NEXT MEETING: August 7, 2015

Ombudsmen: Elder Advocates in Action

Nicole Howell, Executive Director, discusses the Ombudsman Services of Contra Costa (OSCC), which advocates for the frail and vulnerable residents of long-term care facilities in the county.  Their vision is for the long-term care facilities in Contra Costa County to be the best in the country and reflect the high standards of resident-centered care.

The Ombudsman Services of Contra Costa serves 2,880 residents of skilled nursing facilities and 6,200 residents of residential care facilities. OSCC investigates complaints made on behalf of residents, and works to bring resolution to those complaints. In addition, OSCC provides a range of resources for residents, their families, and facility staff.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Jim Young needs volunteers for the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP) monthly sandwich program. They meet every 3rd Tuesday of the month for about 2.5 hours. Volunteers can sign up even if it is for only 1 – 2 times a year. Please contact Jim if you are interested.
• Herb Cole was in Houston, Texas and reported that it was raining” hot water.”       While there, he read a headline in the local paper “Rotary Targets Polio.” The article stated that Nigeria is coming off the “Polio List” (Woohoo! Well done, Rotarians).
• Jim Young, in response gave $100 to the Rotary Foundation to recognize Linda Young’s mother, Pauline, who survived polio.
• Downtown David Brown announced that Sgt-at-Arms Sid Chauvin is taking sign-ups for the Saturday, November 21, 2015, Day at the Races at Golden Gate Fields (10% of net ticket sales will be donated to the Rotary International Foundation Annual Fund). The cost is $40 per adult which includes valet parking, admission, and a Turf Club buffet lunch.
• Alan Baer mentioned that the new cool District 5160 aloha shirts are for sale for $45. Orders can be placed with Alan.
• Alan Baer also announced that today is the last Friday of the month which means that there is a BARSHEEP TGIFF at La Strada at 5:30 pm.
• Alan Baer further stated that on Saturday, August 22, 2015, there will be a District assembly in Vallejo.

Sunshine Report
Bill Koziol reported that: Ralph Hill is back in Greenbrae and could use a call.
Bill is organizing a visit for next Wednesday; Charlie Wong is hanging in there and it would be great to give him a call.

MEETING OF July 31, 2015

Welcome

President Alan Blavins called the meeting to order and asked Connie Tritt to lead us in the Pledge. Alan asked for a silent prayer and Sgt-at-Arms Sid Chauvin offered this thought for the day: “The older you get, the harder it is to lose weight because your body and your fat have become good friends.”

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

District Foundation Stewardship Chair and District Governor Nominee (2017-2018) Gary Vilhauer was a visiting Rotarian.

Jim Young brought his lovely wife Linda as his guest.

Special Events

Paul Harris Fellow awards were presented by Dan Tanita, DDS, to Tyler Covell (Hank Covell’s grandson) and Shana Bagley (your scribe).

Recognitions and Happy and Sad Dollars

• DFSC and DGN Nominee Gary Vilhauer awarded a $9,729 District Grant to Richmond Rotary for the “Transform a Block” project in Parchester Village. The Foundation has awarded about $650,000 to District 5160 which, in turn, has generated over $2M in projects.
• It was Joshua Genser, Esq.’s anniversary in July and his birthday will be in August. Josh reported that he just returned from a wonderful trip in Russia and donated money to the Foundation for his recognitions.
• Bill Koziol gave 5 happy dollars because he just booked a family vacation to Disneyland and 5 sad dollars because on Saturday, July 18, he rounded up his family to go the Stoney/Howe BBQ, only to find out the BBQ was held the weekend before. They rallied and went to Keller Beach. Traumatizingly, they then witnessed a gang shooting.
• Mark Howe gave 20 happy dollars because his travel agent/fiancé/minder (again, your scribe) just booked their honeymoon to Singapore/Indonesia/Hong Kong.

PROGRAM

Jim Young introduced our speaker, UC Berkeley research astronomer Stephen Stahler, Ph. D. Dr. Stahler gave an out of this world (thank you Tom Butt) presentation on “Why are there Stars.” While learning about molecular clouds, super novi, compact objects, negative heat capacity, and accretion luminosity, we also learned some valuable astronomy factoids that apply to our everyday, Earth-based lives:

 

• We are all made of stars (Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Moby)
• 90% of matter in the galaxy is invisible
• In the world of physical sciences, there is no life, but there is also no death
• Dense cores are caused by (nuclear) spaghetti
• The most important part of the Big Bang happened in the first three minutes
• 10% of all stars in our galaxy have earth-like planets around them
• The more massive and the more brilliant a star, the shorter the lifespan
• Nemesis is a figment of your (and Dr. Richard Muller’s) imagination
• Our Earthly worries might seem trivial – as we are surrounded by over 100 billion stars in just our galaxy and while we measure our lives in years and decades, the Universe is 14 billion years old
• And most importantly, as stars age, they spew off gas (please refer back to first factoid)

 

For background, visit Dr. Stahler’s website, which has links to his recent papers, publications, and sketches can be found here. Anyone interested in purchasing his book, The Formation of Stars, you can do so on Amazon.

-Shana Bagley (soon-to –be-Howe), Rotating Scribette