Santa Rosa Junior College since the pandemic has started
Dr. Frank Chong is Superintendent/President of Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC). Under his leadership, Measure H, the $410 million bond to support SRJC technology and facilities, passed in 2014 and in 2015, SRJC received full accreditation. Dr. Chong was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges at the US Department of Education in Washington, D.C. under Secretary Arne Duncan. He has served as President of Laney College (Oakland) and Mission College (Santa Clara), and as Special Assistant to Willie Brown, Speaker of the California Assembly.
Dr. Chong has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the university of California, Berkeley in social welfare and Asian American Studies, and a master’s degree in public Administration from Harvard University. He also completed the Educational Management program at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and earned his doctorate (Ed.D) in educational administration leadership and technology from Dowling College in Oakdale, New York.
The Progress and Growth of Sonoma Media Investments and the Press Democrat, by Steve Falk and Rick Green
Our speakers for October 21, 2021, were Steve Falk, CEO of Sonoma Media Investments (SMI), and Rick Green, Executive Editor of the Press Democrat and SMI’s Content Manger. Steve’s background includes having been the president and editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. His long career in the newspaper business started with delivering papers in Lancaster, PA. Rick Green started with the Press Democrat this year after many years with Gannett in places as diverse as Ohio, Palm Springs, Des Moines, Cincinnati, and New Jersey.
Steve updated us on the progress of SMI and the Press Democrat. Business is booming at SMI, despite the general malaise in newspaper publishing in the U.S. The PD’s readership is the highest it has been in 11 years! Each week 413,489 adults read one of SMI’s publications. 327,573 North Bay adults read the Press Democrat, either online or in print. Dramatic gains in online subscriptions have resulted in over 15,000 subscribers. The PD’s subscribers access the “paper” in a variety of ways, including articles and alerts on social media, print and digital subscriptions, articles through email, and single copy purchases. SMI’s overall media reach includes 206.6k Facebook followers, 74.5 Twitter followers, and 67.7k Instagram followers. Steve also mentioned that the PD has over 65 journalists driving the news delivery train.
Rick Green joined the PD in February after Gannett was purchased by a hedge fund and changed its priorities. The PD, however, is growing its newsroom, and recently added new investigative reporters. His job is to elevate the paper. The PD is good, but it needs to get better, and the way to do that is to elevate staff.
COVID-19 took its toll on SMI’s papers. It lost $6,000,000 in advertising revenue during the height of the pandemic. Despite this, the PD did not lay off a single employee, although there were some pay reductions.
Thank you, Steve, and Rick for the update. We last saw Steve at Sunrise shortly after the purchase of the Press Democrat. At the time it seemed like a risky venture, so it is good to know that things are working well. Congratulations and keep up the good work!
View Steve and Rick''s presentation HERE! The recording will be available for a short 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!
On October 23rd, we shifted into Scorpio season. It’s time to celebrate the most intense sign of the zodiac. Scorpios are mysterious, ambitious, and deeply emotional. What makes Scorpio so incredibly intriguing is this zodiac sign is ruled by two planets: Mars (the planet of action and desire-Roman god of war) and Pluto, the planet of destruction and transformation
Get ready to dive into a time of extreme passion. Strategic alliances and power mergers reign supreme in a Scorpio’s world. A Scorpio thrives on suspense and intrigue. Are you hankering for some seduction in your life? A steamy, smoldering Scorpio is an expert at seduction.
Entering Scorpio season is going to have its challenges, but it is all for the best. The next month is going to offer opportunities for transformation. Is it time to ditch a bad habit that has been holding you back? Let go of a relationship that is no longer serving you? Walk away from a job or a duty that is giving you more grief than joy? This could be the time! It’s not a coincidence that Scorpio season falls around Halloween. It is the sign of death and transformation. This is a powerful time. Take action and channel your inner Scorpio!
Past President Randy Seelye offered a high-5 in memory of his brother-in-law, who recently passed away in Tennessee. Randy reports that he traveled to Tennessee to help his sister and, despite the circumstances, enjoyed being with his sister and helping her out.
President Jennifer offered a high-5 in honor of Prince Harry, who shared a flight with Jennifer and her friends on a Sonoma County Airport flight to LAX! Despite the mask, Jen and her friends correctly identified him. Prince Harry flies coach. Steve Falk of the PD expressed interest in getting an exclusive from Jen for the story!
We had a great walk around Spring Lake on Saturday morning in support of ALS research, ahead of the rain, as predicted by Lori! Faithful walkers were Steve A, Steve Z, Peter, Mary, Olin, Lori, Mary Ann and Penny (taking the picture). The walk was brisk for some and leisurely for others. Conversations was outstanding!
Thank you to all those who contributed to the cause. We raised $4,450, and half of that came from contacts outside of Rotary!! A huge thank you to Lori who not only organized the walk but also brought in $2,100 through her ALS webpage! Incredible! Every donation goes to helping find a cause and cure for ALS.
Flash! SR Sunrise Rotary Walks From District Conference With Olympic Gold!
Santa Rose Sunrise Rotary medaled handsomely at PDG Doug Johnson’s 2021 District Conference on Saturday. In five different categories for District 5130, Sunrise Rotary took the gold in Membership amongst Large Clubs with six new members, scored a silver in Public Image with its “Sunrise Rotary- Meet the People” promotional film and continuing enhancements to its Clubrunner Bulletin, and a bronze in Leadership for advancing new members into leadership positions in the club. Whoo Hoo Sunrise Rotary!!!
The District Conference, which had to go virtual in the last month before being rolled out, was baseball themed with many film clips and songs having a strong Boston bias given the PDG’s origins. Scattered amongst the various award acknowledgments were reports and inspirational presentations on District and Club projects.
Andy Bennett from Garberville spoke on many environmental projects undertaken by clubs as part of Rotary’s Earth Day,
District Governor Elect Jennifer Strong invited Rotarians to check out the new Environment web page on the District’s website,
Two new clubs are on the verge of being commissioned- the Sonoma Mountain Twilight club, sponsored by the Rancho Cotati club, aims to be open for after hours meetings by January, and a virtual E-Club focused purely on the Environment is in organization. Members can join this club without leaving their home clubs.
Zone 26/27 Director Vicki Polenz spoke on thinking BIG when aiming to make a difference
DG Dustin Littlefield, DGE Jennifer Strong and DGN Tom Boylin held a panel discussion on various topics including how the strength of Rotary’s ability to leverage people power and resources gives us “superpowers”,
A recent refugee from Afghanistan, now residing in Reno and linked up to a Reno club, gave thoughts on the current situation in his home country, the Taliban’s current assistance to continuing polio vaccinations and his views on the country’s future.
PDG Doug closed the meeting by awarding the Rotarian of the Year to 47 club Presidents, acknowledging that “they figured it out” in a most unusual year.
Three Great Service Projects For You To Participate!
October 28- Redwood Empire Food Bank, with a Halloween flair. Come pack apples, potatoes, onions, carrots, whatever they throw at us, BUT do it in festive style. We will be packing in costume, with festive decorations and holiday refreshments! Dress to the nines or just dust of your funny plastic nose, but BE THERE! 5:00-7:00. Register here:
October 30- Multi-club tree planting on land that burned in both the Nun's Canyon and Glass fires. Sunrise Rotary is donating $1,000 toward the purchase of small oak and madrone saplings to be planted on a parcel of land which will become part of Sugarloaf/Hood Mountain Regional Park. We are doing this with volunteers from the Downtown Club and East-West Club from 9:00-2:00; meet at the white barn at the end of Adobe Canyon Rd. Regional Park rangers are coordinating the day and are providing all the tools. Bring a hat, gloves, water, firm shoes and a sack lunch. Past Rotary tree planting days have been extraordinarily rewarding.
November 13- Laguna de Santa Rosa Stewardship Morning 9:00-12:30. We will be doing invasive plant maintenance within the native plant restoration site along Irwin Creek, including clipping blackberry and other mechanical invasive plant removal. Meet at the Laguna Environmental Center at 900 Sanford Rd, Santa Rosa (the driveway is off of Sanford Road and is a long, dirt driveway to a farmhouse); from there it is a quarter-mile walk across a flat but uneven trail to the site. Required- face mask if unvaccinated, close toed shoes, water, snacks, layered clothing, hat, gloves. Recommended- long pants, lightweight long sleeve shirt. Register here:
M.J. Girard is currently an on air personality on KOWSfm.com His “Roots of Rock” is broadcast every Sunday morning at 7 AM
This Halloween will be a subdued one, with the global pandemic still ever present, but the message remains the same…Safe gatherings and Happier times will prevail.
The musical lineup will reflect the scary season that precedes the biggies…. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza…not to mention the beginning of the Winter Solstice, the longest night and shortest day. Then we break ground on a fresh new year, 2022! A year of turn around on the road of recovery.
For those who wish to listen to the original scary broadcast on Halloween night by the Mercury Players, the vehicle of Orson Welles imaginative interpretation of H.G. Wells “War of the Worlds” it will be aired Sunday afternoon at four o’clock on KOWSfm.com in its entirety. I recommend drawing the drapes and allowing your mind to roll back to when the radio was the only form of mass entertainment and information. This was the “Original” Fake News! It caused a sensation and drove the F.C.C. to change their regulations. Should be an hour of the “Theatre of your mind”!
Thanks for the request made to mj@mcn.org we will get to them all a.s.a.p. Enjoy the upcoming holidays, safely and with gusto, God Bless & Stay Well.
Two men were walking home after a Halloween party and decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery just for laughs. Right in the middle of the cemetery they were startled by a tap-tap -tapping noise coming from the misty shadows. Trembling with fear, they found an old man with a hammer and chisel, chipping away at one of the headstones. "Holy cow, Mister," one of them said after catching his breath, "You scared us half to death -- we thought you were a ghost! What are you doing working here so late at night?" "Those fools!" the old man grumbled. "They misspelled my name!"
BTS’ Jimin donates 100 million Korean won to eradicate polio
SEOUL, South Korea: Sept. 23, 2021 – Jimin, a member of K-pop boy band BTS, is supporting the eradication of polio, a devastating vaccine-preventable disease that once paralyzed 1,000 children every single day.
Jimin’s donation of 100 million won ($88,000) to Rotary's polio eradication program, will protect children in countries where the disease is still a threat.
“Thanks to the effort of Rotary and so many people, polio is coming to an end on this planet,” Jimin said. “I wanted to join this historic moment to make sure no child suffers from polio.”
Polio cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent over the past three decades, thanks to the efforts of Rotary, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Today just two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, continue to report cases of wild polio, and Jimin’s donation brings the effort one step closer to a polio-free world.
“We expect the donation by Jimin, a member of the world's most beloved boyband BTS, will increase the global interest in polio eradication,” said Rotary International District 3590 (South Korea) Governor Im-Sook Kim. “Rotary will keep the commitment of Jimin and other supporters in its heart and make every effort to ensure that no child ever suffers from polio."
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 36,000 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.
CONTACT: Seoha Lee: Rotary International Communication Specialist - Asia
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