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:

Now we know why President Julia plays the Black-Eyed Peas, “I got a feeling” to open our meetings.  It was District Governor Kristine Redko’s idea! After our musical interlude Matthew Henry led us in the reciting of The Pledge of Allegiance and the Four/Five Way Test.

His Reflection was as follows:

So, today is National Hero Day – a day to honor the heroes among us.

And sure, we could talk about Superman or Wonder woman…but honestly, around here we’ve got our own heroes.

• Like the person who breaks for the turkeys as they wander down College Avenue.
• Or the one person who has the patience to drive through the 101 – 12 interchange every morning without muttering a single swear word.
• The grocery shopper who lets you go first because you have “just one item.”
• The person who volunteers to take the minutes at any meeting ever.
• And let’s not forget the kitchen wait staff who work so hard to get us lunch every Wednesday at noon (except the fifth Wednesday of the month and then they get to party, I assume)

But seriously – National Hero Day isn’t really about capes, gadgets, or movie stunts. It’s about the people who quietly show up, lend a hand, and make life better for someone else.
And that’s what Rotarians do every single week.
We’re not flying through the sky, but we are helping kids learn to read.
We’re not stopping runaway trains, but we are planting trees and feeding families.
So, today, as we honor heroes, take a moment to realize- you don’t need superpowers to be one.
You just need to care enough to act.
And if you also managed to get your coffee from Dutch Bros without blocking traffic, resist stopping for wine tasting on the way here, and still made it to Rotary before the bell rings – congratulations.
You’re basically the Iron Man.

Visiting Rotarians:

District Governor Kristine Redko from Rancho Cotati, Assistant Governor Marilyn Lira from East/West, Cathy King, from Healdsburg and Paula from Zambia

Guests:

Michael Tomjum, Marcos Marquez, Nate Zaft, and Courtney McMillan.  Michael and Marcos have been approved for membership by the Board of Directors and will be installed soon. Courtney is looking into joining a Rotary Club.  Nate just changed jobs and will be working in Santa Rosa and San Rafael…no more daily commute to Berkeley!

Sunshine Report:

Doug Chase is back! Doug and his wife just spent over two months living in San Francisco as he was being treated for prostate cancer.  All is good!  He looks good! He donated $50 to the Chase Sorensen Fund.

50/50 Drawing:

Patty Kolin said we had about $70 in the pot today…no clue on the number of marbles (I suspect Debi Zaft changes it up to keep things interesting). The ticket pulled was Jeff Kolin’s!  Was it rigged? I don’t think so.  Anyway, he did not pull out the blue marble.  More money for someone else next week!

Rotarian of the Month:

President Julia said this person helps with everything and is always at our meetings.  Who could that be? None other than Ginny Cannon!

Joke of the Week:

This week it was Fred Levin filling in for Michael Moore:

This person rented a tuxedo to attend a Rotary Convention. The tuxedo came with an untied bow tie, and he did not know how to tie it. Just taking a chance, he knocked on the next door in the hotel and luckily there was a guy who opened the door.

The Rotarian said, “Excuse me, can you help me tie my bow tie?”

“Sure.” said the guy. “Just lie down on the bed.” The Rotarian was not sure what he got into, but he wanted the tie on, so he laid down on the bed as he was told, and the guy tied a perfect bow tie knot. The Rotarian got up from the bed and said, “Thank you, but why did I have to lie on the bed?” The guy said, “I am an undertaker. That’s really the only way I know how to do it.”

Kristine Redko, District Governor:

Marilyn Lira introduced DG Kristine to us. She joined Rotary in 2007 as a founding member of Rancho Cotati. She has held many offices and been president twice. Her twins, Roman and Katya were born when she was president the first time. She still works full time.

Her theme this year is “Creating Harmony Through Rotary.”

Question: What is your personal walk-up song? How does it make you feel?  Does Rotary ignite the same passion in you? If not, how can we help you change that? So, think about that song. She would like all of us to have our own song by the end of this fiscal year and

if something is not working for you, stand up and say something.

Our club currently has 63 members.  She considers us a power club as we have projects that span all seven areas of service.  Goals for this year:

1. She would like to see 2/3 of our club work in at least one key activity.
2. Increase our individual financial participation. What is realistic for each member?
3. Increase membership by 10% – 6 members
4. Develop a strategic plan (DG Elect Jeff Kolin is good at strategic plans)

She has developed the “District Governor Symphonic Citation” for this year:

1. Membership Melody – see the August District newsletter for the 3×3 challenge.
2. Have passionate projects that reflect the seven areas of service
3. Be a vibrant club
4. Donate to the Rotary Foundation as you are able
5. Practice peace

The District has the following goals:

1. Build better friendships through shared service
2. Provide mental health resources to our communities
3. Understand and prevent human trafficking
4. Protect and preserve our environment
5. Work together in harmony to make the world a better place
6. Focus on youth

This is a multi-year, multi-faceted effort!

Practice “A Simple Gesture”

This could be door hangers that say we will be by on such and such date to pick up food for the food bank.  They leave the food on their doorstep on the specified date, and then we go pick it up. With your phone it builds a “least mile” routing for the drivers to pick up the food and ensures the last stop is the food bank. We could do this every other month, and it would only take 2-4 hours total time per person

Mental health is a biggie in the district. We cover seven counties and the District would like us to address: struggling teens, anxiety, addressing feelings of isolation in seniors, cyberbullying, depression, veteran mental health, the impact of family caregiving, bi-polar disorder, supporting a family member, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Recently films have been used as a fund raiser: The Climate Restorers, SHIFT: do what moves you and Soldiers of Song are three films used as fundraisers.

DG Kristine pointed out that the music we play, the sunshine report, our greeters are just three things she saw today that makes our club special.

Lastly, she talked about the District Conference for next spring in Reno. The cost to attend is $275 now through December 1^st (that does not include the hotel).  You can sign up on the District website.

Also, she brought up the 80^th anniversary of the United Nations that started in San Franciso with Rotarian effort. It will be on December 11th, and you can sign up at www.RotaryUN80.org.

A Few of DG Kristine’s Slides

CREDITS