Collette Michaud, the Founder and CEO of the Children's Museum of Sonoma County, has a remarkable background. With a degree in commercial art and over 15 years of experience in the children's game software industry, she embarked on a mission. In 2005, she established the Children's Museum, starting from humble beginnings out of the back of her minivan.

Collette's lifelong passion lies in creating engaging, imaginative, and interactive learning environments, whether they be in virtual or physical spaces. Her dedication to providing artful experiences that foster learning and creativity is at the core of her work at the Children's Museum.

LINK TO VIRTUAL MEETING INFORMATION

Our meeting on July 20, 2023 was a Club Assembly presided over by President Debra Robertson, ably assisted by members of the Club’s Board of Directors and committee chairpersons. Debra also welcomed special guests District Governor Tom Boylan and Assistant DG Marilyn Lira! The purpose of the Club Assembly is to give the members a sense of the president and board’s vision for the 2023-2024 year. Pres. Debra remarked that RI President Gordon McInally’s focus this year is on mental health, including emotional well-being, lifesaving impact of preventative care and treatment, and creating a sense of belonging within our club. Debra’s own goal for the year is to have us leave each meeting with a smile on our faces, feeling a sense of compassion, and with the knowledge that we are each making a difference in our community.

Debra is bringing back two of our club’s oldest traditions; the quarterly awards/recognition (no more happy/sad dollars) and high-five recognitions. We’ve gotten away from this tradition in the last several years, but Debra has concluded that it is time to return to this often hilarious procedure. The idea is to give special recognition, and sometimes form of heavy fines, to members who have participated in noteworthy events. Past President Kent Seegmiller will once again be the instigator and recordkeeper. Kent gave a timely example: Past President Warren participated in Snoopy s Senior World Hockey Tournament earlier in the month. Warren reported that his team participated in 3 games, winning 1 (apparently Warren could not get himself to admit that his team lost 2 of the 3 games!). The way our recognition tradition works, however, is that Warren was assessed a health fine for the privilege of playing! And, Warren pointed out that Willie Billeter also played in the tournament and asked him to contribute to Warren’s fine! Willie advised that Warren’s son Jordon also played in the tournament and racked up the most penalty minutes of any player!

Warren Smith in great form!

Willie Billeter sets up for the goal!

“Public Image” will also play a major part for Sunrise this year. One of Debra’s goals is to add a net 4 new members to the club this year, so getting our message out is important. President Elect Cindy will oversee the process of getting articles about the club published in local publications. The BOD has also approved a donation of $2,500 to the Children’s Museum, and we will be listed as a donor on the Museum’s website, bulletin, and at the Circle of Innovation. We will also be looking for “big bang” charities that can help us spread our message.

Treasurer and Past President Penny Millar provided a brief summary of the budget. Our club’s per person annual expense if $1,105. The largest expense item is the weekly breakfast, even though our current breakfast is wonderfully efficient (largely due to club members running the breakfast operation and providing he food). One new innovation this year is the expense set-aside item for our 40^th anniversary party, which will allow us to have a super 40^th anniversary bash!

Foundation Chair, Past President Shauna Lorenzen, reported on the status of the RI Foundation. She reminded us that the Foundation consists of two separate funds; the Annual Fund and Polio. The Annual Fund provides monetary assistance for key RI goals, including clear water, education, and environmental protection. Some of our Annual Fund donations come back to Rotary Districts and can be used by clubs as District Grants. In the past few years Sunrise has used District Grants for many of our projects, including Nicaragua, the Elsie Allen Bunny Barn, and even an Elsie Allen saxophone! RI donations to polio have lead to the near eradication of polio worldwide. This year there have only been 6 new polio cases, one in Pakistan and 3 in Afghanistan. Sunrise members have donated $551,502 to the RI Foundation!

Past Presidents Paul O’Rear and Peter Hoberg presented on behalf of the Environmental Committee. We were one of the few clubs receiving the District Governor’s Environmental Citation last year. The District will focus on four themes this year: zero waste, finding and reducing the club’s footprint, biodiversity/pollinators/plaints, and water and earth. Peter and Paul invited anyone who is interested in the committee to participate in a zoom brainstorming session call on Tuesday, July 24 at 5:30 p.m. Notice will be provided via club runner.

Thank you Debra, Kent, Penny, Shauna, Peter, and Paul for your well-prepared and thoughtful comments. We look forward to another amazing Sunrise year! And many thanks as well to Tom Boynton and Marilyn Lira for participating in our Club Assembly.

Click HERE to see a limited time recording of President Debra's Club Assembly.

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!