members to briefly describe their goals, among them Marty Behr, Membership Chair. "We want to be at least 70 strong", a net gain of 6 by this time 2017. Marty's leadership this past year is a sweet record, with a net gain of 3.
Member involvement is the key to retention, and to help engage all members Merle called on Leroy Carlenzoli to recruit partners in Leroy-led projects. Leroy wants you to let him know your interests and skills in the building and repair domain: Carpentry, plumbing, electrical, digging, irrigation, painting. Here Leroy and recently inducted Noel Glab listen for further instructions.
Noel just returned from a vacation in Poland. She found Rotary in evidence, but unfortunately missed a step at the train station and received a fractured arm in exchange. Undaunted, Noel nevertheless endured temporary triage and brought Merle a memento as well.
Don Floriani and Paul O Rear, Program Coordinators want your suggestions for our weekly speakers, an essential ingredient in our recruitment and retention. Everyone leaves Sunrise with some sunshine, even Olin Leasher is smiling after drawing a non-winning white marble in the weekly raffle!
We are a service oriented club, and also FUN loving. While not a singing club, we have legendary social cohesion. We put legs to our dreams and believe in the possibilities we imagine. July 21st is one of the first opportunities to see for yourself the strength of our fellowship: Join us at St Francis Winery for an evening of Fun & Film ("The Candidate"). Our own winner Merle is already inaugurated: Sunrise's 31st year has dawned!!
Today, we look ahead toward a Rotary year that may one day be known as the greatest in our history: the year that sees the world's last case of polio. Wild poliovirus caused only 74 cases of polio in 2015, all of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As we continue to work tirelessly toward our goal of eradication, we must also look beyond it: preparing to leverage our success into even greater successes to come.
It is tremendously important to Rotary's future that our role in the eradication of polio be recognized. The more we are known for what we've achieved, the more we'll be able to attract the partners, the funding, and, most important, the members to achieve even more. We're working hard at RI headquarters to be sure that Rotary gets that recognition. But it can't all happen in Evanston. We need you to get the word out through your clubs and in your communities about what Rotary is and what we do. We need to be sure that our clubs are ready for the moment when polio is finally eradicated – so that when people who want to do good see that Rotary is a place where they can change the world, every Rotary club is ready to give them that opportunity.
We know that if we want to see Rotary Serving Humanity even better in the years ahead, we'll need more willing hands, more caring hearts, and more bright minds to move our work forward. We'll need clubs that are flexible, so that Rotary service will be attractive to younger members, recent retirees, and working people. We'll need to seek out new partnerships, opening ourselves more to collaborative relationships with other organizations.
Looking ahead, we also see a clear need to prioritize continuity in our leadership. We in Rotary are all playing on the same team, working toward the same goals. If we want to reach those goals together, we all have to move in the same direction – together.
Every day that you serve in Rotary, you have the opportunity to change lives. Everything you do matters; every good work makes the world better for us all. In this new Rotary year, we all have a new chance to change the world for the better, through Rotary Serving Humanity.
Since 1917, when Arch Klumph proposed an endowment "for the purpose of doing good in the world," The Rotary Foundation has grown into a world-class humanitarian organization. Few other charitable foundations can claim a 100-year history – all the more impressive when you consider its humble beginning of only $26.50. The fact that our Foundation now has $1 billion in assets is a testament to the remarkable generosity of Rotarians worldwide. I often wonder just what our Foundation will look like when all Rotarians, everywhere, give it their sustained support.
I hope each of you will take the time to consider our Foundation's many successes, achievements we can all be proud of. Over the past century, we have provided $3 billion to tackle a wide range of problems, large and small, in thousands of communities worldwide. Our global and district grant projects are saving and transforming lives, and we are educating scholars and training professionals to carry on this vital legacy.
Our centennial offers an ideal opportunity to remind our members – and tell the rest of the world – about our Foundation's rich history of humanitarian work. It's time that everyone knew about our leading role in the battle to end polio, a fight that Bill Gates and others agree would never have been possible without Rotary's extraordinary dedication. Let's also spotlight the many ways we're fighting other devastating diseases, providing cleaner and safer drinking water, spreading education by promoting literacy, and helping local economies grow.
However you celebrate our Foundation's centennial, I hope you will make that celebration as public as possible. Hold an event that involves your entire community and showcases The Rotary Foundation's good work. You'll find many ideas for centennial celebrations at www.rotary.org/foundation100.
RI President John Germ's theme, Rotary Serving Humanity, speaks directly to the work of our Foundation, which for years has enabled Rotarians to embrace humanity and serve those in need. This year, let's commit to sharing those inspirational stories, just as we continue to write more and more of them.
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
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