NEXT MEETING: February 28, 2020

What NIAD Means

We all recognize this pillar of Richmond’s art community as NIAD, but the acronym is worthy of close attention: Nurturing Independence through Artistic Development. What does that mean?

NIAD promotes creative expression, independence, dignity, and community integration for people with developmental disabilities. The organization offers a studio program for 70 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a community program engaging artists and others in offsite projects, and an on-site gallery to market and sell artwork from NIAD’s community of artists.

Our vision is a unified community where everyone is included, and art makes the individual and their story visible. We provide vital supports and resources artists need to thrive in the Bay Area and beyond

Announcements

  • Stacey Street announced that our April 4 Centennial Event is on a roll! She asks for volunteer help. Watch your email this week.
  • We remind you once again of the Rotary’s Four-Way Test student essay contest for Richmond-area high school students. If you have children or relatives who may be interested in participating, pass along to them this flyer for details. The three essay finalists will be invited to present their essay and receive their reward as our club program on Friday, March 27. This program will coincide with a visit from student ambassadors from Richmond’s Sister City of Shimada, Japan.
  • If you haven’t done so already, please mark this important event on your calendar now: April 4th, the date of our our club’s Centennial Celebration. Visit the Centennial Celebration page to see what we have planned. You can also purchase tickets on that page. We’ve invited scores of longtime supporters of Richmond Rotary so expect to see some old friends and make some new ones.
  • In the last month we’ve been proud to induct four new members to Richmond Rotary: Tom Herriman, Melinda McCrary, Al Silva, and Alexandra Wilson. Welcome to you all!
  • This Friday, El Cerrito Rotary hosts a TGIFF gathering at Lara’s Fine Dining, 1900 Espanade Drive, Richmond. (This is the site of the former Saluté Restaurant.) No-host bar, appetizers provided by El Cerrito Rotary. If you’d like to stay for dinner, call Lara’s at 510 234-1860 for a reservation.

MEETING OF

Welcome

Announcements

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM


NEXT MEETING: February 21, 2020

An Open Meeting

Due to a schedule conflict, Mayor Tom Butt had to postpone his State of the City presentation planned for this Friday. So instead we’ll set the stage for an “open meeting”. This is a good opportunity for diverging discussions (see illustration on right) on our club’s activities and future projects. Come prepared with ideas!

Announcements

  • Tamara Shiloh announced a New (or prospective) member orientation this coming Tuesday at El Agave Azul: 5 to 6
  • Alan Baer reminded us that our regular ‘third Tuesday’ Rotary Lite meeting is at El Agave Azul: 6 to 7 (right after the new member orientation!)
  • The Rotary Board Meeting is Thursday, at noon at La Strada Restaurant.
  • Josh Genser announced that we will have a special surprise visitor on March 27.
  • Stacey Street announced that our April 4 Centennial Event is on a roll! Volunteer help is needed. Watch your email this week!
  • We want to remind you once again of the Rotary’s Four-Way Test student essay contest for Richmond-area high school students. If you have children or relatives who may be interested in participating, pass along to them this flyer for details. The three essay finalists will be invited to present their essay and receive their reward as our club program on Friday, March 27. This program will coincide with a visit from student ambassadors from Richmond’s Sister City of Shimada, Japan.
  • If you haven’t done so already, please mark this important event on your calendar now: April 4th, the date of our our club’s Centennial Celebration. Visit the Centennial Celebration page to see what we have planned. You can also purchase tickets on that page. We’ve invited scores of longtime supporters of Richmond Rotary so expect to see some old friends and make some new ones.

Program for Last Meeting

We had a ‘Great to be a Rotarian Day’ last February 14. Everyone in attendance received a long stem red rose, following a long-past Valentine tradition of David Ninomiya. Members of the Ninomiya family and the Downer families were in attendance to hear about the project status of our Centennial Project and the Miraflores Interpretive Displays.

Historian Donna Graves, Alan Wolken (past director of Redevelopment and now City of Richmond consultant) and Kim Butt (historical architect) teamed up to give an informative presentation of the plans prepared by Vallier Design. The initial installation of the Making A Living display (sponsored in part by Richmond Rotary) will be in place in time for our Centennial Celebration on April 4! This is great news as we step up our Centennial event preparations!

 

 

MEETING OF

Welcome

Announcements

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM


NEXT MEETING: February 14, 2020

Transforming a Historic Landscape

On this Valentines Day, we are celebrating the many years that David Ninomiya would bring red roses to Rotary on Valentines Day from his family’s nursery in North Richmond.

Join us for a presentation by Donna Graves and Alan Wolken that will focus on the Miraflores development and interpretation project there that highlights the rich story of Japanese American nursery families alongside aspects of Richmond community history.

Announcements

Pierre Thompson announced Richmond Rotary’s Centennial launching of Rotary’s Four-Way Test student essay contest for Richmond-area high school students. (For details see this flyer.) The three essay finalists will be invited to present their essay and receive their reward as our club program on Friday, March 27. This program will coincide with a visit from student ambassadors from Richmond’s Sister City of Shimada, Japan.

If you haven’t done so already, please mark this important event on your calendar now: April 4th, the date of our our club’s Centennial Celebration. Visit the Centennial Celebration page to see what we have planned. You can also purchase tickets on that page. We’ve sent this Save the Date reminder to scores of longtime supporters of Richmond Rotary so plan to see some old friends and maybe make some new ones.

Special Event

Richmond Rotary is pleased to welcome two new members:
Alexandra Wilson, Attorney/Owner, Wilson Immigration; and Melinda McCrary, Executive Director of the Richmond Museum of History and Culture. We are proud to have you join us!

The Rotary District 5160 Conference will take place in Redding, on May 1 – 3. For more information and to register, please visit this Conference web page.

MEETING OF

Welcome

Announcements

Pierre Thompson announced Richmond Rotary’s Centennial launching of Rotary’s Four-Way Test student essay contest for Richmond-area high school students. (For details see this flyer.) The three essay finalists will be invited to present their essay and receive their reward as our club program on Friday, March 27. This program will coincide with a visit from student ambassadors from Richmond’s Sister City of Shimada, Japan.

If you haven’t done so already, please mark this important event on your calendar now: April 4th That’s the date of our our club’s Centennial Celebration. Here’s what we have planned. We’ve sent this Save the Date reminder to scores of longtime supporters of Richmond Rotary so plan to see some old friends and maybe make some new ones.

Richmond Rotary is pleased to welcome two new members:
Alexandra Wilson, Attorney/Owner, Wilson Immigration; and Melinda McCrary, Executive Director of the Richmond Museum of History and Culture. We are proud to have you join us!

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM


NEXT MEETING: February 7, 2020

Making Waves is making soccer happen at Hilltop

We’ll hear what for some will be an introduction and for others an update about the Hilltop Soccer Field that has been proposed by the Making Waves Foundation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Pierre Thompson announced Richmond Rotary’s Centennial launching of Rotary’s Four-Way Test student essay contest for Richmond-area high school students. (Details this flyer.) The three essay finalists will be invited to present their essay and receive their reward as our club program on Friday, March 27. This program will coincide with a visit from student ambassadors from Richmond’s Sister City of Shimada, Japan.

April 4, 2020. If you haven’t done so already, please mark your calendar now. That’s the date of our our club’s Centennial Celebration. Here’s what we have planned. We’ve sent a Save the Date reminder to scores of longtime supporters of Richmond Rotary so plan to see some old friends and maybe make some new ones.

WELCOME

Jan Brown was out-of-town today so President-elect Stacey Street called the meeting to order. After an invocation to Consideration of Higher Things, and the Pledge of Allegiance, Stacey welcomed several guests and visitors from other clubs. We launched into Happy and Sad Dollars and, before any of us could settle into a postprandial sedation, Stacey introduced today’s speaker, Lisa Bowen, who shook us to attention with a startling finding. Read on.

PROGRAM

Ready for this one? People in the U.S. today are breathing about twice the volume of air than people did 75 years ago. We’re hyper-ventilating, declared breathing coach Lisa Bowen. This was determined through comparisons of control groups in medical research conducted over the decades. Hard to believe.

But Lisa, who beat her own asthma with a process called breathing retraining, had a more important point. In urban areas such as ours, the air is contaminated with heavy loads of particulate matter. If we make a conscious effort to breathe through our noses rather than our mouths, the cilia and mucous in our nasal passages can filter out a good deal of that PM. This prevents harmful impacts on our lungs, and therefore enables better oxygenation of our blood. We can remain healthier.

Lisa’s advice: Be mindful of your breathing and make a conscious effort to keep your mouth shut. (Yes, this will prove almost impossible for some of our members.) We should chew with our mouths closed (which our mothers always told us anyway) so we won’t be gulping air at the same time we’re swallowing. She had other tips but, possibly due to a shortage of oxygen to my brain, I’ve forgotten what they are. If you would like to learn more about defensive breathing, you may email Lisa Bowen.

 

 

-Nick Despota, Scribe for the Day

MEETING OF January 31, 2020

Welcome

Announcements

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Defensive Breathing