Greeter: Kristen Watson
Flag: Jean Luc Slagle
Prayer: Clinton Trimmer
Song: Garro Ellis led Margaritaville in honor of Jimmy Buffet... once he figured out how to get the mic working.
Guests:
Juan Bustamante brought Kamal Bhakta, Christian Hernandez, Angel Medrano, Alexis Erdahl, Basilia Vargas, Luis Alverez and Christian Romo.
Bill Lever brought Christine Diaz.
Captain Trimmer brought Emma Ruiz.
We had a visiting Rotarian, Frank Coatrulgio (and Christine Diaz).
Good News:
Thank you to Kurt Wingate from Glinn and Giordano for sponsoring this week's good news announcements. The CEO of Terrio wept.
Andrea Hansen wanted to acknowledge Rick Kreiser, fellow Rotarian and member at West Rotary, he was given the Brock Award. She also reminded us that National Dance Day is this Saturday! Get your tickets at the Kern Dance Alliance.
Garro turns 60 this month and is going to the Ryder Cup for a celebration in Rome, Italy. This was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime with all of his buddies, but his wife has hijacked it and is coming along. We hope you still have fun Garro – and here is to another year around the sun!
Hal Aaron is turning a very young 95 this month! Hal still works daily and golfs twice a week. What a spirit he has! Wishing you, Hal, the very best year filled with continued good health and prosperity.
NEXT THURSDAY, September 21 at 5:30 is the Margarita Party at the Barbich’s home located at 3801 Claremont Dr, 93306. This will count as our weekly meeting so make sure to show up! Kindly RSVP to Sheryl if you are attending and if you have a plus one. Thanks to the Barbich’s for their hospitality over the years!
Also, Sam Abiaoui discussed the devastating earthquake in Morocco, which is where he is from. He talked about the pictures not doing justice in capturing the amount of devastation. He has already raised over $20,000 and would welcome any assistance if it is on your heart to give. You can contact him at gmconsultingco@gmail.com.
Program:
Jim Damian introduced our speaker this week is Abby Lehnig, Kern Regional Director of the California Policy Center.
Abby holds bachelor's degrees from Utah State University in Applied Mathematics and Spanish and recently earned a master's degree in Public Policy from the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. She first became interested in politics and policy while interning in the Embassy of Peru in Washington, DC. Before joining the California Policy Center, she interned at the Center for Growth and Opportunity, where she published research on wildfire and solar energy policy. Abby grew up in an active-duty Air Force family and is now happily making California her home.
The California Policy Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit that takes no government funding and supports small, sustainable government. They are excited to be in the Central Valley as they believe that their values align closely with ours. They aspire to make California the freest and most prosperous state in the nation where everyone can get a fair shake in life, families can afford to live, our public education system is excellent, resources are used responsibly and businesses can thrive.
Their main focus is public-sector unions. They maintain that the government unions negotiate with the politicians they helped elect and whom they can easily target – thereby the unions operate the government machinery. They have several projects. One of the most effective is the Janus Project, named after a court case in 2018 where it was found to be unconstitutional to require government employees to pay dues to a union they may not agree with. The CPC has engaged in a significant campaign to educate workers. Abby shared that $340M a year has been lost over the last few years, and that member in California unions is down 30%
They also have the CPC Parent Union which is a coalition of parents, educators and advocates designed to advance meaningful policies in education.
To see all of the offerings of the California Policy Center, you can visit https://californiapolicycenter.org/.
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