Clark spent ten years circumnavigating the world on his 40-foot ketch, Condesa. He is a licensed sea captain, certified marine electrician, and has published over 100 articles in various sailing magazines around the world. As the only office employee at Spaulding, his work includes everything from fundraising to wiring boats.
Clark lives in Mill Valley with his wife Alison and two children, Henry *5) and Lena {3}. He was President of the Rotaract Club at San Diego State University, circa 1990.
He will discuss the Spaulding Marine Center in general and some of their recent and current projects which include building one of the first prototypes of the SV-14, a high performance sailboat specifically for disabled sailors, and their restoration of Freda, the oldest sailing yacht on the west coast.
Our guest speaker for September 6 was Chester Santos, the International Man of Memory. Chester’s presentation was nothing less than amazing. He says he can "program anyone’s mind" to remember anything! He started by introducing himself to at least 15 club members. He looked at each of us carefully, restated our names, and looked us in the eye. After these introductions he correctly stated each of our names! How does he do it?
Part of his technique is to visualize something about each person or thing he’s trying to remember. As an example, he mentioned that people often forget the names of actors. A good way to remember them is to visualize something about them and associate that visualization with the name. It is usually something about the person’s appearance. It’s all about “technique and practice.” Chester also gave us a list of words and told us how to remember each word on the list again, visualize each word in context and combine them by creating a story. Chester says his technique even works with numbers!
Chester’s presentation was an eye-opener for those of us who have always believed that they simply have a "bad memory" for names, numbers, dates and other basic facts. Apparently, all it takes is “technique and practice.” Great job, Chester, and thanks for the info!
On a regular basis, our resident photo pros Warren Smith and Jack Strange submit 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 and Jack!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
You can take a Rotarian out of their homeclub, but you can’t take Rotary out of the Rotarian!
Case in point Carolyn Anderson, Sunrise Director of Grants, now traveling in Japan with husband George.
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month on the Rotary International Calendar. What a privilege it is to be able to read one's native language nearly everywhere around the world. Nearly, though not everywhere, can we orient to our surroundings, if not by signage, then by map, or an app on our smart phone.
Sunriser Carolyn Anderson and her husband George are traveling in Japan, a land known for efficiency and respect for precise schedules. Note the Japanese characters on the above Rotary Wheel posted at the Radisson. The English language printed on the symbol of our organization expresses the hospitality and welcome extended to foreign visitors.
Reflect momentarily on our dependence on reading, calculating, and writing. Whether with a pen, pencil, stylus, or keyboard, the power poised in our fingertips is enormous. Stir up your alphabet soup, share it abundantly, and moreover, "Do What Matters", where ever you are
Spread the spirit of this international greeter sent from Carolyn!
When Christopher Major declares “check” while sitting at a chessboard, it gets his opponent’s attention.
“The first time you put a kid in check, they freeze up,” explains Major, who is president of the Novato Chess Club. “Then my voice gets soft and I say, ‘There are always stressors in life. Now how can we get out of check? Can you evade? Can you capture the piece? Can you block it?’ We’ve gone from stress, to discerning, to making the best move.”
Christopher Major, Rotary Club of San Rafael Harbor, California
Photo by Ian Tuttle
Dozens of kids participate in the after-school chess program that Major, a retired special education teacher, runs as part of Hayward Youth Academy, which he founded in 2005. The academy provides educational and recreational services to families in the San Francisco Bay Area, including a college outreach program, a public speaking program, and animal therapy.
In 2009, with a grant from the Rotary Club of San Ramon, Major started the program that grew into the Novato Chess Club. The goal was to improve kids’ critical thinking, but the students, who range from kindergartners to eighth-graders, also learn to communicate, overcome failure, be gracious in victory, and deal with the emotions that the game brings out.
“They are learning patience and how to work through frustration,” Major says. They also learn to work together; sometimes Major puts the kids in teams of two or three, and they can’t make a move until all agree on what to do.
Fifty children in San Rafael and Novato attend the weekly one-hour chess sessions. Major does most of the instruction with the help of several talented eighth-graders.
Major learned to play chess when he was teaching special education at Oakland’s Skyline High School. He saw that the game brought out the students’ emotions and helped them deal with stress.
Over the summer, he distributed chessboards to a program he helped establish in Uganda. Back at home, he ran the chess club’s first summer program.
“It’s so different from playing basketball or other games,” Major says. “Two people playing chess are engaged with each other in a special way.” – Anne Stein
Imagine if we could take a snapshot capturing all of the work Rotary does on a given day. No one – except Rotarians – would believe that a single organization was capable of accomplishing so much. In that snapshot you would see dedicated volunteers working to eradicate polio, setting up microloans, providing clean water, mentoring youth, and countless other actions.
We can do all this thanks both to our geographic reach and to the fact that our clubs are made up of people who are engaged in their communities. As a part of the community that you serve, you know the needs, you have the connections, and you're able to take immediate action. That's why every Rotary club's membership should reflect the diversity of its community.
We've made great strides in this. In Egypt, Indonesia, and Kenya, Rotary is approaching 50 percent female membership. We're also expanding the age diversity of our clubs. In each of our communities, young professionals are eager to contribute their talents, give back, and learn from mentors. Let's share with them what Rotary is all about. The Engaging Younger Professionals Toolkit at Rotary.org has an action plan to help you reach young leaders and Rotary alumni in your area.
Another resource that can help us better reflect our communities – one that is global like us, is a quarter-million members strong, and already shares our values of service and leadership – is Rotaract. Rotaractors are our partners: Team up with them on projects, ask them to speak at your events, and invite them to join your club. Dedicated Rotaractors worldwide are becoming members of Rotary and even starting new Rotary clubs while still serving as members of Rotaract.
The world needs Rotary, and Rotary needs strong clubs and engaged members in order to do more good. It is our responsibility – yours and mine – to make sure everyone who shows an interest in joining Rotary gets an invitation. Make use of the Membership Leads tool at Rotary.org, which helps people who are interested in joining Rotary connect with a club that's right for them. And let's ensure that every member has a reason to stay. By building strong clubs that engage in meaningful projects and have fun along the way, we provide value to our club members that they cannot find anywhere else.
Let's not keep Rotary's story – the story captured in those snapshots of service – to ourselves. I challenge you to invite leaders of all ages, men and women, who are looking for a way to give back. By doing so, you will Be the Inspiration in your community and help Rotary continue to do good in the world.
I was a district governor in 1987-88, the year that Charles C. Keller was the RI president. (You can read a tribute to Keller, who died in May, on the facing page.) As district governor, I attended the 1988 Rotary International Convention in Philadelphia. There, I heard that there were an estimated 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries. But I also heard some exciting news: We had surpassed our goal of raising $120 million for the eradication of polio. We had raised $219,350,449 (and later, after the accounting was done, that figure was revised to $247 million). What a celebration we had. We proved to ourselves and the world the strength of Rotary and that we could take on a global health challenge.
In the ensuing 30 years, we, along with our partners – the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – have raised even more funds, organized National Immunization Days, and advocated with world governments. Our goal has always been to keep our promise to give children a polio-free world, and in 2017, there were only 22 cases.
We've done incredible work, but we know the job isn't over. Once we reduce the number of cases to zero and no viruses are detected in the environment, we must wait for WHO to certify the world officially polio free. That requires at least a three-year period without a single detection of the wild poliovirus in a person or the environment. During that three years, we will still have to vaccinate children and ensure through surveillance that the virus never regains a foothold.
Rotarians have always been on the front lines of this effort – we still are. So, what can you do? Tell everyone you know about Rotary and polio. Make a donation. Update your club and explore how together you could participate directly in the fight.
On 24 October, we'll celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative's formation at our sixth annual World Polio Day event, in Philadelphia, the city where it all started. Host a World Polio Day fundraiser or watch party, and tell us about it at endpolio.org/promote-your-event. For more inspiration, check out endpolio.org.
I need your help. I'm depending on you to help us keep our promise.
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.jpg)