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SPONSORS OF OUR CLUB

2023-2024

November 7th through December 3rd

Our Holiday Gifting and Giving Online Auction is back!

Gift Certificates, Custom Baskets wrapped for gifting, wine and more

Click Me to go the Auction

Welcome to the BEST Rotary Club in the world!
You can email us at cambriarotaryclub AT gmail.com

Service Above Self

We meet In Person

Fridays at 12:00 PM

San Simeon Lodge

9520 Castillo
San Simeon, CA 93452
United States of America

Hybrid Meeting Schedule: Friday Lunch is at Noon & Zoom feed opens at 12:15 prior to the meeting opening. Cambriarotaryclub@gmail.com 805 395 2775

District Site

Venue Map

THE ROTARY CLUB OF CAMBRIA IN PERSON EVENT COVID 19 POLICY

The Rotary Club of Cambria continues to follow San Luis Obispo County Health requirements and recommendations regarding COVID-19. In keeping with ever-changing circumstances and therefore Public Health recommendations, our club will continue with hybrid (Zoom and in person) meetings, as well as continue to recommend that all members be vaccinated (including boosters). However, proof of vaccination will no longer be required for in-person attendance for members or guests. Further, our club strongly recommends that all in-person attendees, whether vaccinated or non-vaccinated, wear masks when indoors and not actively eating or drinking. Thank you for your patience and consideration.``

This policy is subject to change at any time as the situation changes.
Signage at check-in will also reflect this policy and any changes in this policy each week

ROTARY CLUB OF CAMBRIA

4th OF JULY BOOTH

Paula Winland

Dec 01, 2023

Home for Aids Orphans

Dark for Holiday Party that evening

Dec 08, 2023

Brandee Browem-Puett

Dec 15, 2023

Senior Nutrition of SLO

Dark

Dec 22, 2023

Dark

Dec 29, 2023

View entire list...

Cambria Rotary

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Club Assembly

Club Service Chair, Karen Pelle told us that, so far this year, Club Service worked

on the July 4th Picnic in the Park, Pinedorado Parade and the District Gover-nor’s Reception. On Dec. 4th, Hospitality Night, we will be in front of Mi-mosas with Santa from 3-7 and we will be offering framed photos of children with Santa. And, on December 8th, we will be gathering for our annual Holiday Party. It is always a fun time. Tickets are $55 and you have your choice of Prime Rib,

Salmon Mediterranean, Chicken or Eggplant Parmesan. Make your reserva-tions today!!

Community Service Chair, Sandy Cha, explained that the Community Service Committee meets via Zoom at 11 a.m. on the first Thursday of the month. Meetings typically last less than an hour and we welcome anyone interested to join us. Committee members work

together to choose projects that the community needs, the community wants, the commu-

nity supports and the club supports.

So far this year, we have donated to: American Legion Fourth of July; Beautify Cambria trash can maintenance, Cambria Grammar School PTA Taco Night, Cambria Chorale program support, Cambria Historical Society School House Project, CUHS Bronco Boosters (banner), Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Estero Bay Kindness

Coalition’s Got Your Back program, Honor Flights and Vineyard Church Feed the Needy program.

Luanne circulated a booklet about the Santa Lucia Middle School field trip to the Catalina

Island Marine Institute. 7th Grade Science teacher, Kasie Hoss, took 30 7th graders from her class to Catalina in September for a 3 day, 2 night outdoor science school. Our Youth

Services Committee approved a donation to help fund the trip and a number of club members made individual donations. The trip was a huge success judging by the letters the students wrote and compiled into a booklet about their trip. It is attached to the email. Just one

more way our club is making a difference for students in our community.

Steve Brody Julian Mercado Hidden Creek Movie

Ed Arrigoni told us that Julian Mercado is a Coast Union graduate who took filmmaking classes while at Coast which led him to go on to film school. He is now back in Cambria working on his own film and has Coast students helping and learning. Ed then turned the mic over to Julian Mercado who introduced Steve Brody.

Hidden Creek was filmed entirely in Cambria on Gloria Fiscalini’s ranch. It is about an old widowed rancher who fears he might be losing his mind and suspects his son and daughter of furthering his dementia so they can sell the ranch out from under him. The film presents a contemporary reinter-pretation of the traditional rancher’s story. A tale that addresses significant themes such as Alzhei-mer’s Disease, generational land preservation, the grief associated with losing a loved one, and their impact on small family dynamics.

The film will be premiered on January 13, 2024 at the Hearst Theatre at the Castle. Julian explained that they have secured funding for production but are still in need of funds for promoting the movie. It is their hope that they will be able to show the movie at various film festivals in the coming months. For more information about the movie, the Gala Premier or to donate, go to HIDDENCREEKMOVIE.com.

The Rotary Foundation

Rotary foundation

Chuck told us that The Rotary Foundation (TRF) was built from the bottom up. It started as one club in Chicago and has grown to be a huge international organization that fights poverty, disease, hunger, thirst, illiteracy and promotes peace.

Rotary International: RI is the administrative arm of Rotary. The dues we pay to Rotary International (RI) goes for administrative costs, not charitable giv-ing.

TRF is the charity arm of Rotary International. It’s a non-profit supported by contributions from Rotary members and other donors who share our vision of doing good in the world. The Foundation’s mission is to help Rotary members advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through local, national and international humanitarian and educational programs.

You can specify where you would like your donation to go. If you write TRF in the memo section of your check, it will go to charita-ble giving and help fund the 7 Avenues of Focus: Peacebuilding, Disease Prevention, Water & Sanitation, Maternal & Child Care, Basic Education and Literacy, Community Economic Develop-ment, Environment and Disaster Relief. You can indicate The An-nual Fund/Share so that a portion of the funds are returned to the club in the way of District Designated Funds. Donation to the Polio Fund go directly to Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio. By noting Endowment, your donation is invested to support Rotary's causes today while generating funds that will further the work of future Rotarians committed to Doing Good in the World.

Laurei Lackland the two pathways to Medicare

Jonathan explained that, in life we are blessed to have options but sometimes it is a chal- lenge to select the right option for you. “When it comes to the Federal government”, he said, “they haven’t quite mastered the art of simplicity. So, we are lucky to have Laurie Lackland with us today to help us understand the pathways of Medicare. Laurie has a long history in the health field, having been a Nurse Practitioner for the SLO Veterans Admin- istration. She is now the owner of Lackland Health Partners helping people navigate the sometimes confusing world of Medicare.

Laurie began by telling us that, if you are confused about your Medicare options, you are not alone. She explained that there are 2 options:

Original Medicare Parts A & B: Part A is for in hospital care and Part B is for out patient care. The pros of original Medicare are that you have freedom of choice with no network constrictions and no need for referrals. The cons are that there is no cap on out-of-pocket expenses, no routine dental, vision or hearing and you need to add Part D which is the drug plan.

Medicare Advantage Part C: With Part C you get Part A & B plus Part D. The pros are low premiums, many “extras” included and there is a cap on out-of-pocket expenses. The cons are that there are network restrictions and strict rules regarding prior authorizations.

Laurie remined us that Medicare Enrollment is from October 15 until December 7t

5K Walk Run for Polio

Laudon told us that she really did not know much a out Rotary when Dr. Joe brought her to her first meeting. She was amazed at how passionate members were when discussing Polio. Two of her cousins, brother and sister, contracted Polio. The sister still walks with a cane and the brother was confined to a wheelchair. So she and her family have been touched by Polio leading her to want to do something to help eradi-cate the disease.

Julie explained that she contracted Polio at 8 months old and her dad contracted it 10 days later at the age of 30. Despite having Polio herself, she really didn’t feel driven to get involved in the End Polio campaign until her dad’s condition deteriorated in 2009. There was nothing she could do for him but decided she would get involved in the End Polio movement in his honor. People often think Polio is not a big deal. So what if someone walk with a limp. But, Polio can do so much more destruction. Julie showed us photos of some victims in the poorest communities around the world. She explained that there is no cure, only prevention.

Jane told us about “NID’s”, National Immunization Days. 3 or 4 times a year, Rotary International teams up with the World Health Organization and local Rotary Clubs to vaccinate every child in countries where Polio is endem-ic. Bruce and Jane originally went to India and Nigeria on NID’s. The local Rotary Clubs were the key because they knew where the children, who had not been vaccinated yet, were located. People with Polio in these re-mote areas can’t work and their families often are embarrassed and shun them. One Polio victim Bruce and Jane met decided to build a bicycle that could be ridden using your hands rather than your feet. This invention has helped many victims who previously could not get around at all except by crawling.

Chuck announced that in 1988, there were 350,000 cases of Polio in the world. Today there are 7 cases in just two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Rotary Foundation has created a global infrastructure to reach the most remote areas so children in those areas could be vaccinated. To date, 3 billion children have been vaccinated and an estimated 20 mil-lion did not contract Polio because of this effort. Even after Polio is eradicated, the infrastructure will remain and will likely help to combat other diseases.

A copy of the slide show that was shown during the meeting will be attached to the email with this newsletter. Laudon will be reporting on the very successful 5K Walk/Run for Polio at Friday’s meeting.

Upcoming Club Events

SPONSORSHIPS: PE Miguel announced that we are now up to $21,500 in sponsorships! Miguel thanked Patty for everything she did to make this happen. Sponsors have agreed to sponsor our club for the entire 2023-24 Rotary year and will be acknowledged throughout the year on social media and on event flyers and posts. See current list of sponsors on page 5. (List to be updated as new sponsors sign up).

GIFTING AND GIVING ONLINE AUCTION: Lorienne told us that we have a total of 60 baskets so far and Karen Pelle has volunteered to make baskets for anyone who does not have the time or will to make their own. Luanne told us that 125 shops in town have been visited and given a packet tell-ing them what Rotary does and asking them to donate to our auction. Of those 125 businesses, only 20 have to be revisited. If you can take the time to visit 5 of these businesses, see Luanne. And remember, proceeds from this auction go to Avenues of Service.

WINE: Mr. Wine himself, Dennis Rightmer, along with fellow wine enthusiast, Miguel Hernandez, have been visiting wineries to get donations to be used in online auction baskets, the Wine Pull during Viva and the live auc-tion. Please check your wine cellar/supply to see if you have any bottles, worth $25 or more, that you could do-nate. In the white wine category, we especially need Chardonnay, Viognier, Albariño, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Etc . As for reds, we especially need Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet, red blends, Merlot, Grenache etc. Wines can be brought to a Friday meeting or dropped off at Linda Sherman’s.

HOLIDAY WREATH AND GREENERY SALE: Sue told us that, despite the fact that is is not even Halloween yet, we need to get our order for holiday wreaths and greenery by November 7th because they do not begin to harvest the greenery un-til they receive our order. We saw a video that shows how the company harvests and create the wreaths. You can view it at https://vimeo.com/281337775/f6948038ef. Please consider purchasing a wreath or other green-ery either for yourself or family and friends at https://sherwoodfundraiser.com/CambriaRotary2023

TASTE OF CAMBRIA: Mark your calendar for Tuesday, November 7th for this fun new event that will benefit lo-cal youth programs and refurbishment of the bandstand. Tickets are available at Taste of Cambria or from Bob Kasper.

Miguel finished by telling us about his experience at President Elect Training where he learned a lot about what being President is all about. He came back with some great ideas and looks forward to his 2023-24 Rotary Year!

A copy of the slide show that was shown during the meeting will be attached to the email with this newsletter.

Marvin The Camp Ocean Pines hawk

Andrew introduced Camp Ocean Pine’s Naturalist, Tay, who has been with the camp for about 2 years. Tay introduced us to Marvin, who he explained is a Falconry bird who has been captive since he was a baby. The bands on his feet were placed there when he was a baby and will always remain there. If he were to get loose, the bands identify him as a captive bird. He also has a tracker on his back and a strap that attaches him to the glove that Tay is wearing. Marvin is on an educational permit and he is used to teach falconry during camps and also travels to schools to teach kids about hawks and falconry. Camp Ocean Pines needs to renew Federal and State licensing every year in order to continue their falconry program. Marvin responds to his name and doesn’t care for other animals, as evidenced by his loud screeching when he noticed a dog outside the window during Tay’s presentation. A big shout out to Camp Ocean Pines for hosting our meeting and for treating us to a delicious lunch!

All about Peace

Peace Committee Chair, Paula Porter told us that this year’s plans are about Pickets, Poems and Rocks!

The Cambria Grammar School Peace Leader Program was started in 1998 by a team of teachers and parents as part of a county-wide consortium. The program was originally called "Paxis" which means Peace. The Peace Leader Program is based on the belief that academic achievement and school safety will improve with a positive common language that encourages respect and personal responsibility. Teachers Mrs. Kathy Quigley and Ms. April Benham were fired up and ready to go. Their enthusiasm was contagious and soon the Keys to Peace and the Peace Promise became a part of every student's vocabulary.

Peace Council Representatives are selected from each class to participate in Council meetings. These 1st-5th grade leaders plan school-wide activities, create project samples. and promote events with posters and bulletin boards. Activities spread messages of empathy, kindness, gratitude, family, friendship, and Peace.

5th Grade Peace Leaders, Annabelle, Kathy and Miguel from Ms. McCarthy’s class and Kat, Sandy & Chase from Mr. Sassaman’s class recited the Peace Promise then each student told us about various projects and activities the Peace Council has planned for this year that follow the Keys to Peace: Honor good acts, Offer help, Stop harm and blame, Make amends, Find trusted guides and Strive to improve.

We were then treated to a video of 2023-24 RI President Gordon R. McInally’s speech about peace at the recent RI Convention. You can see the speech at https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGtxKLnmknvzgxMcSGwqCwsNrpm?projector=1

Peace Hand

Marta Golding Brown District 5240 Governor

ADG Michelle Lilley told us that it was fitting that, after visiting all the clubs in the county, they ended up her for the last meeting because “you guys are the best and so much fun”. But don’t tell Cayucos she said that.

Michelle read Marta’s bio: Marta joined Lancaster Sunrise Rotary in 2005 serving two terms as Club president, receiving co-President of the year for District 5260 during her first term. She has served five years as Assistant District Governor, was a multi-year District Trainer and Group Study Ex-change (GSE) member, staff member and Director. In 2015 Marta moved to Ventura County and joined the Oxnard Rotary Club, in District 5240. Pri-or to being chosen as District Governor Designate in 2021, she served the District as the PRLS (Practical Rotary Leadership Seminars) Director for two years and as District Trainer for three years. Marta is a Multiple Paul Harris Fellow, Paul Harris Society Member, Major Donor and achieved PRLS and Master PRLS Graduate in 2006. Marta is Co-Founder and CEO of Smart Coast California and has had a long and successful career in housing and community development in California and Nevada. She accepted this position in February 2023, following eight years as the Government Affairs Director for Ventura County Coastal Association of REALTORS®. Smart Coast California supports property rights in coastal communities and in 2022 she received the California Association of REALTORS President's Award for leadership for this work. She’s earned the National Association of REALTORS’ Realtor Association Certified Executive (RCE) designation, exemplifying a goal-oriented association executive with drive, experience, and commitment to professional growth. She was one of only 510 association executives nationwide and just 38 in California who held the designation when she received it. Marta resides in Ventura, California with her husband Forrest, and they have a daughter, MacKenzie living in Col-orado.

Bringing out the best in Cambria Youth - PTA

PTA president Agatha Diepenbrock and vVce President Brittany Pope

Cambria Grammar Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is a group of parents, family members, and community members working together to support the school, students, teachers, and staff. We are part of the National PTA as well as the California State PTA . Their mission is To help bring out the best in each child by encouraging their families and our community to take part and contribute to a meaningful and rewarding school life experience. The PTA financially supports school activities through PTA membership fees and organizing fundraisers, such as Reading for Education and Taco Night. Funds support the activities and programs that enrich the lives of students such as Field Trips to museums, theaters and nature experiences; Scholastic Book Fair, Gardening and Farmers Market partnership with One Cool Earth, Read Across America activities, Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, Community Youth Athletics and Family Education programs such as Be Internet Aware (online citizenship and safety. Our Community Service Committee was proud to present a check for $500 to the Cambria Grammar School PTA to fund their Family Taco Night.

10 Signs and symptoms not to Ignore - DR Kate

As Dr. Kate has told us before, “It is better to be wrong in the ER than to be right somewhere else. Kate covered a 10 signs and symptoms that de-mand immediate action:

Headaches: a severe headache could indicate a brain bleed.

Dental Hygiene: a cracked or broken tooth can lead to an infection which can increase your risk of a heart/cardiovascular issue.

Shortness of Breath: a sudden shortness of breath could indicate a clot in the lung or a heart attack.

Blood Pressure: normal is 120/70. It is important to know your numbers. If your top number goes over 180 or your bottom number goes over 100, go to the ER immediately. You could be at risk for a stroke or heart attack and your organs can begin to shut down.

Chest Pressure/Pain/Nausea: indicates a heart attack. 50% of people experiencing these symp-toms do not make it to the ER because they wait too long.

Piercing Stomach Pain: could be an ulcer and, if left untreated, it could perforate your stomach.

Injury: if you cannot put weight on the area, if it bruises and/or swells immediately, it is likely a fracture.

Bleeding: Sudden bleeding from rectum, vagina or bladder could indicate a cancer risk.

Weight loss: Unplanned, unexpected weight loss could indicate a cancer risk.

Swelling and redness in one extremity only: an ultra-sound is needed to determine if you have a blood clot.

Thank you Kate for making sure we know when to go to the ER. Trust me folks, Kate knows what she is talking about!!

Interact Board CUHS

Jonathan Mumper, Rotary Interact Advisor told us that his goal for this year is to encourage students to go out and find a way to make an impact.

The 2023-24 Interact Club at Coast Union High School will be led by Presi-dent Adair Ponce who addressed our club at Friday’s meeting. Adair told us that last year’s club members did numerous beach cleanups, helped at Pinedorado, participated in Squibb Day, the Camp Ocean Pines Harvest Festival, Trunk or Treat, Oktoberfest, Art & Wine, the Easter Egg Hunt and more. Money raised during the year is donated to causes selected by the club members. Previous recipi-ents include Jack’s Helping Hands, Camp Reach for the Stars, LA Children’s Hospital and SLO Food Bank to name a few. Their goal this year is to expand the club by letting students and teachers know what Rotary and Interact are, expand the board and spend wisely and effectively. Joining Adair on the board are Olivia Klemstein, VP; Ashley Becerril and Dane Volz, co-secretaries; Ashley Klemstein and Tristen Lehrmann, co-treasurers; and, Sean Schalk, who will serve as social media director along with Estrella Merced.

After the meeting, the Interact students joined club member to fill 150 bags of hygiene products for the homeless in our community.

This promises to be a very productive year for the CUHS Interact Club.

Coastal Pines Medical Group

Coastal Pines Medical Group is a collaborative effort between two fami-ly practice physicians who share a deep commitment to caring for their patients as they do their own families. In order to provide excellent standards of care, CPMG has adopted a membership based practice model. Sometimes called "concierge medicine", this model allows the physician to spend high quality time with patients. This model results in a deeper and more rounded relationship between physician and pa-tient, as well as being more cost effective and providing higher quality care. Dr. Dave Griffith was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona but in a family with deep roots in California. Dr Dave attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut earning a BA in physics and obtained an ED.M. from Harvard University. In a desire to understand how the human body works, he went to UCSF medical school in his early 30s. Dave chose to specialize in Emergency Medicine and did his residency at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. Dr. Dave joined the ER group at French and Arroyo Grande Hospitals in 2010 and branched out into a solo practice of elderly homebound patients in 2018. He plans to continue to care for the patient's in his home visit practice several days a week while staffing the clinic at Coastal Pines Medical Group on the other days. He continues to find his home in medicine as a place he can pursue lifelong learning and growth and finds his life enriched beyond measure by the relationships he has developed practicing primary care since leaving the emergency room.

Dr. Brooke LaDuca joined CPMG in July, 2023. She comes to us from more than 15 years in academia, teaching new physicians at the Long Beach Memorial Family Medicine Residency program. She is fantastically overquali-fied to run our little clinic but has amazing ideas and plans. She is brilliant, experienced, wise and compassionate. She is committed to her future role as the “community doctor” and sees each patient as a complete individual. She believes in wellness and health, not just treating disease. She is trained in “Lifestyle Medicine”, amongst nu-merous other accomplishments.

Dr. Kat Estopinal grew up in Houston, Texas. She attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC where she received her BS in Biology of Global Health. After graduation, she completed two years of service work, first with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Sacramento, CA then with AmeriCorps in Austin, TX. While in medical school at Texas A&M College of Medicine in Temple, TX, she joined the US Army via the Health Professions Scholarship Program. During her residency at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center in Fort Hood, TX, she built a foundation of full-scope Family Medicine which she continued at her next duty assignment at Brian D. Allgood Medical Center in Camp Humphreys, South Korea. Dr. Estopinal utilizes evidence-based medicine to provide preventative and wellness medical care for all ages from newborn to geriatric patients. The Jesuits’ motto cura personalis (caring for the whole person) particularly resonates with Dr. Estopinal. As a Family Medicine doctor, she values taking care of the whole family, as well. She has significant experience with women’s health, sexual assault medical care, and transgender medicine.

Tech Trek

Donna Crocker told us that about 30 years ago, the American Association of University Women sponsored a study of gender equity which showed that girls were being short changed when it came to being encouraged to and have access to academic and careers in science, technology, engineering and math. So they started a program known as Tech Trek. Through hands-on problem solving and encounters with women role models in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), AAUW Tech Trek helps girls see their futures while having nonstop fun. This one-week summer camp is backed by AAUW’s research and designed to make STEM fields exciting and accessible to girls in middle school — the age when girls’ participation in these fields statistically drops. For many girls, the week long camp sparks their curiosity and places them on a path toward success. For the first time, 2 students from Santa Lucia Middle School received scholarships to Tech Trek at UCSB this summer. The scholarships were funded by donations from University Women of Cambria and Cambria Rotary. Both young ladies thanked University Women and Cambria Rotary for giving them the once in a lifetime opportunity to attend the weeklong camp at UCSB. Betsy Gonzalez, told us how proud she was to be one of the first girls to attend this camp. The experience was amazing and opened her eyes to what possibilities are out their in the fields of aerospace, robotics, forensics and marine science. She was especially interested in the field of forensics. She hopes that many more girls will follow in her footsteps and apply to attend Tech Trek Summer Camps in the future. Dayami Ramirez was also proud to be one of the first Santa Lucia students to attend the Tek Trek summer camp. She talked about the project group she was part of and the fun activities they participated in. She was especially impressed with the robotics and coding classes she attended and the cruise where she got to see whales and dolphins. She told us that this was a life-changing experience for her. A big shout out to Donna for bringing this amazing opportunity to our attention and to Principal Dave Nygren and teacher Kasey Haas for supporting it. Hopefully these are just the first of many local girls who will be attending Teck Trek in the coming years.

Kathe Tanner Decades of being Cambria's Community Reporter

Kathe Tanner has been writing about the people and places of SLO County’s North Coast since 1981, first as a columnist and then also as a reporter. Her career has included stints as a bakery owner, public relations director, radio host, trail guide and jewelry designer. She has been a resident of Cambria for more than four dec-ades, and if it’s happening in town, Kathe knows about it. Cambria has had a local paper for over 150 years. The Cambrian was launched by Marcus Waltz in 1931. She began writing for the Cambrian and Tribune in 1981. When she joined the paper as a part-time reporter (after spending a decade as a columnist), the staff included an editor, news editor, sports reporter, full-time photographer, four staff writers, various interns and “stringers,” and advertising and circulation staffs. Now it’s just me, covering from Big Sur to Cayucos, and sometimes farther down the county’s North Coast.

Many of the priceless documents from the Cambria are now housed at the Cambria Historical Society’s Moure Resource Center, because when the Cambrian’s office closed down in 2018. Kathe stuck to her guns and insisted that the archival newspapers belonged to the community and needed to stay in town.

The Linn Family Story - Aaron Linn

Renee was one of 9 children who were brought up in Kansas City. John was the son of a single mom in Orange County. They met at Kansas State University. For years, John and Renee had driven through the Midwest farmlands admiring and longing for a healthy life working together as a family. With their minds made up, they bundled up newborn son Justin, packed their books and student loans into a '64 VW bug, and headed for Denver. They were determined to make enough money to buy into their version of the American dream. After finding no job available in a bad national economy, John borrowed $750 to put a down payment on a service station where he not only sold gas at the height of the oil crisis, but specialized in foreign car repair. There was plenty of work — often 110 hours a week! The couple began to plan in earnest for a farm by deciding that in five years they would leave Denver with their family and a nest egg. In 1975, the Linns visited Cambria, California for the wedding of a high school buddy whose parents had a small farm on Santa Rosa Creek Road. They fell in love with the pristine beauty, emer-ald green hills, and lush valley. As they were leaving for home back in Denver, their friend's mother pointed out a parcel across the road that was for sale. They drove past the property . . . just to look. But on the flight back to Denver, they couldn't get the beauty of Cambria's hills out of their heads. As soon as the plane landed, they called and bought the land over the phone. It was a crazy thing to do! They didn't have the down payment let alone the money to pay the mortgage and taxes.

When the Linn’s arrived in Cambria in 1976, they felt elated and carefree. Nothing could dampen their spirits. They moved a little (8' x 32') 1952 trailer onto the farm and all five Linns moved in. They refurbished an old well on the property, learned to run trenchers, drive tractors, plant fruit trees, and build water systems and fences. Both John and Renee worked on and off the farm to make ends meet. By 1979, it hit home that without doing something pretty imaginative — and soon, they would not survive, let alone succeed. They needed a cash crop to give them desperately need-ed income or their farm dreams were doomed. They decided to open a Pick-Your-Own with berries and vegetables. It was a success!

Many people came out to the farm, now called Linn's Fruit Bin. As it grew more prosperous, Renee turned her attention to creating Linn's Fruit Preserves and Pies which were widely embraced due to their intensely fresh fruit flavor. One flavor became a particular favorite with customers. It was based on a then unheard of fruit — the Olallieberry — a cross of a blackberry and a raspberry. This turned out to be the cornerstone of Linn's success.

Heide Santos Land of the Pharaos

Heide once again entertained us with tales of her travels, this time to Egypt along with Gerry and Paula. Cairo was not anything like she thought it would be. The hotel was beautiful and the view breathtaking.

During her trip, Heide got to climb the steps of a pyramid built thousands of years ago and enter the entrance to the inside of the pyramid.

On the tour, they went to a magnificent mosque that was build in the 1600’s by Turkish laborers.

And, Heide got to get up close and personal with a camel! What a wonderful experience.

A copy of the slideshow Heide provided is attached to this email.

Bruce Gibson slo County Issues

Bruce was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2007. Recently the Board approved
a $838 million budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year. Some of the more pressing
needs in the county include:
Homelessness: Bruce told us that the board is committed to solving the problem
and homelessness and they are on a path to provide services and housing. Unfortunately,
an increased number of seniors are finding themselves homeless due to
the high cost of living in SLO County. The problem cannot be solved just at the
local level. The California State Association of Counties, a lobbying, advocacy and
service organization representing the state's 58 counties at the state and federal
level, which Bruce has become deeply involved with, is being encouraged to work
with the State legislature to find solutions. SLO County just accepted $13.4 million
to provide 80 beds to address an encampment along the bike trail in SLO. Needless
to say, this is just a start.
Economic Development: Offshore Wind Farms (a project in Federal waters) will
happen. The State has committed to providing projects to help counties provide access to broadband internet so
that everyone will be able to connect with their school and/or job. Childcare is another problem. There is a need
to start investing in early childhood education.
Bruce also told us that they have just named John Nilon as Interim Administrative Officer for the County. John retired
to Cambria after 32 years in government in Kern County and has been active in NCAC, Cambria Healthcare
District and more. They are thrilled to have him serve while they begin a nation-wide search for the permanent
Chief Administrative Officer.

Wade Nomura The 3 Gifts of Rotary

Wade Nomura is involved both local and international humanitarian causes, having worked on more than 200 charitable projects benefiting over 2 million people, including an NID to India, where he has a special passion, having had polio as a child.

Wade is an organizer for Cadres of technical advisors globally and serves on the Long-Term planning committee for the Rotary Foundation program.

Wade is the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Rotary Action Group’s

(WASHRAG) Operations Chair and Technical Officer, and Projects Support Committee Chair for HANWASH (Haiti),

Wade has received Rotary International’s highest individual award, the

Service Above Self award and Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service and their highest individual award, the Distinguished Service award.

Wade is a Charter member of the Rotary Club of Carpinteria Morning, and District Governor in 2011-2012. He is also the Multidistrict PETS Alliance Executive Director, a Rotary Rose Parade Float Director and past 2 times chair, Leadership Training Director, and Rotary International Presidents Representative (12 times).

Wade is the former Mayor and spent 28 years volunteering for the City of Carpinteria, California. In addition to

many other local projects, he was the General Coordinator of Tomol Interpretive Play Area, a $1m partnership be- tween his Rotary Club, the community, local, state, and federal governments. In 2011 he was selected as

Carpinterian of the Year.

A regular keynote and workshop presenter, Wade focuses on topics including building better sustainable projects, leadership, performance improvement, Civil Rights and more. He produces and hosts the TV show Rotary, Serving Our Community (www.WeAreRotary.TV)

Wade was also a multiple BMX National Champion, Hall of Famer and designer of the Nomura Racing bike, an icon

among the avid BMX collectors.

Recently Wade coauthored his biography Creating Destiny, with his wife Debbie Nomura, who is also a Rotarian.

PETS & Next Year
PE Bob Kasper

Bob introduced his wife, Maureen, mother-in-law Maryann (who has lived in Cambria longer than Bob & Maureen) and his sons Aidan and Ryan. He told us that he has been in the club for 16 years. He began with the club when Aidan was 3 and Ryan was 2. Was asked to be president early on but said he would not until the boys were in college and the International Convention was in New Zealand. He accepted now that the boys are in college and the convention was in Melbourne.

Bob talked about his experience at President Elect Training (PETS) where they shared ideas about how to choose a board, ways to make the club more fun and interesting, etc. He came back with some great ideas.

At the International Convention he heard from some amazing speakers such as RI President, Jennifer Jones and a 10 year old girl from Africa who spoke about peace. Incoming RI President, Gor-don McNally will be emphasizing Mental Health during his year.

Plans for his Presidential year: There will be an emphasis on FUN. He is planning incorporating a $1 joke challenge, Rotary Fun Facts, a Random Trivia Contest and more ideas for our meetings. He is proposing that a new member and an experienced member get together for coffee or lunch, get to know each other and make a 3 minute presentation at a meeting about what they learned about each other.

Upcoming Speakers include Wade Nomura (Mr. Rotary), Bruce Gibson, Kathe Tanner, George Daou and a number of other interesting speakers.

5th Friday meetings will be held off-site starting with a wagon ride and BBQ at Covell Ranch. Possibly followed by locations such as Hearst, the Lighthouse, Moonstone Cellars.

DG Marta Golding Brown will be visiting our club on September 8th and there will be a reception for her on the evening of September 7th.

This promises to be a fun year full of surprises.

Creating Music During the Pandemic
Ron Perry

Ron explained to us the challenges in pivoting to creating music during COVID. He showed us how he used a synthesizer to create a number of musical instruments at home (piano, bass, strings, drums) all while dealing with outside noises from leaf blowers and jets flying overhead to phones ringing inside. Ron recorded piano, bass guitar, strings and drum parts for the Elton John song, Tiny Dancer and loaded them onto a program called Audacity. Ron, in Cambria, and his friend, Carolyn in Bellflower, recorded the vocals. Everything was then sent to Brent Keast, “Mixmaster Extraordinaire” who put it all together for the finished product which we were treated to during the presentation.

Cambria Cadence
Donna Crocker

Donna told us about how she and Ann Glaser came up with the idea to create a collection of poems and haikus about Cambria with royalties from the sale of Cambria Cadence support local students’ dreams of high-er education, through the scholarship program of The University Women of Cambria.

The book is dedicated to Ann Glaser who, sadly, passed away in February, prior to the publication of the book. Ann was “a remarkable woman who lived her life with optimism and wonderment, believing in the possible, but attending to the practical. Ann was guided by her dedication to family, friends, faith and community, loved by all who knew her”.

Cambria Cadence features the artwork of Art Van Rhyn, a Cambria legend, as well as a number of his haikus, a couple of which he read to us during the meeting. Donna and Julian read poems they wrote about the Ghost of the Bluebird Inn and Mr. Beal’s Dream House. Rick Auricchio contributed a poem about the “Lockdown in Cambria”, a Covid Sign Limerick and “Hot Sun Kisses Vines”. Otis’s poems “Cambria’s Ode to Age” and “Somewhere” are also included in the book which is available for purchase on Amazon. Remember, proceeds from the sale of the book will go towards scholarships for local students.

For What It’s Worth...Tales from the Pawn Shop
Mike Griffin

Mike told us about how he got involved in the pawn shop business and how the pawn business works. Of course, his talk was peppered with fun stories told only as Mike can tell them.

Just a few of the tidbits Mike shared:

He joined the Navy because Viet Nam did not have one. Who knew!

Mike told us he spent 30 years in the pawn shop busi-ness. Mike’s grandmother had a shop selling women’s dresses. Women made an appointment to come to the shop and they would have a seat while his grand-mother would bring out dresses to show them.

As a second grader, Mike learned how to make change helping his grandfather in his liquor store.

He used to go to auctions and was quite successful. He would wait to see which items weren’t being bid up and buy them at the lower price. He later sold them at higher prices. Patience.

One time a guy came in with a large pendant with a greyish blue stone in it. Mike bought it from the guy for $175 and stuck it in his safe. Years later, he decided to bring the pendant to and auction and have it appraised. It was a carat and three quarters and got the attention of Harry Winston and Cartier. It sold for $50,000! Not a bad day’s work.

Mike went to the Gemology Institute to learn about gold and diamond so he could determine the true value of items being brought into his pawn shop. Not many pawnbroker did this so it really set Mike apart.

Get Outdoors”, low impact/recreational opportunities for Cambria.

Juli Amodei, Entrepreneur, Creative Agent/Public Relations Agency Owner, Restaurateur and Community Leader, is the proud mother of 3. Kayla is 30, David (21) a Coast Union graduate of 2020 and Ave (18) a CUHS senior, soon to be graduate. Juli and her husband David Glennon, own and operate 44 restaurants in California (Atascadero coming soon) as well as a full service ad agency. She has called the community of Cambria home since 2009. She is a firm supporter of Women in Business. To her credit, she developed SHESO, an empowerment company for young women and founded the 501(c)3 Professional Women’s Resource. Locally she is a member of the Cambria Chamber of Commerce, Cayucos Chamber of Commerce, Project Manager for Skate Cambria, PROS Ex Officio for the park project, CCSD R&I Committee, PROS AD Rec community member liaison for OPEN SPACE, University Women member, former Cambria Rotarian, past CUSH Booster President, Coast Unified School Board Trustee as well as Creative Director for our local online paper CambriaCA, just to name a few of her accomplishments. Today she is here to share her passion for outdoor recreation and encourage all of you to GET OUTDOORS! “If we were meant to stay in one place we would have roots, not feet”, Juli began. She also proudly announced that yesterday, the CCSD board approved the submission of a $1.2 m grant to the State of California for the Skate Park. We have already raised $600,000 from a combination of sources: CCSD, private, state and Federal funds. It is the first time all three have worked together to make something happen! Juli went on to tell us about a project being proposed for the community park at the East Fiscalini Ranch. The goal is to create a low impact recreational opportunity for local and tourists of all ages. An Ad Hoc committee, “Get Outdoors” is proposing a 9 hole Frisbee Golf course which will serve a few proposes. It is a way for people to get outdoors and participate in a fun recreational activity while not disturbing the natural habitat of the ranch. \ Juli encourages our members to reach out to her at 12toes@sti.net or 559-760-1258. The AD HOC REC email is getoutdoorsadhocrec@gmail.com /but, it comes to Juli. An interactive google link to better serve understanding the East Ranch/ designated area for recreation will be attached to this email. It will give you a really good understanding of the game and equipment. There is a community meeting coming up on Saturday, June 10 th @ 9:00 a.m. at the Cambria Chamber of Commerce office. Our community is encouraged to attend. Get outdoors friend

Wildfire: Let’s Get Prepared
Bob Putney

Bob told us that he was asked to speak with us today because many people are wondering how our very rainy winter might affect this year’s fire season. We live in a Mediterranean climate where we go for long periods of time without moisture which increases our fire risk. Many of our area native and invasive plants, shrubs & trees are used to going long periods without pre-cipitation. Many contain resins, sap and other materials that help them survive long periods without rain, however this also adds to how intensely they burn.

What does 2023 look like? It is all about four variables:

 Fuel (we have plenty of that, and much of it is old)

 Weather (hot, dry weather, hi temps, low humidity, dry winds)

 Topography (we can’t change that, we live in an area that is ripe to burn)

 Fire starts ( one of the few things we can try to reduce..)

Typically, Cambria & the North Coast are not in prime wildfire season until late August through December. That doesn’t mean we cannot experience a wildfire.

A slide show attached to this newsletter gives us some excellent information on how to protect our homes and what to do IF we are faced with a wildfire. We are so grateful to Bob for brining his 35 years of expertise to our club.

4-Way Test Essay Contest Winners

Mark Ober told us that this year 50 students submitted essays. A committee of Donna & Julian Crocker, Lo-rienne, Nancy McKarney, Cynthia Woodruff-Neer and Mark took on the task of reading all the essays and deter-mining the winners..

At the 7th grade level, Jaqui Cruz submitted the winning essay explaining how the 4-way test would have helped her in dealing with an “irritating younger brother. Jazlyn Bautista’s second place essay explained how the test would have helped her make better decisions and be more respectful. Third place winner, Arabella Feldman-Milliken essay earned third place. She explained how the 4-way test would help her to be more compassionate.

For the first time, 11th graders were asked to submit essays. Condee Seed turned in the first-place essay conclud-ing that the 4-way test is a helpful resource in being a thoughtful friend and family member. Second place win-ner, Adair Ponce wrote about how the 4-way test helped him to prevent escalation of an argument. Two essays tied for third place. Zahaira Melendez explained how being able to ask the four questions in the test helped “better improve the mindset while also valuing the process of making a decision that won’t have a terrible out-come”. Brandon Diaz Solis submitted the other third place essay about a disagreement he had with a teacher. Because he followed the 4-way test, he took time to let the problem solve itself rather than getting into a confron-tation with the teacher.

Congratulations to all the students who participated in this project.

Wildfire: Let’s Get Prepared
Bob Putney

Bob

What does 2023 look like? It is all about four variables:

 Fuel (we have plenty of that, and much of it is old)

 Weather (hot, dry weather, hi temps, low humidity, dry winds)

 Topography (we can’t change that, we live in an area that is ripe to burn)

 Fire starts ( one of the few things we can try to reduce..)

Typically, Cambria & the North Coast are not in prime wildfire season until late August through December. That doesn’t mean we cannot experience a wildfire.

RYLA 2023

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where young people can devel- op leadership skills while having fun and making connections. The event offers courses not often found in the regular curriculum teenagers are offered. These courses include diversity training, public speaking, team building, leadership funda- mentals, goal setting, leading a meeting, character & ethics, facilitation, fellowship and creating good habits. The retreat offers a mix of indoor and out- door activities. Very talented keynote speakers are

invited to come and teach, motivate and inspire our youth to become great leaders and to do great things. Cam- bria Rotarian Nancy McKarney serves as the Senior Administrator and club members Tim Carr and Jane Howard both served as counselors.

This year our club sponsored five Coast Union juniors to attend RYLA. They were chosen based on their leadership potential to attend RYLA. Olivia Klemstein, Ashley Klemstein, Adair Ponce, Dane Volz and Sean Schalk joined 190 students from high schools in Rotary’s District 5240 at Camp Ramah in Ojai. At our meeting on Friday, we were

pleased to hear about the student’s experiences. Adair told us that after attending RYLA,“I see leadership differ- ently. Ultimately my goal is to bring what I’ve learned back to Coast Union and any community I’m part of”. Ash- ley said “if I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t understand the breakdown steps of how to be a leader and how I can positively impact my community”. Olivia described it as “a crazy fun experience I will appreciate forever”. Dane credited the friends he made there for teaching him so much about the world, life and himself. Sean told us that RYLA “has been a blessing. I have learned so much about being a leader and using my unique skills and talents to help my community”.

Marianne Jackson
Human Trafficking

Local

Local experts say human trafficking impacts thousands of people in California every year and warn this crime could surge during Super Bowl weekend. Most victims of human trafficking are forced into sex work between 11 and 14 years old — lured in with drugs and expensive gifts. Many remain trapped for years, or even decades.

Marianne Jackson, a human trafficking survivor, said she was a sex worker for more than eight years and she shared how she broke free. “I was on the street and I did-n’t have anywhere to go, anything at all,” Jackson said. “I got talked into getting into this lifestyle. It was portrayed as something really glamorous and empowering, but it was nothing like that at all.”

Jackson said her trafficker went to prison for murder, but it still wasn’t easy to leave sex work behind.

“I was able to break free from my trafficker, but I kept doing it on my own because that’s how I knew how to sur-vive,” Jackson said. “These girls really aren’t out there by choice. Whether they have a pimp or don’t have a pimp, like I said, it’s all about survival.”

Now she works for Magdalene Hope, a local group that serves and rehabilitates victims of sex trafficking.

“My daughter-in-law went to church one day and they were talking about Magdalene Hope and how they helped girls get out of the sex industry,” Jackson said. “When I first got into the program my four front teeth had been knocked out by a guy. We got a grant to fix my teeth and now I have my smile again. It was a free program. They provided everything for me. My life changed completely, it’s a blessing.”

John Weiss
My Year as District Governor

Jane Howard introduced our speaker, John Weiss and told us that he joined the Rotary Club of Morro Bay in 2001. He is a Past District Governor (2017-18) and Club President (2009-10 & 2011-12).

John has created and presented Membership seminars since 2010, was a PETS instructor on “Engaging Members” for 4 years. He personally sponsored over 60 new members to his club, helped charter the Eco-Rotary Club Morro Bay, Morro Bay High School Interact Club and the San Luis Obispo Rotaract Club.

John’s wife Christine is a great partner who was a Charter member of the Rotary Club of Morro Bay—Eco. Together they have 5 adult children ages 33 to 44.

John served as a working Governor with retail and professional electronics stores in Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles. Many members of his staff have been with the company (founded with father in 1978) and industry to 20-35 years.

John plays basketball, golf and walks when possible in between Rotary functions, church, family and work.

He is a cancer (Stage 4 adrenal Cortical Carcinoma) survivor having been diagnosed a month before serving as Dis-trict Governor in June 2017 and continues to get monthly treatments and constant monitoring.

Club Assembly
International Services, Neal Jensen, Youth Services, TRF

INTERNATIONAL SERVICES: Julie Jenkins gave us an update on the works of the International Committee. The main purpose of International Services is to promote peace and understanding. So far this year the following donations were made: $1,000 Compass Zambia; $1,200 Whisper & Thunder; $924 + a $780 District Grant to Lor-des Meade in Uganda; $825 Grace Center in Zambia; $1,000 committee donation and $1,000 member donation to Turkey & Syria Earthquake Relief; $1,150 Water for Honduras; $2100 San Miguel de Allende (empowerment for women); $500 Arco San Pedro for a 7th grade classroom; $800 Roses of Mbuya, Uganda to purchase sewing ma-chines for young mothers; 4 Committee and 1 Private scholarship for girls to attend PACE in India; $1,000 to Shel-ter Box. A copy of the slide show will accompany this email.

NEAL JENSEN FOUNDATION: Dennis White and Mike Griffin announced that the Neal Jensen Fund is now at almost $700,000! They also told us about an exciting new project. Thanks to Andrew, a 4 acre parcel at Cam Ocean Pines where we will be planting 38 trees: one for each club member who has joined the Neal Jensen Fel-lowship. Greenspace has agreed to help us by telling us how to plant and space the trees.

YOUTH SERVICES: Cynthia Woodruff Neer told us that Luanne Kittle will be co-chairing Youth Services next year! Thank you Luanne. She also announced that there will be a reception at Camp Ocean Pines from 4-5 on June 7th to honor this year’s scholarship winners. 8 students will be awarded scholarship this year. And, for the first time, one of the students is a home-schooled student. RYLA is coming up and we are sending 8 students who will be attending our weekly meeting on May 5th to tell us about their experience. On May 12, we will be hearing from the 4-Way Essay Contest winners. And, plans are that there will be an Interact Club at the Middle School next school year. More information about that will be forthcoming. A copy of the slide show Cynthia presented is attached to this email.

TRF: PP Chuck told us that everyone in out club donated $50 a year to Polio Plus and $100 to the Annual Fund. This is possible because funds raised each year from fundraisers such as VIVA, go to the Cambria Rotary Founda-tion. 25% of those funds stays in our Foundation while the remaining 75% funds go to our Avenues of Service which includes TRF. The portion that goes to TRF is used to make the donations in each members name to Polio Plus and the Annual Fund. The 25% that remains in the Foundation grows due to dividends. A link to the slide show that was shown during this presentation will be in the email with our newsletter

The Longest Day—Alzheimers Association
Karen Ortiz and Tamra Mariott

Lorienne began her introduction with a quote from Rosalynn Carter, “There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be care-givers, and those who will need caregivers.” She then welcomed Karen Ortiz, Director of Development and Tamra Mariott, Development Manager. We learned that The Longest Day is the day with the most light — the summer solstice. On June 21, thousands of participants from across the world come together to fight the darkness of Alzheimer's through an activity of their choice. Together, they use their crea-tivity and passion to raise funds and awareness for the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association. For more information about The Longest Day, go to alz.org/TLD.

Currently, more than 690,000 people in California are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and over 1.12 million family and friends are providing care.

The Alzheimer’s Association, California Central Coast Chapter provides free edu-cation programs, support services and care consulta-tions across the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Bar-bara and Ventura counties while also supporting critical research toward a cure.

Peace Essay Winners

CUHS English Teacher, Ogo Agbo read the 3rd Place Essay from senior Emily Reed who could not be with us due to illness.

Patricia Acosta, also a senior, submitted the 2nd Place Essay. Patricia will be attending Boston College on a QuestBridge Scholarship.

Declan MacKenzie, a sophomore, received 1st place honors for his essay. Declan was home-schooled in Viet Nam, where his family lived due to his father’s job, until last year when he relocated to Cambria and enrolled in Coast Union.

Satori Moments
Joni Kirby

Joni

Joni Kirby has enjoyed sharing many of her personal life’s moments through “untrainings” for over thirty years. She is passionate about reminding other that their happiness is always carried within their inner heart space. Joni cur-rently lives in Cambria with her fur babies, Love and Faith.

“Our lives are full of satori moments—powerful snippets of time that, when recognized, invite us to awaken, become aware, be present, and find enlight-enment.” “Through inspiring personal stories and wisdom acquired over time, Joni Kirby teaches us that we do not need to be trained to be. Instead, she encourages us to live as Rylan did—awakened, dancing, and celebrating life in the mo-ment. As she leads others on the satori journey of reawakening, also known as Rylan’s untrainings, she reminds us of who we are deep inside, to love, live, and learn in the moment, to laugh often, to re-member that all is well because we are one, to embrace the joy that is always with-in, to breathe in the space of stillness between thoughts, and to intentionally plant our life’s garden—all while embracing the beauty of life.” Joni’s book, Satori Moments, shares anecdotes and wisdom intended to inspire any-one interested in finding their way back to their true selves and the I-ness within and it is available on Amazon All proceeds are donated to Dr. Loh’s Childhood Cancer Research.

Amarok Society Gem Munro

em Munro has devoted his life and career to improving educational opportunities for dis- advantaged people across Canada and abroad.

He is presently a Director of Amarok Society, a registered Canadian charity that provides education programs to the very poor in Bangladesh. As Gem told us, Bangladesh has the poorest of the poor and th worst of the worst. In the words of the Turkish Ambassador to Canada, “Of all the countries I have visited in all my travels, only Bangladesh made me cry”.

This was an excellent presentation. You are encouraged to visit their website: http:// www.amaroksociety.org.

Estero Bay Kindness Coalition

Estero Bay Kindness Coalition started in December 2017, when founder Bobby deLancellotti met with the principal at Del Mar Ele-mentary school in Morro Bay, CA to inquire about how he could serve the most vulnerable students during the holidays. The princi-pal connected him with 10 families. Bobby bought them 2 gifts each: a fun gift, a practical gift, and a $100.00 gift card to a local su-permarket. In January, the principal sent Bobby a letter thanking him for the impact the gifts had on the families. She also informed him that 64% of the students at Del Mar were living at or below the poverty line. This broke Bobby’s heart, so he decided to do some-thing about it.

In March 2018, he started Got Your Back, a program that helps feed kids over the weekends, providing 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners, healthy snacks, fruit, milk, and juice to each kid enrolled. The kids in this program rely on “hot/reduced lunch” at school to eat during the week and would often go hungry on the weekends. By June 2018, Estero Bay Kindness Coalition was serving 48 students with Got Your Back. The following school year, it jumped to 8 schools and over 200 students in the SLO Unified School District. During this time, our organization became a nonprofit 501 C-3. By the 2019 school year, we were feeding over 200 children in 8 schools.

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and schools closed their doors in March 2020, Bobby met with local principals to get connected with some of the most vulnerable, food insecure families in the SLO Unified School District.

The Estero Bay Kindness Coalition went from feeding school kids on the weekends to feeding whole families for the week, virtually overnight.

To meet the needs of the families referred to us by 1 of our 8 partnered schools, we created Bags of Love, a program that delivers 3 bags of groceries per week to 164+ families in the greater Estero Bay area. The bags of groceries consist of healthy, protein-rich breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, juice, milk, and fresh, local produce. During this time, we also created Sunshine and Seed, a new and gently used kids clothing collective where kids can shop for free.

When schools reopened in 2021, we reimplemented Got Your Back, sending kids home with healthy meals and snacks to eat over the weekends.

The Estero Bay Kindness Coalition has built a team of over 80+ volunteers, 2 team leaders, and 2 food pantries. They are currently partnered with 8 schools, 41 for-profits, 18 nonprofits, and 10 churches

Vocational Services Chair, Lorienne

Lorienne asked us “What does vocation mean?” It is, she explained, the action or result of calling or summoning, and derived senses. Your vocation in life is where your greatest joy meets the world’s greatest needs.

Lorienne then asked us to think about what, as a child, you wanted to be when you grew up. How surprised would that child be to discover what you actually wound up doing. And think of one or two skills you have developed that would delight that child.

Thank you for an interesting discussion, Lorienne.

The Interact Bake Sale

The

Interact Club members plan various fundraising activities so they can raise money to donate to causes select-ed by the Interactors. In previous years, the club has donated to such causes as high school scholarships, Camp Ocean Pines, HART, Feeding America, Doctors Without Borders, St. Jude’s, Skate Cambria and FFRP. This year we were joined by Interact members President Violet, Ave, Oscar and Robert and their Interact Advisor, Ayan John-son.

The Annual Interact Bake Sale is always one of our favorite meetings because the baked goods the students make are auctioned off and, invariably bidding wars break out as auctioneer Bob Kasper uses humor to encourage high-er and higher bids. It is just another example of our motto: “If it ain’t fun, it ain’t Rotary”.

At Friday’s meeting, there were a lot of laughs, we got to enjoy some delicious baked goods and the 2023 Interact Bake Sale raised almost $4,500!

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly of Strokes Presented by President Christel

Our very brave and amazing President took a deep breath and started telling us the story of her bumpy road to stroke diagnosis and recovery. One week before she left for a long- awaited trip to Africa, Christel told us she was in her garden wearing tall garden boots. She noticed she was tripping and blamed it on the boots. But, the next day the same thing happened. She also noticed there was a change in her handwriting but didn’t think a whole lot of it.

On May 19th, she was at the airport, reading to board for her trip to Africa when she
could not find her credit card and was feeling confused. In Africa, she wore tennis shoes
most of the time and foud herself tripping again. Two days in a row, while eating dinner,
she felt like she was choking and had trouble catching her breath. When she returned home on June 3, she still found herself tripping and her handwriting seemed to be getting worse. On July 3rd, she was diagnosed with COVID for the second time and was quite sick. After recovering from COVID, she noticed she was having trouble keeping dates straight.

On that Friday, she was preparing to come to our meeting but she started feeling hot and her speech was slurred. After talking to both Patty and husband John, who both verified that she WAS slurring her words, she decided it was time to get checked out. She contacted a Neurologist from Cedar Sinai who told her to get to the emergency room. But, in typical Christel fashion, she made John drive her to Cambria so she could give Sue the purple shirts she had ordered for the Board before he took her to the hospital in Arroyo Grande. In the ER, she was told that she had a Transient ischemic attack (TIA or mini stroke). An MRI confirmed that she did have a stroke and it was centered on her cerebellum which is why her speech, coordination and swallowing were affected. She even lost 65% of her hearing.

Strokes can be caused by a number of things, Christel told us, including high cholesterol, which she had, hormone replacement therapy, which she had been on for far too long and COVID, which she had twice. Once she returned home, she went through speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. But, her biggest challenge was fighting the feeling of helplessness and depression. It was a long, hard road but, she said, all the cards and flowers helped her through it. “I am healing and recovering”, she said. And, she warned, if you no- tice any changes in mobility, speech, vision, get to an emergency room. If treated withing a few hours of the onset of symptoms, medications can be administered that can possibly reverse the damage.

Dr. Kate added that considering the amount of time Christel waited from the onset of symptoms, she is amazed she is doing so well. “Better to be wrong in an ER”, warned Kate. TIA’s are a precursor to a stroke so it is imperative that you get medical attention as soon as possible to avoid a full-blown stroke. Kate also recommend going to Sierra Vista if you are experiencing signs of a stroke and go to French if you feel you might be suffering from a hear attack.

We are all so glad you are back, Christel and thank you for sharing your very difficult story.

Bob’s Presidential Year & VIVA 2023

While waiting for Bob to collect his notes and make it up to the stage, Christel asked him, “Bob, when your mom had you, were you late?” Bob responded by telling the story of the night his sister was born. His mom went into labor at about 11:00 on a Saturday night. His dad was speeding her to the hospital but took a detour to a liquor store. When his mom asked him what he was doing, he responded that the liquor stores are closed on Sundays and there are games on. When they finally got to the hospital, the doctor told Mrs. Kasper that, if she had a fourth child, she needed to get to the hospital sooner. Now you know where Bob gets it from!

Bob told us that he would be starting all his meetings off with a joke. Today’s joke was “What do you get when you cross a shark with a cow?” Someone yelled “What happens?” To which Bob responded, “I don’t know but I would- n't want to milk it”.

Bob announced that Viva will be held on April 29th at Camp Ocean Pines. It will begin at 5:30 with a champagne reception on the deck overlooking the ocean. Tickets are $100 each and there are cabins that can be rented for $175/night. The theme for this year is Spring Fling.

We will have an online Silent Auction again this year but people will have a chance to bid on the Silent Auction items during Viva. There will also be a Live Auction and a Wine Pull. Judy Schuster told us that we will once again be doing the Grand Raffle featuring a choice of 8 travel experiences. Tickets will cost $50 each and all members will be given 5 tickets to sell.

Please consider donating to the Silent Auction. In the past, we have auctioned off baskets for gardeners, paint sets, Italian food basket, sport baskets, jewelry lovers basket, pet basket, wine baskets, etc. We also need wine for both the wine pull (wines values at $25 & up) as well as re- ally good wines for the wine cooler that will be part of the Live Auction.

For the Live Auction, we are looking for vacation homes, experiences, theme dinners. More in- formation will be coming.

Also, Bob announced that there will be a party at Sea Chest. Unlike previous events, Sea Chest will only be donating the venue, not the food. But there will be food and wine and musi

Hinge of History: First Spanish Overland Exploration of California's Central Coast
Presented by Bob Kittle

Luanne introduced Bob and told us that he spent the majority of his career as editorial page editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Prior to that post, he was an associate editor of U.S. News & World Report in Washington where he served as White House correspondent, congressional correspondent and Pentagon correspond- ent. He has been a much sought-after commentator, providing regular political analysis on PBS's ”NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” and appearing frequent- ly on National Public Radio's ”All Things Considered”

and ”Weekend Edition.” He has numerous writing accolades including the George Washington Honor Medal awarded by the Freedom's Foundation of Valley Forge, the Scripps Howard National Newspaper Award, the William Randolph Hearst Award and the California Newspaper Publishers Association Award.

Bob is also the author of a book on California History: Franciscan Frontiersmen, How Three Adventurers Charted the West which is available on Amazon.

Thank you Bob for a wonderful presentation. We all learned a number of things we did not know about our area of the world.

District Governor Scott Phillips

Sherry

Sherry Sim (District Governor elect for 2024/25) introduced our “Loud” District Governor. She

told us that Scott joined the Rotary Club of Goleta Noontime

in 2013 and served as the club's 30th President in 2016-

17. During his year as club President, the club was #1 in the

district for per capita giving to The Rotary Foundation annual

fund. Scott has served Rotary District 5240 as Communications

Director in 2015-16, Assistant

Governor in 2017-18, Chief

Operating Officer in 2018-19, District

Administrator in 2019-20,

President of the Rotary District

5240 Charitable Foundation and

PRLS Director in 2019-21, and is

serving as Rotary District 5240 Governor in 2022-23. He is the district's

youngest governor. In addition, Scott has served as an Assistant

Rotary Public Image Coordinator for Zone 26 in 2019-21.

Scott is a Multiple Paul Harris Fellow, Paul Harris Society Member, Major Donor Level 2, member

of the Bequest Society, PolioPlus Society, and a District 5240 Triple Crown Donor Charter member.

In addition, Scott is a PRLS and Master PRLS Graduate.

Christel told us about meeting Scott for the first time when she attended PETS. She was so impressed

with him that she said, “I’m going to take you home!” Because of this, Scott began his

talk by congratulating our club on being the first club he visited that he actually brought security

to.

Enjoy Being a Climate Solver
DonMaruska

Don Maruska engages people around the world to take climate action and have fun doing it. Since 2003, he has brought together people from scientific, environmental, business, government, and community organizations to boost awareness, actions, and advocacy for steward-ship of natural resources.

Don’s new book, “Solve Climate Change Now: Do What You Love for a Healthy Planet” includes stories and examples of Rotary Clubs and community groups working together to make a difference. As a mem-ber of Rotary San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, Don has earned a President’s Special Recognition Award and a District Governor’s Award for his climate action leader-ship. He’s delighted that Rotary International has awarded collabo-rating Rotary Club’s “Day of Service” recognition for their results.

Earlier in his career, Don founded and was CEO of three Silicon Valley companies, earning a National Innovator Award. Now he’s a Master Certified Coach helping others succeed. Don is also author of “How Great Decisions Get Made” and co-author or “Take Charge of Your Tal-ent.” He earned his BA magna cum laude in government from Har-vard and an MBA and JD from Stanford.

Major publications including Fast Company, Inc., and Entrepreneur have quoted Don for his expertise. He has also appeared on over 30 radio and TV stations across the country. Businesses, nonprofits, government agencies and community organizations enjoy his inspiring keynotes and productive workshops delivered both in person and online.

A copy of Don’s presentation is attached to this email and his book is available on Amazon

Secret Santa Acknowledgements & More

Thanks to Miguel and Judy, who met with each of the 19 families to find out what the children wanted and needed for Christmas and came up with a detailed list. These two are amazing!

21 Rotarians agreed to be Secret Santas to the 43 children living in the Oceanside Apt.

Once again, an anonymous donor purchased a pair of shoes for each of the children. Once again, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Valerie Ratto had the students in her confirmation class at Santa Rosa Church write a note to each of the par-ents, in Spanish, telling them that they are appreciated. What a great idea, Valerie.

When Del Clegg heard me promoting the Secret Santa project and hearing that 10 or so kids that were still waiting, he offered to give me $200 to purchase gifts for those children. Well, club member did step up and, in record time, all the kids were covered. Nan-cy Carr had suggested that we purchase gifts for the children in Head Start in Cambria. I asked Del if it would be ok to use the money he gave for Secret Santa to buy sweaters and stuffed animals for the little ones at Head Start. Needless to say, he was all for it! Not only that, but he gave us a 10% dis-count on the Cookie Crock gift cards that will be passed out to the Oceanside Apt. and Head Start families. Is there any wonder why Del was recently honored with a Legacy Award from Camp Ocean Pines?

Thanks to Karen and her helpers, we had a fun evening at the Holiday Party. Everyone was in a festive mood and seemed to be enjoying themselves. The poinsettia centerpieces were auctioned off with the proceeds going to Polio. A total of $175 was raised! The each table was asked to sing a holiday song and everyone happily participated. We heard holiday songs, Christmas carols, a Hannukah song and, yes, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” by you know who.