Monthly Archives: February 2015
NEXT MEETING: February 27, 2015Corporate Succession Planning at Its Finest
Ron Clausen of Clausen Law Group in Point Richmond, will discuss corporate transition and the “Popeye Plan”. Ron’s practice focuses on corporate law, with an emphasis on merging growth companies, venture capital financing and mergers and acquisitions. Ron continues his entrepreneurial approach to the practice of law, providing creative solutions for his clients’ business opportunities. Prior to going into private practice in 1986, Ron was general counsel to Nanco Enterprises, and had oversight of its subsidiaries, including Carrows Restaurants, Elephant Bar and Restaurants and Santa Barbara Aviation, Inc.; Ron also became actively involved in the long range orientation of each entity. Ron was president of the Rayne Corporation, a West Coast franchisor of water treatment products, and in three years he doubled the company’s client base through acquisitions and strategic alignments. Ron served as the Pacific Coast Director of the Montana Wildlife Federation from 2008-2013, when he created and fostered MWF’s Montana Matters fundraising campaign (www.montanamatters.com); he currently serves as an At-Large Director of the National Wildlife Federation and as a member of its development committee. He received his B.A. and his J.D. from University of California at Davis. MEETING OF February, 20th 2015WelcomePresident Stoney presided over the meeting and Joe Bagley led the pledge. President Stoney says so many great things there is no way to document all of them. Sid’s thought for the day was If you can shine when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame. Visiting RotariansAlan Baer brought his two favorite guests, daughter Stephanie Baer and son James Baer. Mark Howe also brought his daughter, Serena Howe. Announcements
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMNerds Are Cool!
Jim Hammack, Chief Nerd for Nerd Crossing Computer Services, spoke about his company, his experience and his work in the community. Jim founded Nerd Crossing with a simple mission in mind – to provide the world with a trustworthy, customer service oriented technology service provider. Nerd Crossing was founded on the principles of “giving back,” and Jim and his team believe that technology should be something that improves lives. Yet as promising as the technological advances are today, the truth is that it can be quite overwhelming. Nerd Crossing takes a patient, customer service oriented approach to help us navigate through some of these challenges and learn to embrace technology as a tool. Jim dedicates his spare time to helping the community any way he can. He is a champion for local nonprofits and proudly serves on several Boards. He has over 20 years experience in the IT industry, including IBM and Charles Schwab, and he holds a BS in Electrical Engineering for Computers and an M.B.A., which is using for world nerd domination! Jim is especially proud that Nerd Crossing was named Small Business of the Year for 2014 by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce. Jim’s email is jim@nerdcrossing.com and his phone number is 1-888-NERD-XING. Henry Moe, Rotating Editor |
NEXT MEETING: February 20, 2015Nerds Are Cool!
Jim Hammack, Chief Nerd for Nerd Crossing Computer Services, will speak about his company, his experience and his work in the community. Jim founded Nerd Crossing with a simple mission in mind – to provide the world with a trustworthy, customer service oriented technology service provider. Nerd Crossing was founded on the principles of “giving back,” and Jim and his team believe that technology should be something that improves lives. Yet, as promising as the technological advances are today, the truth is that it can be quite overwhelming. Nerd Crossing takes a patient, customer service oriented approach to help us navigate through some of these challenges and learn to embrace technology as a tool. Jim dedicates his spare time to helping the community any way he can. He is a champion for local nonprofits and proudly serves on several Boards. He has over 20 years experience in the IT industry, including IBM and Charles Schwab, and he holds a BS in Electrical Engineering for Computers and an M.B.A., which is using for world nerd domination! Jim is especially proud that Nerd Crossing was named Small Business of the Year for 2014 by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce. MEETING OF February 13, 2015WelcomePresident Stoney called the meeting to order and asked Henry Moe to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Sid Chauvin’s thought for the day was: He who hesitates is probably right. Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Announcements
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMWatch us BLOOM!
Stacey Street introduced Alisha Fowler, co-Founder of BLOOM Educational Enrichment, a new organization in Richmond. Alisha is a former educator who felt there was a need for a different kind of after school programming to reach kids, without just drilling the basics and taking the fun out of learning. Alisha introduced her co-Founder, Kam Usuro, a former educator in Connecticut who worked for Sylvan Learning Center in the Bay Area. Alisha and Kam provided the seed funding for the organization and are now working on building programs and support, since they recently secured 501 (c) 3 nonprofit status. BLOOM aims to identify and develop remedial academic skills in children Grades K through 6 through out-of-school-time programs. It provides homework assistance, educational enrichment and academic tutoring as well as creative outdoor and indoor activities, such as gardening and yoga. Bloom uses a holistic approach to develop the whole child, including helping children develop practical skills. BLOOM’s first group of students were at Booker T. Anderson, through a partnership with the City of Richmond over the summer. They are now working on recruiting a cohort of students for an afterschool program during the spring term. Jim Young noted that Alisha Fowler has been actively building relationships in the community, and she coordinated with West County Reads and supported the Richmond Rotary Book Drive by personally putting out collection bins and helping collect books for the Club. Stacey Street, Rotating Editor |
NEXT MEETING: February 13, 2015Watch us BLOOM!
Alisha Fowler, Founder and Executive Director, will introduce BLOOM Educational Enrichment and discuss its program in Richmond. Founded in 2014, BLOOM seeks to help Richmond schools and local organizations address reading learning loss by implementing strong programs engaging more children in learning opportunities. The curriculum blends core academic learning and hands-on activities in a holistic, multi-sensory environment that incorporates gardening and healthy eating habits. Alisha, a California native, recently returned to the United States after 3 years working as an English Education Coordinator and Foreign Language Trainer in China. Her diverse experience in teaching, customer service and administrative support was instrumental in serving her most important clients, her students and parents. New to Richmond, Alisha looks forward to building working partnerships that will utilize her skills and allow for growth. MEETING OF February 6. 2015WelcomePrez Stoney called the meeting to order on a blustery day. Alan Blavins led us in the Pledge, Stoney offered a moment of silence for Peace, Freedom and Justice. Sid Chauvin offered “If we all did things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” Thomas Edison Visiting Rotarians and GuestsConnie Tritt had as her guest David Schoenthal. Announcements
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMThe Kumpi Mayu Foundation
Other challenges include storage of water, maintenance of pipes, and regulation of the sources of contamination. During the question and answer period there was a lot of discussion regarding putting together a project to raise more funds through matching funds from Rotary International. Did I see some folks volunteer for that committee? We do have a lot of experienced members in our Club who could assist with such an endeavor. - The Menehune, Rotating Scribe |
NEXT MEETING: February 6, 2015The Kumpi Mayu Foundation
Dean and Marty Rutherford visited Peru in 2006, where they saw a desperate need for clean and potable water for the communities they visited, and they started the Kumpi Mayu Foundation once they returned. Safe drinking water, good hygiene and basic sanitation are of crucial importance for life, health and prosperity, and water is vital to all forms of life. However, only 7% of the earth’s water can be consumed without harm by human beings, and approximately 1 in 9 people worldwide do not have access to a clean water source. Water-related diseases are the most common cause of illness and death among the poor of developing countries. The mission of the Kumpi Mayu Foundation is to be part of the worldwide effort to bring affordable and sustainable clean water to all in need, and the Foundation provides clean water for poor and rural communities in Peru. The Foundation has created a rigorous process for developing sustainable solutions for providing clean water systems, which Dean and Marty will discuss, along with stories of their experience and their work. Visit this web site for more information. MEETING OF January 30, 2015WelcomePresident Stoney Stonework called the meeting to order at the Richmond Country Club and Alan Baer led the pledge of allegiance. Stoney asked for a moment of silence for freedom, peace, and justice on earth. The thought for the day was provided by Sid Chauvin: as Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Announcements
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMThe Real Country of Madagascar
Stoney introduced Liliane Koziol, Richmond Rotary Immediate Past President, who shared interesting information about her homeland, the island of Madagascar off the southeast coast of Africa. Liliane pointed out false stereotypes about her native island. The animated Madagascar movies depict animal types that aren’t even found on the island. Even National Geographic and PBS at one time echoed a silly refrain, “You mean people really live there?!” The real Madagascar is authentic and unique. Among notable examples, as one web site says, “Madagascar lacks the dominant form of primate distributed worldwide (monkeys, chimps, and gorillas) and, instead, is world-famous for its lemurs – an older group of primates that look something like a cat crossed with a squirrel and a dog.” Madagascar is also famous for its many rare medicinal plants. Here are some factoids Liliane shared about Madagascar.
Most of Madagascar’s indigenous past was as a matriarchal society with royalty being primarily queens. One prominent King, Radama (1810-1828), was interested in modernizing along Western lines. He tried to combine various societal elements from both the English (more tolerant of local autonomy) and the French (wanted adoption of French culture). With all its fascinating history, it seems that Madagascar’s near-past, present, and future are especially intriguing – the stuff of a Hollywood movie drama. As Liliane recounted the tale, it seems that Madagascar’s elected President in 2002 (who served until 2009) started shifting the country’s priorities so as to be more than just a “French” place, to become more global in terms of adopting broader use of English as the language of commerce, to promote economic growth, and to broaden trade with the rest of the world. Then, in March 2009, a local DJ (yep, a radio disc jockey) upset the apple cart and somehow engineered what Liliane describes as an “unresolved coup” that lasted until 2013. During this time (as the DJ cozied up to supporters in the military), there was essentially no government, no rule of law. The economy nose-dived even as previously protected rosewood forests were devastated for sale to China. In January, 2014, there was a new election and a fellow named “Hery R” won. This guy was the right-hand man of the local DJ and there were great concerns about that. One year later (just a couple of weeks ago), after increasingly widespread discontent, President Hery R appointed a new Prime Minister – and it wasn’t the DJ! So, at this writing, the “saga continues”, as Liliane put it. The outlook for political stability? Whatever unfolds, Liliane assured us that the people of Madagascar are resilient. (And we think we’ve got problems with polarized Red and Blue states!) Tom Waller, Rotating Scribe |
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We were saddened and shocked to hear of the death Lynn Martin, by natural causes. For the last 3 years, Lynn had been the highly effective Executive Director of the Early Childhood Mental Health Program. She contributed her positive energies to the Richmond Rotary in numerous ways, including as a Flywheel scribe and a member of the Holiday Auction committee. We will miss Lynn’s bright personality and easy laughter. Details about her service will be announced when they become available.
Rotarian David Calfee passed away on Friday, February 6. His wife, Betty, wrote that Dave was in good spirits and surrounded by his family. Members are invited to join the Calfee family for an informal celebration of his life at the Calfee home on March 28th, from 1 to 4, in Meadow Vista, California. Please contact 
Stacey Street introduced our speakers Marty and Dean Rutherford, both Berkeley Rotarians, who started the Kumpi Mayu Foundation to assist with providing clean and potable water for communities in Peru. Problems with glaciers disappearing and waste products being directly dumped into the water have created a real crisis. They were astonished to find that 75% of the population suffered from recurring diarrhea. They provide communities with water filtering tanks that can provide clean water for 400 people a day. Because of the cultural past practices of these communities, who would use water from local water ways, there is a real need to educate the people as to why they need to filter their water. 