Title: Blessings Of The Earth: My Journey from Grief To Gratitude
Peter will briefly tell the story of being born in fear, raised in fear and how he also lived in fear for many decades. This is the backdrop which will offer us a peak into the context for connecting the dots of how he has coped and lived his life; and now creates beautiful artwork!
His talk will mainly be a demonstration of a unique style of fine art that he has developed and how in doing so, he has (mostly) overcome his early childhood trauma.
Highlights of Peter’s diverse background include: *President and Creative Director of Krohn Advertising, Montreal and Toronto. *CA State Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist & Founder of The Couples Center. *Professional Artist www.photographicakrohn.com *Speaker for The Story Project of Sonoma County in high schools addressing bias, prejudice, bullying. *Member of the Yom Hashoah Committee Memorial for the Holocaust and other Genocides Worldwide. *Inventor of “Underalls all-in-one Pantyhose” *Three time Grand Champion Apple Baker at Gravenstein Apple Fair.
2022-23 District and Rotary International Goals by Area Governor Brian Reed
Our speaker for Thursday, September 1, 2022, was District 5130 Area Governor Brian Reed. Brian’s topic was “2022-2023 District and Rotary International Goals.” Brian defined his role as interacting with the clubs in Area 9 (Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa East West, and Santa Rosa Sunrise), helping them solve problems, and promoting their club accomplishments. Brian is the President and CEO of Summit State Bank and a former president of the Santa Rosa East Rotary Club (2017-2018). He has been Assistant Governor or Area Governor for 3 years.
Rotary International’s 2022-33 President is Jennifer Jones of the Rotary Club of Windsor Roseland, Ontario, Canada. Jennifer is the founder of a television media company. She’s always wanted to carve her own path, from selling lemonade as child to fundraise for muscular dystrophy, to working as a rookie radio reporter, and to starting her own business. She remembers attending a club meeting as a reporter in her 20’s and being intimidated because all the members were men. Later, just as she started her new business, she was invited to a club meeting that changed the trajectory of her life. Brian showed us a short video of Jennifer Jones speaking. She started her talk pointing out that 50 years ago an anthem was recorded that started out with the line: “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” She heard that lyric as a call to action. Imagine a world without polio, a world with clean water for everyone, a world where everyone is free of disease, a world where every child learns to read, a world full of kindness, hope, and love and peace! And that’s our theme for 2022-23: “Imagine Rotary.”
The Imagine Rotary insignia has a lot going on. The circle signifies our connection to one another. The dots represent 7 people for the 7 areas of focus and the solid line underneath is a digging stick for the hard work that Rotarians do. Purple is for polio eradication and green is for the environment. The insignia is a representation of all the things that RI President Jennifer would like to do this year.
Rotary District 5130 runs from Petaluma to Oregon and includes 47 clubs and 2,005 members. The District’s clubs average 65% male and 35% female. Less than 7% of the clubs’ members are under 40. Sunrise is 67% male and 33% female. Our club’s members’ average years of service is below the District average, which means that we have done a good job of bringing in new members. Our District Governor, Jennifer Strong of the Rotary Club of Lakeport, is energetic, focused, highly organized, and has great ideas. Jennifer believes that there has been no better time to be a Rotarian. This is our time, as we are coming out of Covid, to reimagine ourselves and turn challenges into opportunities. We need to focus on Rotary’s Strategic Plan to increase our impact, expand our reach, enhance participant engagement, and increase our ability to adapt. Brian noted that these goals are good for Rotary, good for our businesses, and good for our personal life, in much the same way that the Rotary 4-Way Test can be used in all parts of our lives to help make the best decisions. Jennifer wants us to think of these things as we discuss our club’s future.
We also have some new ideas in our District, including an Environmental Citation Award, creation of new District teams (including the change from “committee” to “team”, that is, getting together to solve a problem), the District Leadership Academy, and a plan to have people tell their own Rotary stories at the next District Conference. Brian introduced key upcoming District and RI events, including the Foundation Celebration on October 8 (a daytime BBQ), the 2023 District Conference at Konocti Harbor Resort from May 4-7, 2023, and the 2023 International Convention in Melbourne, Australia from May 27th -31st.
Thank you, Brian, for the great presentation and for helping lead us towards our goals this year!
Click HEREfor a limited time Sunrise Rotary presents - Area Governor Brian Reed
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!
First it was "Fines". And when that was thought to be "negative" it became "recognitions" and after that "High Five". But Jack has announced a new twist for these moments, designed to fit every celebration as well as sorrowful news. And it does not have to be a "High Five". "Happy Dollars" and "Sad Dollars" can be whatever you want them to be. Or whatever you feel is appropriate.
Happy Dollars
Steve & Lynn Olsen celebrated 60 years of marriage at Timber Cove - Congratulations!
Ezbon Jen was excited to attend his 60th high school reunion.
Jon Stark had good news to report on Terry's recovery.
Do you have Happy or Sad Dollars? There is no need to wait until the meeting. Send them to the editor.
Recently, Nick and I spent time in Guatemala, where we met wonderful fellow Rotary members and families who unofficially adopted me as “Tía Jennifer.” On the third day, after visiting Patzún in the mountainous western highlands, we set out for Lake Atitlán, which we needed to reach by nightfall. If we took a back road we could get there faster. Locals told us it had just been repaved and assured us, “You’ll have no problem.”
At first, it was a breeze. We wound through misty-green coffee and corn fields covering the hillside like a patchwork quilt. But at a river crossing, we found a bridge washed away. The only way to continue would be to ford the river in our small bus. There were a few tense moments, but we decided to give it a try and, thankfully, we made it across safely.
This adventure reminds me of two important truths in Rotary. One, we rely on local, on-the-ground expertise to do what we do best. And two, sometimes you have to take uncomfortable chances to reach important goals.
Every day, I am honored to learn from our Rotary family. Every lesson is an opportunity to grow, and each story adds a chapter to our collective Imagine Rotary year.
One of my favorite books, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, muses on the creation of the universe and how a tiny speck of it we call Earth went from being a fiery ball with seas of molten rock to the lush green-and-blue home we know today. Bryson’s argument is that it is a miracle that we — our planet and our species — have survived. “We enjoy not only the privilege of existence,” Bryson writes, “but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better.”
We are fortunate to be able to read his words or any others. And we are fortunate to be part of an organization that is making our world a better place by helping those who can’t read them. There are an estimated 773 million illiterate adults — most of them women — who can’t read these words or write their own name. They are at a clear disadvantage in life, with limited opportunities to work. And this situation isn’t their fault.
Rotary has not forgotten them. In September, let’s celebrate Basic Education and Literacy Month by looking at the long-term impact Rotary and The Rotary Foundation are making and how we are finding ways to lend a hand in the effort.
Last year alone, The Rotary Foundation approved 104 global grants totaling $6.3 million for basic education and literacy projects, according to preliminary figures. This is on top of decades of work in our clubs and districts. As an Australian, I’m especially proud of the work of Dick Walker, a past district governor from Queensland, who used a Foundation matching grant to develop the concentrated language encounter method that has been adopted by educational leaders around the world.
At the community level, our clubs are well known for book drives that have changed the lives of so many children. But when we gather many clubs and districts together and work on large-scale Rotary Foundation projects, we have the potential to impact entire communities for generations.
The opportunities for Rotary to make a difference in literacy are boundless. Once basic reading and writing is achieved, it opens a path to other types of literacy, such as numerical literacy, digital literacy, and financial literacy.
Let’s not squander our opportunity to improve our corner of the universe. I encourage you to think big about literacy and education and change the world — this month and beyond.
City of Evanston celebrates 68 years as home to Rotary International World Headquarters
EVANSTON, Ill. (Aug. 23, 2022) — With ten commemorative signs posted throughout Evanston this week, the city proudly marks its 68th year as home to Rotary International World Headquarters, where a diverse global team of 700+ professionals support the work of Rotary's 46,000 clubs worldwide to strengthen communities and improve lives.
"Rotary has been an economic anchor for decades, not only as one of our largest employers, but surprising to some, one of the largest property taxpayers in our city," said Paul Zalmezak, City of Evanston's Economic Development Manager. "Rotary's reach goes beyond corporate staff shopping and dining at local businesses. With its global membership, Rotary contributes over $1 million to our local economy with more than 2,000 international visits annually. We are proud to house an organization that is transforming communities and positively impacting lives around the world."
The commemorative signs are located on the east side of the Sheridan Road curve and the intersections at Dempster and McCormick; Sheridan and Lake; Sheridan and Ridge; Howard and Ridge; Howard and Chicago; Golf and McCormick; Golf and Crawford; and near the Metra and CTA hubs at Davis and Church.
"We are honored to have our world headquarters recognized by the City of Evanston," said John Hewko, Rotary International CEO. "We hope these signs will make it easier for people to find us and engage those who may be curious about our organization. Evanston has been a great place to call home and our visitors are always impressed with its stunning lake views and small-town atmosphere."
On display in the lobby of One Rotary Center, located at 1560 Sherman Ave., are exhibits that are open to the public from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Mon.-Fri. and 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. Saturday, except on major U.S. holidays, that showcase Rotary's causes, including promoting peace, fighting disease, providing safe water and sanitation, supporting education, saving mothers and children, growing local economies, and protecting the environment. Rotary's top priority is the global eradication of polio. Rotary launched its polio immunization program, PolioPlus, in 1985 and in 1988 became a leading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
One Rotary Center is open to tours by appointment and conference rooms offering fully-equipped, state of the art spaces and capabilities for a wide variety of safe, COVID-compliant gatherings and meetings, events, seminars, panel discussions, corporate gatherings and more are available. Contact visitors@rotary.org to learn more about hosting an event at One Rotary Center.
About Rotary:Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world's most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.4 million members of more than 46,000 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.
For 117 years, Rotary members have been addressing challenges around the world. It started with the vision of one man — Paul Harris. The Chicago attorney formed the Rotary Club of Chicago on Feb. 23, 1905, so professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas, form meaningful, lifelong friendships, and give back to their communities. Rotary's name came from the group's early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of its members. Rotary first came to Evanston in 1954, when its original building was erected on 1600 Ridge Ave.
About the City of Evanston: The City of Evanston is home to approximately 75,000 residents and is located just north of Chicago. Bordering Lake Michigan and home to Northwestern University and Rotary International, Evanston's unique beauty and character delights visitors and residents of all ages. With a vision to create the most livable city in America, Evanston celebrates the diversity of its opportunities and residents.
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