The gathering began shortly after 7 AM and there were stories shared of surviving fires and pet acquisitions. President Bill Bolster rang the bell at 7:30. There were 37 in attendance
We have been opening our meeting sharing slides of past “live” meetings. Then we went to a beautiful sunset picture, which unfortunately was due to a fire in the distance. ZOOM master Michael Juric was at the controls.
John Hackenburg led us in a pledge of allegiance
Your Scribe for the day is once again Tom Boylan, and the images are courtesy of Sue Nelson.
Our guest and speaker today is Sonoma County’s 4th District Supervisor, James Gore. Due to his schedule we gave him a chance to speak first, so plan on reading the rest of the story after the first of the story.
Program:
JB Leep introduced our speaker, Supervisor James Gore, and spent quite a bit of time sharing the Healdsburg native’s history from growing up in the North Bay to his education, and his serving in the Peace Corp where he met his future wife and more than likely opened the door for him to work within the Obama administration, before eventually finding his way home again. Get the full story here: http://supervisorjamesgore.com/about.php or here https://www.facebook.com/GoreCountry/
James was kind enough to share a report on the fire’s activities in Sonoma County, offering that it all got out of control so soon due to the lightning strikes and the high winds. We were told to go to either his webpage, or his Facebook to get a better understanding of the fire and what was being done to put it out.
or here https://www.facebook.com/GoreCountry/
Although he suggested there is always a need for additional funds to deal with fires, he offered that money alone won’t dissipate the potential for fire, especially in areas where homes are scattered throughout the hills outside of Healdsburg. In these areas James suggested that even with all the vegetation removed from around the homes, the embers are going to set off fires. He did offer that there are programs in place in the county to help offset costs for changing siding and roofs to a more fire tolerant material.
While we are all struggling at times with technology, the same can be said for Mr. Gore’s home web service, which caused him to leave the meeting several times, but fortunately we have a fire expert in our club. Doug Williams, retired Fire Chief for the Town of Windsor, explained why the fire is lumped in with our neighboring counties fires.
The LNU Fire started in Napa and because they had an incidence control in place, and due to the number of fires caused by the freakish lightening storm, they retained control over the incident. The Walbridge Fire didn’t have the capacity to field another incident control team, so we work together and the numbers that reflect the degree of containment are somewhat skewed since they reflect the entire region.
Doug also suggested that the County could use more fixed wing aircraft and or helicopters to aid in the firefighting efforts, however, the cost for these machines is restrictive, so we have to rely on CAL Fire and other sources.
Doug suggested we visit this site for more info: http://www.alertwildfire.org/northbay
Although fire was the main topic for the day we did try to go to the COVID topic. Supervisor Gore’s perspective is that COVID is much more than the disease itself. The social repercussions and economic situations from mask wearing to supporting the business community pose significant challenges and he asked us to give him feedback on our concerns and suggestions so he can take these into consideration for defining the COVID situation more clearly and then expanding the fight against this pandemic.
Our own Diane Brabetz is now sharing her weekly observations on the COVID problem:
Total Cases – 5212
Deaths -73. 18 last week (58 from senior facilities)
County positivity rate 10.9% (State 5.6%)
37% are still in 26-44 year olds
New Cases – Sat 125, Sun 53, Mon 92
Hospitalizations 51
Diane adds, we continue with spread from our senior facilities and community spread. Much of this is extended family, large social gatherings and travel. Whenever we have people who are in contact with those that they do not live with, there is a risk of transmission. Please encourage your friends to not let their guard down, wear a mask and think twice about travel. Help keep our community safe.
With all that we are seeing and hearing regarding the difficult times for others in Northern California, take time to consider sending a donation to the Rotary District 5130 Disaster Relief Fund. They will work hard to make sure every dollar donated will make a difference in someone’s life! Donations can be made by going to the website, or by mailing a check to: Ashliegh Diehl, District 5130 Treasurer, 1315 Fourth Street, Eureka, Ca 95501
Inspiration:
After all the gloom, it was refreshing to get a little inspiration from Susan Cole who shared some inspiring words from John F. Kennedy:
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
Rotarian guest:
From Merida, Mexico PDG Igor Peniche
No guests of Rotarians:
Announcements:
We heard that Rich Mucci is departing Sonoma County for Arizona and we had a chance to say goodbye. Rich had been a resident of Sonoma County for more than 45 years and although he is saddened to leave so many connections, he is excited to step into a new phase of his life. Rich gave a great talk on the need for a special diet to control insulin problems and it is attached here: Diet Recommendations Rich Mucci 2001. Safe travels Rich!
August Rotarian of the month… The Board of Directors for Windsor Rotary:
- Bill Bolster –President
- Maureen Merrill –Past President
- Pam Moulton –President Elect
- Leah Hansen –Secretary
- Ed Turner -Treasurer
- Glenn Sugden –Community; President-elect designate
- Carol Martin –Community
- Sandie Krutz –Youth
- Doug Williams –Vocational
- Ken Moulton (John Hackenburg) –International
- Renee Hyde –Membership
- Alison Huber –Director at large
(Did no one notice that I have been listing these folks as the July Rotarians of the month for the past few bulletins?)
Food security is catching on and Heather Cullen shared that we have a new partner in the Windsor Kiwanis Club. They are going to supply people and resources to keep the food flowing to those in need. The drop off locations remains the same. Remember you can send a donation through the Windsorrotary.org website.
Club Clipboard:
We have a need for others in the club to get involved. Please contact Chris Landwher (info@windsorrotary.co) if you can find the time to spell someone who has been volunteering and is in need for support.
If you sing like a bird, why not get the rest of the flock chirping. We need a volunteer to lead us in a few songs. Here’s a perfect pitch for the pitch perfect, send an email to info@windsorrotary.co and let’s get something to sing about.
If you would like to have a say in how we write about our club meetings, become a scribe. The pay is negotiable and the perks are that no one gets to edit your words. Seriously looking for a volunteer, or two, or three. Let Tom know (info@windsorrotary.co) if you have a want to become a columnist for Rotary.
The Rotary Club of Windsor needs a Social Media manager. We are looking for someone that can post to a new platform and have our notes appear in several social media. The platform allows you to create posts once a month and set a schedule to appear in Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This is a guaranteed fun job and the pay will none. Contact Chris Landwher (info@windsorrotary.co) if you are interested, or just post it online.
Glenn Sugden gave us an update on the Robotics program and the open door policy to allowing others to help mentor young people in their pursuit of tomorrows technology. Contact Glenn, Carol Martin, JB Leep, or Wally Krutz to get onboard. Or shoot an email to Shoot an email to info@windsorrotary.co.
Finemaster Leslie Lewis decided to take aim at JB Leep and Carol Martin for their performance in the video posted last week. JB offered to spend a little to avoid further review.
Renee Hyde shared what it was like to go on vacation to San Diego. Renee offered to pay a little more toward the John Lewis Fund based on the number of travel hours the trip took.
John Hackenburg and wife Jean took a trip to the Pacific Northwest and can’t wait to get out on the road for the next trip. John says he is taking donations to get his truck repaired after a non-injury accident on the trip. Leslie let him know it doesn’t work that way.
John LeCave celebrated his and Donna’s 34th wedding anniversary… and their daughter Amanda’s wedding, which John had the opportunity to officiate. The cost savings associated with a backyard wedding meant he had some spare change to donate to the Windsor Rotary Community Foundation, and the food drive.
Pres Bill shared a caring birthday message sent to him from JB and Carol. Bottom Line … You are old and could have played pool with Jesus.
