Greeter: Kelly Youngstrom

Invocation: Ken Carter

Flag Salute: Ben Stinson

Roving Mic: Mike McCoy

Song: Breslin with Amy Adams “Rising Stars” who gave us a beautiful rendition of Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5

Guests:

Juan Bustamante introduced Jordan Gill, a student at Bakersfield College

Toni Harper introduced Lissette Ma with Arise Psychiatric Medical Group

Visiting Rotarians:

Stephanie Baker with Breakfast Rotary Club

Douglas Carothers, Assistant Governor with Bakersfield West Rotary Club

Toni Tax:

Anthony Tobin made his way to San Luis Obispo’s Farmer’s Market and brought Toni back a strawberry raspberry jam and a blood orange-infused olive oil. Sounds yummy, but looks like President Toni might be on a dry spell for the week!

Good News & Announcements:

Andrea Hansen, who was representin’ for Lizette Gomez, announced next year’s theme for the annual Bakersfield Women’s Business Conference. Slated for April 22, 2027, this year’s theme is ‘Share Your Light’. To learn more, visit BakersfieldWomen.org.

Andrea Hansen was back at it on the mic to encourage all Rotarians to celebrate National Dance Day with Kern Dance Alliance. The event is this Saturday at the Dignity Health Theater and will feature classes, workshops, and free performances all day! Buy tickets online at kerndance.org/danceday.

Don Bynum announced that when playing Jean Luc’s new Rotary game, he got the opportunity to levy a fine against another member. His words, “I can’t help it. Alex Balfour never comes to the meetings. He’s probably golfing so he definitely gets a fine today.” Bad luck for Mr. Balfour and a win for the Waterman Foundation!

Before the program got started, Toni shared some of her own announcements with the Club:

• Good news announcements are up 152%! At yesterday morning’s Rotary Board meeting, we learned that the club is looking strong. Even better, meeting fees are down 27%. As Toni put it, “If you come, you’re happy!” So congratulations to everyone for showing up—and hopefully Rotary is a bright spot in your week!
• We’re out of Facebook jail! Apparently, we somehow landed ourselves in Facebook jail, but thanks to Mike Willis, we’ve officially been broken out! We’re starting fresh with a new Rotary Facebook page and would love for everyone to follow.
• New Wanted Poster: Apparently, Parick Paggi has earned himself a spot on the Rotary “Wanted” list! Toni jokingly noted that Pat joined the club in 2021 but has already mastered the art of missing meetings. His reward for making it back into the room? Three misdemeanors! We’re glad you’re here, Pat!

• Next week’s meeting: We’ll be off-site at Cal Dairy! Closed-toe shoes are required, and comfortable shoes are strongly encouraged because we’ll be doing some walking. Box lunches will be provided, but we’ll keep lunch brief so we can get right to the tour. More details will be coming by email. 

• The following week, October 1st: We’ll be off-site again, this time at Temblor Brewing. Thanks to Don for hosting us! And the best part? Closed-toe shoes are not required, so feel free to break out the fancy footwear.

Program:

We were excited to welcome Rotary District Governor Margarida Eidson as our guest speaker! Margarida brought plenty of energy, enthusiasm, and good news about what’s happening throughout our Rotary District.

Margarida shared a little about her journey to Rotary. Originally from Portugal, she moved to California in 1998 and eventually joined Rotary in 2017. What started as an opportunity to develop her leadership skills quickly turned into a much deeper appreciation for the scope of Rotary’s work. After discovering just how much Rotary does locally and around the world, Margarida became increasingly involved at the district level, serving in several leadership roles before becoming District Governor.

One of her biggest focuses this year is membership growth. Margarida encouraged clubs to think beyond simply asking friends and coworkers to join and to find new ways to introduce Rotary to people who may not know what Rotary is or what it does. The district is investing in marketing through social media, television, radio, billboards, and its People of Action campaign. The goal is to make it easier for people to learn about Rotary and connect with a local club.

She also emphasized that retention starts with engagement. Members who are involved, having fun, participating in projects, and seeing the impact of their service are more likely to stay connected. Margarida encouraged everyone to bring new project ideas to their club and to collaborate with other Rotary clubs and community organizations whenever possible.

Another highlight was learning more about the Rotary Foundation and the impact of our contributions. Margarida reminded us that club projects can create both immediate and long-term change, and that international projects can have a ripple effect far beyond the initial investment. She also shared her excitement that Rotary is getting closer to the goal of eradicating polio.

Margarida also encouraged clubs to think bigger through partnerships with Rotary clubs in other countries. Our district has sister-district relationships in Mexico and South Korea, creating opportunities for clubs to collaborate on projects locally and internationally.

And, of course, there are plenty of opportunities to have some fun along the way! Margarida highlighted upcoming district events, the Flash Mob Day of Service on October 3rd, the Rose Parade float, District Conference, and even introduced us to Roary, the district’s giant Rotary bear and newest marketing tool. Apparently, Roary is available for club events—but there are rules. Most importantly, Roary must always wear his pants! We’ll leave that story for another newsletter.

Margarida closed by reminding us that Rotary is about more than what we do in a single moment. This year’s theme, “Creating a Lasting Impact,” is a reminder that our service can continue making a difference long after the project is finished.