A meeting for the Dogs - Canine Companions CEO, Paige Mazzoni, hosted SR Sunrise Rotary Club
Going to the Dogs!! And, that's a GOOD THING!!
Executive Director Paige Mazzoni accepted one of President Jens Penny Millar special edition debunking gnome beanies in good spirits.
The depth of Canine Companion research explores both human and canine neurology and behavioral science. This focus provides advanced attention into human support services. The center on Dutton Avenue is a multi purpose campus with accommodations for people during their orientation with their service dog.
With a change of venue, we met in Canine Companion's new building designed so assistance dogs in training can learn and navigate. This room in particular is used in support of veteran's with PTSD.
Canine Companions scope and depth of expertise blends behavioral science, genetics, community development and human need into partnerships and life enhancing relationships. The dogs best suited for assignment are Golden Retriever & Labrador mix: Goldies for disposition and Labs for their work ethic! What a winning combo!
Dogs who pass muster in the first months progress as companions to congregate living centers or to persons with hearing, mobility or trauma related issues, such as PTSD. Canine Companions has recently contracted with the Veteran Administration following research confirming the positive effects of a Canine Companion.
Two legged Trainer and four legged student Willamet impressed guests at Canine Companions for Independence Regional Center Thurtsday.dNation wise at several locations nearly 400 Service animals are bred and raised for an 8-10 year career as highly skilled companions.
Members and guests observe Willanets skill. Molly Hoberg saw firsthand husband Peter at work (that's another story).
Members were VERY gld to see Steve Olsen in person and well on his road to full service!
Training Manager, Marissa Radick, used a wheel chair and other props to demonstrate some of the various commands the dogs learn such as the push, tug and light switch commands.
Willamet ~ man and woman's best friend! Truly a remarkable animal capable of much more than we might imagine.
For more background on Canine Companions, check out their website http://canine.org
Click HERE in case you missed it or want to see it again from Zoom. It will be available for a limited time.
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!
He creeps, he crawls, he takes any position, and he does it just for you
In order to bring Canine Companions, their officers and trainers, as well as their lovable dog, Wilamet, to all who tuned in online, our talented tech, Peter Hoberg, sits, sprawls, and braces himself to get the best angle for his video production.
While others stand to give President Jen a resounding ovation, Peter crouches and moves in to capture it for us.
Willamet, an undergraduate Lab-Golden Retriever mix, in training to become someone's worthy companion; stretches out while placidly observing and approving Peter' antics
Down the winding road, over the gravel path, from west to east (or was it east to west?), searching for a sign...
It is challenging enough to get to weekly Rotary meetings at 7:15 a.m. hungry for breakfast and needing that first cup of coffee. But the extra challenge of meeting at another location, is especially daunting. The Canine Companions campus is down the freeway and over a few roads, and the trip required special instructions, which were diligently emailed.
It was reassuring to be advised that a large sign would be waiting at the end of the road to direct us onward to the exact location of the meeting, from the location where we were to park..
And sure enough, standing prominently adjacent to the visitor parking area, was a large white board that promised to show us on another leg of our meandering journey.
As we exited our vehicles and approached the "sign" we all wondered why it appeared so mysteriously blank. How were we to navigate our way? Surely we were not having our meeting in this parking lot...!
But low and behold, there were faint, thin, red marks on the white surface. And some of them even seemed to form letters and words...?? As we contemplated this mysterious message, Marty Behr, appeared to wave us on down a walkway to an open door. And, finally, there was Starbucks coffee, cups, and a smiling Stacey Drucker-Andress who even poured the much needed caffeine for us. Hallelujah! We had finally come to the place where we found sustenance and fellowship.
Every month since I joined Rotary, I’ve looked forward to reading this magazine, especially the opening essay from our Rotary president. I’ll admit that as much as I appreciate a digital copy, I still revel in the tactile sensation of sitting down and leafing through the glossy pages. They are a treasure trove of photos and memorable stories about our great organization — the one we all know and love. I have learned so much over the years about service projects and lives that each of you have transformed.
As a communications professional, I have longed for the day that our stories were a regular part of mainstream media and that our flagship magazine might populate doctor’s offices, coffee shops, or anywhere else people sit, wait, and browse. It’s great that Rotary members are better informed about all we do, and wouldn’t it be that much better if more people knew our stories.
All this was top of mind as I thought about our plans for promoting Rotary worldwide in the upcoming year. Over the next 12 months, we are going to shine a light on projects that put Rotary service on display to the world, and we are going to do it strategically. Nick and I will focus on some of the highest impact, sustainable, and scalable Rotary projects from our areas of focus in what we call the Imagine Impact Tour.
We are inviting top-tier journalists, thought leaders, and influencers to use their channels to help us raise awareness by reaching people who want to serve but have not yet realized they can do it through Rotary.
But there was another important issue to consider — our carbon footprint. I take seriously Rotary’s emerging leadership position on environmental issues. The example set by our members during the pandemic is fundamental to how we carve out our future.
That means we will harness digital technology to tell these stories — we will be tweeting, posting, and “going live” to anyone who will listen. We must consider our environment, and part of that means not always traveling but continuing to connect in meaningful ways as we have for the past two years.
Of course, we are social people, and we still need to be together. We simply need to be more mindful of our decisions and think about how we get together just a little bit differently. For example, if we travel to visit a project, we will plan successive visits in neighboring areas.
So, what are your stories and who can help tell them? I hope you might consider your own Imagine Impact efforts — your story might be something you can promote just as easily on social media or during a Zoom call. Think about ways to showcase notable projects in your clubs and districts.
We all feel the impact that Rotary service and values have on us. Now it’s our opportunity to share that feeling with others.
As an accountant, I look at the world through the lens of inputs and outputs. We can plan with precision today for success tomorrow. My profession also taught me that numbers — those inputs and outputs — can sometimes tell great stories.
One of those stories is The Rotary Foundation: What it has given the world, starting from a modest input of $26.50, is nothing short of remarkable.
In 1918, that amount — the surplus from that year’s Rotary Convention in Kansas City, Missouri — was applied, at the suggestion of 1916-17 Rotary President Arch Klumph, to a fund with the purpose of doing good in the world. The fund grew modestly until 1947, when Rotary founder Paul Harris died and donations poured in as a tribute to him. That year, the Foundation supported scholarships for 18 students — the first indication of the greatness to come.
Later the Foundation expanded, providing programs, like Group Study Exchange, and humanitarian grants, which impacted the lives of members and communities around the world. In 1979, a major grant helped immunize 6.3 million children in the Philippines against polio, which led to the establishment of PolioPlus in 1985.
Rotary’s work with polio eradication — helping reduce wild polio from an estimated 1,000 cases daily in 1988 to just six total cases in 2021 — has been one of the most ambitious humanitarian projects ever undertaken by a nongovernmental body. That success story alone shows the significance and widespread impact of Rotary and its Foundation.
Perhaps what is even more remarkable is that polio eradication is but one part of the Foundation’s efforts.
Today, the Foundation has grown into a multimillion-dollar charity. Our robust funding model allows districts the flexibility to choose which Rotary aspects they would like to support — polio eradication, scholarships, district grants, global grants, and more. Today’s Foundation impacts the world through disaster relief, disease prevention, peace education, and other areas.
Everyone in Rotary is part of this great legacy; it is our responsibility to keep it going. This year, the trustees have set the goal of raising $430 million. I know the expectations are high. But I also know just how much our members can achieve.
To get there, we will work together as we always do, with each club and individual giving what they can. In this way, we will ensure that we meet our ambitious but achievable goal and move our Foundation forward.
First woman takes office as president of Rotary International
EVANSTON, Ill. (June 29, 2022) – Jennifer Jones, member of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada, will be the first woman to take office as Rotary International President in the service organization’s 117-year existence on 1 July 2022.
During her one-year term, Jones will focus on building new relationships and establishing collaborations with organizations that share Rotary’s commitment to driving impact through humanitarian service and to developing leaders around the globe. She has also made Rotary’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion a key part of her presidential platform.
“Diversity has long been one of our core values and continues to serve as a foundation for how we interact with each other and our communities,” said Jones. “I know that my experiences and perspective as a woman mean that I bring a different lens to how I see and approach opportunities and challenges for our organization. I hope to be a catalyst for similar opportunities for leaders from all backgrounds that comprise the global mosaic of our organization. We are stronger, more creative, and more effective when we ask for and leverage those diverse perspectives to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.”
As a professional communicator with more than 30 years of experience, Jones will also use her vocational strength as a storyteller to shine a light on the positive and lasting impact Rotary clubs are making to improve lives and strengthen communities across the globe. “This year, we are going to bring Rotary service projects center stage around the world. We will put a special focus on visible, high impact acts of service across our areas of focus, drawing attention to the incredible work that Rotary members are doing.” said Jones.
Jones officially takes office as Rotary International President on 1 July 2022 in Ottawa, Canada at the mid-point of her cross-country tour. Dubbed Imagine Rotary Canada, Jones is traveling coast-to-coast, stopping at twelve hubs along the way to meet with local officials and participate in projects that address pressing issues including food insecurity, plastic and litter in waterways, and the safety of seasonal guest workers.
Jones will also mark her year as president by touring model examples of Rotary's impact in action. Throughout the year she will connect with Rotary members and clubs spanning the globe to explore and share learnings from Rotary projects, with a focus that includes:
the vital role women health workers in the efforts to end polio in Pakistan;
a day in the life of a community health worker helping to reduce malaria in Zambia;
the efforts of 600 Rotary clubs to improve education for underserved students in Guatemala;
a former refugee who is know a Rotary Peace Fellow at the Rotary Peace at Makerere University, in Uganda;
health workers reaching children with live-saving vaccines in remote islands in the South Pacific; and
Rotary's efforts to bring clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to all of Haiti
As president, Jones will oversee Rotary’s top goal of eradicating polio. “When we harness our connections, deepen our relationships, and create new partnerships - our collective efforts can change lives for generations,” said Jones. “There is no better proof point of our impact than our effort to eradicate polio.”
Alongside its Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, Rotary has achieved a 99.9 percent reduction in polio cases, and contributed US $2.4 billion to protect more than 3 billion children from this paralyzing disease. Nearly 19.4 million people are walking today who otherwise would have been paralyzed by this vaccine-preventable disease, and 1.5 million people are alive who otherwise would have died. With the infrastructure Rotary helped create to end polio, a lasting global health legacy is now being used to protect millions of people from other diseases – including Ebola, malaria, and COVID-19.
About Jennifer Jones: Jennifer is the Founder and President of Media Street Productions Inc., a 25-year-old, award-winning media company in Windsor, Ontario. She has received many honors and recognitions including Rotary’s Service Above Self Award and the Citation for Meritorious Service, the YMCA Peace Medallion, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and Wayne State University’s Peacemaker of the Year Award – a first for a Canadian. Jennifer is married to Rotarian Nick Krayacich, a family physician.
About Rotary:Rotary unites a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges and creating lasting change. Rotary connects 1.4 million people of action from more than 46,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world. Their service improves lives both locally and internationally, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.org.
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