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THE ROTARY CLUB OF CAMBRIA IN PERSON EVENT COVID 19 POLICY

All attending members, registered guests, walk-in guests and guest speakers will be required to show proof of vaccination (if two shot regimen, at least two weeks after the second vaccination; if one shot regimen, at least two weeks after the single shot), or show proof of a negative COVID lab test within 72 hours of the club visit or club event, prior to check in. Please be thoughtful of your fellow Rotarians and guests and wear your masks at all times when indoors and not eating or drinking or in congested outdoor areas.

As of September 1, 2021 masks are now mandated by the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department for all indoor gatherings. All venue staff will adhere to the same policies noted above.
All member input is welcome and encouraged. This is your Rotary Club, and we are all together in keeping ourselves, our fellow Rotarians, and our guests healthy and free of this COVID virus, able to do the good work of Rotary. 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

HOLIDAY WREATH & GREENERY ONLINE SALE

Support the Rotary Foundation of Cambria and enjoy a beautiful Wreath, Centerpiece, Garland, or Holiday Swag in you home for the holidays.

We are proud to partner with Sherwood Forest Farms and their beautiful greenery

click to order

The Rotary Club of Cambria Announces Holiday Gifting and Giving

DATE: NOVEMBER 12, 2021 - November 29, 2021

ONLINE SILENT AUCTION

Local Gift Certificates and Custom Themed Baskets, and more

All perfect for Holiday Gifting

Please visit our Auction site http://VivaCambriaRotary.com

Holidaydonation Request From

Holiday gifting and giving form

Rotary Projects - What We Do

Art Beal & Nitt Witt Ridge

Elizabeth moved to Cambria in 1967, lived on a ranch about 20 miles north of town, raised 2 chil-dren with her then husband and worked at the Cambria School District for 27 years as a school sec-retary. Her interests are botany, photography and history, both local and global.

During his many years in Cambria, Art Beal preferred to be known by his nickname, Doctor Tinkerpaw. He also answered to the name Captain Nitt Witt after being called a nitwit by someone in Cambria. (Hence the name Nitt Witt Ridge.) But Art was anything but dim.

Born 20 miles north of Cambria in 1896, Art was the son of a Klamath Indian wom-an who died when he was just 10 years old. As an orphan, he passed through sever-al institutions and took odd jobs before becoming a vaudeville entertainer. (He claimed to have performed an act with a stunt dog and a one-legged bicyclist at the Toronto World’s Fair in the 1920s.) Later, he would become a famed long-distance swimmer, freestyling 22 miles of the Hudson River and across San Francisco Bay. His swimming career led him to a number of famous entertainers who became friends, including Dale Evans, Roy Rogers, and Willie Nelson. During his years building and living at Nitt Witt Ridge, he was profiled on several television programs, highlighting his eccentricity.

Sometime in the early 1970s, a man gave Art a small loan to keep up Nitt Witt Ridge, and Art trans-ferred the deed to him. When Art couldn’t repay the debt, the man threatened to destroy Nitt Witt Ridge and develop the property. But in 1975, friends of the unusual homebuilder formed The Art Beal Foundation, which purchased back the deed. The purchase also funded work to have Nitt Witt Ridge recognized as a California Historical Landmark in 1981. Today, the bronze plaque can be seen on the home’s street level.

When he died in 1992, Art’s ashes were spread under a redwood tree on the Nitt Witt Ridge property. Clippings of his varied accom-plishments, as well as photos of his high-profile friends, remain in the house to this day, right where Art left them.

Art Beal & Nitt Witt Ridge

Elizabeth Appel

District Governor Dana Moldovan

Sherry Sim introduced Dana by telling us that she joined Rotary in 2002 and is currently a member of Rotary Club of Westlake Village. At the Rotary International Level, DG Dana is the Inter-Country Committee (ICC) National Coordinator for USA. She started the first ICC of USA with her country-of-origin Romania in 2003 and has traveled extensively for various Rotary projects including polio cam-paigns in Nigeria and India. In the last several years she was a presenter, talking about Peace & Conflict Resolution, Prevention Projects and Initiatives at Rotary International Con-ventions, Zone Institutes and Peace Conferences. DG Dana told us that she has been a fan of our club because, when she first joined, she met Monte Rice who en-couraged our club to support one of her projects helping children in Romania. She congratulated us for our crea-tive fundraising despite COVID and is impressed with all the good work we do. Dana believes in The Rotary Foundation and its ability to transform lives. For this reason, she became a Major Donor, a Bequest Society member, a Benefactor and a Paul Harris Society Member. She is a strong supporter of the Annual Fund Program because this is what allows us to work on projects and continue to do good in the world. DG Dana then honored a very surprised Cynthia Woodruff-Neer with a District Governor Recognition for her work with youth in our community, as well as her ongoing service to our club as treasurer. District Governor Dana Moldovan

Glen Matteson, San Luis Obispo Railroad

Glen is a Call Lloyd City & Regional Planning graduate who spent most of his career with the City of San Luis Obispo. His work focused on plans for new neighborhoods, public safety, energy, water supply, and water modification and protection.

He is the secretary, archivist and newsletter producer for the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum. His roles at the Museum, plus his lifelong interest n railroads, led to a part-time lecturer position in Cal Poly's Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.

You can read about the history of the railroad in ALL harbour the Museum at slorrm.com.

Rotoplast
Dr. Angelo Capozzi

Dr. Capozzi received his MD from Strich School of Medicine, Loyola University, Chicago

in 1960 and continued on for Plastic Surgery training at the University of Wisconsin

1960-1966. He was an Air Force Captain and Chief of Plastic Surgery at David Grant Air

Force Hospital, Fairfield, California 1966-1968. In 1968 he went into private practice at

St. Francis Memorial Hospital remaining there for 30 years. He left private practice in

1998 to become Chief of Plastic Surgery at Shriners Hospital for children in Sacramento,

retiring in 2008.

He became a member of the San Francisco Rotary Club in 1971 and recently transferred

to the Tiburon/Belvedere Rotary Club to be closer to home. He became involved

in International Service in 1976 and in 1992 Co-founded Rotaplast International Inc. He

has been on 70 international missions, 56 of those with Rotaplast.

He has been married to his wife Louise for 59 years and they have three children.

Louise helped develop and is still a member of the medical records committee since Rotaplast’s first mission to

Chili in 1993.

Rotaplast International, Inc. was founded in 1992 by Dr. Angelo Capozzi and the then Rotary Club President Peter

Lagarias in collaboration with the Rotary Club of San Francisco to facilitate a surgical program in La Serena, Chile

to treat children with the cleft lip and palate anomaly who would otherwise not receive surgical intervention. This

initial historic mission took place in January of 1993.

As a project of the Rotary Club of San Francisco, and for the first three years of its existence, Rotaplast completed

one surgical mission a year. The following two years, Rotaplast completed two missions a year. In 1996, Rotaplast

became a separate non-profit corporation and has since consistently expanded its number of annual missions. In

February 2015, Rotaplast sent its 200th mission and to date has served over 17,000 children. Twenty-six countries

have hosted Rotaplast teams, including Vietnam, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru,

Guatemala, Ecuador, El Salvador, Romania, China, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Brazil, Bangladesh, Mali, Togo, Liberia,

Dominican Republic, Egypt, Tanzania, Myanmar and the Philippines. Hundreds of medical and non-medical volunteers

who give their valuable time, and generous organizations such as hospitals and medical equipment companies

which give supplies, account for the consistent success and expansion of Rotaplast missions.

Rotaplast would not exist without funding provided by partners. Although a San Francisco-based organization,

Rotaplast works nationally and internationally by partnering with Rotary Clubs, other organizations, and individuals

across the United States, Canada and mission sites. It provides a vehicle for medical professionals and nonmedical

volunteers to actively engage in projects that build international friendships and promote goodwill and

understanding among the peoples of the world.

For more information, go to Rotaplast | Saving smiles. Changing lives.

Rotoplast

Dr. Angelo Capozzi

TRF and the Neal Jensen Foundation

Bruce Howard, TRF Chair, began by introducing the Rotary Club of Cambria TRF Committee: Julie Jenkins, PolioPlus Chair; Gerry & Paula Porter, TRF Endowment Chairs.

Bruce explained that The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives close to home and around the world. By giving to the Annual Fund, you make these life-changing projects possible so that together, we can keep Doing Good in the World. The Annual Fund is the main funding source for Foundation programs. Your gift empowers Rotarians to carry out sustainable service projects in your community and around the world. At the end of each year, contributions directed to Annual Fund-SHARE from all Rotary clubs in the district are divided between the World Fund and the District Designated Fund. The Rotary Foundation uses the World Fund to support Rotary’s highest-priority grants and programs, which are available to all Rotary districts. Your district uses the District Designated Fund to pay for Foundation, club, and district projects the clubs in your district choose.

Julie Jenkins explained to us that she was only 8 months old when she contracted Polio so has no memory of the experience. Her dad contracted polio at the same time but the impact on him was more severe. While Julie survived and lived a full life, she would like to see every child have the opportunity to do the same. That is why, hearing that there have been only 2 cases of Polio so far in 2021, brings her to tears. Donations to Polio Plus allow Rotary to continue its world-wide immunization projects.

Gerry Porter presented Julie Jenkins with a book he purchased while at the Inter-national Meeting in Seoul in 2016. The book is entitled “Doing Good in the World: The Rotary Foundation” by David C. Forward. Mr. Forward was a speaker at the convention and signed the book “Thank you for helping Rotary’s great campaign to eradicate Polio”. Gerry had been hanging on to this book since 2016 waiting for the perfect opportunity to present it to the perfect person. Julie obviously fit that bill!

Gerry went on to explain that the Rotary Foundation is by far the most difficult to understand by many of today’s Rotarians. Its role as a not-for-profit corporation to support the efforts of Rotary International is very complex and as such becomes hard for people to comprehend.

Little did he know, when in 1917 Arch Klumph proposed establishing an endowment fund, he was “creating a monster” that in the years ahead would tackle such things as the eradication of polio,

Continued...

TRF and the Neal Jensen Foundation

the world’s largest privately funded international scholarship program for university-level students (Ambassadorial Scholarships), Rotary Grants for University Teachers, Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Fellowships, Vocational Training Teams for professionals, cultural and educational pro-grams, national and international humanitarian programs, the list goes on and on and will continue to do so thanks to his vision.

The challenge we have as Rotarians of today is to teach and carry on in the spirit of those that came before us. The Fourth Object of Rotary – “the advancement of in-ternational understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of busi-ness and professional persons united in the ideal of service” is significant to the success of The Rotary Foundation. This, in my opinion, is the hardest thing to get across to our club members. Many clubs have the mentality that the monies that they raise for projects should only go for local community projects – “why should we spend dollars for some project in Africa, or India, or South America when there are plenty of needs right here in our own back yard?”

We can start by setting an example in becoming Paul Harris Fellows, Rotary Foundation Sustaining Members by contributing $100.00 per year or more, or becoming a benefactor by contributing $1000.00 or more or even better yet, place the The Rotary Foundation in your estate plan for a minimum of $10,000.00 and become a member of the Rotary Foundation Bequest Society.

In addition Gerry described the opportunity for Rotary members to open a Donor Advised Fund by making a tax-deductible contribution through The Rotary Foundation where the proceeds may be donated to any IRS approved 501(c)(3) organization.

Paula told us that she just got this request from City of Hope where Gerry's doctor was and our son was a patient. They were wanting us to consider them for a donation in our will or trust. All organizations do this-colleges, universities, religious organizations and yes Rotary. They all desire similar donations. Because of Rotary' history and the highest rating on Charity Navigator I chose Rotary knowing my gift will continue to help those in our country and around the world in perpe-tuity. I feel safe that whatever pandemic or flood or other disaster my money will be used wisely. So for my peace of mind I chose TRF."

To learn more about the Rotary Foundation Endowment, check out this short video at https://youtu.be/x3aMYHpE3uU

The Membership - Donna Crocker

Donna told us that, when she became Membership Chair, she needed a “Member Ship”. All of us are represented on the “ship” and you are all in a bathing suit. You all look so good, everyone is tiny, you can’t see and wrinkles or veins or any-thing. And, as we get new members, they too will be added to the “ship”. Donna spent countless hours with tweezers and gorilla glue putting this together. On one side of the ship it says “VIVA, Rotary Club of Cambria, Golden Jubilee, 50 years of Service and Fun” and on the other side says “1971 Golden Jubilee 2021” . You have to look very carefully, but off the bough of the ship, you will see the Titanic version of Patty & Mike holding each other and, on one side is co–captain Christel and on the other side is Linda. And, this is not just smoke coming up, these are the thoughts going through Patty’s head….fundraising, commu-nity service, Romania, India, Paul Harris, etc.

Donna then told us that there was a facilitator at each table and they will, with Jeopardy-like speed, conduct you in-to finding connections based on six degrees of separation. Donna’s goal as Membership Chair is to retain member-ship, engage members and recruit new members. This exercise is to find connections you already have with your fellow members that you didn't know about. Donna just found out that Dennis Rightmer’s father was her middle school vice-principal! So, she is hoping we will find those connections.

Thanks, Donna for this very fun and fast presentation.

Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

Kitty Connolly joined the Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve in January 2020 after visiting the Ranch while on vacation. Her work experience includes six years as executive director of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants in LA and 14 years in education at The Huntington Botanical Gardens. She got her start in museums at the Smithsonian Institution after teaching sciences at a variety of colleges and universities. She holds a B.S. in environmental zoology from Ohio University and a M.A. in geography from UCLA. FFRP brings together her experience in non-profit and education with her academic training in ecology, all on one of the most beautiful plac-es you could hope to live.

Friends of the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve (FFRP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protec-tion of the 437 acre former Fiscalini Ranch. The Ranch is one of the last unspoiled public open spaces on the Califor-nia coast, and FFRP, in collaboration with the Cambria Community Services District, has stewardship responsibility for conservation, restoration, and public participation programs.

FFRP holds the Conservation Easement that protects and restores the natural resources on the Preserve and main-tains access as a public trust. The organization is responsible for monitoring the property for purposes of environ-mental, public service, and easement compliance. FFRP reviews all plans affecting the Ranch to safeguard this won-derful public resource.

In addition, FFRP assists in managing the property for the public by organizing volunteers to remove invasive plants, maintain trails, and plant native species to restore natural habitats. FFRP organizes monthly walks with expert do-cents to educate the public about all aspects of the Ranch and sponsors a wildflower show each spring that displays more than 500 specimens. FFRP raises funds from public and private sources and provides a forum and vehicle for public input and direction on the management of the Ranch.

Cambria Skate Park Initiative, Juli Amodei

On Friday, Skate Cambria director Juli Amodei told our club about progress made over the past year toward a new

skate park. Juli is passionate about giving the children of Cambria open recreational space, especially after seeing

how difficult it has been for kids during COVID. To date, the student-led organization raised $168,000! Check out the video

Skate Park Initiative, Youth Driven & Community Supported” at www.skatecambria.com to get an idea

of how hard our local youth are working to get this done and how you can donate toward this project. It is truly

impressive and, if any community can get this done, it is Cambria!

Before her presentation on Friday, Juli gave the Coast Morning Report a preview of the presentation she gave our

club (including a very ice shout out to our club).. You can see it at https://youtu.be/G-zosb-dZZo.

Stories from the Chamber

Stories From the Chamber of Commerce
Mary Ann told us that she has a lot of experience being called upon spur of
the moment to speak, as was the case today when our presenter had to
cancel last minute.
Mary Ann and husband Will decided to take a trip around the country after
spending a winter in Montana. They came upon Cambria and decided this
was where they wanted to live. But, they both needed to find jobs. Mary
Ann saw an ad for Manager of the Chamber of Commerce and decided to apply, even though she
really did not know what the job entailed. And, it has been an adventure.
Early on there was an El Nino storm that knocked out electricity for about 5 days. Because people
would be calling the Chamber for information, Mary Ann was there everyday, in the dark answer-
ing the phones. In 2003, we had the 6.6 earthquake. Everyone abandoned the town but, once
again, she was there manning the phones. She was even getting calls from National news agen-
cies.
Mary Ann sang the praises of the many volunteers she has had. We have driven visitors to the
train station when they got stuck in town, transported them from one end of town to the other
because they were too tired to walk, and provided a guy walking from Mexico to Canada with a
pair of sneakers to replace the ones he was wearing that had fallen apart.
Thanks Mary Ann for your fun stories and for your many years of service to the Chamber.

Salute to Seniors

Chuck introduced Youth Services Chair, Cynthia Woodruff-Neer who welcomed everyone to our Celebration of Sen-iors and clarified that she was not talking about our membership. We were lucky to have students from Coast Un-ion and Leffingwell via Zoom to honor and celebrate our RYLA graduates and our scholarship winners.

Cynthia touted the work of Youth Services reminding us that our club raised $4100 for Interact in a virtual bake sale! In-teract voted at their last meeting to make donations to Doc-tors Without Borders, St. Jude’s Hospital, the World Wildlife Fund as well as local organizations such as ECHO and Camp Ocean Pines. Our club also funded the first ever Peace Essay Contest. All the 3rd graders received the book “Dreamers” and we are sponsoring a volleyball camp at the Middle School this summer that will be taught by high school students and paid for by our funding.

Christel Chesney is replacing Jane Howard as the leader of RYLA. Christel introduced this year’s RYLA graduates who attended via Zoom due to COVID. She congratulated them and told them she hoped their RYLA experience was something they will always remember.

Cynthia told us there were 35 graduating seniors from both CUHS and Leffingwell. From the graduating classes, Ro-tary received 16 scholarship applications from CUHS seniors and 2 from Leffingwell students. Donna Crocker, Paula Porter, Heidi Santos and Cynthia interviewed the students and selected 8 scholarship winners, weighing their aca-demics, extra curricular activities, written essays and personal interviews to reach their decisions.

Leffingwell graduate, Joey Acevedo, was unable to join us but Principal Justin Gish told us that Joey will be attend-ing Full Sail University in Florida to pursue a degree in music production.

Michelle Acosta will be attending Cal State Fullerton to major in Communications and Public Relations.

Chrystal Fabela will also be attending Cal State Fullerton, majoring in Criminal Justice and minor in Computer Sci-ence.

Samantha Fabela is excited to be going to UC Davis to study Political Science with plans to go further into the immi-gration system and see where that takes her.

Jonathan Jewell will be majoring in Computer Science at Cal Poly and plans to work towards some internships in order to gain experience while attending school.

Viviana Nunez was unable to attend but Mary Stenbeck, counselor at CUHS, told us Viviana is headed to UC Berkley majoring in Business.

Jasmine Pena, who hopes to join Rotaract when she gets to the University of Notre Dame where she will be major-ing in Political Science.

Zachery Stephenson will be going to UC Berkley this Fall. He plans on majoring in Business, but, since he does not have to declare un Junior year, he is leaving his options open.

Our 50th anniversary Celebration

Chuck introduced our oldest Charter Member, Tom Tierney, and told him, “In appreciation of your long years of service to the Rotary Club of Cambria, and your hanging in with us for so many years, I would like to present you with a Paul Harris Fellow award” and a trophy that reads “Charter member Tom Tierney, in recognition of your dedicated services as a charter member and loyal Rotarian since 1971, Rotary Club of Cambria est. June 1971”.

Christel Chesney told Tom that he was really hot in those early days. She then said that the in-coming Presidents decided they need to have a pin made in honor of our 50th years and she wanted him to be the first person to wear it. She then told us that everyone will be getting one in their swag box along with a bottle of champagne, a cupcake, and a bag of pretzels.

Tom said that Otis brought to his attention that Tom was the only one with back-to-back presidencies. He was the vice president but the president was here for such a short time, he wound up stepping in to replace him.

Tom wanted to relate to us one of the projects we did that actually got into the Rotary Magazine. When they first started the club, there was a bunch of guys that were in construction and they would meet in one of the ware-houses on Main St. to try to build a following and getting sanctioned. They decided to help the high school with their Medieval Faire. They were able to get a group from Fresno who did jousting and horseback riding in full dress. There were booths at the faire that were run by other non-profits in town as fundraisers for their organizations. Rotary decided to handle the parking by charging each car a small fee to park. However, it did not take long for the police to show up and demand that they stop collecting money because there was a line of cars all the way down Santa Rosa Creek Rd., down Main St. and overflowing onto Hwy 1. Thousands of people were coming to see the event. Needless to say, Rotary wound up not making much money. You can see photos of this event on the slide show that is attached to this email.

Tom was the President of the HS Booster Club as well as President of our Rotary Club so he was able to get coordinate volunteers from the Rotary Club and the Booster Club to work on projects for the schools. Tom designed a sys-tem for lighting the football field, the cost of which neared $15,000. So the Boosters and Rotary started fundraising and were able to fund the lighting of the field. Rotarians drilled the telephone poles, mounted the light systems and put in all the lighting. Every year, Tom would climb to the top of the poles and adjust the lights so they lit the baseball field then adjusted them again so the lights shined on the football field.

Linda Sherman told us that Sheila O’Leary Jones who was President of the Chamber of Commerce and owned San Simeon Travel. In May of 1987, everything changed for Rota-ry and women. Sheila joined our club in Fall of 1987 and became our first female member followed by Debra Walton, Superintendent of San Simeon Park District including Hearst Castle and, of course, Flo Kast, better known as Momma Flo. Flo was our first fe-male President and the second one was Nancy Carr!

Warren Gay, Cambria Community Bus

The Cambria Community Council transportation system, known locally as “The Cambria Community Bus” provides local door to door service for seniors (persons over 60) and disabled persons within the Cambria-San Simeon area. Multiple stops are not only allowed but encouraged. All rides are free. A dispatcher answers the dispatch phone between 9am and 11am Monday through Friday. If you call outside these hours, you may leave a message. Persons needing a ride must call the dispatcher 1 (805) 927-4173 at least one day prior to the scheduled ride. Each bus is equipped with a cell phone to assist in schedule adherence and process any additions or deletions to the daily schedule. The service operates one bus locally on weekdays, Monday through Friday, between 8am and 4:30pm.

A second bus makes a day trip to San Luis Obispo on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. This second bus also makes a trip to Paso Robles and Templeton on the second Tuesday of each month. These out of town trips are used primarily for shopping, however, Medical appointments have priority seating. Both buses are ADA equipped. Drivers will provide assistance if necessary for riders entering and exiting the bus as well as transporting packages and groceries into the rider’s home. All drivers are volunteers from the community and again, all rides are free.

The Cambria Community Bus always needs volunteer drivers. There are no special license requirements. A prospective driver needs a valid Class C license (this is the most common license) and a good driving record. Training will be provided and takes about 8 hours with most of that time being hands on behind the wheel in the bus. Drivers determine their own driving days and whole and half days are available. It is a wonderful way to give back to our community!

If you want to volunteer to drive or just need more information about driving, call Warren Gay at 1 (805) 927-1147 or Tony Church at 1 (805) 927-1442.

Dr. Carmelo Plateroti, Dermotologist

Dr. Plateroti was born in Italy and moved to New York at the age of 11. After graduating from Fordham University, he attended medical school at the New York College of Osteopathic Medi-cine. He went on to complete his internship and residencies in both Family Medicine and Der-matology. He is dual Boarded in Dermatology and Family Medicine and has been in practice in Templeton for about 25 years. His specialty is Surgical/Mohs procedures for skin cancer.

Plateroti Dermatology takes an integrative approach that combines the best Western medicine practices with the most effective holistic care.

Can You guess

Elaine Beckham 7. Patty Griffin
Bruce Howard 8. Nancy Carr
Mike Griffin 9. Linda Sherman
Otis Archie 10. Christel Chesney
Janet Meyers 11. Shari Long
Donna Crocker 12. Roger Robinson

San Luis Obispo County Libraries
Jacqueline Kinsey

Since 2010, Jackie has been the North County Regional Librarian for the County of SLO Libraries.

Before that she was the Librarian of the Morro Bay Branch Library from 2005-2010. She has held variety of library positions since college, including student assistant, Reference and Government Documents librarian, 9 years with the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, temporary and volunteer positions throughout the county libraries and 1 year as a school librarian. She and her husband are librarians who received their Master’s degree in Library and Information Technology from the University North Texas. They have 2 adult daughters and live in SLO.

The San Luis Obispo County Library was established in 1919 under authority of the County Free Library Act. The Library is a department of the County of San Luis Obispo, operating under the authority of the County Board of Supervisors. Today the library provides service to residents of 6 the 7 incorporated cities and the unincorporated areas of San Luis Obispo County, a service area that extends over 3,000 square miles. The Library offers circulation of books, magazines, newspapers, government publications, and other special publications, and also offers downloadable media of all types.

Jackie told us that Grab & Go is now available at 7 locations! Our doors are open Tues-Sat, 9-5, at the Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Cambria, Los Osos, Morro Bay, Nipomo, and SLO Libraries for browsing, holds pickups, and computers. Face coverings are required and visits are limited to 30 minutes.

Polio

Bruce Howard asked if anyone had any idea how many Americans were infected by polio. The answer: a quarter of a million. He then asked if anyone know who the first doctor to administer a polio vaccine and the year he did it? It was Dr. Jonas Salk in 1954. Finally, does anyone know the name of the competing doctor who did a live virus? His name was Albert Sabin.

In 1978-79 Rotary started a program in the Philippines to eradicate polio. It was only conducted in the Philippines and was a 5 year project. It was the first Health, Hunger and Humanity (3H) Grant that Rotary did. About 6 million children were immunized against polio, at a cost of about $760,000. The funds for 3H Grants come from your Annual Fund donations. So, everything related to Polio started with the Annual Fund. In 1984 Dr. Albert Sabin spoke to the Rotary Convention and commended rotary on the wonderful job they did in the Philippines. He said, if you guys were really good, you would take on the world. RI figured it would cost around $125 million to eradicate polio world-wide. About a quarter of a billion dollars was raised by Rotary through the Annual Fund. When we started the program, there was over 1,000 new cases in the world per day. Today we have had just 2 cases of the wild cases of the polio virus so far this year. About 19 million people today don’t have polio today because of our efforts! Please keep up your support!

Four Way Test Essay Winners

Cynthia Woodruff-Neer introduced the talented middle schoolers who won this year’s 4-Way Essay Contest. The essays were written during the month of February. A committee consisting of Sue Robinson, Julie Jenkins, Nancy McKarney and Cynthia. Cynthia then introduced Mr. Donaldson, Language Arts teacher at Santa Lucia Middle School. This is his 3rd year advising on this project and it was challenging during virtual learning. Mr. Donaldson thanked us for doing this and helping to pull it off during a COVID year. It wasn’t easy and the participation was less than desirable but he is sure they will come back pretty strong next year. The award money is a great motivation and it is great that we link this sort of opportunity to money and excelling at things like this will eventually lead to exactly that. Thank you all, also, for the volleyball grant. We are going to try to pull off our volleyball camp run by Mr. Donaldson and some high school students. Volleyball is a thing in Cambria and it has been strong for years now.

We are pleased to announce the winners of the contest:

3rd Place: Launa Hedding

2nd Place: Anna Schalk

1st Place: Juan Urbina

The winners will each receive a certificate and cash prizes: $100 for 1st place, $75 for 2nd and $50 for 3rd. The students were also encouraged to consider joining Interact when they reach high school.

Peace Essay Winners

Julie Jenkins told us that in December we reached out to Sarah Johnston, English teacher, to ask whether she was interested in coordinating a Peace Essay Contest for her students. As the daughter of Rotarians, she embraced the idea immediately but needed to figure out how to work it into the year’s course work. It fit best into the “inquiry” module that was coming up in February (it wasn’t ideal but the best option had already been completed in the Fall). I sourced a few ideas from Rotary’s website for Sarah’s consideration. We told her that our committee would work within whatever guidelines were needed in order to achieve the purpose of the module—no length requirements. Students were not required to submit their assignments to the contest but 15 did. All 8 members of the committee read the 15 essays and submitted their selections for first, second and third place. In parallel with the Four Way Test essay contest, we are awarding $100 for first place, $75 for second place and $50 for third place. As the Peacebuilders Committee has no budget, Cynthia has provided the prize money from the Youth Services budget. Sarah explained that, as seniors during the pandemic, it has been a challenge to make sure they have all the things that they need and that are necessary as they move into the exciting next stage of life. The inquiry unit is about the best way to question, the best way to research and the best way to think critically about the bigger issues we have in the world, one of them being what is peace and what does peace mean to you.

3rd Place: Diego Hernandez

2nd Place: Viviana Nuñez

1st Place: Jonathan Jewell

Ken Decroo, Writer

Kenneth L. Decroo truly believes you must live a life worth writing about. Before he became an educator and consultant for universities and school districts, he worked in the world of research and wild animal training in the motion picture industry for many years. He holds advance degrees in anthropology, instructional technology, and education. He lives and writes in the San Bernardino mountains of Southern California with his wife, Tammy. When not writing and lecturing, he loves to ride his BMW adventure motorcycle down the Baja peninsula to beaches and bays without names. More about his adventures can be found on his blog, http://bajamotoquest.com

Daou Virtual Tasting

While enjoying some delicious Daou wines, Maeve told us that, as young men, brothers Georges and Daniel Daou shared the same dream: to live a life in wine. Their dream prevailed years later when they discovered what would become known as DAOU Mountain, an untapped world-class terroir in the Adelaida District of Paso Robles. Ever since, they have poured their souls into creating some of California's most noteworthy wines while cultivating a guest experience to match. In the end, DAOU is about family - and the truth that nothing brings people together like wine. The most beautiful expression of wine comes from terroir. In simplest terms, terroir is soil and climate. Great wines require exceptional terroir. DAOU Mountain is created from a very rare soil, calcareous clay. This soil, famously found in Saint-Émilion and the right bank of Bordeaux, is composed of clay with a calcareous and limestone subsoil perfect for growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varieties. This is the soil Georges and Daniel sought when they searched around the world for their dream vineyard. DAOU Mountain rises 2,200 feet in elevation in the hills of the Adelaida District on the west side of the Paso Robles AVA. With its steep mountain slopes of up to fifty-six percent, DAOU Mountain rises dramatically above the Coastal Range with breathtaking views from the highest winery on the Central Coast of California. The mountain is cooled by the Pacific Ocean, fourteen miles away, and gentle breezes that flow over the Templeton Gap. Warm, temperate days and cool nights guarantee even ripening and vine balance every year.

We all agreed, we could get used to this!

Back to the 70's Social

PE Patty Griffin started the presentation by asking everyone to submit a photo of themselves in the ‘70’s for our April contest. Patty then said, even though it is not the favorite part of her job, she is coming to us again asking for support of our next fundraiser, Ping Pong Palooza by encouraging friends and family members to purchase ping pong balls. If you are on social media, consider posting about the fundraiser.

What were you doing in the summer of 1971?

Patty: Loaded her horse along with 10 others into a rundown trailer and rode to King City to participate in a mini-rodeo.

Dr. Joe: Spent the summer at the Jersey Shore as he did every summer.

Joan: Took the bar exam and found out she passed it, went out to celebrate with friends and met her husband!

Sue R: Rented a house in the Hamptons with friends and spent every weekend there.

Bob K: Since he was 4, he was living in Buffalo and probably playing in a sandbox.

Ed Pearce: Retired from Cuesta after 38 years.

Cynthia: Was 11 years old got her first passport for a trip to Japan the next year.

Mike G: In his 2nd year at Humbolt State.

Dennis R: Just finished first year teaching, Linda was planning their wedding while he was sailing with a friend.

Shari: Graduated high school, packed everything she owned into her Triumph Spitfire and moved to Cayucos.

Otis: Baled hay for the first time but showed up the first day in shorts and a t-shirt.

Linda S: Took a canoe trip on the Wisconsin River before beginning graduate school.

Gerry P: He and Paula and their joined her parents in Newport Beach. Paula & her dad would make fresh fish and scrambled eggs for breakfast every morning.

Mary Ann: Worked in Yellowstone Nat’l Park for the summer then took a road trip to CA with friends.

Nancy M: Gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. A week later moved from Ventura to Oceanside.

Christel: Was mother to a 6 mo old boy, her husband was just promoted to Captain in the Army and headed to the National Security Agency in Washington DC.

Bob P: Had just finished sophomore year at Napa HS and spent 2 weeks at Whiskey Town Lake in No. CA, hiking, skiing and dirt biking.

Judy S. Was mother to a big furry cat named Pierre who got skunked. She took the cat into the shower and poured tomato juice all over it. The cat hated her after that.

Steve O: We adopted our oldest daughter Nicole.

Janet: 1971 was a bad year because her mother passed away in July.

Roger: Moved to Marina Del Rey, bought a Pinto and went to Europe. All this on $12,000 year.

Chuck: Was 15 yrs old growing up in Pittsburg, took a vacation in Stone Harbor, NJ. Every night they would listen to the Pittsburgh Pirate games on the car radio. The Pirates won the World Series that year.

Rick Low: attending Cal Poly, inner tubing down the Nacimiento River with large bottles of wine.

Julie: Got involved with a local theatre group at Penn State working on You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.

Elaine: Was a 25 yr old single lady living in London sharing a flat with 4 others. Was a bridesmaid 4 times.

Nancy B: Moved to San Diego from Connecticut where her twin brother was trying out for the SEALS.

Wade Nomura, “Creating Destiny”

Wade is currently the mayor of Carpinteria. But he can't be defined by just one title. He's been a BMX racing champion (5-times), Rotary leader who's traveled the world in the name of humanitarian service and is a Japanese American who's family has overcome discrimination.

In Creating Destiny, he writes about the many ups and downs throughout life and how it made him who he is today.

Times were tough for his family as Japanese Americans in the wake of World War II. His family was among those removed to interment camps in the Arizona desert, stripped of all their belongings and forced to start over when the war was over.

Their struggles still weren’t over, with discrimination part of daily life. Wade was not allowed inside his friend’s homes because of nervous parents. “It was hard always being looked at with suspicion. In some ways the discrimination made me who I am – it made me work harder to prove myself,” he says.

Wade hopes his book will inspire others to embrace community service. “It’s the most rewarding feeling, knowing you’ve played a part in improving someone else’s life forever,” he says.

You can purchase Wade’s book at www.wadenomura.com/book. If you order it now, note on your order form that you are with Cambria Rotary. Wade and his wife, Debbie, will be delivering the books to Cambria on Friday, April 2nd.

Nancy McKarney, Membership

We are a Strong club...The Best Rotary Club in the World! We have accomplished, as a unit, an immeasurable amount of good for our friends, neighbors and so many of those in need here and around the world. Our Members are of all persuasions, talents and abilities that work in unison towards common positive goals. And we have all had the benefit of creating new friends and close relationships through the course of our Rotary actions. Having said that.... Attrition happens. It just happens for so many obvious reasons, no need to list. Strong clubs can dwindle all too quickly. To stay strong we need to work at adding new members to fill the gaps created by loss and to help keep the energy flowing so we can remain productive and beneficial to our community and the world. With that said... I want you each to remember how you were introduced to Rotary and some of your most enjoyable Rotary experiences. It can be a good time you had or a particularly satisfying experience. Nancy McKarney: was introduced to Rotary in 1988. The N. Hollywood Club named her a member before it was technically required. She became a member of Cambria Rotary in 1994. One memorable experience was taking a cruise to Puerta Vallarta with a whole gang of club members and being served paella by a group of Rotarians.

Christel: Socorro Simons brought her to the club, and, as it turns out, all her best friends are members of Rotary now. She didn’t have mush of a social life in Cayucos because, where they lived, was mostly vacation rentals. Her most memorable experience was hanging out with the kids at RYLA where she was a counselor.

Pres. Chuck: was introduced to Rotary back in Pittsburgh when he was a young attorney. He was encouraged by the older attorneys in his office to join and, quite frankly, he did not enjoy any of the meetings he attended. He thought, “who are these people singing songs and doing the pledge”. When he moved to Cambria in 2004, he was invited to a Rotary meeting and fell in love with our club specifically.

Linda Sherman: she was introduced to Rotary in 2016, right after her husband passed away, by Joan Broadhurst. Shortly thereafter, Socorro knocked on her door and told her that she was coming to Rotary with her the next day. One of her most memorable experiences is what she is doing right now. She is restoring the history of our club going back to 1971. It has become quite an incredible project.

Otis: Rotary actually sponsored him when he was in college. The Snyder Rotary Club even gave him a small stipend that really helped. His most memorable part is the fact that we are really his family! He still gets teary eyed when he thinks about the reception the club threw for him and Joe.

Chuck DeVroede: In 1982 he was approached by Jim Siegel (?) from Cambria Electric. He felt he was too busy with his business but kept being approached by people asking when he was going to come to Rotary. He especially enjoys the comradery.

Sue R.: This guy kept running around. He had a mustache and walked with a cane and he talked me into joining Rotary. What she loves and really misses the new member orientations where everyone lets their hair down and has a good time. But we will be doing it again.

Dick & Bonnie: Bonnie moved to Cambria first and got started in Rotary because she had a business and wanted to give back. Dick’s sponsor was Bonnie. He had been a member of the Moorpark Club before moving to Cambria. His most memorable time has been in his role as Sheriff.

continued

Nina Lozano, Evening Anchor at KSBY

Nina Lozano is co-anchor of KSBY News every weeknight at 5:00, 6:00, 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. She joined the KSBY News team in October 2020.

Before moving to the Central Coast, Nina spent 3 years at KTNV-TV, the Scripps-owned ABC affiliate in Las Vegas, Nevada where she was an anchor and reporter. Prior to that, she worked as a reporter in Rochester, New York.

“I’m very happy to join KSBY and live in California’s beautiful Central Coast. I am humbled by this opportunity to serve the community and tell people's stories. Being a part of this community makes me proud to call the Central Coast home."

Nina is from the Philippines and is a proud graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman where she received her bachelor's degree in Broadcast Communications. In 2014, Nina moved to Tampa, Florida to start her broadcast career as an intern at WFLA-TV.

Nina told us to feel free to contact her with any questions or with information about upcoming events or local stories at Nina.lozano@ksby.com.

John Lindsey, PG&E Meteorologist

John Lindsey is a media relations representative and marine meteorologist for Pacific Gas and Electric Company at Diablo Canyon Power Plant. He has worked for PG&E for more than 16 years. He has forecasted weather and oceanographic conditions along the Central Coast of California for over 30 years. His forecast can be heard every morning on 920 KVEC radio. He writes a weekly column that appears in Tuesday's edition San Luis Obispo Tribune. He also writes a weather forecast that appears in Sunday's edition of Tribune, Santa Maria Times, Lompoc Record and Santa Ynez Valley News.

He is on the Board of Directors of the Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers, Central Coast Aquarium, PG&E Veterans’ Employee Resource Group and the Lost at Sea committee.

Prior to working with PG&E, he was a marine meteorologist and research scientist with Tenera Environmental. He served in the U.S. Navy for over 24 years. He attended Santa Rosa Junior College, California and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. He successfully completed the U.S. Naval Aviation Meteorology and Oceanography Program at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

He currently lives in Los Osos, California and is married to Trisha. They have two children, Chloe 23 and Sean 17.

If you are interested in current weather information, John told us that he keeps weather information up to date on his Twitter page (twitter.com/PGE_John). Or if you have any questions for him, his email is jcl5@pge.com

Bob Putney. - The Rotary Foundation

What funds what?

How it works….

What it does and does not do…

Who’s on 1st, what’s on second?

Bob explained where our dues, our pledges, and donations go and what the benefits are. A copy of his presentation is attached to this email.

You can make one-time donations or recurring monthly donations to TRF Annual Fund, Polio Fund, World Fund and/or Disaster Relief Fund by going to my.rotary.org/en/donate or by calling 1-866-976-8279.

Hearst’s Old San Simeon Village, Changes afoot in 2021

Ben Higgins is the Director of Agricultural Operations for the Hearst Corporation, where he oversees two properties on California’s Central Coast – the 83,000-acre Hearst Ranch in San Simeon and the 73,000-acre Jack Ranch in Cholame. Hearst is the largest agricultural landowner on the Central Coast and the largest single-source producer of grass-fed beef in the nation, selling over 1,000 head of grass-fed-and-finished animals to Whole Foods Market annually.

Prior to joining Hearst in 2013, Higgins served as Executive Vice President of the California Cattlemen’s Association, appointed by President George W. Bush as State Director of USDA Rural Development in California, and was Director of Government Affairs for Mainstream Energy Corp. He also has a significant history of community involvement, via local economic development organizations, agricultural trade organizations, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, local 4-H/FFA clubs and more.

Higgins resides in San Simeon with his wife Rochelle and daughters Audrey and Mary.

He was asked to speak today about the Sebastian’s building in Old San Simeon. The building was originally constructed in 1873. It is actually a building constructed from 2 separate buildings that were previously our at San Simeon Point. He told us about the plans to bring the building up to code while keeping the original layout. Once the permits are issued, the first thing they will do is raise the building and put in a new foundation. Right now the plan is to turn it back into a market likely with some “grab and go” food options. The tasting room will remain where it is, in the old Hearst warehouse. Plans are in place to install a kitchen and provide lunch and dinner options.

Coast Union High School Interact
Bake Sale

Bake Sale

Youth Services Chair, Cynthia Woodruff-Neer, told us that she simply told the students the day and time for the bake sale and they took it from there. She told us to be prepared to be

impressed with the baked goods they created. She also thanked Bob Kasper for agreeing to, once again, be our auctioneer. He has been working with them throughout the week to come up with a way to do this virtually.

Cynthia introduced Interact students: Ava, Caiden, Crystal, Jasmine, Lissi, Sami, Shaidy, Violet,

Viviana and the Interact Advisor, Ayan Johnson.

After all the baked good were auctioned, the total raised was $3,255. Joan Broadhurst said she would like to donate an additional $45 to make the total an even $3,300. Then, Elaine Beckham told us that she is unable to each much in the way of sweets so didn’t bid on anything but she wanted to do her part so she donated $700, bringing the total to an amazing $4,000! As

Auctioneer, Bob Kasper said, this is why our club is the Best Rotary Club in the World!

Ian Parkinson, SLO County Sheriff

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson was sworn into office on January 3, 2011. Parkinson's career in law enforcement in San Luis Obispo County began when he joined the Morro Bay Police Department in 1984. He transferred to the San Luis Obispo Police Department in 1988, where he rose to the rank of Captain, second in command of the department.

The Sheriff began by telling us that they were able to clear out the Highway 1 and Cambria Drive homeless encampment just prior to the rain. The encampment filled up to about 6 feet of rain so a number of lives may have been saved by evacuating that area.

This has been a very interesting year with COVID and our lives have been changed in many ways. We have all been on a roller coaster. There have been many changes to how it is dealt with. Deputies still have to be on the street and make contact. The jail has done a great job keeping the incidence down.

We had 3 deputy involved shootings within a 4 month period which is unprecedented for our county. In all 3 cases, the suspect was killed and in 2 cases 2 of the deputies were shot. Both deputies suffered significant injuries with one being shot in the jaw and the other shot in the leg. He was pleased to report that both deputies are doing well and will hopefully return to the job soon. The downside of these events is the mental toll it takes on the deputies and the families of those injured. And the taking of a life can be difficult to deal with.

Crime is up, but major crimes in January are down. There has been a increase over the past year in burglaries, theft, and property crimes possibly caused by the economy and/or the mass release of prisoners from county jails. Domestic violence has been consistently up every month likely due to the COVID lockdown and the economy.

On the Cambria front, the biggest issue has been the homeless. Especially during fire season, it is imperative that encampments be taken down as quickly as possible. Luckily, Cal Fire has been very quick in pulling the trigger to get aircraft from Paso in the air, many times arriving before the fire engines can get there.

When asked who we can contact if we see homeless entering deeply wooded ravines, he encouraged us to call the Coast Station at 805-528-6083 and ask to speak Cmdr. McDonald or one of his sergeants. They are anxious to know about any homeless in heavily wooded areas because of fires. Some of these are well hidden and hard for the Deputies to locate.

ROTARY CLUB

Willow Baker, Peace Education

Reflection and Resilience for Changing Times

Willow Baker is the program director of the Prem Rawat Foundation's signature Peace Education Program, an innovative series of video-based workshops that help people discover and develop their inner strength and personal peace. These workshops are available in over 70 countries in 37 languages.

Fluent in French, Willow has had the opportunity to work and travel in Africa and throughout Europe. She is also Peace Chair for Conejo Valley Rotary.

The Peace Education Program is an empowering series of workshops that help people discover their own inner strength and personal peace. Food for People offers an innovative approach to helping people emerge from the cycle of poverty. TPRF also provides essential humanitarian aid to those in crisis.

Willow reminded us that peace is a lifestyle, not a destination.

Jane Pomeroy, RISE
RISE: Respond, Inspire, Support, Empower

RISE: Respond, Inspire, Support, Empower

RISE is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides crisis intervention and treatment services to survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence and their loved ones. All services are provided confidentially, at low or no cost, to anyone regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or ability. All crisis services are available in Spanish and English.

As a nonprofit organization that serves both victims of intimate partner violence and sexual assault/abuse and their loved ones, RISE provides comprehensive programs, services and resources to the community.

The tagline of RISE - Respect. Inspire. Support. Empower. - embodies the work of RISE. We believe that RESPECT is the cornerstone to ending violence and creating peace. We strive to INSPIRE the community to be active in the movement to end gender-based violence. We SUPPORT loved ones of those affected by sexual assault/abuse and intimate partner violence and we EMPOWER victims to heal from trauma and transform their lives.

Brian Rusch, Rotary Opens Opportunities

Brian has managed organizations for Nobel laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, taking the knowledge they have imparted to him and created programs to inspire youth on their own explorations of ethics, and that reshape conversations on peace, equality and forgiveness.

He has worked on projects in India with Kailash Satayarthi and sits on the board of Leymah Gbowee's U.S organization. He was the founding executive director of the Human Thread Foundation, an organization with a mission to educate the public and drive awareness about human dignity and human trafficking. In addition, Brian was a co-creator of The Ubuntu Lab, an organization created to facilitate a better public understanding of our common humanity. He regularly consults with NGOs, governments, corporations and celebrities to help them strategize on how to best optimize their platforms to be change makers for good.

Brian was a Rotary Youth Exchange Student to Brazil and became a Rotarian in his 20s when he joined the Rotary Club of Hollywood, California. He helped to create the Rotary Club of San Francisco - Castro, Rotary's first LGBT-cultured club, and is currently the charter president of the Rotary Club for Global Action, an e-club based in District 5150 with membership from countries around the world including some countries where Rotary is not currently allowed to establish an in-country presence.

Eduardo Hernandez, Santa Cristina Coffee

Eduardo has lived in Vienna, Austria since 2007. Before joining the family coffee business in 2013, he was a career diplomat for El Salvador.

Eduardo is the founder and managing director at Santa Cristina Specialty Coffees. He told us that SANTA CRISTINA GmbH is a family-owned business established in Austria in 2014, to directly import and supply their specialty coffees from El Salvador. They are dedicated to making a positive social and environmental impact at coffee origins through the establishment of direct trade relationships in Europe.

Their Mission is to provide the highest quality green coffees in Europe for a collaborative, steady and positive impact to coffee communities at Origin, keeping social and environmental sustainability at heart.

The company is based in Austria for its great business infrastructure, in support of the booming coffee culture in the region, and to offer easy access to quality coffee for roasters and coffee shop owners throughout Europe.

We thoroughly enjoyed Eduardo’s presentation and will be expecting his Uncle Mike (aka Miguel Hernandez) to treat us to a sip of Eduardo’s specialty coffee when we finally get to meet again in person.

The 5 Wins of Solar Energy

James Kennedy is the Founder, President, and CEO of Beach Cities Solar Consulting LLC, with Global Corporate Headquarters based in San Juan Puerto Rico and remote offices in cities throughout the state of California. Beach Cities Solar Consulting LLC is an education based solar consulting firm that works with homeowners, business owners, and corporations to provide them with turnkey solutions to go solar, save money, and become energy independent. James has consulted on over 100 commercial and residential solar installations throughout California, New Mexico, New York, and Puerto Rico. James splits his time between Puerto Rico and Manhattan Beach and cares deeply about protecting the environment for future generations and getting America off fossil fuels for good. James is the Vice President of the San Juan Rotary Club and recently published Solar Energy Secrets For Homeowners (available on Amazon). He is giving a complimentary copy of his book to all of our club’s Rotarians.

Cambria Rotary Peace Committee

Dr. Joe, filling in for Chairperson, Paula Porter who was without electricity at the time, thanked the club for the opportunity to do a presentation about the Peace Committee. Joe said they are taking baby steps and getting their stride this year and part of that is to have programs where we have discussion topics. In the interest of predictability in this time when so much is unpredictable he gave us an overview of what we will be doing. First we watched a short video about peace. You can watch this excellent video at:

https://youtu.be/6vuXEvhua1A .

We then broke into groups to answer the following question: During the past week, what are some ways you have worked to create peace within yourself and/or with others. After each group met, one person was selected to share one of those peace cultivating practices with the rest of the club. After all the groups have shared, we reflected on some common themes that emerged.

Group 1: Kate Perry shared that her mom died September 17th and theirs was a less than ideal relationship. She has been struggling with what will never be when it comes to that relationship. There is no small thing when it comes to being mindful about yourself and cultivating peace and being at peace.

Group 2: Janet Meyers said that their group talked about the need for patience. Patience is so important to having peace in your life. We all find ourselves in situations where we lose our patience but we have a choice to be patient or not. To be respectful or not. To be kind or not kind. Being aware of that consciousness is very important.

Group 3: Otis Archie talked about the importance of listening. By listening, people are being heard and by being heard, stress is relieved.

Group 4: Julie Jenkins discussed the need to take personal responsibility for ourselves or where we are. While we have no control over what the other person is doing, we have control over what we are doing. Also, cancelling out some of the voices that come out through Facebook and other social media and instead finding your own worth.

Joe finished by reflecting on the one theme he picked up on and that is “Slow down”. Paula added that peace really is an inside job.

Joel Sheets, SLO Land Conservancy

Joel Sheets joined The Land Conservancy Board in 2019. He is a retired scientist who moved to San Luis Obispo with his family in 2014. He earned a Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of California, Irvine, CA. He spent over 30 years working for Dow AgroSciences, having various research roles as Research Leader in the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Department.

He has authored/co-authored over 25 patents, over 40 external peer reviewed publications and book chapters, and over 200 proprietary internal research reports in the area of Agricultural Biochemistry. His primary research interests are in the application of insecticidal proteins in agriculture. He is a board member of the San Luis Obispo Rotary Club and currently enjoys many outdoor activities including hiking, biking, sailing and touring.

The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County works cooperatively with both landowners and government agencies to find positive, mutually beneficial solutions. Our goal is to help prevent poorly planned development, protect drinking water sources, restore wildlife habitat and promote family farmlands and ranches.

Since 1984, we have permanently conserved over 24,000 acres of land in San Luis Obispo County. With your support, we’ll ensure that San Luis Obispo County has wild natural areas, productive family farms and ranches, clean fresh water, and stunning landscapes forever.

See PowerPoint presentation attached to this email for more details about Joel’s very interesting presentation especially about plans to preserve ranchland in the North Coast.

Soren Christensen , Winemaker, Hearst Ranch Winery

Soren Christensen became Hearst Ranch Winery’s winemaker in 2014. His expertise hails from working with some of the best vineyards in Paso Robles. While at Hope Family Winery, he worked on the winemaking team crafting Cabernet-based wines for Treana and Liberty School and later worked with the Rhône-variety based Alta Colina Vineyard.

Hearst Ranch Winery owners, Jim and Debby Saunders are in a partnership with Steve and Barbara Hearst. The main tasting room is in San Simeon but they also have a second one in Paso.

Soren first met longtime grape grower Jim Saunders some 20 years ago, when he was tasked with sampling grapes prior to the 2000 harvest. The fledgling cellar-hand became fast friends with the Saunders, who was selling his grapes to top wineries at that point. “Jim offered insight and expertise that I took to heart, so it was an easy decision to join his team,” Christensen said. “Making wine worthy of carrying the Hearst name is no small task. I am honored to join their team and will strive to exceed expectations as I embark on this new journey.

Soren told us that a new food purveyor, Field to Table, has just signed on to provide food at the San Simeon tasting room.

Dennis Frahmann, Cambria Film Festival

Dennis Frahmann is a journalist, writer and award-winning marketer who grew up in small farming and resort towns in Wisconsin and now lives in the small seaside town of Cambria, California. He holds a B.A. from Ripon College in English and philosophy, and a masters in journalism from Columbia University. After an initial stint as a restaurant reviewer and reporter for Mpls. St. Paul Magazine, Frahmann worked in marketing for a variety of high-tech companies, including Control Data, Xerox, and Sage. He is currently Director of the Cambria Film Festival.

Dennis told us that, when they started out, our goal was to create a film festival that celebrated our community and our shared love of film from around the world. That remains our mission. Admittedly, no one can predict with confidence what the world might look like in February of 2021, but we know one thing. If the Cambria Film Festival wants to host another wonderful year of outstanding films, we need to start now. It takes a full year to plan and execute. That’s why we’re sharing our thinking with our entire community of filmgoers, volunteers, screeners, and sponsors. We are committed to moving forward with our plans for a film festival dedicated to romance, romantic comedies and the complexities of love on February 4-7, 2021. We believe it will be good for our town and for all of us. With that in mind, we already put out a call for films on FilmFreeway.com. If you know filmmakers who may be interested, let them know about our festival and encourage them to submit. Screeners, get ready. In about 30 days, we anticipate asking you once more to start your watching engines. We hope life is closer to normal by then, but that you can still give us your time. Volunteers, we’ll keep you informed on our progress. We’re looking at new ways to make your experience even better, and we plan to host a special session for key roles in mid-summer. Passholders and sponsors, please keep the Festival in your thoughts and plans. Just know that your enthusiasm and support during our first three years resulted in reserves sufficient, even in these financially perilous times, to allow us to host a fourth year, even if we need to scale it back. Meanwhile, we will use our Facebook and Twitter pages to share weekly film recommendations. We plan to showcase films at the Cambria Center for the Arts on July 29 and October 21. And we’re exploring options for testing a virtual film festival later this summer. If all goes well, this will provide an alternative way to view some of our Festival films next February. In February 2021, we hope our Festival will be one of many reasons why locals and out-of-towners will want to spend time on this beautiful coast and celebrate that theme that motivates our programming . . . love is in the air. To give you a taste of that, I am happy to share our poster design for the 2021 Festival.

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

We now conduct Hybrid meetings. In person lunch begins at Noon Zoom feed opens at 12:15 Proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours is required in order to attend in person Cambriarotaryclub@gmail.com 805 769 4749

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Jul 09, 2021

Cambria Rotary

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