President Christine Jensen rang the bell and welcomed club members and guests to the small, but mighty, Rotary Club of Arden Arcade. She thanked everyone for coming.
Pledge:
Linda Bigler
The Prez asked Linda Bigler to lead the pledge to our flag.
The Prez then led the club in reciting the 4-Way Test:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
She then asked Mike Grace to provide the invocation.
Invocation:
Mike Grace
... and Guests!
Les Gudger - Visiting Rotarian?
It was suggested that Les Gudger be introduced as a Visiting Rotarian. The Prez took a more conciliatory approach to Les being at the meeting, expressing her delight that he was once again able to attend. She also noted that his absence was in service to the club, ensuring he gavel was safe from unauthorized disappearance. She thanked Les for his sacrificial service-above-self to the club, just to ensure the gavel's safety. She also took advantage of his rare appearance to introduce him to the new members of the club, all of which were wondering, who the heck this guy was, and why did he have a gavel fetish.
Joelle Fondale - Guest of Roy Vogel
Debbie Hudson was happy to introduce Joelle. This is her third meeting, and she has submitted a membership application. It is rumored that she is being seriously considered for membership... even though she is the daughter of Roy Vogel. This club does not subscribe to the theory of guilt by association and realizes that none of us pick our parents.
Joe Ellis - Guest Speaker
The Prez introduced Joe and promised to say more about him later.
Les Gudger - Bell Ringer
Les was pleased to ring the bell, noting he was happy to see it was still there. He thanked the club for the welcome back. It is exciting for him to be back. He is ringing the bell because he became a grandpa for the seventh time on Sunday. The little boy is Coen, 7 lbs. 1 oz. Les was particularly pleased that he was paying for ringing the bell with real money, not plastic.
Bill Hambrick - Bell Ringer
Bill shared that he and his wife, Leigh, took a vacation to Tennessee to see why everyone is moving there. He now understands, and at the same time, doesn't understand. Contrary to popular belief, they did not travel all that way for the bourbon, they went to see their daughter, grandkids, and visit the Mammoth Caves... the bourbon was a nice side-benefit.
Chris Figueroa - Door-Bell Ringer
Chris is ringing the doorbell (he is new, give him a break!) because he forgot to bring the club badges today (like I said, he is new, give him a break!). Some wise-a$$ who had taken her badge home with her after the last meeting, with the initials Linda Bigler, suggested that everyone without a badge needed to pay a fine. The Prez quickly noted that Chris paid all the fines with his doorbell ringer. Chris is Al Cady's #2 minion and is in training to be Al Cady 2.0, the bugs are still being worked out in the new model prior to final launch.
Matt Ross - Bell Ringer
Matt shared that last week was a big anniversary in their family. It was the 15th Birthaversary for his nephew. Fifteen years ago, the nephew got a bone marrow transplant. He wouldn't be with us today without it.
Jenny Davini - Bell Ringer
The Prez asked if she was announcing another grandbaby and Jenny said "no, but I did get to spend the whole weekend with the newest one." She has been a little busy of late. She made it through tax season, followed by the bridal shower, then babysitting duty while her daughter went to her sister's bachelorette party. The bell is being rung for surviving the last month and maintaining her sanity and having a good time in the process... there was no mention of wine as a contributing factor in her ability to survive.
Al Cady- Happy Bucks
Al Cady is happy because Minion #1, Chris Lewis, is rebuilding the badge box.
Rolundia Mitchell - Happy Bucks
Rolundia bought 5 tickets to a Barry Manilow Concert and then found out it was a scam website. The happy part of this story is that she was able to get all her $$$ back. There was no word on whether she was able to get real tickets.
Matt Ross reminded everyone that they are required to attend at least one of the fireside chats. Rob and his lovely wife, Vanessa, are hosting the last option Fireside Chat this Wednesday, April 30th at 6:00 pm.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awakening (RYLA)
Bruce and friends conducted the RYLA interviews on Friday at Aspire school. He thanked Rachel Hock and Marisol Cabrera for their assistance with the interviews. There was a plethora of applicants, and they had a difficult time trimming the plethora down to five. They had even more difficulty whittling the 5 down to 2. The good news is, the three not selected, though worthy of attendance, may still get a chance to attend as they are on a waiting list that may allow them access if District Governor Steve Turner can work his Magic of Rotary.
Macy's Grant Opportunity
Rolundia reported that they are going to go shopping with 10 kids this Thursday at 1:30 PM. She still needed a couple of volunteers to help. The volunteers pair up with the kids to help them with their purchases and make sure that they do not go over their $150 limit. Not only do the volunteers get the excitement of helping a child but they also get to wear the new Rotary Service vest for the all-important photo-op. The vest's need to be returned because Al said so. Also, they only say Rotary on the front, and we still have to print Arden Arcade on the back.
Carroll Cook explained that Rolundia was a bit modest in her explanation of how the club got the Macy's grant. Carroll got the call about the opportunity, but it was Rolundia that had the information, and she had to take time away from her vacation at her old school reunion luncheon to finalize the grant application in order to qualify for the grant.
Carroll also shared that he wanted to make sure that the kids got what they needed without worrying about going slightly over the $150 amount, so he gave Rolundia his Macy's card to cover any overages, up to $500 in total... not $500 each.
Rolundia Mitchell
Red
Rolundia gifted her wine
to the grateful
Newsletter Editor
The newsletter editor noted that Big Al Frumkin still had a problem finding the Secret Word, even though it was printed in RED, and, written in 9 point, as requested by Al Cady. The only thing left to do is to email Big Al the secret word.
We are going have the Sacramento Dance Theater on May 27th.
We will be DARK on June 3rd; and on June 10th we will be celebrating
the last Off-site, and the Prez's last, lunch of the year.
Demotion Information
The demotion has been changed from June 14th to June 7th and once again to June 6th. Please change it one mor time on your calendar. It is going to be held at the Gibbons Community Center in Gibbons Park at 6:00 PM. More information to follow.
Scholarship Meeting at Del Paso Country Club
We will be passing around the paper with the lunch choices for the lunches at the Scholarship Meeting at Del Paso Country club next week. Also, next week the hat will again be passed to help cover the cost for the meals for the students and their parents.
Palm Street Pub & Grill
Another signup sheet will be passed around for members to identify their meal choice for the Prez's last meeting of her term on June 10th at the Palm Street Pub & Grill.
Blue Book Advertising
The Prez noted that we have a lot of new pages to be added to the existing and new Blue Books for all of our new members. To help cover the cost, advertisement pages are being sold. This is a pay one time, and have your ad in the Blue Book forever, offer. You can invest in a one page, or half page advertisement. The cost per month, when taken over a 25-year life of the book is pennies per day, almost free. The investment qualifies as a business expense and is completely deductible... if you don't believe me, and you shouldn't, ask your tax advisor.
Why should businesses have all the fun? If you do not have a business, but have a cause, promote it. If you think volleyball is a sport, take out an ad. If you hate soccer, take out an ad. If you have a favorite Rotary Club President you would like to honor, buy an ad, or pitch in and buy a group ad. Memorialize your thoughts in print! For pennies a day you can be long remembered by our club for helping pay the cost of updating our beloved Blue Book, brought back to life by those members too stubborn to learn how to use their phone apps.
Your ad, prominently placed in the resurrected Blue Book will give every member of the club a reason to open the book, just to see the height of dedication you have to the club, and the deep, thought-provoking, message you have provided via your ad in the now revered, new and improved, larger edition, with larger print for the aging eyes of our members, Blue Book.
New members are encouraged to place ads that will commemorate the year they became members. So, 25 years from now you can proudly point to the coffee-stained ad in your Blue Book, showing the depth and longevity of your commitment... all for pennies a day... over 25 years. Contact President Jensen for further details, or to purchase your legacy ad before they realize the true value of the ad and raise the price. Ask for the friends and family rate. They won't give it to you, but you should ask anyway, just to annoy them.
Tip of the Hat to Rotary
We have hats, lots of hats, and they will be available for purchase next week. These are a one-size fits-all adjustable hat, available in two colors, light blue and white, with Arden Arcade Rotary emblazoned upon them. These caps not only keep you head warm, but when worn properly, they also keep the sun out of your eyes, Failure to wear your hat as God originally intended, voids all eye protection warranties, and may lead to blindness. BIG AL... the Secret Word is HAT.
Interact Banquet
The Prez is not going to be able to attend the Interact Club banquet. She is looking for a couple of people willing to attend on behalf of the club. The ability to speak teenager is desirable but not mandatory. Translators will be on site. DG Steve noted that the adults attending the banquet are all invited to a no host preparation meeting at the Monks Celler Brewery for mutual fortification and preparation to Interact with the new generation. The dinner is free for the students, $60 for the adults. The chronologically aged, albeit pedagogically young at heart, still have to pay.
District Award's Night & Chilie Cook Off
The award's night this year is on a Monday, June 9th at 6:00 for the amazing price of FREE. We are serving wine and beer and need people that know how to pour both responsibly. Volunteers are being requested for this fun event at Safetyville Sacramento, that little town designed to make everyone feel like giants. Everyone is encouraged to attend in honor of the first time in years, maybe forever, that our club has completed the 52-page questionnaire, and is a shoe in for winning at least the penmanship award. This would be a great place to wear your new hat, brim forward.
There was a question from a person that just woke up from his nap, regarding awards and if our club will be receiving any. He was reminded that we have submitted the 52-page application and have a good chance of receiving one. This same person asked if there was a procedure in place to facilitate the impeachment of the current District Governor should the club not win an award? The Prez appropriately deflected the responsibility for the award selection to the awards committee and not on the District Governor. Undeterred, this person with the initials of Al Frumkin, wanted to go no record as being in favor of impeachment. The other Al stated that we will need an attorney and asked if the first Al knew of a good one.
The Prez sincerely wants our club and the members to receive acknowledgements for all of the good work it does, and it was an honor for her to spend the hours, and hours, and hours, filling out each of the 52 pages with impeccable penmanship, in order to ensure credit is given for the good work done by our club.
Please consider helping with our Rotary tent at this year's Unity Fair at Howe Park. Supervisor Rich Desmond is sponsoring this fair to help celebrate and incorporate the different ethnic populations we have in Arden Arcade, in particular the recent influx of Afghanis to our community. We want everyone to feel welcome and help everyone integrate into our society. There will be music, food, henna art and other fun activities.
Joe Ellis
Teacher, River Guide, and Heart Attack Survivor
Prez Jensen introduced Joe, a P.E. teacher at Del Campo High School for 20 years, a white-water guide for 3 decades, a cardiac arrest survivor, and our connection to the AED's installed through our grant program. Joe shared that he has been on three different continents and over 200 rivers in his lifetime. He got started river rafting up in Coloma, in Placerville, on the South Fork of the American River. After high school he went to Southern Oregan University and found white-water rafting. He knew that river rafting was going to be his thing, and it has taken him around the world.
The picture above is the Middle Fork of the American River, not the south as the slide states. This is where the story of his heart attack starts. Joe got up on the morning of May 20, 2023, kissed his girlfriend and his kid's goodbye, and went to the South Fork of the American River for the first trip of the season. 2023 was a record water year and the river was running high.
The halfway point is Troublemaker, with class 3 and 4 rapids. Just above that at mile 3.7 he started getting a burning sensation in his chest. Initially, he thought that someone had pulled a prank on him and put a heat cream in his shirt. As he moved down through the narrows through Troublemaker things started getting serious. He started getting a lump in his throat. He was still trying to keep his guide talk going. He made it through Troublemaker and things started to get worse. He was sweating profusely and took off his helmet, something he is not supposed to do, or had ever done in his career. At mile 5.8 he blew his whistle, and the safety kayaker came over. Joe told him he needed to get off the river fast. They pulled off at a county park, Henningsen Lotus Park, the last spot on the river with good access by vehicles. He was taking his stuff out of the boat preparing to enter a van that had been called to come get him and take him to his truck. He was planning on taking himself to the hospital to get checked out, just as a precaution. Two minutes into his time on the shore, while taking everything out of the boat, he grabbed the Automatic External Defibrillator, AED, along with the other gear. He set the stuff on the ground and then he saw the rocks coming toward his face and that was the last thing he remembered. He woke up 3.5 minutes later, not knowing what had happened except that his face stung. About 4 minutes later he saw the EMT's walking towards him. It was at this point he figured he had a heart attack. Only about 35 minutes had elapsed since he felt the first symptoms. He then found out that he had been shocked back to life. They picked him put and put him in the ambulance. He was calling all his family members on the way to the hospital.
We do not have an AED problem; we have an AED access problem. Outdoor access is a major issue.
Because of the news coverage of the installation of the AED's, one person watching realized that he had the same symptoms and went to the hospital. He was having a heart attack, and they admitted him right then. What Rotary is doing is helping save lives.
Joe was fortunate to have had the AED with him. In less than 3 minutes he was being attended to and his life was saved with the use of the AED. The chart above shows the importance quick response plays in the saving of lives.
Quick access to an AED is important and central placement of AED's allows for greater availability for a larger facility and serves more people. Shocking the heart in under 4 minutes provides a 70% survival rate.
This is why Rotary is helping the park districts with outdoor AEDs.
There was an AED at the Henningsen Lotus County Park, locked up in the boat house. It was not available to them. Had it not been for the AED they brought along on the raft, Joe may have died.
This is a picture of Joe, 4 months after his heart attack on his first time back on the river with his kids and girlfriend. This is only because he had an AED available. Our Rotary Club is getting the word out about the importance of public access. Other Rotary Clubs are asking about the program. Other communities are asking if their local Rotary clubs can help them with AED availability. Our efforts are saving lives. Joe thanked the club for their efforts to help get more AEDs installed and help other people have the chance to live another day.
President Jensen presented Joe with the Club's challenge coin and told Joe to talk with Steve Turner to learn about how challenge coins are used and abused.
President Jensen rang the bell and closed the meeting at 1:01 P.M. extoling everyone to go "Share the Magic of Rotary."
Respectfully (more or less) submitted by,
Mike Grace
Reporter, Photographer and Editor
Hellen Weight
Ombudsman and Content Supervisor
DISCLAIMER - Some of the information provided in some of the articles, and possibly included in some of the "quotes" from club members, may have been a fabrication of a demented mind. It is up to you to determine fact from fiction. Individuals objecting to all or any part herein, are encouraged to go to Hellen Weight to lodge a formal complaint.
Club Information
Service Above Self
Tuesdays at 12:00 PM
Piatti
571 Pavilions Lane
Arden-Arcade, CA 95825 United States of America
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