Jim Wood
Rotary Club of Windsor – Meeting Agenda
President Brian called the meeting to order at 7:30 AM.
Pledge of Allegiance was led by Wally Krutz.
Londa Faber offered our inspiration for the day.
Sandie Krutz stepped in quickly for an absent Bill Arnone, leading us in “God Bless America” (our go-to song, which we execute nicely).
Guests of Rotarians were our Youth Exchange students: Domingo, from Chile, our long-term son, staying with Renee Hyde; Gabi, from Brazil, staying with Brian and Jamie Williams; and Stefon, from Germany, staying with Heather Cullen.
Gabi announced that the Youth Exchange students were fundraising for the Western Safari trip, which takes place in the spring. She and Stefon had cookies for sale with any amount Rotarians want to contribute to their fundraising. They are also producing a film, taking Windsor from 1850 to now at which they will be offering popcorn and candies for sale, also to raise funds for their spring trip.
Gabi and Stefon are also going to offer themed dinners from their home countries (Brazil and Germany) which will be auctioned off to Rotarians.
Stefon had another announcement: he is in a national competition for a high school start-up project, which will be live-streamed Friday, November 18 at 2:45 PM our time. His project is an application he has developed for elementary students to assist them in math. Stefon is the only student representing the entire western United States. Rotarians are encouraged to sign on to the live-streamed event to hear and see Stefon’s project and to vote for him at 3:00 PM. Wally Krutz will send the link to the live stream.
Sue Nelson announced that Friday, Nov. 18, there will be a work project on the drought-resistant garden development at the Windsor fire station at Hembree and Old Redwood. Work will take place between 10AM and 2 PM. This is the hands-on portion of the project that our Club supported financially last Rotary year as a major project.
Sue also announced that a sign-up sheet was circulating to participate in “Shark Tank” pitches from Windsor High School students. They are presenting interesting and creative ideas with great enthusiasm. This is a great effort and so much fun! Sign up to be a Shark Tank judge
Larry McCabe announced the Winter Holiday Show at Windsor High School at which we will distribute toys and food. Also, Saturday, December 17 we will again participate with other local non-profits in the Windsor Food and Toy Drive. Volunteers are needed to wrap presents, sort food, and give the food and gifts away. Sign up clip board circulating for volunteers. This is a continuing project in which we have been lead non-profit involved.
Sandie Krutz thanked Mitch, Dev, and Jeff for volunteering at the open house for the Windsor Art Project in Raley’s. This was our District Grant project and these folks contributed their time to work, sort and hang art from the community to be displayed in this special area in Raley’s.
President Brian announced that Friday, Dec. 16 is our Rotary Holiday party. We will be dark on Tuesday, November 29.
Barbara McChesney let us know about the film “Microplastic Madness” being shown at Summerfield Cinema in Santa Rosa on November 30 at 7 PM. There will be an environmental fair in advance of the movie, with Alyssa and JB Leep greeting folks and introducing the film. It is an uplifting and inspiring movie about children in New York taking on the major challenges of plastics and recycling.
Wally Krutz announced that the Family Justice Center, which assists families affected by domestic violence and child abuse, is holding a rare open house. See Wally if you would like to know more about the Family Justice Center in Santa Rosa. It is an important and valuable resource in our community, for both children and families affected by violence.
President Brian announced that Feb. 4 is going to be a Monte Carlo night fundraiser for our club. More info to come.
This year’s Rotary District Conference will be held the first weekend in May in Lake County. There will be a lip sync contest! Past President Maureen let us know that our club won the Academy Award for the District Conference lip sync contest held in 2004-2005 in Santa Rosa. Michael Juric (our own dancer extraordinaire) will have more info on this contest and how we might choose to participate. Can our Club bring home a second Oscar???
Our guest speaker today was Assembly Member Jim Wood. Jim was a 27-year Rotarian in Cloverdale. He now lives in Healdsburg and represents our District 2 in the State Assembly. District 2 is large – ranging from Petaluma up the coast to the Oregon border. Jim gave an interesting presentation on his activities in Sacramento, which generated many questions from our audience.
At the meeting’s end, President Brian offered complimentary memorial remarks about Bill Fisher, Charter President of Santa Rosa West Rotary Club. Jim was the reason that Brian is in Rotary today – an inspiring and wonderful Rotarian who truly lived the spirit of Service Above Self. Brian was leaving to attend the funeral service for Bill, a real loss to the Rotary world.
Brian offered thanks to everyone who participates in making our Rotary meetings run smoothly:
Setup/Bill & Brian
- Greeter/Mike Ragsdale
- Song/Sandie Krutz
- Scribe/Susan Cole
- Inspiration/Londa Faber
Latest Update on COVID, Flu and RSV from your Rotary Nurse….
COVID, Flu and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) UPDATE…..
11/15/22
NEWS:
STATE OF CALIFORNIA REPORTS FIRST PEDIATRIC DEATH FROM RSV AND FLU! The California Department of Health has reported the child’s death who was under age 5 but no other details were released to protect the family’s privacy. In a statement, the California Department of Health Director, Dr. Tomas Aragon said “This tragic event serves as a stark reminder that respiratory viruses can be deadly, especially in very young children and infants.
We are entering a busy winter virus season – and urge parents and guardians to vaccinate their children as soon as possible against Flu and VOVID-19. It’s also important to follow basic prevention tips like frequent hand washing, wearing a mask, and staying home when sick to slow the spread of germs.”
Health officials in California are warning families to really take precautions against the Flu and RSV – avoid having young children in crowds especially during this Holiday seasoning. Avoid people and family that are sick and ensure that all boosters are current. Diseases that cause a cold in an adult can be life threatening to a young child or infant!
Moderna study recently demonstrated that the new booster does up the body’s defenses again Omnicron and COVID subvariants! Pfizer has released similar findings to their new booster. But we are also finding that this virus replicates so quickly and as Federal officials have said “ we empathize the problem in chasing a virus that invents new defenses against immunization faster that the vaccine manufacturers can design and produce modified shots”.
COVID UPDATE:
Total Cases:
109,189 (last week 108,879) Recovered: 108,151 (last week 107,843) Active Cases: 515 (last week 513)
Deaths:
523 (last week 523) (****Please be aware that deaths do not get reported always promptly for a variety of reasons and this does not mean that all of these newly reported deaths could have occurred in the past week. ****)
Hospitalized:
14 confirmed cases and 1 in the ICU (lastweek 20 confirmed and 2 in the ICU)
Vaccination information….
As of November 13th, 2022, 1,228,865 doses of vaccination have been given to residents in Sonoma County. (last week 1,219,622). We only have 79% of our population 6 months and older who are fully vaccinated and 6% have had at least one (1) dose. It is hoped that more people will consider getting vaccinated with the newly reformulated vaccines now available for boosters.
MASKS:
Masks, although optional most places, still are required some places and should be considered if you are in crowds with people sneezing and coughing. Protect yourself and others during our winter months from the Tri-demic! Paper masks, cloth masks or even surgical masks have found not to be effective so use a good mask like the N95, KN95 or KF94. I have these if you need them and they are especially effective when traveling. The ever replicating, mutating and changing virus that causes COVID is still with us, very infectious, easily spread and still causing illness.
In the health care field we are being told that COVID infections are here to stay; just like the flu each year, we will need to get a booster to stay well and keep our chances of getting sick minimal! But the Flu and RSV are causing concerns.
TESTING:
Go to socoemergency.org to learn more about free COVID -19 testing in Sonoma County. Look for COVID-19 Testing and Tracing in Sonoma County. My Agency, At Home Nursing, is still available to provide you COVID testing if you need it (PCR) at no charge if you are having any issues finding an appointment. Just call my office at 707-546-8773 and make an appointment with us. We also provide FIT testing for a N95 mask at no charge so that it fits properly. We are able to sell you N95 masks. And we are always willing to answer any questions you may have.
If you want to schedule either a booster or the vaccine, appointments can be found by visiting: https://socoemergency.org/events/category/pop-up-vaccine or call 707-565-4667.
Enjoy life, stay well and take care of yourself. Carry a mask with you in case you need it …… Infections are still prevalent, happen quickly and will sideline you if you test positive. Practice good infection control and stay safe and protect our youngest citizens!
Fondly,
Di