Pay and Tell: began at 7 AM with Eric, Michelle, Scott Burns and Sandra in attendance; others joined later. They discussed the positive feedback from the recent SPARK event, and it was suggested that personal discussions continue on the SPARK topic of Diversity and Inclusion - possibly at a Rotary meeting, and possibly using breakout rooms for smaller group conversations. Lily Carey said, "Great SPARK meeting yesterday!" When asked if she might be interested in being co-chair, she mentioned she is moving again. Her house in Alisal is too big and expensive. She is moving to another home in Los Olivos. Gillian has been going to an outdoor gym in the early mornings - called Rise Up Fitness on Las Positas at 101. Joanne was wearing her pearls in honor of Mardi Gras. Eric told Jim Ruh about the "sleeping" photos that were taken of him at the Christmas party. Jim explained he had not been sleeping well. Lily said she goes to bed at 8:30 PM and wakes up at 3AM. Her doctor commented that that was a LOT of sleep. A 20 minute nap during the day was suggested to refresh ourselves.
Hannah Rael is doing a great job as Membership Chair - as we now have two new members in our club. Kirk Greene told us about a 90 year old Seattle woman who walked 6 miles through snow to get COVID vaccination. Tina was traveling and is now back in SB. She mentioned a new volunteer "read along" opportunity coming along soon. The program is designed to help children get back on track with their reading. They can read aloud to a volunteer. If they have difficulty, they can do games and other tasks with assignments to get caught up. Scott Burns said that he and Gary Jensen recently volunteered to pack food boxes for the Boys & Girls Club. Kirk Greene told us about The Lighthouse for the Blind, a non-profit that provides employment, support and training opportunities for people who are blind. Janet Napier said her vaccine experience here in Santa Barbara was very easy. It was noted that there is a short supply of COVID vaccine in the Santa Barbara area. Kathy Scorggs said she signed up to volunteer at Cottage but has not done her "clearance" yet. Someone else mentioned that they did their "clearance" three times!
(Pay & Tell notes taken by Sandra O'Meara).
Call to Order: President Eric called the meeting to order at 7:32 a.m. Tina Ballue gave the flag salute, Gillian Amery gave the invocation and Joanne Orenstein provided the raffle prize, which was won by Kathy Scroggs.
Presentation: Eric presented a check to the club’s Foundation for $2,692.84 representing the raffle money from the 2019/20 Rotary year. Judith mentioned that, because of COVID and Zoom meetings, raffle tickets cost more this year so we will collect more money.
Committee Reports:
Club Service: Judith is leading three upcoming hikes. There are eight people signed up for this Saturday but, because she now has a memorial service to attend, she has to move the hike to Saturday, February 27. Diana W. said there will be a Happy Hour on Thursday evening, February 25, with social time at 5:30 p.m. and a trivia game at 6:00 p.m. She asked Bill Abel to help with trivia questions.
Community Service: Luz Maria reported that the committee is considering donating laptops to La Casa de la Raza. They are also considering “adopting” families in need.
Fundraising: Dennis reported there is an upcoming meeting to discuss options.
Membership: Hannah said we will be inducting a new member, Liz Smith, next meeting. She reported that Richard Redmond has left the club and Tom Rhodes is moving to Denver and plans to join a club there. Hannah is encouraging members to attend other club meetings and report back to her on what you learn.
Youth: The RYLA program will go digital this spring. Eric said it is beneficial for high school students to have attendance at RYLA on their resumes.
Vocational: Scott said the Spark webinar went well. It was a great presentation. About 60 people were in attendance. A recording of it will be made available to club members.
Foundation: Eric reminded everyone to turn in their pledges. Jody, the Foundation Treasurer, said there’s been a good response although about 12 members have not pledged and four haven’t paid. Remember EREY = Every Rotarian Every Year – no matter how large or small the donation.
Program: Eric introduced our former member, Susan Klein-Rothschild, who told us that in 2018 she took a position with Stanford University as the Director of Education in the Graduate School of Business. It was stimulating, but then the pandemic hit. She likes to do meaningful work but Stanford now didn’t need her that way. She returned to Santa Barbara; her husband was now retired, so she is working from home. She is the liaison between the County of Santa Barbara and the Schools. She is also consulting.
Susan Klein-Rothschild
Susan indicated that COVID-19 in schools is complex. They have to take guidance from the State. They can make rules stricter but not less strict that the State’s requirements. So much changes quickly. The State has said which schools can open based on COVID in the community. Children rarely pass COVID child to child or child to adult. Three-quarters of the cases in schools are caused by staff getting together with each other or family gatherings. In cases where children have developed COVID, it is because they were not wearing face masks and had been attending family gatherings, etc.
Elementary schools can open when there are 25 or less cases per 100,000 population because the youngest children catch it less. SB County is down to 27 per 100,000 so we are on the verge of being able to open them. Currently, we have 10 school districts (mostly smaller ones) open and 10 closed. Once a school is open, it may stay open. Children not in school are getting low grades, or are developing mental health issues, or are disappearing off the radar altogether. Secondary schools may only open when there are 7 cases per 100,000 population.
Vaccinations are in high demand with a low supply. It is set by the State who may receive the vaccine and Counties not following these guidelines risk losing significant funding from the state. Even though the State has lowered the age to 65+ to receive the vaccine, it bears no correlation to the amount of doses we are receiving. Up till now, the County learns one week before getting the vaccine how much it is receiving and then takes reservations. SB County is strict; you must live or work in the County to receive the vaccine here. Some counties are less restrictive.
Major changes are coming: the Federal government is setting up mass vaccination sites and is also sending vaccine directly to pharmacies. If a person is not able to make a reservation on the computer, they may call 211 to sign up. Blue Shield will be administering California’s vaccine but it will not be until mid-March here. They will use the app “Myturn” (https://myturn.ca.gov) and you will be told when you can make a reservation.
The side effects are reported to be worse on the second dose. Even after you are vaccinated, you must continue to wear a mask because transmission is still possible. It is not yet known how long the vaccine will remain effective; perhaps it will become an annual shot. Treatment has improved; ventilators are used much less as there are other treatments. Most of the deaths occur with the elderly, especially in skilled nursing facilities or congregant residential settings.
Masks should be tight fitting. If not tight, then wear two masks, such as a surgical mask and a cloth mask.
In terms of anti-vacc’ers, 80% of Cottage employees accepted the vaccine but only 40% of the staff in skilled nursing facilities accepted it.
With previous epidemics, such as Ebola and Zika, there was better coordination and organization. With this pandemic, the Federal, State and Counties did not work together nationally, leaders became overwhelmed and resources did not get where they were needed. This will have to be studied in order to avoid a similar occurrence in the future.
Adjournment: Eric thanked Susan, told her about the dictionary labels in her honor and adjourned the meeting at 8:31 a.m.
