Flag Salute – Anna Smith
Inspiration – Dick Bishop
Song – Jack Hyde, who bemoaned the poor showings of our two local teams, but then rallied and led the group in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”.
There were no visiting Rotarians today.
Introduction of Guests of Rotarians:
| Member | Guest | Notes |
| Brian Ling | Nicole Renaro | From Sonoma Recovery |
| Renee Hyde | Jana Dittrich | Our Inbound Youth Exchange Student from Switzerland for 2017-2018 |
| Renee Hyde | Ali Batch-Elder | Our Outbound Youth Exchange Student to Switzerland for 2014-2015 |
| Renee Hyde | Morgan Vandorhaus | Our Outbound Youth Exchange Student to Germany for 2016-2017 |
| Jack Hyde | Janet | Jack’s wife |
| Sandy Krutz | Kathy Krutz | Sandy & Wally’s daughter |
| Dick Bishop | Madison | Dick’s Personal Assistant |
| Michael Ragsdale | Chris Howe |
Announcements:
Birthdays:
Laura Buhrer – She went to Safari West.
Daniel Meyers – He just played with his boys. Sounds great!
Bill Bolster – He did what all birthday boys should do. He had a birthday cake, got on a sugar high and then went out into the parking lot and shot off rocket copters into the sky!
Anniversaries:
Brian Ling – He wasn’t even home for his anniversary. He was playing golf in Portland.
Jack Hyde announced that we made a little over $1,400 for Summer Nights on the Green last week. Carol and JB were the captains and they had LOTS of great help! Tom Hassur will be the captain this coming week. David Luning is the musical talent.
Guest Chris Howe had asked to make an announcement. One of his blackbelts, Zach, was moving across the country and had brought along a friend for the drive. On August 4, they were involved in a head on condition – Zach is currently in critical condition. His passenger, Clarissa, has multiple broken bones. Chris has started a go fund me account which has raised about $15,000 so far. They are in Arizona right now. We will receive more info about where we can donate and about how to help via email re Zach and Clarissa.
President Steve announced that August 19th is Pedal for Polio. We are assisting the Healdsburg Rotary Club at Amy’s Wicked Slush that morning from 7:30AM to 9:30 AM to greet the riders. A new rider has joined the effort – our very own past-President, John LeCave!
President Steve announced that August 29th is our District Governor’s visit to our Club. On August 28, there will be a joint social at Maureen Merrill’s home (6 PM) to welcome and socialize with the new District Governor.
And more fun in store: Rotary Day at the Laguna Environmental Center is September 9. Rotarians can assist by doing yardwork and gardening around the center. This is a multi-club day. Signup sheet being passed around during meeting this morning.
Another reminder: August 28th is a multi-club social at Maureen Merrill’s in honor of our District Governor.
Our “People’s Choice” Fall Fundraisers: Tom Boylan announced that the Yellow Team will be doing a fundraiser through Giving Trail to provide the generation of dollars for seniors to use at the Farmers Market. This will also spread the word about rotary too. Tom announced that they have their first donation: Dennis is going to donate $500 toward Yellow Team’s goal. But we have to say goodbye to Dennis today. This is his last day.
Program Speaker – Cordell Stillman told us about their program “DriveEverGreen” which promotes the sale and use of electric vehicles. The main purpose of the program is to reduce greenhouse gases in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Goals include having 10,000 electric vehicles by 2020 and 100,000 by 2030.
They approach dealers for incentives on electric vehicles and then they add an incentive on top of that – plus they provide free charging stations. They currently work with 7 local dealers and offer 9 vehicles. There is a $2,000 incentive for all customers and a $3,500 incentive for qualifying customers. This is in addition to a $7,500 tax credit. For example, a VW Golf with all incentives would cost about $7,000. This program runs from August 8 through October 31. Limit one vehicle per person.
For more information, contact Cordell at [email protected] or call 855-202-2139.
Cordell then discussed dollar savings for those who switch to driving electric. He thinks costs should reach parity in a couple years.
Questions about charging stations and costs:
- Any relationship with SMART stations? Not yet.
- What about gas tax? California is losing gas tax. State of California added charge to EV’s on registration – extra $50 to 60 for having an EV.
- North County Air Pollution Control District – cuts around Windsor.
- EV also qualifies you for the commute lane – limited number of stickers available.
Sonoma Clean Power – is 5 years old. Has been fairly successful – serving about 85% of customers in Sonoma and Mendocino. Currently has reserves of between 20-30 million dollars. Trying to keep rates 1-2% below PG&E.