Our president Bill Bolster signaled for the virtual opening bell to ring at 7:30 with 30 members present.
Susan Cole gave us a little Mahatma Gandhi to inspire: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Leah Hanson had to work a little overtime to get the crew to join her in a rendition of “9 to 5.” What a way to make a living.
Scribe duties were performed by Tom Boylan and the lovely photos of today and last Tuesday were provided by Sue Nelson. The fig gathering was a mini project offered by Pam Moulton to help a neighbor in need of some harvesting.
The magnificent ZOOM master is Michael Juric... next slide please.
Visiting Rotarians:
Our speaker for the day is PDG Igor who brought his lovely wife Norma to critique his program and grace the screen. Igor introduced many of his Rotary friends who also wanted to hear about the topic today. My apologies but the language barrier and the lack of a speedy typist means I can only relay that we had many of his friends and fellow Rotarians from Mexico, and Venezuela.
Guests of Rotarians:
President Bill let us know his sister and her husband were in the meeting today, Irene and Lamar Burgess from Burlington Vermont.
Diane Brabetz daughter Melissa McClintok, the club’s first outgoing former exchange student, and her sister malinda.
Announcements:
Our Zoomaster Michael Juric has earned the September Rotarian of the Month status for his efforts to raise funds for the club and for making Pres Bill’s meetings look seamless.
Heather Cullen gave us an update on the Food Drive. She and Barbara McChesney have found some wonderful support, including a $5000 donation from Sonoma County Resource Recovery.
Sandi Krutz let us know that past member Dennis Marks dropped by her place and donated $150 towards ending hunger in Windsor.
Susan Cole let us know that Polio is no more on the African continent. Nigeria was the third to the last country in the world to have the virus. They are no longer in that column. Let’s turn our attention to Afghanistan and Pakistan to finally end polio now. Susan thanked us all for contributing to the polio fund.
Beth Smith gave us a report on the future of our exchange program , including news of her daughter Kate’s impending trip to Germany. The program is alive and well even in these difficult times.
Help Wanted:
You can let any of the members know how you can help by going to [email protected] and mentioning your interest. Or reach out directly.
- Leah needs a few more song leaders to help us stay in harmony.
- Tom Boylan is looking for a few good writers to help take these notes for future meetings. So far Pam Moulton has volunteered along with Pegi Ball. The more the merrier.
- We still need a few robotic supporters for Glenn Sugden and company. Work with kids and have some fun with tech.
- Contact Sue Nelson to take part in the Vineyard Academy mentoring interviews.
Announcements:
You can make a donation to the District 5130 Disaster Relief Fund by going to the district website: Rotary5130.org
District Foundation Leaders Summit on POLIO happens September 3rd.
We lost a few good people, they are alive and well, but they have moved away. President Bill suggests we ought to be on the lookout for a few more good people. It’s not easy in the time of COVID, but just let them know they can be a part of the good things we are doing in the community through the pandemic and beyond.
Break Out:
Michael Juric asked us to let a small breakout group know what drew us to Rotary. He would also like to know what we think Windsor Rotary should be known for on the other side of the COVID.
Progam:
Diane Brabetz introduced her friend and her family member PDG Igor Peniche, He and his wife have five daughters. Igor has been a member of several clubs in Mexico having served as president with both clubs and eventually as a district Governor for his Rotary District. Diane shared how she met Igor at the Rotary Club of Playa del Carmen, where she had the opportunity to sit alongside Igor and provided an impromptu translation service for the meeting.
After a technical pause we were invited to watch a video that gave us a front row seat to see what the effects of a hurricane had on the Playa del Carmen region.
Diane was featured in the video talking about how Les woke up one morning and realized he was ill and through her Rotary connection with Igor and others an ambulance came to the rescue of Les. who was having a heart problem.
Igor shared the mutual appreciation for the community that Diane and Les brought to Mexico and his appreciation for all that Rotary has provided for his community and his country. He shared a screen where we saw his promoting Windsor Rotary Club for saving many live in Mexico. The meeting of the two country’s Rotary clubs and districts was remarkiable. Diane received a well deserved accolade for her efforts to help and her ability to bridge the two districts.
We heard about a Dream Project to help prevent underground water contamination. Working with our club they were able to fund sewer hookups for many of the families in that region. The project raised more than $25,000 to help more than 700 people .
Igor gave credit to his participation in our fundraising efforts through the Cioppino Feed to meeting so many of our Windsor Rotarians and the near immediate connection he made with so many of our members.
Projects we have helped with include the Drinking water project, a Day of the Child program, and a COVID-19 project that is currently underway. These projects saved lives and Windsor Rotary is extremely appreciated for its work to make these projects happen.
Igor shared his sentiment that Rotary is family and we should all emphasize to our family that Rotary can bind us together.
Diane Brabetz COVID report:
Here is the latest information on COVID from your Rotary nurse:
Total Cases: 5800 / New cases Fri 119, Sat 66, Sun 64, Mon 82
Deaths 80 (65 out of the 80 have been seniors in facilities)
2 new deaths on Sunday were also seniors in a facility
Hospitalized 44
37% of our cases remain in the 25-44 year olds
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital has an outbreak currently with 17 employees infected in one unit
The other cases continue in our senior facilities, family outings, gatherings and travel (all considered community spread)
Governor Newsom has instituted a new Plan – 4 Tiers that a county would be assigned to based on case rates /100,000 population and other factors. Once you are in a Tier, must wait for 3 weeks to move to another Tier based on the same criteria. Sonoma County is unfortunately in the most restrictive Tier because of our number of cases and not moving out of this Tier any time soon.
Help us help Sonoma County – educate your friends and neighbors that this is real, it is not going away any time soon and it is up to every one of us to do our part to stop it until we get a widely spread vaccine available. This is not political, not a hoax and there are “super spreader events” going on as we speak….. even political rallies which just should not be happening. Stay social distanced – wash your hands – wear your mask – stay home or in your “household bubble” as much as possible to help decrease this spread. Most of our spread is from asymptomatic people who do not know they have it. Stay healthy, stay well and help to stop the spread! Thanks, Di