Charlie Howard-Gibbon, Council Scout Executive for the Redwood Empire Council of the Boy Scouts of America
Charlie Howard-Gibbon, Council Scout Executive of the Redwood Empire Council, Boy Scouts of America, was our speaker on May 2, 2024. Charlie has had a 40-year career as a Boy Scout executive, working with the San Francisco Bay Area Council, the Mt. Diablo Silverado Council, the Monterey Bay Area Council, and the Alameda Council. Charlie was a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and adult volunteer. He’s an Eagle Scout, and a recipient of the Order of the Arrow Vigil Honor and the St. George Award. He’s also a long-term Rotarian and current member of the downtown Santa Rosa Club.
Scouting in the U.S. got its start in 1908 when the Scouting Handbook was published. Boy scout organizations were first issued charters in 1912. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) received a congressional charter in 1916. The Redwood Empire Council had its origins in a boy scout organization established in Petaluma. The Redwood Empire Council has existed permanently since 1943, although the geographical area served has changed over time. The Council currently includes Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. Girls have been accepted as scouts since 2019 and the first female Eagle Scout was approved in 2020. BSA membership now includes about 17% girls! The new name for “Boy Scouts” is “Scouts BSA”. The Redwood Empire Council has 1,100 youth and families, 450 volunteers, and 5 full-time staff. The Council has an annual giving budget of $130,000. The Council’s population is about 10% Latino, while the county’s Latinos comprise 29-30% of all residents. The Council is working hard to increase the number of Latino youths. (Author’s note: according to the 2023-2024 Sonoma County Office of Education Report to the Community enclosed with Sunday’s Press Democrat, 48.7% of students in Sonoma County schools are “Hispanic or Latino.”) The Redwood Empire Council lost significant membership due to Covid 19, but membership is now starting to rebound.
Recently, the BSA reached a settlement with childhood sexual abuse victims through a bankruptcy procedure that set up a large trust fund to handle such claims. The trust includes money from the BSA and its insurers and will be used to settle individual cases. BSA has had strong youth protection rules for 30 years. In fact, their protection rules have been copied by other service clubs. The BSA rules include the “no one-on-one” rule in which adults are not allowed to be with under-age scouts without another adult present. In the case of a female scout, one of the adults must also be a female.
Many thanks to Charlie for the excellent presentation. We also thank Charlie for his incredible service record with the BSA and for continuing to improve the lives of Sonoma County's youth.
Click HERE to view a limited-time recording of Charlie's presentation.
On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
Solid sound with advanced offerings treated the audience!
Lobo Drum Liners march onto their stage! With microsecond precision, these dozen plus percussionists punctuated the band's Spring Concert featuring the Marching Band, Color Guard as well as debuting their new uniforms.
The Color Guard accents the band's notes with pom-pom bounce!
Band Director Efrain Nava proudly conducts ~ and later accepts a $10,000 check from the community and school board members to cross the financial finish line for the new uniforms!!
Tuboist Pedro and Color Guard Icelia are Interact Officers. Sunrise support is heard instrumentally in clarinet and saxophone notes thanks to Rotary District 5130 Matching Grants.
Congratulations Lobo Musicians and Color Guard! See you in the Santa Rosa Rose Parade May 18!!
Our UC Master Gardener Sonoma propagation team thanks you for reviving and upgrading our greenhouse at Tierra Farm. You demonstrated Rotary community service by your generosity, creative problem solving and responsible follow through.
We enjoyed working with you and we look forward to working with you again in the Fall.
I am deeply gratified by the enthusiasm shown across the world in the past year to better support the mental health needs of each other and the people we serve.
In January 2023 when I first spoke about the need for Rotary to become more engaged on this crisis, I noted that the global mental health system couldn't be described as broken only because it didn't exist. But I also offered a highly aspirational wish that Rotary could help build that system.
The first glimmers of this vision have been brought to light by you in dozens of mental health projects. But just as important is the invitation many of you have given to fellow Rotary members to share their stories.
I am impressed by the leadership young Rotarians and Rotaractors have shown and by the brave, inspiring stories they have shared. Former Rotaractor Freddie Almazan, a survivor of gun violence who refused to give in to despair, has an especially powerful personal narrative that you can hear firsthand at this month's Rotary International Convention in Singapore.
To create lasting change, the work we do needs to have a sustainable impact on the people and communities we serve. One great example of that kind of impact: Rotary clubs in Colorado endowing a pediatric mental health fellowship at Children's Hospital Colorado.
At the convention, you can also hear from 2024 People of Action honorees lauded for the impact they and their clubs have made through mental health initiatives. Bindi Rajasegaran will talk about a Rotary-led project in Malaysia helping children develop skills to cope with mental health challenges and building capacity for support throughout the country.
In addition, Rita Aggarwal, an officer of the Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives, will be recognized for her success in applying the Wellness in a Box framework, a mental health literacy approach for adolescents, in her hometown of Nagpur, India. This highly scalable and clinically backed framework can be adapted for use just about anywhere — reach out to the action group if your club would like to support or implement it.
As we look ahead, the Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives will play a critical leadership role in promoting proven, measurable projects. In doing so, it will empower clubs to focus on initiatives that drive scalable, sustainable impact.
I invite you to go to the Learning Center on My Rotary and check out the Increase Your Impact series, which includes a wonderful short video explaining impact. When we focus on impact, we bring Rotary's vision statement to life, creating lasting change across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves
You can find all prior "RI President's Messages" at this LINK
There is something magical about Rotary. Even after all these years of being a member, I continue to be amazed by it.
Take successful leaders from various backgrounds and professions and bring them together under a set of core values with service at the center. Add networks and friendship and then watch the magic start happening.
It’s you — Rotarians and Rotaractors — who make that magic happen. You are the business and community leaders and the entrepreneurs who bring your passions, skills, and interests to everything we do. It’s you who think outside of the box and apply what you know to serve others.
I see the same magic in Rotary Foundation grants that are funded by you and led by you.
It’s present in the partnership between Rotary clubs in Canada and Uganda that supports economic and community development vocational training at the same time. This global grant-funded initiative trains Ugandan youths in welding and related skills to make wheelchairs for a children’s home serving people with disabilities. Technicians receive training in Canada and return home with valuable skills to start enterprises, helping meet the need for wheelchairs in the community.
Another global grant-supported project that reflects Rotary’s entrepreneurial spirit is in Guatemala. To address the challenges of limited internet access for rural schools, a host club in Guatemala partnered with Irish members to initiate a project that is equipping six schools and three community centers in the rural Sololá area with plug-and-play servers containing educational materials like books and videos. The grant also furnishes laptops and uninterruptible power supplies and trains teachers, benefiting about 1,800 individuals as it leverages technology for literacy and education.
Don’t forget: Foundation global grants also support scholarships. One such scholarship, sponsored by Italian and German clubs, focuses on artificial intelligence in disease prevention and treatment. Italian scholar Salvatore Galati conducted research at a university in Bonn, Germany, using AI algorithms to analyze vast datasets for innovative drug development. Such computer-aided approaches can reduce costs and research time in the development of lifesaving drugs.
It’s fantastic to see us innovating and incorporating new approaches and technology into our Foundation grants.
I look forward to meeting many of you at the 2024 Rotary International Convention in Singapore in a few short weeks, where we will learn about new opportunities to serve and innovate. It will be a chance to celebrate that Rotary magic and the many ways we Create Hope in the World.
You can find all prior "Messages from the Foundation Trustee Chair" at this LINK
A community kitchen built by the Rotary Club of Nuevo Santander at a local school is ensuring hundreds of children have meals in low-income neighborhoods of Nuevo Laredo, a city on the U.S. border. “Most of the houses in this area do not have running water or electricity,” says Club President Jorge Tello. The club launched the $150,000 project in 2018, and the kitchen at the Comedor Santa María school began operating in August 2020; meals were first served to-go due to the COVID-19 pandemic before the dining room opened in May 2021. “Operation costs for providing breakfast and lunch for 230 children every day is $9,300 a month,” Tello says. The funds are donated by businesses and individuals. Club members supervise the operation, and Rotarians are providing solar panels to the facility.
United States
The Viva! Vienna! festival offers a master class in how a special event can galvanize residents and community groups, says Gunnar Spafford, a member of the Rotary Club of Vienna, Virginia, which took on the project in the mid-1990s. The Memorial Day weekend event in a suburb of Washington, D.C., has grown into a celebration that features food, ukulele performances, singing princesses, and tributes to those who’ve died in military service. The 2023 event raised $230,000 and attracted 60,000 people. The biggest share of the proceeds, about $130,000, came from carnival rides. The next highest sum was brought in from vendors, who pay higher fees for spots closer to the town green, the hub of activity. “I see this as an opportunity to have other Rotarians experience Viva! Vienna! for the fundraising prowess it has,” Spafford says.
This story originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Rotary magazine.
Rotary projects make a difference in communities around the world.
.png)
.png)
A community kitchen built by the Rotary Club of Nuevo Santander at a local school is ensuring hundreds of children have meals in low-income neighborhoods of Nuevo Laredo, a city on the U.S. border. “Most of the houses in this area do not have running water or electricity,” says Club President Jorge Tello. The club launched the $150,000 project in 2018, and the kitchen at the Comedor Santa María school began operating in August 2020; meals were first served to-go due to the COVID-19 pandemic before the dining room opened in May 2021. “Operation costs for providing breakfast and lunch for 230 children every day is $9,300 a month,” Tello says. The funds are donated by businesses and individuals. Club members supervise the operation, and Rotarians are providing solar panels to the facility.
The Viva! Vienna! festival offers a master class in how a special event can galvanize residents and community groups, says Gunnar Spafford, a member of the Rotary Club of Vienna, Virginia, which took on the project in the mid-1990s. The Memorial Day weekend event in a suburb of Washington, D.C., has grown into a celebration that features food, ukulele performances, singing princesses, and tributes to those who’ve died in military service. The 2023 event raised $230,000 and attracted 60,000 people. The biggest share of the proceeds, about $130,000, came from carnival rides. The next highest sum was brought in from vendors, who pay higher fees for spots closer to the town green, the hub of activity. “I see this as an opportunity to have other Rotarians experience Viva! Vienna! for the fundraising prowess it has,” Spafford says.