NEXT MEETING: May 18, 2018

Honey Bees: The Current State of Affairs

Acutely aware of the decline of bees, the world’s all-important pollinators, the Alameda County Beekeepers’ Association is helping support their population and purpose in today’s fragile world. Come learn about the current status of their health, as well as what can we, as citizens, can or cannot do to guarantee their survival.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Reminder:  Second Annual RotaCare Bowl-A-Thon, will take place Saturday, May 12, 2018, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Albany Bowl.  All proceeds will benefit RotaCare (Richmond). Jon and Darlene and Pam and Neville are planning to attend.  We need Club Members to support our team with per-pin pledges and/or fixed-amount pledges.  Please send your donation to Richmond Rotary with Bowl-A-Thon noted on the check to David Brown, Treasurer.
• The 10th Annual Rotary District 5160 Bocce Challenge – May 19th – 9:30 a.m. at Martinez Waterfront Park.  Pam and Connie are planning to attend, in search of more players!

MEETING OF May 11, 2018

Welcome

President Connie Tritt welcomed the group. Stacey Street led the Pledge; Herb Cole led the invocation with a prayer for peace, freedom and justice on Earth.  Sid Chauvin’s Thought for the Day…”No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the Legislature is in session.”  (Mark Twain)

Connie asked for a reminder of the Rotary 4-Way Test.  After a few comments from various members, Connie read it with the hope it will be memorized by all members before the end of her tenure as President….

1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Recognitions and Happy and Sad Dollars

Ric Ambrose announced recognitions this week:

Sid Chauvin celebrated his 14th club anniversary on April 27th.
Nick Despota celebrated his birthday (69 years young) on April 29th.
Simon Ellis also celebrates his birthday, club anniversary, too!

Happy and Sad Dollars

• Josh Genser had happy dollars for his recent trip to Mexico.  They enjoyed lots of free time along with their work time.  They rehabbed the exterior of eight school buildings and built desks. This entailed scraping for 6 hours/day in the hot sun.  Josh got lucky to be able to build desks in the shade.  Earl Brown, on scraping duty, had to take a week off in Puerto Vallarta to “rehab” from the rehab project!  Josh also had happy dollars that his daughter was visiting from New York for Mother’s Day!
• Don Lau had happy dollars to announce that Dr. Dan is doing well from his recent hospitalization and will be going back to work next week!   Great News!!
• Don Lau had sad dollars that we are in need of more scribes to assist with taking notes at our meetings.   Mey Saechao and Mark Howe are now officially appointed part-time Scribblers!  Thanks for helping out Mark and Mey.
• Mey Saechao had happy dollars for being able to be here today!  She got to enjoy the Richard Ashcroft Concert last night and will be going to the Taylor Swift Concert tonight!

PROGRAM

Teen Moms Project, 2018

This year the project was overseen by Darlene Quenville because Jan Brown would be in Spain at the time of the Teen Mom packaging and delivery to the Richmond schools.  Jan was readily available for any questions that arose!

Nick Despota gave an overview of the packaging process to the members. This included writing a short note of support to each mom and the one dad we had this year.  The main purpose of this project is to encourage these young parents to stay in school and get their education to insure a better future for their family.

This year was one of the lowest number of parents, 22 total: 21 moms and 1 dad.  In the past, we’ve had numbers as high as 49 high school students with children. It’s nice to see this number decreasing.

The packages are to be delivered to the Richmond High School on Tuesday, May 15, from 9:30 to 10:00 AM.  Terri Brown, a Coordinator with the YMCA, will oversee delivery of the packages to the Teen Moms at various schools.  Those schools include Richmond High, Greenwood, Kennedy High, Adult School Community/Gateway.

This year one of our Rotarians, Tamara Shiloh, owner of the Multicultural Children’s Bookstore in Richmond, will talk to the moms at Richmond High School.

A special thanks to the following for their donations to this project: Dr. Dan Tanita, dental care products; Tamara Shiloh, books; Doris Mitchell, books; and Mey Saechao, stuffed animals.  Also, a special thanks to the Clorox Company for their donation of Burt Bees Baby Products and Mom/Dad Gifts and to the Linus Project for their donation of beautiful handmade blankets.

- Rotating Scribe Darlene Quenville