Dr. Rasori will be speaking about Village Hopecore International. It was founded in 2000, and is dedicated to fostering integrated social and economic development in Chogria, Kenya. He will talk about Village Hopecore’s rapid response program for COVID-19 prevention in Kenya and how his team of 837 has now reached over 200,000 households.
Maya Khosla, Sonoma County Poet Laureate 2018-2020!
Our guest speaker for March 4, 2021 was Maya Khosla, wildlife biologist, poet, and film maker. Maya is the immediate past Sonoma County Poet Laureate for 2018 – 2020. She spent years observing and documenting, in scientific works, film and poetry, the natural world, and especially the renewal of fire-damaged habitat. Maya also spent a number of years documenting biodiversity in the post-fire forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountains region, ultimately publishing her work “The Sierra: A History.” Maya discussed her role as Poet Laureate (which began shortly after the October 2017 fires), including her efforts to document renewal and bring the works of Sonoma County poets to wider audiences through poetry reading and film.
As Poet Laureate, Maya reached out to students and experienced poets to discuss the wonders of post-fire renewal. They read poetry under surviving oak trees, shared their stories, marveled at the beauty of the natural world, and explored the amazing renewal naturally occurring after fires. Maya also reached out to students and families with films and poetry during the shelter-in-place restrictions. She showed us her film “Rejuvenation” and read her poem of the same name, which explore the amazing renewal that followed our 2017 fires. Maya published her book “All the Fires of Wind and Light,” while Poet Laureate, and read us several pieces from the book, including “Blue Oak.” The book is a collection of poetry revolving around fire as a concept in nature and the beauty that comes after fires.
Maya also read us her off-the-cuff and beautiful Haiku, which she wrote just for Sunrise Rotary!
“Oatmeal warms a bowl,
Steam rising like pale flower,
Searching for the light.”
Maya also read other poems, including “Sierra, A History” and another poem about the arrival of sea turtles from her work on the Andaman Islands on the east coast of India.
Thank you, Maya, for bringing your poetry, film, and perspective to Sunrise Rotary. Your poetry and film are wonderful and enriching! (And thanks for giving us our very “own” Haiku!).
View a recording of the Zoom presentation HERE. It will only be available for a week or so.
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!
Congratulations Sunrise Rotary on a job well done on the Super Raffle! By all measures it was a success- we had broad participation by club members, a large majority of funds came from outside the club, we had a great team conduct a first-time-tried fundraising model with few hitches and with the competition between “football” teams it was a lot of fun! Most important though, Sunrise Rotary set a real Stretch Goal at the outset of averaging $1,000 in ticket sales per member and we came in at $990. That means we have over $65,000 with which to make positive impacts in the communities we serve. That is a significant number and will do great good for people in need. Let’s take a minute to congratulate ourselves, then move on to our next calling!
Elsie Allen High School Foundation says "THANK YOU"
Howdy Board, Community and Staff,
We just wanted to report out that the Teacher Grant Selection Committee decided to award 5 teachers with teacher grants this year. We are excited to share the winners, the title of their grant and brief description! This is why we do what we do -- thank you to Carolyn, Merle, Mia, Gerald and Rich for their help in choosing our teacher winners!!!
Yours Truly,
Herman G. Hernandez
Elsie Allen High School Foundation
Colin Abbot - $500 | Special Education Mathematics & Language Arts Support
Department: Special Education
Every student has suffered as a result of distance learning, but none more than our students with Extensive Support Needs (formally classified as Severely Handicapped). With this grant we will be able to purchase the IXL membership which will allow us to continue supporting an online learning platform for our students that assist them with text to speech, multiple choice formats, visual cues, etc. This program is invaluable for our ESN students -- thank you Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary!
Jeffrey Wilson - $500 | Operation Ceramic Demonstration Video Maker
Department: Art
For the last year, I have been teaching ceramic art through Zoom and recording demonstrations with my personal smartphone and using a laptop built in camera to show my students different clay sculpting and building techniques. It has been incredibly challenging. The single viewing angle limits what the students can see. With this grant I will be able to teach through multiple viewing angles: first person, right side, left side, sky view, etc. This is a game changer for me and my students -- thank you Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary!
Joshua Lewis - $750 | Planter Boxes and Construction Math
Department: Special Education & Math
This is about embracing my students’ culture, connecting math to the real world, and promoting the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom. For our upcoming unit on geometry in Math 1, I am offering my students a chance to construct their own box out of lumber materials. Some have chosen to make a raised planter bed. One has asked to make a bed for his dog. Teaching is about engaging our students and meeting them where they are and offering this assignment will help me connect and support my students who have been struggling during distance learning -- thank you for your support EAHS Foundation!
Kathy Loomis - $500 | Elsie Allen Mural
Department: Art
The Art Department and MEChA Club have been collaborating with one another to create a mural on campus that celebrates Elsie Allen, her Pomo heritage, lobo school spirit, and student diversity. Elsie Allen is weaving a basket under a California native Oak tree, with the school mascot, the Lobo, behind her. The flag ‘leaves’ on the Oak tree, represents the diversity of EAHS students’ nationalities. Receiving these funds will benefit the students in different areas such as the experience of working with their community in a safe way and for students to witness their vision becoming reality -- thank you Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary!
Kristen Duerr - $500 | Special Day Class Novels & Book Support
Department: Special Education
My Special Day Class students hover between a 1st and 4th grade reading level and because of this it is very difficult to find books that are both interesting and accessible for our youth. This grant will help me purchase class sets of books that are high-interest and low readability in order to foster a love of books and reading. Many students in my class have never read a novel, let alone completed one on their own. I am hoping to broaden the range of topics I have available for students -- thank you Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary!--
PS: To continue your support and learn more of our remarkable Education Partner join us for their FIESTA 2021 March 25 via Zoom!!
Your are enthusiastically invited to join Senator Mike McGuire with Elsie Allen's remarkable Lobo Nation supporters at their invigorating virtual FIESTS this year. Senator Mike's engaging energy will draw you into the Dare to Dream lives of Elsie Allen students and refresh youthful exuberance while raising everyones GPA: Graduation Plans Attitude!!
.MJ. Girard is currently an on air personality on KOWSfm.com His “Roots of Rock” is broadcast every Sunday morning at 7
What’s in a name? Does the Warlocks ring a bell? How about…The Grateful Dead? Well that was the original name of the Dead prior to 1965 when the group was sitting around Phil Lesh’s pad in Palo Alto trying to come up with an alternative since there was another group known as the Warlocks. As the room became smokier, the suggestions became sillier and sillier…until Jerry Garcia stood up, walked across the living room and picked up a Funk and Wagnalls dictionary, opened it up, stabbed his finger onto a page and read “ grateful dead”! That entry was a reference to a motif concerning folklore, early English folk ballads which pertained to a traveler who came upon a body not given a proper burial, usually an individual who was in debt, a very sad situation to say the least. The traveler would settle the debts of the dead person, arranging a proper burial, thereby putting the soul to rest.
The traveler continues upon his way, and encounters the “spirit”, usually in the form of an animal, which assists the traveler in his quest. The entire essence is of course that good karma is the circle of life. Jerrys fellow band members weren’t too crazy about the name, saying that it was “too heavy” and "too Intense”. But as you know, once something is mentioned, it’s tough to get it out of your mind.
During their first significant performance and Bill Graham's first as well at the Fillmore auditorium to benefit the San Francisco Mime Troupe in December 1965, Bill listed the band as “The Grateful Dead-formally the Warlocks” Although Graham loathed the name initially, it served him and the band very well.
The Grateful Dead will be the featured artist 14 March…tell your fellow “DeadHeads!”
Photo by Max Childs June 27, 2015 Fare the Well tour ~ Celebrating 50 years of the Grateful Dead and selling out Levi Stadium.
- Once all the villagers decided to pray for rain. On the day of the prayer, all the people gathered, but only one boy came with an umbrella. That is faith
- When you throw babies in the air, they laugh because they know you will catch them. That is trust.
- Every night we go to bed without the assurance of being alive the next morning, but we set the alarms to wake up. That is hope.
- We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the future. That is confidence.
- We see the world suffering, but still, we get married and have children. That is love.
- On an old man’s shirt was written a sentence “ I am not 80 years old: I am sweet 16 with 64 years of experience” That is attitude.
- Have a happy day and live your life like these six stories. Remember-Good friends are like rare jewels of life, difficult to find and impossible to replace!!
A man inherits a parrot from a neighbor who moved away. He hangs the parrot’s cage in the living room where they can see and hear each other. Within a day or two the man is frustrated that the parrot has a habit of using foul language at every turn. No matter how much he tries to train the parrot and uses only acceptable language around the bird, the parrot still comes up with the most inappropriate language blurted out at the most embarrassing of times. Finally, the man tells the bird, “If I hear one more curse word out of you I’m going to put you in the freezer, get it?” The parrot looks him in the eye and says, “F%$%^ off, pal”. “That does, in you go” yells the man, taking the bird out of the cage, opening the freezer door and putting the bird inside. The man comes back after 30 minutes, opens the door and the parrot walks out of the freezer, shivering, with ice beginning to form on his feathers. “Ahem, Sir?” says the parrot looking at the man, “I would like to apologize for my recent behavior. I realize now that it has been unacceptable, unkind, and out of place in such a lovely home as you have afforded me. Will you please accept my apology and promise that this will never happen again?” Relieved, the man says, “Why yes, I believe in second chances.” The parrot says, “Oh thank you. Would you mind if I ask you one question?” “Sure,” says the man. “May I inquire as to the nature of offense that the chicken committed?”
Honolulu to host 2027 Rotary International Convention
HONOLULU (Feb. 18, 2021) — Almost one year after canceling its international convention in Honolulu due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Rotary announced it will hold its annual gathering in Honolulu for the membership service organization’s 118th convention on June 5-9, 2027.
Held in a different city around the world each year, Rotary conventions bring members from all continents and cultures together to learn from each other and various experts, and to share ideas for delivering long-term solutions to the world’s most persistent humanitarian issues. Approximately 20,000 Rotary members from 170 countries were expected to attend the event in Honolulu in 2020, which was estimated to bring $35-40 million into the local economy.
“After canceling our convention in 2020 due to COVID-19, we are grateful to the citizens of Honolulu for welcoming us again in 2027,” said Rotary International President Holger Knaack. “As a global organization that values bringing people together, we look forward to sharing and celebrating our friendships, cultures and service in the spirit of Aloha.”
“Beyond the incredible economic impact this convention will have, the people of Hawai’i will be inspired by the humanitarian causes of Rotary International, to include: promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education, growing local economies and protecting the environment,” said John De Fries, President and CEO, Hawaii Tourism Authority. “As a global community, Rotary members embody the values we cherish here, in Hawai’i.”
Organized by Rotary International in conjunction with the Honolulu Host Organizing Committee of local Rotary members, the convention will provide attendees with ample opportunities to experience Oahu’s many attractions.
The Rotary Club of Honolulu, chartered in 1915, is Rotary’s first club in Honolulu. Today, there are more than 1,470 Rotary members who belong to over 45 clubs across Hawai’i taking action on important local issues including drowning prevention, creating green space in Waikiki and helping homeless people receive medical care.
About Rotary
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 36,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.org.
As someone who knows firsthand the great leadership potential of Rotaractors, I always look forward to World Rotaract Week, which we are celebrating from 8 to 14 March. Rotaractors are the focus of all three of my presidential conferences this year, and I was proud when, two years ago, the Council on Legislation voted to elevate Rotaract by including Rotaract clubs as members of Rotary International. Before that, the Council had already made dual membership possible, and shortly after, the Board of Directors decided to do away with Rotaract’s age limits.
But we are only just embarking on our journey together. Partnering effectively doesn’t happen by itself. It requires both sides to be open and to understand the value of cross-generational alliances. Louie De Real, a dual member of Rotaract and Rotary, explains.
Joint virtual meetings have helped Rotaractors introduce Rotarians to new ideas and tools, pioneering unique ways for clubs to collaborate. In the case of pandemic and disaster response, Rotaract clubs used social media to coordinate efforts, drive information, and fundraise, while Rotary clubs used their networks and resources to amplify support, provide logistics, and bring the goods and services to communities.
Rotaractors’ innovative virtual engagement and professional development activities inspired Rotarians to support and follow suit. The pandemic made Rotaract clubs realize that we can immediately connect and partner with Rotary clubs through virtual platforms. With constant collaboration, we realize that Rotary and Rotaract indeed complement each other — that we are part of a single organization with shared goals.
Both sides add value. Rotarians can be mentors and service partners to Rotaractors, while Rotaractors can demonstrate to Rotarians that difficult jobs can be simplified and limitations can be surpassed through digital approaches. This synergy motivates Rotaractors to become future Rotarians: I joined Rotary because Rotarians gave me memorable membership experiences through inspirational moments of collaboration. I needed to be a Rotarian to inspire Rotaractors the same way, now and in the future.
That same synergy leads Rotarians to realize that while Rotaractors may have a different culture, we all share a common vision of uniting people to take action. Rotaract’s unique ways of doing things serve as inspiration for innovation, helping Rotary increase its ability to adapt to future challenges. Rotarians and Rotaractors will build the future together, so let’s start today.
I see no difference between a Rotary club and a Rotaract club, except perhaps for the average age!
Many Rotarians still view Rotaract as our youth organization, but I see it differently. For me, they are part of us, and they are like us. To be successful together, we need to have mutual respect — to see each other as equals. Let’s see Rotaractors for who they really are: students and young leaders, but also successful managers and entrepreneurs who are capable of planning, organizing, and managing a Rotary institute — including breakout sessions in five languages — as they did in Berlin in 2014.
As we take this journey together, let’s remember the strengths of Rotary and Rotaract. And, as Louie says, let’s get started right away in building the future together. In doing so, we open endless opportunities for our organization.
One year ago this month, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. As I write these words, the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc: taking lives, choking economies, and changing our societies in myriad ways. It has disproportionately hurt the poor and worsened inequalities.
Even as some countries have done better than others in controlling this deadly disease, the rapid development of vaccines is bringing us closer to the end of our strange new reality of social isolation.
This dark chapter in our history is also an opportunity for Rotary, because it reminds us of the impact we can have through The Rotary Foundation if we commit to helping others and live up to our highest ideals. It reminds us of the truly international spirit that we must embody to recover from this moment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed compassion and sacrifice, friendship and resilient good humor. I am reminded of that famous insight popularized by John F. Kennedy: “When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters: One represents danger, and one represents opportunity.”
Working together, we have done so much to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, to care for our communities, and to seize the opportunity to be a part of perhaps the most complex task ever undertaken in history — vaccinating 7 billion people.
This does not mean we will deviate in any way from our avowed commitment to eradicating polio, which remains our highest priority and will continue to be our only corporate program.
On the contrary, while continuing polio vaccinations and surveillance, we can apply all our experience in fighting polio to counter COVID-19. We all have a part to play in combating the growing force of vaccine resistance and misinformation. Our advocacy in our communities will be critical — we need to spread the message about the power of vaccines to save lives. We need to work closely with governments and support them in the vaccination drive. We need to add to the more than 3,000 projects already registered on Rotary Showcase to raise awareness, deliver critical personal protective equipment, and support frontline health workers.
As Aristotle said, human beings are social animals, and while COVID-19 has cruelly deprived us of our natural or habitual environment, it does not prevent us from finding connections and helping others in new ways. As you will see in the coming months, Rotary members are already finding the means to channel their humanitarian spirit through the Foundation, which is constantly adapting to address the world’s challenges. Every Rotarian has a role in this effort, and you will find that however you choose to help others and make lasting change, you are not alone.
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
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