Yearly Archives: 2018
NEXT MEETING: November 16, 2018THE NOVEMBER 16 MEETING CANCELLED DUE TO AIR QUALITYDue to very unhealthy air quality, we have cancelled our last regularly scheduled meeting of November 16. We hope to see you at our Holiday Auction on November 30th! MEETING OF November 9, 2018WelcomePresident Jerry welcomed all present and asked Tamara Shiloh to lead us in the pledge. Herb Cole led the invocation with silence for those who died in Thousand Oaks. Sid reminded us “never to look down on anyone unless you are helping them up.” Visiting Rotarians and GuestsWe were pleased to welcome Alan Baer’s guests, Stephanie Baer and Pierre Thompson. Nick introduced his Guest (and soon to be inducted member) Jeff Sloan. Mac Robinson of the El Cerrito Club also attended. Special EventsDistrict Governor, Jon Dwyer and his wife, Bonnie, were present at this meeting. They met with the Board of Directors before the regular lunch meeting to update them on current events around the district. Jon opened his remarks with the presentation of Paul Harris awards to President Jerry Feagley (his first Paul Harris award) and Hank Covell (PH+3). In addition, he presented a Major Donor award to Alan Baer. District Governor Dwyer also inducted a new member to the Richmond Rotary, Pierre Thompson. Pierre work and lives in Richmond, and was a speaker at our club a few weeks ago. AnnouncementsStanding in for Committee Chair Stacey Street, Connie Tritt reminded everyone that the Holiday Auction, our biggest fundraiser, is November 30th. We ave a real need for silent auction items such as gift baskets, cases of wine, tickets, and so on. Time to put your creativity into gear. Our holiday party with the El Cerrito Rotary Club will be Saturday, December 8th at The Richmond Art Center. Bring unwrapped new toys for 10-12 year olds and food to donate. RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMA visit from our District GovernorDistrict Governor Jon Dwyer graciously acknowledged our display of flags to honor his attendance. He noted that the display was the most impressive of all the 45 clubs he has visited. He also reminded us that the International President’s theme for 2018 is “Be the Inspiration” and introduced the topic of District Grants. He encouraged the board to apply for a District Grant this year because our proposals are very likely to be accepted. The request for funding our 100th anniversary event was a very good example of a fundable District Grant. He also discussed the results of two grants that he was impressed with from the 2017-2018 year. One was the grant awarded to the Burney Rotary. (Burney is 40 miles East of Redding, CA) They purchased a heart defibrillator and monitor. The Alamo Rotary Club built a special room at a Pleasant Hill Adult Care facility for Alzheimer’s patients. The room was intended to provide light all day and night and helps those patients who get disoriented at sundown. The condition is called “sundowning”. The District Governor covered other topics:
Here is the link to the District 5160 website. www.rotary5160.org.
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NEXT MEETING: November 9, 2018Meet our new District GovernorThis Friday we will welcome Jon Dwyer, the District Governor for District 5160. Visits from our DGs are always great opportunities to develop a broader picture of Rotary’s activities in the country and around the world. We hope you’ll be able to make it. MEETING OF November 2, 2018WelcomePrez Jerry was back at the podium and welcomed all and asked Hank Covell to lead us in the Pledge. Herb Cole offered a silent prayer for peace, freedom and justice. Sid Chauvin offered: “If you don’t think every day is great try missing a few.” Visiting Rotarians and GuestsJosh Genser’s guest was Vinay Pimple and Bob Dabney’s guest was Demnlus Johnson III. Yes, it’s Election Season at the Rotary. Announcements
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMEarly Childhood Mental Health ProgramNick Despota introduced our speaker, and soon to be Richmond Rotarian, Jeff Sloan. Jeff is the new Executive Director of the Early Childhood Mental Health Program (ECMHP) in Richmond. Jeff grew up in Richmond and is a graduate of Salesian High School and UC Berkeley. He holds three Masters degrees: in clinical psychology, business administration, and theology. Jeff thanked the Club for its support of ECMHP over the years; and also thanked individual Rotarians like Josh and Elena Genser, who funded the construction of a playground at its new facility. The goal of the program is “Keeping Families Together,” which is no small task these days since many young children face developmental trauma due to poverty, bullying, violence, separation from parents, racism and isolation. ECMHP addresses these issues by working closely both with the child and the family. The organization focuses on early intervention, accepting children from 0 to 7 years of age. Its services include a therapeutic nursery school, family therapy services, parent and family support groups, in-school consultations, kinder transition, and immigrant and asylum legal workshops. ECMHP has been serving the greater Richmond community for over 40 years. For more information, visit its website at www.ecmhp.org The Menehune, Rotating Editor |
NEXT MEETING: November 2, 2018The Hidden Issue of Early Childhood Mental Health in RichmondJeff Sloan, the Executive Director of Early Childhood Mental Health, will tell us about the pervasive and often misunderstood mental health challenges that many of the children in our community experience. He will highlight the causes of early childhood mental health issues and racially disproportionate disparities in available services and resources and most especially, the powerful impact that ECMHP has on these issues in our community. MEETING OF October 26, 2018WelcomePast Prez Connie Tritt welcomed all in Prez Jerry’s absence. David Brown led us in the pledge and Herb Cole offered a prayer for peace and freedom. Alan Blavins offered the following, “If love is blind why is lingerie so popular?” Visiting Rotarians and GuestsEdgar DeLeon had 3 guests John Benning, Melodie Gonsaves, and Che Al-Barri. Alan Baer’s guest was Pierre Thomson and Connie introduced Joyce Middlebrook a friend of our speaker. Announcements
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMChoices at the end of our livesDarlene Drapkin introduced out guest speaker Barbara Engdahl who is a retired medical social worker who volunteers with the Compassion & Choices organization, which deals with care and choices at the end of life. Barbara emphasized that everyone should have a direct conversation with their doctor about end of life issues and understand their “right to know” options. Everyone should have a Health Care Directive and discuss their wishes with their family and designate someone with power of attorney. In October 2015 the Aid in Dying law passed in CA which provides an option for terminal patients to end their life. Barbara discussed the role of hospice and other support services. For more information: CompassionAndChoice.org - The Menehune, Rotating Scribe |
NEXT MEETING: October 26, 2018Compassion & Choices - Be an Empowered PatientBarbara Engdahl will speak about a range of things you can do, choices you can make to become empowered in your senior years. She will discuss Advance Health Care Directives, how to get the most out of your visit with your doctor, how to talk with your doctor to get the treatment you want or refuse the treatment you don’t want; in short how to be in charge of your own medical care. She will also address end of life issues, the choices you have and how to have a death with dignity reflecting the values you have lived by your whole life. MEETING OF October 19, 2018WelcomePresident Jerry Feagley welcomed the group. Cecelia Orozco led the Pledge. Herb Cole gave the invocation with a prayer for peace, freedom and justice on Earth. Sid Chauvin’s Thought for the Day…”I would rather argue against a hundred idiots than have one agree with me.” (Winston Churchill) At Thursday’s Board Meeting, the Board voted 9 YES and 2 NO on a motion to return to the old meeting start time of 12:30. Out of courtesy to the general membership, President Jerry initiated an informal poll of the members present today. The large majority of those in attendance voted for the 12:30 time. We will return to the 12:30 start time at our first meeting of the new year, Friday, January 4th. We will advise each member individually of the new start time and the effective date. Darlene Quenville did her “Who am I” and received her Blue Badge! Yeah!!! It was a riveting presentation but you had to be there. [Says today’s scribe.] Visiting Rotarians and GuestsToday’s speaker, Jessica Rodriguez, from Richmond Promise, was one of our guests today. Our other guest was Mac Lingo from the Berkeley Rotary. Announcements
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMRichmond PromiseDarlene Drapkin introduced Jessica Rodriguez, Associate Director of Scholarships & Data, Richmond Promise. Jessica graduated from Cal (Go Bears). Jessica’s motto…”When a community unites for a common cause, they are unstoppable!” The Richmond Promise was launched in 2016 and is a community-wide college success initiative. The Richmond Promise is made possible by Chevron Corporation’s Environmental and Community Investment Agreement with the City of Richmond. To date, there are 900+ Richmond Promise scholars. $5.4 million has been committed in scholarships since 2016, but students need more than just money support. The Summer Associate Program gives assistance on how to apply for college, how to register for classes, etc. Once in college, the College Scholar Network helps the scholars to socialize with each other and help each other, and there are resources on campus to assist the scholars. The Near-Peer Associate Program helps by mentoring students. The four main goals or pillars of our promise:
The Scholarship
Other interesting facts:
Scholarships can be used to pay for tuition, housing and transportation. If a student receives other financial aid, that does not affect the Richmond Promise Scholarship amount. The Richmond Promise is, and needs to be, more than just a scholarship. The Promise is a powerful catalyst for student participation and developing leadership in our community. Students who access on-campus resources feel supported and successful. $35 million seed money came from City of Richmond and Chevron. It’s been invested and Richmond Promise works off the interest and some of the principal. That seed money will hopefully last for over ten years. Fundraising is a priority to grow the fund to last forever. A team of four people administer Richmond Promise. They are always trying to streamline operation expenses to keep costs down. Go online at info@richmondpromise.org for more information on this wonderful organization! - Rotating Scribe Darlene Quenville |
NEXT MEETING: October 19, 2009What is RIchmond Promise?Launched in January 2016, the Richmond Promise is a community-wide college success initiative to build a college graduating culture in Richmond. Created with the belief that all Richmond students should have the opportunity to develop their skills and reach their full potential, regardless of race, income level, or personal background,the Richmond Promise aims to ensure all Richmond students excel to and through higher education, reach their career goals, and become change-making leaders in the Richmond community. Jessie Stewart, Executive Director, will share stories of Richmond Promise’s successes to date. MEETING OF October 12, 2018WelcomePresident Jerry convened the meeting at La Strada Restaurant. Tom lead the Pledge of Allegiance and Josh Surowitz gave the invocation. Syd offered a Thought-for-the-day penned by Winston Churchill: “Life is fraught with opportunities to keep your mouth shut.” (Note the choice of the word, “fraught,” which usually means accompanied by something undesirable or dangerous. Is Churchill saying that by not speaking up, we may invite trouble?) Guests and Visitors
Announcements
RecognitionsHappy and Sad DollarsNorm’s NonsensePROGRAMThe Global Peace IndexToday’s guest, Pierre Thompson, talked about the Global Peace Index, which was launched in 2007 to rank countries around the world according to their peacefulness. The GPI gauges global peace using three broad themes: the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarization. After reporting on the US ranking (121 of 163—the lower the number the more peaceful), Pierre identified 10 factors correlated to peacefulness. They include a well-functioning government, high levels of human capital, acceptance of the rights of others, an equitable distribution of resources, a free flow of information, low levels of corruption, and the use of diplomacy. Pierre, who was born in and attended elementary school in Richmond, lead us through a conversation about the factors that contribute to, or frustrate, peacefulness in our own city. On the plus side, several of us said that Richmond enjoyed the benefits of a well-functioning government and efforts to improve economic opportunities for residents. On the negative side, members mentioned the reputation for crime that burdens Richmond, and the impact that has on the readiness of businesses to establish in the city. Many of us joined the conversation; too much was discussed to cover in this summary. But if you’d like to learn more about the Global Peace Index, why it was developed and how it is used, read this short article.
Nick Despota, Pinch-hitting scribe |