Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
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ClubRunner
The Ojai Rotary Club Reminder
July 7th, 2017
July is Literacy Month
 
In the beginning...
 

As the thermometer crept into three digits, Rotarian numbering into the high two-digits wandered into the Soule Park Clubhouse, heck bent on daring deeds of do-gooderism. They found the place, as it was the club’s first meeting of the Rotary year, and the first in which the cherished gavel was wielded by newly inaugurated president  Mike Malone.

 

If they were looking to find good news, a bright tonic against the woes of the world, they were quickly reassured they’d come to the right place. 

 

Capturing the all-important lucre was Randy Roth at the sign-in desk, while amiably greeting us were Bill Weirick and Tony Thacher, with a timely assist by Allan Jacobs. 

 

Flag salute: Bryant Huber

Invocation: Carl Gross

 

Guests

 

Mrs. Carol Pilkington, an ICU nurse at Ojai Hospital and Medical Insurance consultant, escorted by Dr. Fred Fauvre.

 

Prez Mike used the opportunity to welcome back Lerie Bjornstedt and Colin Jones. Lerie had a medical episode, while Colin was returning from vacationing in his Welsh homeland after a stint in Hawaii.

 

 

 

Upcoming Programs

 

Dave Brubaker gave us preview of coming attractions:

 

- District Gov. John Weiss on July 14th

- Ojai Mayor Johnny Johnston on July 21st

- UCSB economist Peter Rupert on July 28th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Announcements:

 

- Betsy Watson told us that Sean Daly’s (Deirdre’s late, lamented husband) memorial service would be tomorrow, July 8th, at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, with a followup gathering at B.D. Dautsch’s farm on 1091 Cuyama Road.

 

- Sandy Buechley, chair of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, said the reception for the exhibit at the Museum would also be July 8th, from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit will showcase the OVLC’s 30-year history of preservation.

 

- Bill Gilbreth gave us the happy news that the OUSD board approved the Pavilion Project for Matilija Junior High School. 

 

New/Returning Member

 

Membership Chair Marc Whitman got the year off to a positive start, by presenting Larry Mulholland, who was a member of our club for 12 years before moving to Idaho. Now he’s back and raring to go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLUB ASSEMBLY

 

International Service Committee — Mike Weaver

Mike walked us through the very many project his busy committee was engaged upon, including several Global and District grants for micro-enterprise loans and mentorship in Bosnia; micro-credits to our partner group, the Nomad Foundation, in Niger; the Prashanti School in India; and Tony Thacher-led efforts in Cuba to provide baseball gear.

 

The committee - made up of Terry Beckett, Kay Bliss, Leslie Bouche, Leslie Clark, Bob Davis, Carl Gross, Nathan Kaehler, Pradeep Kapadia, Dr. Bob Skankey, Jane Spiller, Tony Thacher as well as aforementioned Mike Weaver - also participated in wide-ranging events, from the Rotary International Convention to the Ojai Centennial.

 

 

 

 

Club Service — Betsy Watson

 

Betsy got us up-to-date on her top-notch team, including Dave Brubaker on programs; Jack Jacobs on fining; Carl Gross on the Reminder; Suzanne Scar on Taste of Ojai; Bryant Huber as our top tech; and Rob Roddick as the Sergeant-at-Arms.

 

She also asked for volunteers for two important jobs — public relations person and social events chair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Membership Chair — Marc Whitman

 

 

Marc noted that the committee included some of the club’s most prestigious members, Al West, Sandy Buechley, Al West, Dave Watson, Lerie Bjornstedt and Colin Jones. He asked members to think of people who’d be of value to the club and invite them to have a look. A goal is to bring in younger, more diverse members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secretary — Mike Scar

 

Mike said his job is to be the liaison with the Rotary District and RI, to keep the data flowing into Clubrunner, and to keep the minutes and records of proceedings. Also, he asked us to go into Clubrunner and keep our contact info up-to-date. And if we have any tech questions, “I’ll do my best to get answers back to you.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Treasurer — Don Reed

 

Don ran us through the basics for the past year — in which we brought in income of $139,092 and expenses of $123,052, leaving us with impressive $16,040 profit. Don also said that the another couple grand coming in, to bring that total up even further. Taste of Ojai, in particular, was the big winner - bringing in more than $35,000 profits, outperforming the budget by more than $5,000.

 

Don does double duty - he’s also treasurer for the Rotary Club of Education Foundation, which, thanks to a very generous donation from the Wilson family, doubled to $4.26 million. The foundation board decides each year how much of the endowment to pay out in scholarships; typically 4 percent or nearly $90,000. 

 

Youth Services — Bryant Huber

 

Bryant gave an impassioned plea about youth services, saying that he met his wife Carin when they were both performing with the Young Americans troupe. He wants to bring it back to Ojai. 

 

Other continuing projects include Randy Roth’s Rotary Readers; Mike Weaver with RYLA; Senior Career Day, Matilija Portfolio Project with Larry Beckett; and the Connecting with Careers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vocational Services — Colin Jones

 

Colin was gearing up for a busy year, hoping to promote younger people getting into the “trades,” where high-paying jobs as welders and machinists go for the begging. “Not everyone is on a college track,” he said. “And there are a lot of jobs in the trades.”

 

Continuing projects are proceeding apace — Matilija Portfolio Day, Fred Clapp Business in Ethics, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finishing up, Mike Malone told us that the new manager of Soule Park brought back Ginger as our banquet server, to a well-earned round of applause. Keith Brown told Mike he was happy to continue hosting us.

 

Gaveling us to a close, Mike chose these words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Keep your fears to yourself; but share your courage with others."