It was a morning of new Zoom sign in options, so the traffic was a little slower than normal, but by the time the bell rang out we had many more in attendance. The bell sounded a lot like the same one we used to see in person, and President Bill Bolster looked a lot like he used to when we saw him in person too. The bell rang at 7:31.
Pres Bill let us know that the Zoom etiquette poses problems for communal communication, so although he knows our voices are just this side of angelic, he asked us to mute during these moments.
We had Wally Krutz lead us in a recital of the four-way test. A solid performance.
Mike Merrill gave us some inspiration from a rather old Chinese proverb. “As scary as the current situation, remember that this too shall pass. There are opportunities galore to work with other both in and out of Rotary to help us find solutions.”
Dave Ruprecht was at the ballgame, while John How became the song leader and reminded us to root root root for the giants at the old ballgame.
Pres Bolster shared that he will be at the ballgame tonight in his poster boy pose. Probably should have been a posey boy pose.
Scribe for the day was Tom Boylan. Photos provided by the talented Sue Nelson.
Job Listings:
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 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 if you are interested, or just post it online.
Announcements:
President Bill let us know that Bev Graham is recovering from COVID. She attended the meeting and looked to be on the road to recovery. How inspirational to know it can be beat and appropriately enough Bev is the one to do it.
Michael Juric gave us some pointers on our new Zoom use. We learned that he is going to automatically mute all participants at the onset of the meeting. He suggested we pay a little attention to the lighting we are using to keep us looking young and fresh. For those who use the virtual background, be cautious, not every computer is capable of a solid image.
We found out the Chat box gives much more control to the facilitator by signaling a raised hand. That would allow people to ask a question of a speaker. Remember that if you choose to chat with someone, or everyone, go through the list of participants under the chat and reach out.
Barbara McChesney let us know there is a light available for those who wish to do a little light shopping to improve their visibility online.
Visiting Rotarians included PDG Igor Peniche from Merida, Mexico.
Guests of Rotarian’s included three of our Rotary scholarship recipients, including Aubrey Duke, Julia Sawyer, and Antonio Vargas.
JB Leep continues to be the Rotarian of the month…
Announcements:
Leslie Lewis was not present and she will no doubt be fined… recognized for her absence as the Fine Master next week.
Catherine Hanron threw a birthday recognition donation to the Windsor Rotary Community Foundation, which she is mailing to PO Box 819, Windsor, CA 95492. Her choices are many.
Carol Martin let us know our Windsor Food Security Drive was recognized by the Windsor Service Alliance, and the Windsor First Presbyterian Church for our donations of money and food. A reminder, send people to our website to make a monetary donation.
Heather Cullen was called out for organizing a mulch spreading program at the Windsor Middle School. Heather, John LeCave and Catherine Hanron were displayed as workers for the project.
There are a variety of events coming up including a special Windsor Rotary meeting next week. The SCARC meeting is all about fundraising and starts Thursday evening at 5:30 PM. Look at the District website, rotary5130.org, for the info on how to attend.
Program:
Tom Hassur and Maureen Merrill were recognized for their efforts to find the candidates for our scholarships by overcoming obstacles. Maureen let us know this is an ongoing connection with the selected students. We want to be sure they know we are wanting to be a part of their future.
We heard from the individual students to discuss their challenges.
Aubrey Duke was the lead off speaker and shared her appreciation to Rotary for her being selected. Her creed in life is to work with people in programs where she can share her caring for others. She was a member of the Pre-Med core at the High School. Tragedy gave her direction after her mother committed suicide. She is looking at a future in psychology to be able to help others who need help in coping. She will be attending University of Idaho to get her undergraduate degree in psychology.
Julia Sawyer introduced herself and shared she is off to Loyola Marymount University. Although she has to do the first semester online, she will have an opportunity to live with an aunt in Los Angeles. Julia shared that she had an opportunity to intern with the Windsor Times, because of her love of writing. Her time with the paper gave her an introduction to journalism. She had an opportunity to write several articles and felt a real connection for her passion. She is planning to study business management to allow her a broad understanding of options for the future.
Antonio Vargas Let us know he is off to a degree in kinesiology from San Jose State University. Maureen let Antonio that his English teacher at Windsor High felt he was extremely qualified at expressing his personality through his writing skills. Antonio let us know he had to overcome depression in his early high school years and felt an introduction to kinesiology in his sophomore year gave him a way out of depression. Lamar Collins shared his appreciation of Antonio’s ability to overcome depression and challenged him to keep the dialogue open in the future, because his experience and ability to speak to it is an inspiration for others.
President Bill made everyone feel good about participating in our meeting by highlighting the inspiration of the young people and the things they had to overcome.