On a regular basis, our resident photo pros Warren Smith and Ross Andress 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 Ross! Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
The North Bay Science Challenge is a fun and educational team event for students in grades 4-8. It allows students to demonstrate their science knowledge, understanding, and skills while competing in a variety of science-based events.They also develop valuable skills such as teamwork, creativity, persistence, problem solving, and cooperation. Most importantly, students have fun while learning and developing those skills and knowledge. Schools that participate in the Science Challenge report that participation leads to increased interest in and enthusiasm for science among students, staff, and parents. Competions include build an egg catcher from 9 sheets of paper, then dropping raw eggs from increasing heights to see which catcher can catch the egg from the greatest height without the egg breaking.
Mike Roa is a retired teacher. He has taught from grade 4 through post-grad, but his area of specialty is science and environmental education. He has been a classroom teacher, staff developer, and principal. He has authored several books on environmental education and currently works part time for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and as a naturalist for the Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods. He also is on the organizing committee for the North Bay Science Discovery Day, which drew over 13,000 people to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in October.
Sometimes it is good to question authority figures. Lorenzo Dueñas did as an aspiring young man in high school when he ignored a counselor’s suggestion that he need not apply to college. He was advised he would not be a successful student. Decades later, Lorenzo holds advanced degrees and is himself an unmistakably proven, trusted authority figure: He is Chief of the Santa Rosa Junior College Police Department.
Lorenzo studied and worked alongside colleagues in Brazil as part of a Rotary Group Study Exchange. He organized stateside efforts to aid disabled Brazilian officers who received no service benefits for on-the-job injuries.
Currently his department is larger than Healdsburg, Sebastopol and Rohnert Park Cotati’s. With a student population as high as 36,000 and attendant problems of homelessness and drugs, his staff of 13 sworn Police Officers, 6 dispatchers, 6 non-sworn Community Service Offices and 15-30 cadets are responsible for the main Santa Rosa Campus, Petaluma, Shone Farm.
Challenged with recruiting qualified candidates to fill vacancies, Chief Dueñas informed the audience of the extensive background checks performed on applicants. Of a field of 30 applicants, only 20 make the first cut and only 1 in 10 make the second. Only 63% of officer vacancies posted in the county since 2011 have been filled.
Social Media is another new dimension of law enforcement, along with body worn cameras. Transported drug trafficking also is an issue. Chief Dueñas also commented on the effect AB 109 (Realignment) has had on jail populations and Proposition 47 passed in 2014 reduced many crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, and the subsequent reduction of fear of incarceration for many still criminal acts.
Chief Lorenzo Dueńas exemplifies well the principle of serving and protecting. With distinguished military service in the Marine Corps, Healdsburg Police and as Sonoma County Assistant Sheriff, Lorenzo sets a very high bar for local youth does well!
What's New in Rotary? Attendees at the District Assembly Get the Latest Word
If you do not know any of the following new Rotary developments, ask one of the cowpokes above who braved the wilds of Ukiah to bring back word of the latest and best from District 5130. Front row, left to right: Merle Hayes, Eloise Tweeten, Carmen Guitterrez, Steve Zwick; Back row, left to right: Doug Shureen, Rich Randolph, Peter Hoberg. Not pictured: Dicksie Tamanaha
What is the new fifth truth of THE FIVE WAY TEST?
- Is it good for the environment?
- Will it bring peace to the earth?
- Is it fun?
What is the main change in the NEW ROTARY BRAND?
- The word "Rotary" is added to the left of the wheel
- The background is white, the wheel - gold and the word - Blue
- A chicken sits on top of the Rotary wheel
Who was included and honored at this year's assembly?
Mendocino County Fairgrounds rocked Friday evening with District-wide western garbed Rotarians, country music and Sally Tomatoes' chicken and pork specialties. Erin Dunn, District Governor hailing from Fortuna introduced 2016-17 Governor-Elect Wulff Reinhold from Rohnert Park. Sunrise scion Del Raby received a hearty applause, as did each of the many past District Governors and current Club Presidents in attendance.
DGE Wulff presented his upcoming term’s peace pursuit priority. With a straw vote, and there was a lot of straw/hay on hand for his western hoe-down theme, Wulff garnered a hearty affirmative response. Inspired by his experience at the recent Zone Peace Conference in Ontario, California, Wulff wants to further the efforts currently afoot to teach constructive conflict resolution skills and strategies.
The following day, Wulff introduced Keynote Speaker Elizabeth Gore and in this novel, informal interview format helped her share her insights and vision as former United Nations Chair of Global Entrepreneurs for Rotarian action in local and global peace initiatives: Attend, Join, Advocate!! YOU can make a DIFFERENCE.
Sunrise Rotary was well represented: President Eloise, President Elect Merle Hayes, District Vocational Service Chair Peter Hoberg, Carmen Gutierrez, Doug Shureen, Rich Randolph, PDG Del Raby, Dicksie Tamanaha and Steve Zwick nearly took an entire table end!
Eloise' husband Jack lead a session on leadership, Steve, Merle and Rich learned new District and RI rules for volunteers with youth. The Social Media marketing session led by Rotarian and Sonoma State University Professor Kerry Rego was extremely insightful to this Baby Boomer.
This annual event is a great way to energize the remainder of one Rotary year, and ramp up to the next.
This space was reserved for a story on president Eloise Tweeten’s “Senior Moment” of the week about a lecturer addressing the subject of absent-mindedness in the aging brain. However… I forget what it was all about ….???
Sunrise Sunshine Coordinator Rich Randolph reported that Carolyn Anderson cut her vacation short because of a severe upper respiratory infection.
Rolf Westman is grieving the death of his mother in an auto accident last week. Rolf also needs short term, on call, caregiving to insure that his 24-hour support does not gap, even when caregivers are late or cannot remain after their shift. Training may not be necessary. Rolf is very articulate and knowledgeable. On call caregivers need to be able to respond quickly and may choose to work in pairs.
When would you see an entire auditorium of teenagers struck stone silent? According to Shauna Lorenzen this happens during the two-day California Highway Patrol program for school children titled “Every 15 Minutes.”
At the annual cost of $7,000 the program, which includes police, ambulances, a helicopter and a fully enacted funeral, complete with grieving parents, portrays what occurs every 15 minutes, somewhere in the US, because of a drunk driver.
“Every 15 Minutes” seeks funding in order to continue its dramatic life saving work in Sonoma County schools. Max Childs reports that his twin daughters went through the program and were deeply moved.
Tom Croft of the Santa Rosa East Club presents the Sunrise club with a check for $200 – a return on investment for underwriting the Annual Veteran’s Day Celebration. This past year’s event was heralded as the best ever! Peter Treleven’s masterful event coordination and Dell Raby’s delivery of the flag salute were some of the defining factors.
The recent “Greatest Guest Day Challenge” produced and directed by Membership Chair Marty Behr, continues to bring promising guests to our breakfast meetings. We all hope that (above: left to right) Jeff Bricker, Deb Francis and Karen Partovi are following the example of newly initiated member Noel Giab in a continuing procession toward the coveted Red Badge.
Many years ago, in Kolkata, India, I had the chance to meet Mother Teresa. She was an incredible woman with an incredible force of personality. When she walked down the street, the crowd parted in front of her like the Red Sea. Yet when you talked to her, if you mentioned the tremendous things she had done, she almost did not engage in this topic at all. By many reports, if you asked her what her greatest achievement was, she would answer, "I am an expert in cleaning toilets."
The answer was both humorous and absolutely serious. Her business was caring for others. Toilets had to be cleaned, so she cleaned them. There was no question of a job being beneath her. Helping people who needed help was her work, and there was nothing higher, nothing in the world more important than that.
So one day, when an elegantly dressed man came to Kolkata looking for Mother Teresa, the nuns who answered the door informed him that she was at the back of the house, cleaning the toilets. They pointed the way, and indeed he found Mother Teresa scrubbing the toilets. She said hello, assumed he was there to volunteer, and began explaining to him how to hold the toilet brush correctly and how not to waste water. Then she put the brush in his hand and left him standing there, in his expensive suit, alone in the lavatory.
Later, the man came out, found Mother Teresa again, and said, "I have finished; may I speak with you now?" "Yes, certainly," she said. He took an envelope out of his pocket and said, "Mother Teresa, I am the director of the airline, and here are your tickets. I just wanted to bring them to you personally."
That airline director told that story again and again for the rest of his life. He said those 20 minutes spent cleaning toilets had filled him with the greatest joy he had ever known – because by putting his hands to Mother Teresa's work, he became part of that work. For those 20 minutes, he cared for the sick just as she did: with his own hands, his own sweat.
That is exactly the opportunity that Rotary gives us. We might not do what Mother Teresa did – give up our lives, our homes, our families. But for 20 minutes, 20 hours, 20 days of the year, we can be like her.
We can do the work that others will not with our hands, and our hearts, and our sweat, and our devotion – knowing that what we do is the most important work in the world.
The numbers are impressive: Rotary comprises more than 35,000 clubs with 1.2 million members in 200 countries and geographic regions. It's big enough to be a major partner in the eradication of polio, the largest health initiative ever undertaken!
Despite its size and reach, Rotary is accessible to members through their individual clubs, which provide outstanding opportunities for friendship, fellowship, and networking at the local level. As a result, most Rotarians think of their involvement as primarily local, with ideas for service projects limited to their communities. They should recognize that, with the assistance of The Rotary Foundation, the sky is the limit!
Every great idea in Rotary has started in the mind of an individual. Even the success of End Polio Now can be traced to a few notable Rotarians around the world: Clem Renouf of Australia, for example, proposed a large corporate project to increase Rotary's visibility, while U.S. Rotarian John Sever identified polio as a worthwhile target. Each had an idea that was accepted and supported by other Rotarians, and polio will soon be eliminated from the world as a result.
When Rotarians begin to think of service projects beyond the size and scope of their clubs, they have access to district and global grants from The Rotary Foundation. They also have access to a team of Rotary volunteers at the district level, starting with their district governors and district Rotary Foundation chairs, to help them along the way. They also have the support of regional leaders, including the regional Rotary Foundation coordinators, and the entire Rotary staff in Evanston, Ill., and in the international offices.
Who knows where the next great ideas for Rotary will come from? Since Rotary is a grassroots organization, they are likely to come from individual Rotarians. It behooves all of us to encourage good ideas within the six areas of focus and direct local Rotarians with good ideas to The Rotary Foundation's resources. After all, it is the mission of the Foundation "to enable Rotarians" to do good in the world!
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
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