Guests: Deb Linden, District Governor.
Call to Order: President Eric called the meeting to order at 7:36 a.m. Flag Salute: Bill Abel; Invocation: Jody Dolan Holehouse; Raffle: Frank Tabar and won by Kathy Scroggs.
Pay & Tell: Sandra showed a photo of her grandson. Joanne reported that her grandson is applying to college and will enter as a sophomore. Kathleen did an “independent” triathalon: run 10 miles, bike 34 miles and swim one mile. She came third in her age group. On September 13 she was supposed to do a half-Ironman in Santa Cruz that has been canceled because of the coronavirus but she plans to go and do it by herself anyway. She will use a Garmin tracker. Someone suggested she do it for Polio and raise funds. Luz Maria’s bicycling goal for Polio is $1,000 and 200 miles; she’s done 85 miles already.
Committee Reports:
Fundraising: Dennis has distributed the minutes. The date for the next Dolphin Dive is July 10, 2021.
Club Service: Diana organized the wine tasting Happy Hour last Thursday which was lots of fun. Diana asked for input on future events: do members like the Happy Hours? Does anyone want to go kayaking again? There are two walks planned for September: 9/12 in the San Marcos Preserve and 9/26 at the Carpinteria Bluffs. There are not too many people around so it is quite safe and walkers keep a safe distance from each other.
Public Image: Karen asked members to “like” our pages on Facebook and Instagram.
Community Service: Luz Maria has been in contact with Chris Tucker regarding how we can support the La Cuesta students.
Membership: Hannah said there will be a meeting on September 8 at noon.
International: No report.
Spark: Eric reported that the first webinar with the former astronaut, Dr. Ed Lu, had 108 registrants and there were 90 screens in the room. Scott Burns is organizing the next one for September 30th that will include 5 Rotarians and Jim Ruh’s son-in-law as speakers.
Foundation Liaison: Sandra indicated the Foundation board had met. The annual pledge forms will come out soon. Around Thanksgiving there will be a Foundation Annual Report to club members that will also encourage members to turn in their pledges.
Program: President Eric introduced District 5240 District Governor, Deb Linden. She informed us we are the 41st club with which she has met. She asked us to imagine what our community would be like if our club didn’t exist, listing off our many projects: Camp Whittier, mask making, Student of the Month, the Nicaraguan water project, etc. What a hole it would leave.
The annual theme, Rotary Opens Opportunities, was chosen by RI President Holger Knaak prior to COVID-19, but it is very appropriate for now. The district focus for the year is on membership, brand and Foundation.
Membership: growing Rotary is the #1 priority for the foreseeable future. There is a three-year plan made by Deb, Dana and Scott (DG’s for the next three years). Membership has been declining in our clubs and in N. America so emphasis will be put on Member Care, Recruitment and new clubs. New clubs could be based on a special demographic or cause, such as the environment or veterans. There are currently no weekend clubs or clubs for parents with young children. There could be a satellite club.
Brand: we need to market the entire Rotary experience. Even on Zoom a club’s personality comes through. Deb said to get your club’s name on everything. There is a new ad campaign under development at RI. See if the local TV stations will air it.
The Rotary Foundation: The Annual Fund allows us to do grants – Deb has set a challenge that every club will have 100% giving with an average of $52.40. Clubs meeting the challenge will receive a banner at year-end. Polio is another funding opportunity. 2.5 billion children have been vaccinated world-wide, $1.8 billion has been donated by Rotarians. There are only two endemic countries remaining: Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Rotary will have its first woman President, Jennifer Jones from Canada, in 2022/23.
There is now a 7th Area of Focus: Supporting the Environment.
The District Conference will be virtual November 6-8. There are some good keynote speakers and it is only $25 per person registration.
People of Action Award: DG Deb presented the People of Action Award to Judith McCaffrey.
Adjournment: the meeting adjourned at 8:34 a.m.
