President Marc opened the meeting with a special Memorial Day video tribute that reminded us all to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice protecting liberty and defending our country.
For our inspirational message, Renee Hyde shared an insight from a blog on a website dedicated to veterans:
“People often complain that they need to find their passion. You already know it. There’s some topic or activity or idea that dominates a significant amount of your free time, your conversations, your web browsing, and it dominates them without you consciously pursuing it or looking for it. That is your passion. It is right there in front of you. To honor those in the military who make it possible for all of us to pursue our passions, your action for today is to recognize your passion and pursue it.”
Maureen Merrill took great pleasure in introducing Don Johnson (Past President for Windsor Rotary and current member of Santa Rosa West Rotary) who, in turn, introduced Anthony Galloway representing LEAP Science & Math Schools in South Africa. Anthony gave an update from his December 2015 LEAP Schools presentation to the Club which we now are connected to as part of a building multi-Club grant process. We also learned that since our last visit, Anthony was become a Rotarian (he gets extra-credit for that).
Give-Back Moments
Art Diaz shared some recent family photos of his son Benjamin taking part in his first high school prom — an exciting trip to San Francisco that included dad and sister enjoying a special late-night meal after the event. We also got to see Benjamin participate in the Sonoma County Special Olympics.
Steve Jorgensen also reflected on the Special Olympics event that featured several teams from the Windsor School District.
Jim Ruppert shared more good news about his granddaughter Delany White who recently earned 3rd Place and a personal-best time for the 3200m event at the Race of Champions that recently took place at UC Berkeley. The 3rd Place finish also earned Delany an invitation to compete at the State Meet!
Jim also shared about his anniversary with his wife, Kitty, and their gift to each other — tickets to the 2017 NCAA Basketball Championship that will be held in Phoenix — which is very convenient as they will already be there for Baseball Spring Training!
Leigh Mateas shared news about his granddaughter, Gabrielle Peterson, also ran in the Race of Champions at Berkeley. Gabrielle ran as a Freshman for Healdsburg High in the 1600m event. Leigh commented how Gabrielle she looks up to Delany for inspiration as a distance runner.
Bill Bolster had the lucky raffle ticket and almost completed the Lobster Claw building task with his chosen partner, Zach. Better luck next time!
Youth Exchange Program Presentation —
As Renee Hydee comes to a close on being district chair for Youth Exchange, she spoke about her passion for the program and what it means to her and the students who participate. She is very grateful for Glenda Sales persistency in recruiting her for this position and the strong legacy she provided. On a large scale, Renee has seen the impact that the program makes on the lives of everyone involved. For the students, they grow from typical teenagers to powerful young adults who know they can do anything they put their mind to. For the host families and counselors, they learn about another culture and gain a new member of their family. For the world as a whole, we get one step closer to peace and understanding. We gain new tolerance and we gain friends around the world. World events hold more importance to us and we all become global citizens.
Craig Curreri closed our meeting with more inspirational words connected to Memorial Day.