Spoke Profile:
Jorge Barrientos Jorge Barrientos is the director of marketing and public relations at Chain | Cohn |Stiles law office. He serves on board of directors for a variety of community organizations including The Hub of Bakersfield, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Kern County Chapter), and Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Education Foundation. When he’s not working or serving our community, you can find him traveling the world (pre-COVID) with his wife Carla and their 2-year-old son Julian.
Invocation: Sam Newland
Flag Salute: Ray Watson
GUESTS: Traco Mathews, Chief Program Officer at Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK)
GOOD NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1) Ken is back! …: … and feeling much better. He sends his thanks to everyone who checked in, particularly Jim Damian with the stalker-like daily messages. Please stay safe out there. As President Ken said: “The struggle is real.”
2) Welcome Pat Paggi: One of the newest members of Downtown Rotary.
3)
Give Big Kern: The nonprofit and Jim Burke Ford are teaming up. Test drive a Jim Burke vehicle on Dec. 4, and $25 will be donated to Give Big Kern. Visit
jimburkeford.com for more information.
4) Bell Ringing: The annual Salvation Army fundraiser takes place next Friday. To volunteer, please contact Mike McCoy, Pat Collins, Andrae Gonzales, Ben Taft, Jeff Johnson, or Ben Stinson.
5) Retraction: It was egregiously and erroneously reported that new member, Molly Bussaca, graduated from USC. She, in fact, graduated from UCLA.
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Speaking of Ben Taft, he is offering up an alternative to bell ringing:
December 11th 2020
3 to 5 PM... Or a little later.... 2 hour window
Salvation Army Bell Ringing
Covid Style
“Drive by” Birthdays, Anniversaries, Graduations you name we have learned how to “drive by” celebrate it.... Now just in time for the Holidays you can :Drive by” the Taft house and drop off a Check made Payable to The Salvation Army
7801 Buena Tierra Court - 93309
December 11th 3 to 5 PM
Collection techniques include but are not limited to:
- Pool leaf skimmer basket with pole
- 5 MPH Drop and Dash TM
- The Paper Check Toss
- Paper Airplane check
All donations come with a Thank You and a 10 pound bag of Oranges*
NO Bounce House – NO Slip & Slide (aka Hip Breaker)
Single Serve beverages will be available
This is not Super Spreader event.
Call Ben 661-978-9044 if you are interested in NOT Ringing a bell but helping collect checks for the Salvation Army.
*While supplies last
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COVID CONNECT:
President Ken presented a literal COVID Connect, in which he shared that he had a fever for 9 days. He also gave us a sneak peek at his medicinal regimen, and his football throwing skills while fully dressed in PPE. To quote Ken: “I felt like a mack truck ran me over.” Again, be safe out there.
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PROGRAM:
We were joined by Kelly Damian – writer, high school English teacher, community activist, and wife of sergeant at arms
Jim Damian – who spoke about Rotary’s “ultimate mission” (to quote Rotary International President Barry Rassin) in tackling climate change and protecting our environment, and how we can approach that mission here in Kern County by bringing water through the Kern River in Bakersfield. Doing so, Kelly argues, will recharge the groundwater, prevent unnecessary deaths by drownings, beautify our city, and much, much more. “It’s foundational to life, our business, our community, and ag, but it’s also foundational for the people who live here. We should no longer accept this dry scar that runs through our city. It’s not an either-or proposition.” She encourages Rotarians to visit the “Bring Back the Kern” website (
bringbackthekern.org), whose mission it is “to restore a reliable flow of water to the 10 miles of Kern River that runs through Bakersfield. The riverbed is dry not just because of seasonal conditions, but rather from decades of business deals that have left the citizens of Bakersfield in the dust.”
Some more reading on the topic:
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