Brad and his family reside in Larkfield Estates where they rebuilt their home after the 2017 Tubbs Fire. He served his community as a Block Captain during the rebuild and co-founded the Larkfield Resiliency Fund, a non-profit created to help rebuild the community. Brad served on the Mark West Union School District Board of Trustees and Mark West Area Citizens Advisory Council. He is an assistant general manager at Sonoma Water where he manages business services and external affairs. He is the president of the Mark West Area Chamber of Commerce and Mark West Area Community Fund. A fifth-generation Californian, Brad is committed to rebuilding the Mark West Area better and more resilient.
Art Murray, Owner of Flambeaux Wine Shares his Journey From New Orleans to West Dry Creek
Our guest speaker for Thursday, September 28, 2023, was Art Murray, one of the owners of Flambeaux Wine in Healdsburg. Art and the other owners of Flambeaux, including Art’s parents and wife, are from New Orleans and began making wines from their vineyard above Dry Creek in 2014. Art, his parents, and siblings are attorneys who’ve practiced law in New Orleans for many years. Art’s law practice focuses on environmental law. Art provided an example of one of his first large cases in which he won a significant award against an oil and gas company for causing contamination.
Art eventually became unfulfilled with his career choice. He dreamed about living in a vineyard with his wife, children, and parents, visited his brother-in-law in Healdsburg, and was hooked. In 2012 he found a house with a vineyard in West Dry Creek and eventually purchased it. His family split their time between New Orleans and Healdsburg for several years but sold their New Orleans home and moved to Healdsburg permanently. It didn’t take long for him to realize that if you have a vineyard you might as well make wine! Flambeaux is not yet turning a profit but he’s projecting a 10-year profitability plan. Despite his deep involvement with the wine business, Art continues to practice law from his home in West Dry Creek.
Flambeaux is expecting 20% growth per year. They currently produce less than 2,000 cases of wine annually from grapes grown on their West Dry Creek Estate and Cassata Vineyard in Sonoma. Art is especially proud of Flambeaux’s Cabernet, but they also make and sell Zinfandel and Rose. Their winemaker, Ryan Pritchard, came from Medlock Ames and shares Art’s appreciation of wines that are “mid-point,” that is, not overbearing. Art is also proud of his family’s New Orleans heritage, and Flambeaux’s name and label illustrate the spirit of the Mardi Gras; the Flambeaux are the torchbearers that light the way during Mardi Gras! Art is looking forward to raising his daughters on the vineyard, bringing them together with their grandparents (who also live on the property), asking them to help with the vineyard and winery operation, and leaving them a vineyard legacy.
Thank you, Art, for sharing your personal, professional, vineyard, and winery history with Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary. I’m sure we will take you up on your warm invitation to visit the property!
Click HERE to view a limited time recording of Art'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!
This Sunrise Rotarian was home schooled in primary grades in Michigan and Illinois. Although aspiring to operate the peacock farm in the family’s exotic bird and organic vegetable business (before “organic” was a business), this Rotarian gained a degree in Education and an MBA from Michigan State and taught special Education in Detroit and the upper peninsula. While in school and even after, this Rotarian worked summers in small mammal biological research for Michigan State Museum's Dept. of Natural Resources, including a stint on bats in the Cueva De La Cucaracha in Puerto Rico. Sailing, cooking and swimming continue to be interests.
**President Debra will get someone to identify this mystery Rotarian at the October 5 meeting and then this Rotarian will give a craft talk.
For several weeks, mainly weekends, Leroy's Golden Hammer skills have been aided by Paul O "rganic"Rear's
mechanics in assembling the composting structure for the
Sonoma County Master Gardener's Demonstration Garden at Los Guilicos.
Organic Paul and Peter B. break ground for the foundation.
Penny Millar and Mary Banks add momentum as a foundation takes shape in one of the three stalwart composting bins. Each bin, twelve feet long by four feet wide and deep are framed in 1" by 6" douglas fir and lined with steel wire mesh to keep local mice etc. out!
That is the kind of quality a project takes when Leroy's Golden Hammer rules.
Progress advances as perspiration drips and bricks are set. Many hats and hands make light work. Who would want to cover those well placed rows?
Dan Rosachi bravely tests the integrity of the bin. The structure will provide sustainable flows of nutrient and soil building elements for garden produce. That is the kind of quality a project takes when Leroy's Golden Hammer rules!
Coming October 14 is the public orientation to this Demonstration Garden. Come and sense the magic in the garden, 10 AM to 4 PM.
M.J. Girard is currently an on air personality on KOWSfm.com His “Roots of Rock” is broadcast every Sunday morning at 7 AM
35,491 the significance of this number will be revealed.
How often, in our journey, do we meet an individual that not only inspires, but enlightens us?
Not often enough to be sure!
I met Del Raby through Rotary here in the NorthCoast, but we were bothers long beforehand.
As a Boy Scout in 1960’s San Francisco, troop 340, I recalled the “Scoutarama” ….Boys Life magazine and the community of like minded individuals working together to improve our lives and the environment.
The Boy Scouts of America have been a bedrock organization since 1910, modelled after The Boy Scouts Association, founded in Britain in 1908
Oath: “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law: to help other people at all times: to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”
The Scout Law has twelve points. Each is a goal for every Scout. A Scout tries to live up to the Law every day. It is not always easy to do, but a Scout always tries.
Laws:
The U.S. Military has an oath that emphasizes loyalty to America and its values.
“To defend and protect, against all enemies, foreign and domestic!”
Del Served in the Second World War, I was a broadcast specialist in Saigon in the early 70’s.
Rotary was organized In Chicago to assist in building a network of individuals willing to contribute to the betterment of the human condition.
Rotary international has the Four Way test:
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
Rotary also has a prayer:
“Almighty God, we beseech Thy guidance and wisdom for this world-wide organization of Rotary International. Devoted to Service Above Self, may each one of us be inspired to respond to the opportunities for better serving our fellow man. And may these Provisions of Thy bounty, so graciously given, be thankfully received.”
No one, in my opinion epitomized the spirit of Service Above Self more than Del Raby.
Always there to lend a helping hand, with a smile, and a laugh, encouraging others to be their best ….
If you take the letters D. E. L. and hold them in reflection… it spells LED…that Del’s Legacy!
Leading by example! Leading with Love.
35,491….that’s how many days Del blessed this journey …we call Life.
The World Health Organization designates 10 October as World Mental Health Day, and with Rotary placing a special focus on mental health this year, I would like to help answer the question posed to me most often when I travel to meet members: How can my club get started?
There are some wonderful examples of Rotary members taking action already. In the Philippines, the Rotary Club of Tiaong-Hiyas held a 12-week health challenge for mothers in the community to promote some baseline health screenings and coaching on a healthier lifestyle.
By the end of the challenge, the mothers had a special bond and decided to form a Rotary Community Corps called Ilaw ng Tahanan (“one who lights up the home”) with the goal of involving more mothers in health education and wellness support — and later youth services, teen pregnancy prevention, and help with unhealthy substance use. Almost a year later, the RCC is preparing to open its own health center where mothers can come for peer-to-peer support.
Another strong example is in Colorado. In the fall of 2021, a small group of stakeholders from the Rotary Club of Highlands Ranch formed the Rotary Clubs of Colorado Endowed Fellowship for Pediatric Mental Health, which enhances the ability of Children’s Hospital Colorado to recruit and train pediatric psychiatry providers and allows the hospital network to make additional appointments. This increases access to mental health care for children and decreases provider shortages.
Since then, the project has brought on new supporters and is now fully funded with a $500,000 endowment. Investment income from this endowment will support a fellow — a psychologist or psychiatrist — at Children’s Hospital. A new fellow will be named every one to two years, beginning spring of 2024. Over time this will create a cohort to bolster the mental health workforce, treating kids from all 64 Colorado counties and neighboring states.
There are many more great mental health project stories on Rotary Showcase, and I invite you to share your experiences as you begin your own projects. Also, please reach out to mindhealth@rotary.org with any thoughts or ideas you would like to share about mental health in the Rotary world.
On 10 October, I will host a Facebook Live event when we will recognize World Mental Health Day and further explore how Rotary members can begin this journey. But I would like to leave you with one way every Rotary member can make a difference.
Right now, there is someone you know in the Rotary world — in your club, from a project you’ve worked on, in a Rotary Fellowship or Rotary Action Group — who could use a little more of your time and attention. Rotary is this great gift of global friendship, and that also means being there for each other.
Discovering the human connections that bind us is what we do through our membership every day. It’s what Rotary has always been about, and we can build on it by helping each other find peace at home.
We need to learn how to ask not just “How are you?” but also “How are you really?” By doing so, Rotary can continue to Create Hope in the World.
On 24 October, we renew our commitment to our top humanitarian goal for World Polio Day.
This year, let’s remember a young health worker in Pakistan known as Bibi Marjana (Miss Marjana). She braves the snow and cold in the mountains to vaccinate 84 children in rural areas, visiting each home, often miles apart.
Marjana is one of the thousands of frontline workers in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and outbreak areas I consider heroes in the final push to end polio. The work they do, coupled with the vision of our partners and the support you give, is moving mountains.
With Rotary’s partnership, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is aggressively pursuing two key goals from its 2022-26 strategy. First, we aim to halt wild poliovirus type 1 transmission. This year, only six cases have been documented as of this writing. Could this be the year we see the last of these poliovirus cases? We’re cautiously optimistic that it might.
Second, we aim to report the final case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, or cVDPV2, in outbreak countries. About 80 percent of cVDPV2 cases last year occurred in subnational areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Yemen. We must implement tailored strategies to stop the virus in these areas.
Other challenges persist, including political tensions, security risks and access issues, and the lasting effect of the pandemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Despite these challenges, we are making progress. Poliovirus strains are diminishing, as is the number of affected regions where polio once prevailed. A new vaccine we have introduced reduces the incidence of the circulating vaccine-derived virus type 2.
Rotary is the organization that had the audacity to take on a global effort to protect children everywhere from disability or even death due to polio. We must have the tenacity to see it to the finish line.
What can you do to help us get there, you ask? Join or initiate a PolioPlus Society in your club or district and engage all members in this historic moment. And don’t forget that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation continues to amplify Rotary’s donations to polio eradication with a 2-to-1 match for every dollar.
You can also advocate the cause of polio eradication with governments to secure political and financial support and promote Rotary’s leadership role in all media.
Like Marjana marching up the mountain, we have our goal in sight, and we will keep going until we get there.
Rotary Foundation Trustees establish targeted funds to aid Morocco
The Rotary Foundation Trustees established a new Morocco Earthquake Response Fund in September 2023 to support immediate relief efforts for people affected by the devastating earthquakes. Donors can give directly to relief efforts led by Rotary members.
Contributions will be accepted until 31 December 2023. Districts can apply for grants from the funds until 21 September 2024 or until the funds have all been allocated. Any contributions that haven’t been spent by 21 September 2024 will be transferred to the general Disaster Response Fund, to be made available for disasters worldwide.
How to contribute
You can give online, by check, or by transferring District Designated Funds:
To give by check, make it payable to The Rotary Foundation or to an associate foundation and include a completed contribution form. In the DESIGNATION/PURPOSE section, choose Other and write the fund name (Morocco Earthquake Response Fund).
To allocate District Designated Funds, district leaders can use the DDF contribution form.
How to raise money to support these funds
Anyone can start a fundraiser for the Morocco Earthquake Response Fund on Raise for Rotary. Remember that:
Raise for Rotary currently accepts 12 currencies and is available only in English.
Donations made through fundraisers for the Morocco Earthquake Response Fund on Raise for Rotary will be credited and recognized as described below.
Any fundraisers on a third-party platform such as Facebook or GoFundMe won’t offer these specific fund options and aren’t eligible for Foundation credit and recognition.
How contributions are credited and recognized
Gifts to the Morocco Earthquake Response Fund:
Count toward a donor’s total cumulative giving Factor into Paul Harris Fellow, Paul Harris Society, Major Donor, and Arch Klumph Society recognition
Help the donor’s club achieve the 100% Foundation Giving Club banner
Are not credited toward a club’s Annual Fund giving, toward per capita or SHARE calculations, or toward generating DDF
Learn more about how gifts to the Morocco Earthquake Response Fund are credited and recognized.
How to apply for disaster response grants
Disaster response grants are available to District 9010 to support communities affected by the Moroccan earthquake. The district governor and district Rotary Foundation chair of this district need to complete the disaster response grant application, which is available on the Grant Center landing page. The maximum grant amount is $50,000, based on the availability of funds, and the district may have two open grants at a time.
— 21 Sept 2023
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
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