UPCOMING SOCIALS & PROJECTS & EVENTS  

More socials, projects, & events coming soon!

Rotaract Fund Raiser
If anyone would like to donate money to GRA (Global Rotaract Alumni Club) they can donate the money on the GOSC site and include a note that it is for GRA. This would help us tremendously to continue growing as a club and be able to conduct larger scale projects. Here is the donation link: Donate Now – Global Offsite Care

Opening The Meeting

“Welcome to the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa where we are United for Good, both locally and in our world.” Says President Julia.

Robby Fouts led us in the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four/Five- Way Test.  His Reflection was a poem written by his then 13-year-old daughter.

It is early in the morning
I am awakened by something;
The sprinklers.
I walk towards my
Open window.
The sky is navy blue;
Dark as the Mariana Trench.
The eastern sky is
A field of dandelions in
The bottom of the sun – lit
Swimming pool.
Somewhere up in the mist of
All the beauty,
A loving father sits;
His finger a paint brush,
Painting the morning sky.
He looks down on me
And smiles the first
Rays of light.

Visiting Rotarians:

None

Guests:

Connor Murphy, Jackson Collins, and Michael Torjum.  The latter two are looking for a Rotary Club to join!

Sunshine Report:

Nada!  All is good today!

Raffle:

Kris Anderson ran the raffle today and Connor Murphy/Steve Olson brought a bottle of Rose and a bottle of award-winning olive oil from Shone Farm.  We had 9 marbles today and $70 in the pot. Bill Hatcher had the winning ticket but did not pull the blue marble.  Steve Olson had the winning ticket for the olive oil and Ann Gospe had the winning ticket for the rose.

Sergeant at Arms:

After President Julia gave Robert Pierce his badge last week, he promptly fined her for not reading her ticket correctly during the raffle. She attempted to claim the Rose before a protest from Ann Gospe, but she was off by 100 (you must admit the printing on these tickets is awfully small).

Micheal Moore with the Joke of the Day:

A man falls into a coma for a long time. His devoted wife stays by his side every day—through the coma, through therapy, through financial hardship. After he finally recovers, he looks at her and says:

“You know what? I’ve realized something.
When I lost my job, you were there.
When my business failed, you were there.
When I got shot, you were by my side.
When we lost the house, you stayed with me.
And when I fell into that coma, you never left.”

He pauses, looks deep into her eyes, and says:

“You know what, honey? I think you bring me bad luck.”

Giro Bello Update:

Rich Rossi said that this year there were several areas of focus that the riders could donate to when they signed up for their rides. $703 was raised! All the people who contributed went into a hat to win a pair of tickets for next year’s Giro Bello. Joseph Harbin of Marina, CA is the winner!

District Grants:

When we donate to Rotary International, they invest the money for three years and then returns the principal back to the Districts.  This year District 5130 is awarding all clubs $2300.  What that means is if we invest $2300 into a project, they match it for $4600 for 2025-2026. The incoming president (Julia Parranto) has very little time to decide on a project because the report/request must be in by August 1, 2025. The board discussed it and came up with two potential projects. 1. Take the one or two rooms that Caritas Village uses for intake of families (that are very bleak) and make them more welcoming to homeless families. 2. A water project in Mexico that David Mark-Raymond would like to do in a very rural area with no water sanitation facilities.  The membership told her we would like to do the project for Caritas Village since it is local and hands-on.

Recognitions:

Let’s get this party started!

1. Rick Allen loved the article about the Giro Bello that was published in Sunday’s Press Democrat. He donated $100.
2. Laura Stephens donated a $100 because she is so thrilled how her son Marcus has just blossomed since Rotary Youth Exchange (he went to Germany a few years back). Now he is all over the world with Rotex and school. He was in Argentina then Spain and will be in Czech Republic soon.
3. Nicole Le just got back from her family’s thirteenth national park. They plan on going to different National Parks every year.  Her kids are now 15 and 12. She donated $100 to her kid’s Paul Harris.
4. Ann and Jeff Gospe spent 2.5 weeks traveling around the Canadian Rockies after the convention (check out their photos on Facebook). She and Jeff will donate $75 each to the club.

Announcements:

1. Sam McMillan says that the Sonoma County Fair is starting Friday August 1. On Sunday August 2 and Tuesday August 4 he will be at the fairgrounds with Steve Olson and Laura Stephens to find us those perfect pigs and lambs for our meat auction this fall.  Feel free to come out and watch the action (it really is a lot of fun).
2. The Youth Ag and Leadership Annual BBQ Fundraiser will be on Saturday, August 23 at Richard’s Grove and Saralee’s Vineyard in the Pavillion. 3575 Slusser Rd, Windsor, CA. The flyer is available on our club Facebook page.
3. Join the SRJC Shone Farm Wine Club! There are two shipments a year and you can do 4 bottles for an average price of $88.00, 6 bottles for an average price of $135, ot 12 bottles for and average price of $232 (your bulletin editor has been a member for a few years and never disappointed). The wines can be shipped, or you can go out to the Farm to pick up.

New Member Approval

Tavo Guillen has been approved for membership by the board of directors.

Steve Olson on the History of Shone Farm:

This land was one owned by actor Fred MacMurry and known as Twin Valley Ranch. It sounds like the goverment discovered this property in the 1950’s and wanted to build a “Listening Station.” The MacMurry family did not want to sell, but the government got the property through a process called “Condemnation” and built their listening station. The technology was obsolete sometime between 1965 and 1970, so the listening station was dismantled, and the 488 acres was split up for industrial, youth, civil and agriculture. Santa Rosa Junior College started their Agriculture program in 1969 and was very interested in obtaining some of the acreage for the school. Initially they got 290 acres and later another 75 for a total of 365 acres. Gravenstein apples on the property was the seed money to get them started.

Connor Murphy on Shone Farm today:

Connor is only the fourth manager to run Shone Farm: Learning Laboratory of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Department. Here you can study animal and equine sciene, hemp agriculture, horticulture, natural resoursces, sustainable agriculture, viticulture, wine studies, floristry and veterinary tech.

They are building new officer, classrooms and a laboratory complex. The Porter Animal Science Center is under renovation. The Hansen Sustainable Agriculture Center is new as is the Rich Kunde Greenhouse. They have an internship program where they must limit the interns to only two years, it is so popular. The have an Ag Ambassadors Student Group that represents the school at various function. They participate in FFA at various conferences and conventions within the state.  They have a few festivals each year. The next is a Fall Festival on October 11, 2025, including a hayride and a pumpkin patch.

 

CREDITS