Sue Robinson introduced our speaker, Suzanne Kennedy, who was the driving force behind the creation of the Cambria Education Foundation. Suzanne has lived in Cambria since 1988 with her husband Jim Cunningham. They raised their two children, Mackenzie and Connor.

Suzanne started off by telling us that both her children went through RYLA and she is very grateful to Rotary for giving them that chance. She then went on the explain that CEF was founded in the parking lot of the middle school by 4 parents who were concerned about cuts in the State budget. After working for about 12 months, they were granted non-profit status. Through numerous fundraisers, they were able to give grants to teachers, support field trips and science camp as well as other projects.

Unfortunately the Cambria Education Foundation (CEF) has had to dissolve due to lack of volunteers but they have been fortunate to receive the support of the Cambria Community Council assist in providing grants to teachers in the Coast Unified School District. In an effort to streamline the grant process and provide the most efficient use of volunteers, the education grants will now run through the Council. CEF will transfer all current funds to the Council in support of education-related requests. Anyone who has supported CEF in the past is asked to now send their donation to Cambria Community Council and indicate that you would like the donation to go towards education.

One of the hardest things CEF had to give up was their annual end of the year party honoring those teachers who are retiring. They are hoping one of the non-profits in town will pick it up. (Hint, hint).

Suzanne was asked about the t-shirt she was wearing which had a “We Are One” logo on it. She explained that every student at Santa Lucia Middle School will be reading the book Refugee by Alan Gratz, a compelling story about three refugees from three different time periods in history. It ties in with the school-wide theme “We Are One”.

DG Loretta Butts told us about how she met Julius and learned about his goal to help the children of Uganda. She also told us about Jim Fee, the American who joined Julius to create the Achon Uganda Children’s Fund. Jim, unfortunately, was killed on a cycling accident in 2013. His wife, Angela Fee has continued working on the fund and joined us today. Loretta also introduced John Brant, author of The Boy Who Runs.

Julius Achon grew up in a small village, Awake, 40 miles northeast of Lira in northern
Uganda. At age 12, he was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army, a militant coalition
that rebelled against the Uganda government, and was forced to become a child soldier. Three months later, He escaped and a year later entered and won his first official race, which earned him a place at the district championships in Lira. To get to the stadium 42 miles away, he had to run for six hours, barefoot, because he didn't own a pair of shoes. The following day he won the 800m, 1500m and 3000m.

Shortly thereafter, Julius returned to school and began running. His talents landed him a scholarship in 1990 to attend school at Makerere High School in the capital city of Kampala. At age 17, having attracted the attention of several Ugandan sports officials, he was entered in the 1994 World Junior Championships in Portugal, and ran the 1,500. He won the race, wearing shoes for the first time in competition and bringing Uganda its first World Junior gold medal. His performance caught the eye of John Cook, an American track coach who brought him to George Mason University in Virginia on a scholarship.

Julius went on to compete for Uganda in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, both times serving as captain of the Ugandan Olympic team. While training near his village in 2003, he encountered a
group of orphans and couldn’t help but take them into his home. He created the
Achon Uganda Children’s Fund to help the many children orphaned in northern

Uganda. A year later he found out his mother had been shot. Because there were no medical facilities nearby, his mother bled to death four days after being shot. Julius realized that if there had been a hospital she could have reached, she might still be alive. So, he built the Kristina Health Center, named after his mother. The fund has since raised enough money to add a full-blown maternity ward to the center.

We were proud to present Julius and Angela Fee, CEO of the Achon Uganda Children’s Fund, with a check for $1,750 for the Kristina Health Center. The club also collected $1,000 towards the purchase of an ultrasound machine for the maternity department he is adding to the hospital.

Today President Roger introduced a new game that, hopefully will help us get to know each other better. Three club members were selected and they will each told us four things about themselves. One of those four things was be a lie and it was up to everyone to decide which was truth and which was fiction.

Cynthia Woodruff-Neer:

Sue Oberholtzer:

#1: I was born on the 8th day of the 8th month and weighed 8 lbs., 8 oz.

#2: I was a competitive ice skater and at 16 became a paid professional ice skater.

#3: After high school I became an exchange student and lived on a pig farm in Sweden with 1200 pigs.

#4: I worked for 30 years as an attorney, some of that time with Alpine Electronics. During my time with Alpine, I travelled to China 20 times.

#1: In the 6th grade we were asked to sell 6 oz bars of World’s Famous Chocolate bars. My parents regularly went to a pub on Friday nights and I sometimes tagged along. I sold 85 chocolate bars to inebriated pub goers and was proclaimed Chocolate Salesman Champion for which I was awarded a 2 pound chocolate bar.

#2: In Jr. High students were asked to bring in items for a bake sale. My friend and I decided to make candy bars by melting tootsie rolls and adding X-Lax and hot pepper and wrapping them in waxed paper. The next day, during 2nd period English, 2 boys came to class bragging that they stole candy from the lunch room. Yes, it was the candy made by me and my friend. They boys passed the candy out to everyone in the class and I am sure you can imagine what happened next!

#3: In 1982 in Austin, Tx, my son Miles entered me into a stand up comedian competition at a local Comedy Club. I was really nervous about it but I went and it was a lot of fun. I ended up coming in 2nd in the Pun-Off contest. No pun intended.

Continued........

Presentation: THREE TRUTHS AND A LIE, continued

Sue Oberholtzer (continued)

Roger Robinson

#4: While stationed in Okinawa, my fighter pilot husband fitted me out with a flight suit and oxygen mask for a “burner bust” in an F105 fighter jet. A burner bust is when the plane takes off but then lands again right away after the drag chute deploys). After putting me in the back seat, he started to take the plane off and deployed the chute to slow the plane down. The plane blew a tire on landing and he was busted for having a civilian in the back seat (a no-no).

#1: In 1959, while at University of Illinois, I was selected as Editor-in-Chief of the school yearbook.

#2: In 1964, while competing with the US Para Olympics Team, I met Crown Prince Akihito, son of Emperor Hirohito of Japan, and his wife, Princess Michiko and had my picture taken shaking his hand. Crown Prince Akihito became Emperor of Japan in January 1989.

#3: In 1984, in celebration of completing my Masters Degree at Pepperdine, my wife treated me to a weekend at Pebble Beach where I played a round of golf. I won’t disclose my score but I can proudly say that I had a par 4 on the 15th hole.

#4: In 1989 I attended an airline conference in Berlin. While there, the Berlin Wall came down and we were able to walk across the border into East Berlin.

We will be doing this again on November 30. If you would like to participate, let Sue know. In the meantime, were you able to guess which of the statements were the “lies”? Drum Roll please.....

Cynthia has never been to China.
Sue O. did not win the Pun-Off Contest but her son did. Roger was never the yearbook editor.

Bob Putney introduced Fire Captain, Emily Torlano who has been with the Cam- bria Fire Department since 2000. She received her paramedics license in 2004 and was promoted to Captain in 2015. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Safety Administration and is working on her Masters in Organizational Leadership.

Emily began by introducing Michael Castellanos, a Cambria native and Engineer with the Department. Engineers are required to be certified fire fighter as well as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s). She also introduced Reserve Fire- fighter, Leo Salas.

The Cambria Fire Department was established in 1886 and is the 2nd oldest in San Luis Obispo County. In addi- tion to fighting fires, the department provides advanced life support, ocean and cliff rescue, hydrant mainte- nance (there are 460 of them) as well as rescuing people locked out of their cars, changing batteries in smoke and CO2 detectors and fire weed abatement. The Department recently lost a grant that enabled them to hire additional personnel but they are working on a new grant.

Training requirements have gotten much stricter. There are fewer people willing to be reserve firefighters (part- time) or volunteers because they are required to complete 1700 hours of training. As a result, there are only 12

reserves on the books.

Emily also reminded everyone to register with NIXLE to get community alerts and notifications. To register, simply text your zip code to the number 888-777. She also brought Cambria Area Fire Evacuation Plan brochures for anyone who would like one.

When asked why so many personnel respond to 911 calls, Emily explained that the fire engine must be “at the ready” in case of emergency so the 3 personnel assigned to each engine need to stay together. She also advised anyone noticing cars parked in such a way as to block access to a street, to contact the fire de- partment. They will send someone out to have the car(s) moved.

Fire hydrants need to be maintained on a regular basis because they can rust making it nearly impossible to operate. In an emergency situation, every minute counts so it is important that hydrants be maintained, although maintaining 460 hydrants is no easy task.

We actually went past our usual ending time because it was such a great presentation and there were so many questions. Thanks to Emily and her crew for taking the time to tell us about the Cambria Fire Department.

Pres. Mike, as one of his last chores as President, took time to thank a number of people who helped make his year as President a successful one by gifting them with a copy of Be Mindful & Stress Less by Gina M. Biegel. This book was ded- icated to Mike’s nephew, Tomas, who committed suicide a couple of years ago. This is a topic on many people’s minds lately so this book is very meaningful.

Thanks went to PE Roger (probably for taking over so Mike could finally rest), Secretary Julia Rice, Treasurer Bonnie Cameron (who received a
standing ovation for her many years as chief bean counter); Otis Archie, PR; Donna Crocker, Family of Rotary who said she hopes we don’t get sick because she like writing happy notes; Ron Perry, Sergeant at Arms for ringing him in every week; Janet Meyers, for providing great programs all year; Mary Ann Carson, Community Service; Bob Putney, TRF, and Richard Torcia, Youth Services. He will catch up with a few others, who were not in attendance, at the next meeting.

Pres. Mike ended the meeting with a quote from JK Rowling, “There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other”. A wise man, our President!

The purpose of the Four-Way Test Speech Contest is to foster ethics in everyday life, as well as in business. The contest is designed to introduce middle school students to the Rotary principles of ethics and service, and to involve local Rotary Clubs with the youth of their communities. It also is aimed at encouraging young people to learn to express themselves well in public. In nearly every profession, the ability to express one’s thoughts and ideas clearly, concisely, and persuasively is an important skill.

This year, about 40 students submitted essays. Richard Torchia, Youth Services Chair, along with Joan Broadhurst, Gail Ortenburger and Sue Robinson reviewed each of the essays and selected the 3 best.

If one of the goals of the Four Way Test Essay Contest is to encourage young people to learn to express themselves in public, it appears to have worked in this case. These three students, led off by a funny, charming and well- spoken and 7th grader, Eli Linn and followed by two of his articulate classmates, Zaul Vasquez and Shanyra Cardenas. It was a pleasure to welcome these three local students to our meeting.

Barbara Burns introduced our speaker, Dan Dow, District Attorney of San Luis Obispo County. Our County District She told us that Dan is also a proud Rotarian of the San Luis Obispo Club.

Dan made sure Sheri Dick saw that he was wearing his Rotary pin. Dan spoke about the subject
of human trafficking in our county, as well as reviewing this globally (46 million are enslaved!).
Rotary International has established an on-line site with informa on, called Rotary Action Group About Slavery: www.RAGAS.online. The FBI says that slavery is the fastest growing crime, especially in California and even here in SLO County. The average age for sex slavery is 16, with children even younger than 12 being trafficked by gangs. Dan reported that it is very lucrative and that there is a demand in our county, a major, major issue here. Also, labor trafficking is happening here. Law enforcement has been educated about this since 2014 and now Rotary is involved, with our District Governor John Weiss supportive.