NEXT MEETING: October 11, 2019
Note: On Friday we will meet at the Blue Apron facility. See below.

Blue Apron

Blue Apron is an ingredient-and-recipe meal kit service. Their weekly boxes contain ingredients and also include suggested recipes that are cooked by hand by the customer using the pre-ordered ingredients.

Jeremy Adelson of the Richmond Packaging facility will share Blue Apron’s story and give us a tasty tour. (See Announcements, below, for location.)

MEETING OF October 4, 2019

Welcome

Prez Jan opened the meeting, Mike Winter lead the Pledge of Allegiance and Herb Cole asked for a moment of silence for peace, justice and freedom on Earth.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Visiting Rotarian Governor Elect Mark Roberts was in attendance. Brian Fay brought his dad Gerald Fay. Hank Covell brought his wife Doreen, who is also a Visiting Rotarian from Pinole. Also visiting were Deborah Bryer and Beryl Golden.

Special Events

We were informed and entertained by three “Who am I?” presentations: Carey Hawkins Ash, Fran Smith and Brian Fay regaled us with the stories of their lives and the paths that led them to Rotary. We are pleased to welcome these members to our club.

Announcements

• This Friday we will meet at the Blue Apron Distribution Center, 3151 Regatta Blvd, Richmond. (Directions ) The facility is located in a large warehouse. Please RSVP by Thursday morning. Each RSVP will be given directions and a personal guide if needed!
• Richmond Rotary BBQ Fundraiser for the Bahamas Sat. Oct. 12 2pm. Please RSVP to Alan & Santa Baer.
• We’re trying something new. Because many members cannot make our Friday lunchtime meetings, we will enjoy a friendly social gathering on the evening of the third Tuesday of each month. Dubbed Rotary Lite, our first meeting will occur on Oct. 15, from 6PM – 7:30PM. at El Agave Azul, 12955 San Pablo Ave., Richmond (Directions).
• The Alzheimer Walk Rotary Team BARSHEEP takes place on Nov. 9 Support the team!
• Those of you interested in Richmond history may enjoy attending a talk and movie, Flora Ninomiya / Blossoms & Thorns. The event takes place at the Richmond Country Club on October 18. Invite a friend.
• Mark Howe may have 2 places on his sailboat next weekend for an excursion into the Bay to watch the Navy’s Blue Angels aerobatic team. Contact Mark if you’re interested.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Redevelopment and Brownfields

Ignacio Dayrit, Director of Programs at the Center for Creative Land Recycling, and formerly with the City of Emeryville, discussed redevelopment efforts in the East Bay, and how these programs bring affordable housing and inclusive economic development.

NEXT MEETING: October 4, 2019

Transforming Cities through Land Recycling

Ignacio Dayrit, Director of Programs at the Center for Creative Land Recycling, and formerly with the City of Emeryville, will discuss their redevelopment efforts within the last decade in Richmond, Contra Costa County and the Bay Area, and how these programs can bring affordable housing and inclusive economic development programs.

MEETING OF September 27, 2019

Welcome

President Jan opened the meeting. Guest Stephanie Baer lead the pledge, Herb Cole lead the invocation. Our stand-in Sergeant-at-Arms, Jim Findley, offered the thought for the day.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Byron Brown (The First Husband) was Jan’s guest. Gerald Fay attended with his son and new Richmond Rotarian Brian Fay. Bill Bankhead, Site Coordinator for Sparkpoint Contra Costa College was the guest of Stacey Street.

Announcements

• Richmond Rotary returns “home” on Friday, meeting at the Richmond Country Club.
• The 5160 District Assembly will occur on October 5th in Fairfield, 8:30-1:30. Let Jan know if you’d like a ride.
• The Richmond Rotary BBQ Fundraiser for relief for the Bahamas is scheduled for Sat. Oct. 12 2pm RSVP: Alan Baer http://richmondrotarybbq.rsvpify.com
• The eight Rotary clubs along the i_80 corridor, shorthanded to BARSHEEP (you can figure it out) will hit the pavement for its Alzheimer Walk Rotary Team on Nov 9, The project supports all Rotarians and their families who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Funds will support research into the prevention and cure of the disease. Learn more.
• A Community Town Hall to organize for the establishment of a stand-alone emergency room for Richmond will take place on Sat. Nov. 9. Details here.
• Don Lau encouraged members to make their donations to Club 100, helping to fulfill the club’s commitment to raising $50,000 for the Miraflores Centennial project. Our goal is 100% participation: we are asking that each member make a gift of $100. If you can give more please do. Many already have. Learn more here.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

The Many Ingredients of a Culinary Career

Nader Sharkes, master chef and Chair of the Culinary Arts Management Program at Contra Costa College, hosted our meeting at the Aqua Terra Grill Restaurant, on campus. Nader gave us an insider’s view of the business of operating a restaurant, while providing solid professional experiences for students who have chosen the vocation.

NEXT MEETING: September 27, 2019
Note: We will meet at Contra Costa College on Friday. Details below.

The Many Ingredients of a Culinary Career

Nader Sharkes, master chef and Chair of the Culinary Arts Management Program at Contra Costa College, will be our speaker at the Aqua Terra Grill Retaurant, on campus.

When you hear the term culinary arts, you probably think about cooking. And, of course, things like cooking styles, food safety and how to safely handle kitchen equipment are a big part of it. But there’s so much more to a culinary career than that. It’s presentation and customer service. It’s event planning and promotion. It’s business management and development. It’s everything related to food in the hospitality industry.

Contra Costa College Culinary Arts facility is located at 2600 Mission Bell Drive, San Pablo. (Directions and detailed campus map. Note that this Friday is a holiday. Parking is free and you won’t need a permit.)

MEETING OF September 20, 2019

Welcome

Our Prez, Jan Brown, opened the meeting and welcomed everyone to El Agave Azul Restaurant. Simon Ellis led us in the Pledge and Herb Cole did the invocation for peace, freedom and justice on earth.

Jan did some quick announcements. Our speaker today will be Sonya Rivas, who will fill us in on the new El Agave Azul Restaurant. Next week’s meeting will be at Contra Costa College and the culinary arts students will be serving us. Jan will advise the parking lot info etc on the website.

David Brown encouraged people to be part of the History Archive Group. Meeting taking place this Monday from 3:00 to 4:00 at Jan’s home. We will be going through boxes of archives, scrapbooks from Presidents etc. History Committee currently consists of David Brown, Herb Cole, Erle Brown, Norm Lundberg and Mike Winter.

On the Membership Committee, Tamara Shiloh relayed there will be a New Member Orientation on Thursday (September 26) from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Jan’s home. Please let Jan know if you plan to attend so she’ll have enough appetizers on hand. Connie Tritt and Tamara will lead the Orientation.

Jon Lawlis, Co-Chair with Erle Brown on the Foundation Committee wanted to relay our goal for this year is to have each Rotarian give $100 to the Rotary Foundation. It is also one of Jan’s PETS goals. If you haven’t given a donation yet, please give one to me, Erle or David Brown. Since 1985, the Rotary Foundation has immunized 2.5 billion children against Polio reducing the number of worldwide Polio cases by 99.9%! We are very, very close to eradicating this crippling childhood disease. For every dollar you donate to the Rotary Foundation, 50 cents goes to support Rotary International Programs and the other 50 cents is returned to our District for use in local projects.

Announcements

A reminder: The Club will meet at Contra Costa College this Friday, at the Aqua Terra Grill and Restaurant. It is located 2600 Mission Bell Drive, San Pablo.  See these directions and this campus map. Note that this Friday is a holiday. Parking is free and you won’t need a permit

Jan reminded members to get familiar with the Richmond Rotary calendar, which lists events, organized by categories. Do check it out.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Enjoying a new restaurant: El Agave Azul

Members enjoyed the meeting at Richmond’s newest restaurant. El Agave Azul. Our speaker was Sonya Rivas.

NEXT MEETING: September 20, 2019
Note that we're meeting at El Agave Azul Restaurant. Location below.

Roving Rotary: El Agave Azul

Richmond’s hottest new place to gather with friends and family officially opened last April. Cool full-service bar has a beverage for everyone and delicious tasty Mexican food. Owners Joaquin Rodriguez and Martin will be on hand to tell us about their new restaurant.

MEETING OF September 13, 2019

Welcome

President Jan presided. Nakele Rechenauer led us in the pledge, Jim Findley led us in an invocation and and Alan Blavins provided us with a thought for the day that was time consuming!

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Joan Collignon from the Rotary Club of Berkeley
Fred Collignon (Past District Governor) and Rotary Club of Berkeley
Brian Fay with his father, Gerald Fay, guests of Henry Moe
Carey Hawkins Ash, guest of Jerry Feagley
John Bassett, guest of Tamara Shiloh
Ashley Njoroge, a student in the Graduate school of Journalism at UCB

New Member Induction

Richmond Rotary is pleased to welcome three new members into Rotarian membership!
Brian Fay, Lieutenant in Law Enforcement, County of Marin
Carey Hawkins Ash, Making Waves Academy; Managing Director of Community Engagement
John Bassett, Manager of Hilltop Mall

Announcements

• Darlene Drapkin, our Program Chair, announced that our next 2 meetings are Roving Rotaries (due to a tournament at our Richmond Country Club home base). In both cases, our venue will be our program! This week we’re at El Agave Azul, located at 12955 San Pablo Ave. (map), a  hot new Mexican restaurant in Richmond,
• On September 27 our club will meet at the Aqua Terra Grill of Contra Costa College, when Chef Nader Sharkes of the Culinary Arts of CCC as our speaker. A third Roving Rotary will be at Blue Apron on October 11. Please attend these opportunities to visit new places!
• District 5160 Fall Training Seminar is October 5 in Fairfield.
• Special Announcement: Joan Collignon announced the formation of Team Rotary BARSHEEP and its “Walk to End Alzheimer’s” on November 9, 2019 starting at Pier 27 in San Francisco. Sign up to walk or contribute at #Walk2EndALZ or alz.org/walk. Your support for Team Rotary BARSHEEP will directly support the research that will lead to Alzheimer’s first survivor!
• Barbecue Save the date! Santa and Alan Baer are offering a Barbecue benefit on Saturday, October 12 to support hurricane disaster relief efforts in the Bahamas through Mack Robinson (our beloved immediate past District Governor Assistant) and Rotary Clubs in the Bahamas.  Stay tuned for the details.
• Erle Brown, Foundation Chair, made one last appeal to support all 30 teachers at Peres Elementary School. By meeting’s end, mission accomplished!

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Contra Costa and Solano Food Bank

Kim Castaneda presented an overview of the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano County.

NEXT MEETING: September 13, 2019

Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano County

September is Hunger Action month. Kim Castaneda will speak about hunger in our community, identifying the faces of hunger and how the Food Bank works to end hunger locally. Learn more about the organization’s work here.

MEETING OF

Welcome

President Jan welcomed everyone to the friendly Richmond Rotary. Mark Howe led the Pledge of Allegiance and Herb Cole led the invocation.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

There were eight guests. Four included 3 students and a teacher from the Richmond College Preparatory School brought by Eleanor Vogelsang of “Close Up Foundation” (a local non-profit). Each of the eighth-graders gave a briefing of the highlights of their Washington DC trip (that our club partially funded). Places they visited included the African American Museum, Gettysburg, and the Air and Space Museum.

Other guests were Brian Fay (guest of Henry Moe) and Dr. Carey Ash – both expecting to be inducted next week. Diane Hedler, President of the Board of Directors of the Rosie the Riveter Trust, was also present at the meeting.

Announcements

• Pam Jones notified us that family members of Mack Robinson (our immediate Past Assistant District Governor) are safe but have suffered devastating loss in the Bahamas due to Hurricane Dorian. Mack has identified the Rotarians in the heart of the area who will direct funds to provide relief to those in greatest need. Donations made payable to “The Upper Keys Rotary Foundation” will be directed to those efforts.
• Erle Brown announced that he is still soliciting funds for the Peres Teachers fund. This year Peres has 31 teachers. We give each teacher $100 for supplies in September at the beginning of the school year. Thank you to all who have already provided Peres teachers with this support.
• Don Lau reported that Club 100 (to mark our one hundred year milestone) will rely on 100% participation of our Club members. Please be generous. Thank you Rotarians who have already given Don their pledges! You are awesome! Please contact Don (dlau1969@gmail.com) if you would like more information or are ready to pledge.

• Mark Howe announced that he is seeking a “First Mate” for his October 12^th cruise during Fleet Week. The commitment is expected to take about 4 hours.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

The work of the International Rescue Committee

Our speaker, Sarah Cramer, represented the International Rescue Committee and shared its long history of responding to some of the world’s worst crises, delivering aid that saves lives while paving the way for long-term recovery