Last week, we were joined by Jack Poyfair, executive director of Vista Cove in Rancho Mirage. Jack, an LVN, provided an extremely interesting program about Alzheimer’s and other related dementias. Vista Cove has been offering memory care since it opened in 2004. At this time there is no cure for Alzheimer’s—caregivers can only manage and treat the symptoms. Early symptoms include short term memory loss, problems with word finding, speech and reading and disorientation. One extremely sobering statistic from Jack: 50 percent of people 85 and over will suffer from dementia. The life expectancy of someone diagnosed with Alzheimer’s/dementia is from eight to 20 years.

Last week seven of us convened for patio dining at Cup’s Café. We enjoyed great weather, wonderful food and, most importantly, outstanding Rotary Fellowship! No matter how hard we try, video conferencing just doesn’t match face to face! We’re planning at least one in person meeting a month so stay tuned! We hope you join us!

Last week we discussed options for our upcoming meetings. Palms To Pines will be Dark next Wednesday and this will be a great opportunity to visit one of the Coachella Valley’s other Rotary clubs. We’ll be sharing meeting links as we receive them so visit a club and provide a report. It’s already been suggested that we conduct our virtual meetings a bit more like traditional in-person meetings so we’ll be doing that this week……be prepared to recite the Pledge of Allegiance! Finally, we’re also exploring the possibility of a return to in-person meetings following accepted pandemic protocols. When we do meet in person, we plan to include a virtual option for those of us who are not quite ready to venture out. Make sure you’re with us this week for the latest!

With us last week were Past District Governor Ricardo Loretta and Palm Desert Rotary President-Elect Carol Winston. The pair told us about Palm Desert Rotary’s Angels of Service program. Six months ago, Palm Desert Rotarians noticed how many people were in need because of the pandemic and they decided to do something about it. At their virtual meetings, they collect Happy Dollars to provide food items to four local non-profits to use in their food distribution programs. The goal each week is to collect $200 and committee members then visit our local Albertson’s and shop for non-perishable food items. The purchased food is then delivered on a rotating basis to the four non-profits selected by the club.

With us last week was Palm Desert City Council member Sabby Jonathan. Sabby provided us with an excellent update on our city’s comprehensive response to COVID-19. Thanks to healthy financial reserves, the city can afford to offer financial help to many of our small businesses and the hospitality industry. The city has a wide variety of help available….everything from “Open For Business” banners to forgivable loans of up to $25,000. Sabby tells us the pandemic is causing Palm Desert’s first-ever budget deficit. Development activity in the city continues despite COVID-19. Sabby touched on the ongoing efforts to obtain a local university, the San Pablo beautification project, senior housing projects and several commercial projects ready to begin construction.

Last week we heard a wonderful message from Bruce Stahlman of Littleton, Colorado. Bruce is Chief Financial Officer of ARC Thrift Stores, a Colorado non-profit with 1,500 employees and $100 million in annual revenue. Bruce told us about his and wife Kelly’s twin sons. Both had severe cerebral palsy and needed round-the-clock care until their deaths in 2014 and 2015. Bruce was then diagnosed with brain cancer and underwent surgery in 2018. “First and always, it’s about gratitude,” according to Bruce. Rather than looking at the twins and cancer as calamities, Bruce chooses to see them as blessings and draws energy from the experiences to share a positive real life story that resonates with people across all of life’s situations. Stories like this are definitely worth spending an hour online on Wednesday mornings. Join us!