Rotary Bulletin - March 16, 2020
-by Jim Hunter
After a rousing Thought for the Day by Paul Allman, which nobody remembers what he said, (but I’m sure it was profound), the meeting kicked off in usual high gear. We witnessed a video of health experts emphasizing the importance of not touching your face after washing your hands and, sure enough, after several minutes they all touched their faces. So much for “do as I say, not do as I do.”
We were brought up to date by our city leaders as to how the city is preparing for any coronavirus outbreak that may happen in Manhattan Beach or surrounding beach cities. Our guests were Mayor Pro-Tem Suzanne Hadley; Police Captain Tim Hageman; Chief Larson of MB Fire Department; Superintendent Mike Mathews of the MB Unified School District and Hilary Rosen, an Epidemiologist with the California Department of Public Health, specializing in infectious diseases.
Their messages were similar: Don’t panic and stay calm. Our leaders are in daily contact with the LA County Board of Health, who is up-to-date on any and all outbreaks. City employees including fire and police personnel are being trained and educated on how to respond to emergencies. There are no plans to close any schools, but any student showing flu-like symptoms will be sent home and they will continue to keep parents, teachers and students informed.
Bottom line: wash hands and follow medical expert’s advice.
Our speaker today was Scott Martin, who works with Rotary in their role in building global fellowships throughout the world. Scott is a member of Mediators Beyond Borders International. Following Mazlow’s hierarchy of needs, Scott led us through an interactive demonstration of the importance of accepting other people’s point of view, even if we disagree. This leads to their goal of better world relations and less war.
Food for thought in today’s political climate…