Dustin Littlefield, Past President of the Rotary Club of Arcata Sunrise, is District 5130’s 2021-2012 District Governor Nominee.
Littlefield has been a Rotarian for five years and comes to his service club as a “product of the Humboldt farm system” as he describes his educational path from Pacific Union Elementary School to Arcata High School to Humboldt State University where he earned a B.A. degree in economics. His club focus has been on youth activities and outreach to potential Rotarians.
Littlefield plans for his District focus to be on the energetic promotion of the ideals of Rotary spirit and service, to tell the Rotary story and to increase the understanding of Rotary’s work in the community. “It is incredibly important for communities, for our friends and neighbors, our business and entrepreneurial communities, our public officials, to know what we do, why we do it, and to understand the potential that we have to do more. We can provide a framework for action and improvement that can make our shared lives stronger, healthier and happier.”
Tim Miller, Executive Director of West County Community Services (and Former Sunriser!)
Our Special Guest Speaker for July 8th was former Sunrise Rotarian, Tim Miller. Tim is currently the Executive Director of West County Community Services (WCCS) in Guerneville. Prior to his current position, Tim worked in the Philippines rebuilding homes destroyed by typhoons. Tim was also the Executive Director of the Sonoma, Mendocino, and Lake County Chapters of the American Red Cross for 10 years before he left for the Philippines. Tim is one of the twelve members of the Russian River Rotary, a small but mighty group. He is proud to remain a part of Rotary and was the President of his club when Covid-19 began.
WCCS’ mantra is: “We empower our community, one person at a time.” When Covid-19 hit, WCCS had to close its main office for two weeks. Several programs and services, such as counseling and behavioral health, have been provided remotely over the past year. In some instances programs were also in-person. The programs in which WCCS provides support were through the Adult and Youth Employment Services and Job Assistance, Counseling and Behavioral Health, Senior Services and Case Management, and Homeless and Housing Services. Due to Covid restrictions, Tim and WCCS decided to focus on three key issues: hunger, mental health, and isolation. WCCS switched its winter homeless shelter from overnight support to full twenty-four hours in March 2020. Normally, the shelter would help 50 people nightly, but to follow Covid regulations it reduced housing to 27 people. The summer of 2020 became so hot in Guerneville that they used the park and ride parking lot to create a tent city with 25 tents. The tent city remained in place for 5 months without a single police call! Tim said that this is an example of proving that if you give folks a safe place 24/7, they can heal.
The River area homeless population was also moved into different hotels, Sonoma State, and the Alliance Redwoods for several months, but those opportunities will end on September 30th when funding ends for Covid-19. WCCS took over a mobile home park in Sebastopol across from Highway 12 in 2017 and the remodel is now almost done. The building previously had four single bedroom apartments and will now have two two-bedroom apartments for families. Formerly homeless folks from Sebastopol will move into these units.
Another big Covid era WCCS project is assisting with the flow of money from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) for rental and utility assistance. Tenants who owe back rent or landlords with tenants who meet the income qualifications can be reimbursed up to 100% of the back rent. WCCS has already helped 160 clients obtain ERAP assistance.
Seniors have been some of the most vulnerable people during the pandemic, and many had to completely isolate themselves. The only land that Tim’s agency owns is the Russian River Senior Center in Guerneville. Before the pandemic, WCCS provided meals three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to mostly very low-income folks from the Senior Center. The Senior Center provided a place to get a meal and socialize with others. To ensure this vulnerable population still received meals and socialization, WCCS switched to providing outdoor meals following social distancing precautions. They successfully cooked and served 20,000 meals. WCCS distributed commodities donated by Safeway and Whole Foods. They also worked with West County Health Centers, a local federally qualified health center with thousands of senior patients. WCCS case managers teamed up at the Senior Center with West County Health Center doctors to provide health services, including screening for depression and related conditions. It was a very effective program that recently ended on June 30th.
WCCS is looking forward to transitioning to the post-Covid environment. It reopened its main offices and most of its programs are now back in person. WCCS has new offices in Santa Rosa and Petaluma, having taken over programs from Goodwill. Tim is really excited about WCCS’ development of peer programs, in which people with a specific issue, such as homelessness or drug/alcohol problems, can help other people with the same issue.
Many thanks to Tim for the information about one of Sunrise’s favorite charitable organizations and for his insights into other current problems facing Sonoma County. Tim has dedicated his life to helping people in tough situations and is one of the best examples of “Service Above Self” that we are ever likely to encounter. Thank you, Tim, and please keep asking us to help!
For your viewing pleasure, click HERE to see Tim's presentation. I will be available for the next week or so.
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!
Sunriser Bulletin Staffer/Graphic Animator Dicksie Tamanaha is off this week for an elective surgery to her creative dominant right hand.
In her own words, composed just following the surgeons skill, Dicksie provided us a remarkable recap.
The good news is I can feel my finger again! The bad news is that I can now feel my finger
I was thinking, having only one hand is not so bad…
I can use my cast to prop up the phone while I type with other
The strong sturdy cast can be used to stop something from falling
It can also pull something toward me or push it away
My ring finger and pinkie can hold a fork while I use my knife to cut my salmon.
I can even use those two fingers like a scissors to pick up things
If I lean on the left side of the walker with my cast, it takes the weight off my “donor” right hip, the one that gave up precious bone to straighten my left forefinger, and I can slide that aching right leg along easily.
And, if all else fails, I can even use that burley cast as a weapon. (I watch a lot of cop shows.)
I need to stop writing now. The nurse should be bringing my pain pill at 7 this morning — four hours after my newly repaired left forefinger woke from his numb/tingling tingling slumber quite unexpectedly at 3 am, asserting his rightful place as a sensitive member of my body, securely connected to my nerves, veins and the pleasure/pain center of my brain.
And the nurse is late!
Sent from my iPhone not even by dictation!
How about a hand for Dicksie ~ and a note of encouragement for a rapid recovery!!
M.J. Girard is currently an on air personality on KOWSfm.com His “Roots of Rock” is broadcast every Sunday morning at 7 AM
Part Two: The BEATLES aka the White Album, continues with sides 3&4… although there was an unbelievable amount of bickering amongst the F4 (Fab Four) … contracts had to be fulfilled and appropriate appearances made.
The retreat to India had dubious results but did allow the core members to develop fresh material primarily by using acoustic instruments. The vast differences in the selections further indicated the growing separation of the group as one coherent whole. Rarely did Paul and John have their all-night collaborating sessions as they did in the earlier days.
The last two sides, three and four included some interesting material: “Birthday” co-written by Paul and John. “Yer Blues” reflects Lennon’s disappointment in the meditation sessions in India. Other songs were written to expound upon the mixed emotions that surfaced during the retreat.
“Heater Skelter” was initially a blues composition but developed into an out of control recording session when Harrison ran around the studio with a flaming ashtray above his head doing an “Arthur Brown” imitation. Cult leader Charles Manson, unaware that the title track refers to a child’s slide in an amusement park, believed that the lyrics had a coded message referring to apocalyptic war, and lead to his movements of the same name.
Revolution 1 and 9 as well as other cuts completed the fourth side of this unbelievable collection. As the individuals who made up the Beatles were doing more work separately from the coherent group, many wondered, but no one believed that the petty disagreements would ultimately lead to the dissolution of the Beatles!
“Hey Jude” was recorded during these sessions, and released three months previous to the White Albums formal release, as a single on the newly formed “Apple Records”, ultimately becoming their most successful single in the U.S.
“The Beatles” album was certified 24 times platinum by the RIAA.
Enjoy the show, available for your listening pleasure on the KOWSfm.com website if o7:0o is a bit too early for you….God Bless and Stay Safe!
“Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans” to quote John Lennon. This reflects the paradox of our lives. Many of us would like to have a peaceful ride, enjoy the present moment, yet we can’t help but make future plans, so we feel secure, or we spend time digging on past hurts.
After a morning fishing, a Rotarian left for a District meeting in the afternoon and his wife decided to motor out into the lake, drop anchor and read her book. A Game Warden pulls up alongside the woman in his boat. "'Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?" "Reading a book" she replies. "You're in a Restricted Fishing Area" he informs her. "I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing, I'm reading". "Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up." "If you do that, I'll have to charge you with Sexual assault" says the woman. "But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden. "That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment." "Have a nice day ma'am" the warden said, and he left.
I wish each of you and your families a great Rotary New Year! Together, let us make it the best year of our lives, by making it a year to grow more and do more. Let this be a year of changemakers, and let us begin with our membership.
That is precisely why the Each One, Bring One initiative is so important. During this year, I urge you to dream of new ways in which Rotary can expand its reach into your community and therefore the world. If each member introduces one person to Rotary, our membership can increase to 1.3 million by July 2022. So, let’s just do it!
Imagine the change we, as Rotary members, can make when there are so many more of us! More people to care for others, more people to Serve to Change Lives. Think of the impact we can have through grow more, do more. More members will enable us to embark on bigger and bolder service projects. And each of us can also continue to serve in our own personal ways, responding to needs in our communities.
The beauty of Rotary is that service means different things to different people around the world. One element, however, that we can incorporate into all of our service initiatives is empowering girls. Unfortunately, even in this day and age, girls and young women face disproportionate challenges all over the world. We have the power to lead the charge for gender equality. Empowering girls and young women to have greater access to education, better health care, more employment, and equality in all walks of life should be embedded in every Rotary project we launch. Girls are future leaders, so we must ensure that we help them shape their future.
The biggest gift we are given Is the power to touch a life,
To change, to make a difference In the circle of life.
If we can reach out With our hand, heart, and soul,
The magic will start to happen As the wheel begins to roll.
Let’s turn the wheel together So all humanity thrives,
We have the power and the magic To Serve to Change Lives.
These are challenging times, and I compliment each of your efforts in grappling with COVID-19. No challenge is too big for Rotarians. The bigger the challenge, the more passionate the Rotarian. Look at what we can do when we take on a colossal challenge such as eradicating polio. Look at the millions of lives we improve by strengthening access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. Look at what we do every year to promote peace in places where it seems unimaginable. Our basic education and literacy programs have nation-building impact.
This year, let us challenge ourselves to do more such projects and programs that have national reach and impact. This year, let us Serve to Change Lives.
July is the most exciting month in Rotary, a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. For many, it’s an opportunity to take on new leadership roles. Rotarians brim with optimism, thinking about the good we can do for humanity in the 12 months ahead.
As I write this message, I recall a quote often attributed to Helen Keller, a renowned American activist for people with disabilities: “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”
How profound that a woman who was blind taught us such a powerful lesson about the difference between sight and vision. Indeed, it is one thing to see the world as it is, but entirely another to envision it as it could be. The Rotary Foundation is all about envisioning possibilities — and making them happen.
As we begin this Rotary year, I ask: what is your vision for the next 12 months? Could a community or region you know benefit from a grant from the Foundation? One probably could, and, as you read these words, many people in that community are waiting for our help and leadership.
We are still reeling from the challenges of serving the world during COVID-19, but we cannot let that or anything else stop us. Many educational and health care needs have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. The world needs us.
Beginning 1 July, you can apply for Foundation grants supporting Rotary’s new area of focus: the environment. July also brings changes, such as the financial restructuring of the World Fund, that have been implemented with an eye toward sustainability. We are just beginning a year when we will continue our first Programs of Scale grant in Zambia, seek a home for our next Rotary Peace Center, and plan and implement district and global grants that will make positive impacts for generations to come.
To paraphrase the ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi, today we begin the journey of a thousand miles by taking our first step. Let’s walk together, looking forward, not to the past. Rotarians love a good challenge, so here’s one for us all: let’s challenge ourselves to think bigger this year and enlarge our vision of what we can and will do.
Make the Foundation a part of your vision for a better world, and you will see the world, and yourself, change.
Our new president, Shekhar Mehta, envisions Rotary’s next chapter – and is ready to make it a reality
by John Rezek
Shekhar and Rashi Mehta at their home in Kolkata. Rashi painted the picture Mother and Child, behind her.
Over the years, I caught glimpses of Shekhar Mehta when he came to One Rotary Center in Evanston, Illinois, for Board of Directors meetings. I met him formally during one of the days of back-to-back meetings with various staff members that every incoming Rotary president participates in. During the session I attended, he was the most relaxed person in the room, despite being the only one suffering from jet lag. He was alert, patient, and asked perceptive questions — not surprising for someone as successful as he is in his professional and philanthropic life. I kept thinking that he was assessing each of us to see how we could be recruited to help him achieve his dreams for Rotary.
I was lucky to have met Shekhar in person back when we could meet in person. We are now well into the second year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and as I write this, India is in the depths of a tragic outbreak. Rotary has had to make adjustments, but the business of Rotary goes on.
In a normal year, one of the Rotary editors would have traveled to Kolkata, where Shekhar lives with his wife, Rashi. We would have spent time with him, his family members, and his friends and fellow Rotarians, exploring how his upbringing and adulthood in India have shaped his perspective on life and on Rotary. This year, of course, no one was able to travel — so instead, we asked the people who know Shekhar best to tell us about him in their own words.
In the following pages, members of Shekhar’s family, some of his oldest friends, his personal assistant, and his presidential aide share anecdotes and talk about the man they know, in order to help Rotary members everywhere feel that they know him, too. Many of you will, of course, meet him yourselves — virtually, if not in person — over the course of the coming year.
Shekhar Mehta, a member of the Rotary Club of Calcutta-Mahanagar, has been a Rotarian since 1985. He trained as an accountant and founded a real estate development company, Skyline Group, which he also chairs. But his professional title tells only a small part of the story of who he is. He is also a director of the India arm of Operation Eyesight Universal, a Canada-based nonprofit focused on preventing avoidable blindness. He helped establish more than 15 eye hospitals, in several Indian states, that together carry out nearly 50,000 surgeries each year. And he started Saving Little Hearts, a project that has facilitated more than 2,500 heart surgeries for children from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and some African countries and that is now an India-wide program.
As you’ll read in these pages, he also has been actively involved in disaster relief work. Among other undertakings, he helped build 500 homes in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
At the International Assembly this year, Shekhar talked about how he and some fellow Rotarians decided to start a local version of ShelterBox, a Rotarian-founded organization based in the UK. “We named it Shelter Kit and put 52 items of daily need in a large trunk,” he told the incoming district governors. “Over the last 15 years, in every major disaster in India, Indian Rotarians have volunteered to bring Shelter Kits to areas struck by disasters.” The program already has served about 75,000 people. Shekhar also served on the ShelterBox board of trustees.
And he is also the architect of the TEACH program, which aims to do nothing less than end illiteracy in India. (You’ll read more about this ambitious program in a future issue.)
Although Shekhar is skilled in the business arts, he prefers to engage his other fluencies. He told me that, after so much studying and reading during his career, he now favors learning by talking to people. He added, “I hate accounting.” It all follows his belief that we would do well to think from our hearts as much as our minds.
As part of the TEACH program to increase literacy rates in India, Mehta often visits schools that are part of the program, which are known as “Happy Schools.” Rotary members in India have transformed more than 3,000 schools into Happy Schools. The Rotary Club of Calcutta-Mahanagar supports this girls’ school in Kolkata, Bhowanipur Arya Vidya Mandir, with a daily break-fast for more than 1,000 students.
This story originally appeared in the June 2021 issue of Rotary magazine.
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
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