CLICK HERE TO SEE DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE LATEST CLUB MEETING
President Maureen Merrill rang the wake up bell at 7:30
Joe Deacon shared the four key elements of Rotary, “Is it, is it, Will it, Will it.
A moment of inspiration came from Susan Cole who shared the wisdom of Lao Tzu. “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”
JB Leep gave us “All My Loving” in our song for the day
Photography by Sue Nelson and words by Tom Boylan
Visiting Rotarians:
Pres. Maureen introduced Sherry Raine with Petaluma Rotary. Sherie provided some info on the Miracle League North Bay to help them achieve their dream of building an incredible playground and baseball field where children and adults with disabilities can experience the joy of baseball. Children, families and friends from all over the area will now be able to gather together and play, have fun and be a part of this very special community. The Rotary Club of Petaluma has raised funds to help build the playground, baseball field and a very special BBQ pavilion/eating area so everyone can gather, mingle and enjoy some BBQ during the game.
Maureen also introduced Jo Thornton with Petaluma Valley Rotary
JB Leep introduced our speaker and fellow Rotarian Todd Thompson with the Northfield Rotary, Minnesota
Guests:
JB Leep introduced Allen McClintock and his son Spencer McClintock, a water specialist
Brian Ling introduced Lamar Collins principle of Windsor High School
Daniel Myers Introduced our student of the month Saraji Hernandez and her parents Augustine and Erika along with her instructor, Eric Coursey
Powerhouse of the Month Jose Diego got a shout out from President Maureen
Announcements:
Bev Graham says December 7th at John & Sue Nelson’s is the Holiday party. Be sure to invest $20-$25 toward your gift exchange. Bev challenges us to make the gift nice.
David Ruprecht suggested we go to the Left Edge theater en masse, we are plotting to attend Escanaba in the Moonlight, a hunting story to beat all hunting stories, Escanaba In Da Moonlight spins a hilarious tale of humor, horror, and heart. Details to follow.
Bill Bolster is looking for a few ringers to keep the holiday spirit alive with the Dick Bishop Holiday Bell Ringing.
Our “Student of the Month” was introduced by Daniel Myers who introduced Saraji’s instructor Eric Coursey, who introduced his amazing student Saraji Hernandez.
We learned Saraji is a lover of ideas and has a great curiosity along with being an excellent student with a volunteerism attitude. She works with a variety of programs to help others, including filling backpacks for underserved children at Redwood Gospel Mission.
Saraji was grateful to be recognized for her work and very appreciative of the honor. She gave credit to her parents for her success in exploring her passion for mental health issues. Saraji shared her passion donating more than 30 hours offering enlightenment to other schools in the area. A goal she shared is to develop a mental health fair for Sonoma County. After Windsor High she looks to earn a Master’s degree from Stanford or USC (yes that was Ken Moulton who started to whimper.) Daniel passed along some items to thank her for her efforts, including a check to help cover her future expenses.
President Maureen flashed an interesting picture on the screen showing Bill Bolster and his wife Joan looking like the American Gothic Farmer and Wife painting, with a bit of a barn burner going off in the background. Although we were intially amazed that Bill and Joan would take the time to stand for a photo in front of their recently burning barn, Bill shared that it was his daughter who photoshopped the couple into the picture that made all the national news channels during our Kincade Fire.
The club is invited to attend a “Sizzling Club Social at Bill’s home at 6500 Faught Road, just south of Pleasant Avenue. Bill is offering “road kill” so plan on bringing whatever you think should be consumed by friends.
Glenn Sugden offered a report on the Wrrrrrrrrrr program he and Carol Martin have been working on. The robotics program is looking for groups of students who need technical guidance and materials so they can compete at building their own robots. Rotary has an opportunity to become liaisons between the groups. We are assured we don’t have to be the technical experts, because Glenn and a few others who are in the know will be providing additional support. May 9th of 2020 will be the big event, A Robotics Jamboree.” This event includes all the students that have signed on for this event from around the county.
Club Foundation Chair John LeCave reinforced Past District Governor Bob Rogers campaign to End Polio, by supporting an Indoor Rotary Ride. John reminds us that although we don’t see it in our communities, polio is rising in the World-wide numbers of polio cases. It can spread and we need to spread the word to End Polio.
Program:
JB Leep introduced our guest speaker, Todd Thompson who gave us a presentation on Water and Sanitation in the Guatemalan Highlands. Todd has a PhD in chemistry and a Masters in music and has spent a considerable amount of time working in Guatemala as a music instructor and a guide to non natives exploring the area, along with being an ambassador of clean water and improved sanitation.
According to Todd, Guatemalan people love the earth. The highlands he refers to in his title slide sits at 5000-8000 ft high and is home to a population of 400,000 people that are closely connected with lake Atitlan for clean water. Unfortunately they also dispose their sewage in or near the lake. To emphasize the importance of water, he brought his music background to the club promoting a “deep and wide” song promoting water.
Water lacks some basic qualities in Guatemala. It is difficult to chlorinate and often has a difficult taste. The poor quality of water lends to a stunting of the children, which gives Guatemala the ranking for worst country in the world to be a child.
It is easy to see that Todd loves Guatemalan people, because they love truth, which he shared is the connection between the people and Rotary. He shared there is a need to keep Guatemala supported economically to try and stem the flow of immigrants to the States. Many of those attempting to flee find a corrupt layer of smugglers who take advantage of their vulnerabilities. In addition there is a high cost associated with the exodus. He reports that the problems that lead to immigration can often be associated with the many years of civil war that the country has had to deal with. In his opinion the tide is turning and there seems to be hope that the exodus will be reduced.
We were treated to a Guatemalan song that had us all on our feet, save the scribe.
Guatemala is the last of the indigenous countries. The people of this Central American country often turn to the village Shaman for their healing. This led us to another song called ‘Thank You God.’ Of course the language was a bit of a barrier, but we were asked to sing louder, which was met with louder laughter.
Todd shared that his program is built around relationships, which have been growing over the years. This understanding has led to an ability to build projects outside of the bickering that goes on in the village councils. Rotary has been instrumental in building emotional bridges that are leading to clean water programs and infrastructure. Improving clean water and providing proper sanitation requires projects to be sustainable, meaning that clean water requires proper sanitation.
This program is a solid reason we all should try to attend every meeting because Todd Thompson is an informative, creative, and entertaining Rotarian who combined his knowledge of the problems of water with entertaining musical interludes. He invited any who would be interested in being a part of the solution to consider joining him in Guatemala next year.