NEXT MEETING: October 9, 2020

ROTARY DISTRICT 5160 UPDATES
District Governor, Mark Roberts

Please join us for a very special club meeting next week.

District Governor Mark Roberts will outline his vision and priorities for District 5160 during the 2020-21 Rotary Year.

He also wants to learn about Richmond Rotary’s concerns and goals. In an ever-changing environment, it is more important than ever that local Rotary clubs and the district work together and share challenges, solutions and ideas.

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LINK TO THIS WEEK’S MEETING ON ZOOM
Click this link to join the Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/94860047682

Date & Time: October 9, 12:30 PM
(please connect 5 minutes early to confirm Video and/or Audio)
12:15 — Informal Meet and Greet
12:30 — Traditional Meeting
12:45 — Program
1:15 — Recognitions and Happy/Sad Dollars
1:30 — Adjourn / After-meeting for those who want to linger

Meeting ID: 948 6004 7682
Dial in: +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

For security reasons, we are now sending invitations to our members and those who specifically ask to be invited each week. The link above is now a recurring meeting link, which will work for each week. You are welcome to forward this information to anyone you would like to invite.
Please email or text the names of your guests to Stacey prior to the meeting (staceyrcf@gmail.com, 510-501-0030) so they can be admitted quickly through the waiting room.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Pam Jones announced that the annual Buy a Kid a Bike project has partnered with Richmond City Rides this year. Click here to make a donation. They are working on flyers and have a goal of 100 bikes this year. Richmond City Rides will sponsor a workshop for kids. The committee is evaluating fundraising to purchase the additional 40 bicycle helmets needed to make this year’s program a success.
• Tom Herriman thanked the Richmond Rotary Club for the generous grant towards acquiring a truck for the SOS Richmond mobile shower project. Our grant was combined with private donations and enabled the purchase of a truck to maintain this critical service to the community.
• Our Peres Elementary School project is only $600 short of our goal, Erle Brown requested that we pull together and complete this campaign.
• Norm Lundberg announced the next International Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday October 7th at 4pm and encouraged any interested members to send him an email to receive the Zoom meeting details.
• Pierre Thompson donated a happy dollar to celebrate the upcoming harvest moon.
• President Stacey Street-Spight reminded everyone that our fundraising events need to be evaluated and updated for 2020 and that a few of our new members have experience organizing and executing successful alternatives, for example: Crab Feed as drive thru
• If you haven’t paid your Rotary dues yet, please do so now! Visit our website and use the PayPal button in the lower right hand column. Thanks!

RECOGNITIONS AND HAPPY/SAD DOLLARS

• Sidney Chauvin shared both happy and sad dollars. He was pleased to announce that Monday was the 39th birthday of his youngest child, but sad to also share that his sister passed away on that same day
• Henry Moe was sad to share that a long time supporter and donor of the Salesian golf tournament passed away
• Mac Lingo was happy to share this son has been ordained as Catholic priest and assigned to the Oakland diocese
• Jan Brown donated to acknowledge her neighbors in Calistoga using their tractor to protect her family’s homestead from the recent fires
• Darlene Drapkin was happy to share that she is now a Lady of Leisure and applied for and received a grant to start a Richmond Pickleball league. She encouraged members to join her at a local tennis court for sports and fun
• President Stacey donated a happy dollar for the timing of her daughter’s broken toe right before the last Rotary meeting
• If you would like your event to be recognized in the Flywheel, send an email to Nakele

LAST WEEK’S PROGRAM

October 2nd Program – The Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution: Mary DeMocker

Pierre Thompson introduced our speaker, Mary DeMocker

Mary first shared her solidarity with the club on the impact of the fires and the smoke on our air quality.  She shared her journey joining the climate revolution and her personal perspective. As a mother of two small children, she started making lifestyle and dietary changes to minimize her impact on the environment but noticed that the focus on conservation was primarily on individuals, but not large commercial industries.

Mary decided that she needed to make an impact using the tools she had at hand. She began by writing letters by herself and then organized groups of people to write letters, eventually landing on art as a vehicle for her message. She started with small art projects in her front lawn, calling attention to the impact of climate change on human life.

Her big break came when she found out about a Canadian corporation that were planning to displace Oregon residents to accommodate an upcoming oil pipeline project. Mary collaborated with her neighbors and created a life-sized fake pipeline down her residential street, with her and her neighbors houses marked as condemned. This art installation and selfie spot resulted in educating many more people about the impact of the planned project and was picked up by a climate change activist. As a result, the project was shelved and the residents were not displaced.

Continuing on her journey, on the eve of the Paris Talks, Mary created a video with a heartfelt message about changing the paradigm and focusing on alternative energy systems. Her video was included with messages from other groups and shown to the world leaders in attendance.

The culmination of these efforts led to Mary writing her book to give other people ideas on how to participate and make a difference. Her book was written over 2 years ago, which allows for an evaluation of how we have progressed and what has changed. The climate analysis results identified that we have until 2030 to take specific action to change course. Mary shared the 3 steps identified to help:
1. Slash emissions in half by 2030
2. Plant a trillion trees
3. Change our agricultural process to sequestor carbon

Mary proposed that a conscious switch to alternative energy systems, wind and solar energy sources as a default, would align with the Sunrise Movement, the Green New Deal, and change the trajectory of the entire power industry. Combined with a strategy to manage our forests and coastlines, this process would create new careers and jobs.

Mary stated that the legacy of the climate crisis and its impacts connect directly to the quality of life for African and Latino people around the planet. However, the recent non-violent protests and restructure of society seen due to COVID-19 has also showed us the power of participation. Mary advised each club member to find an non-partisan organization, like MoveOn.org, to learn more and make sure their voice is heard by participating in the upcoming election.

During Q&A, Nick Despota shared his personal experience taking action after hearing Mary speak on NPR and purchasing her book. Nick shared that in addition to adopting a conservation lifestyle, he has also written over 350 letters. Mac noted that the Berkeley Rotary Club has a Climate Change committee, the Berkeley Rotary Climate Action Team (RCAT). The RCAT meets biweekly via Zoom on Thursdays at 1:00 pm. For meeting details, please contact Ignacio Franco, Berkeley Rotary.

Sidney shared an alternative perspective on the various types of human conservation practices around the world compared to the impact of the natural causes contributing to the climate changes.

Mary closed by acknowledging that we in the US have a choice to limit our impact on the planet as the largest polluter. We can choose to try and save and protect the earth.

President Stacey thanked Mary for showcasing the interconnectedness of climate change and racial justice and that we are a bipartisan club where all views are welcome.