On a warm, but seasonably so, early October morning turning on the noontide, a hardy group of go-doers ambled into the St. Thomas Aquinas Hall for the newest installment in the three-quarters-of-a-century epic adventure that is the Rotary Club of Ojai, where they were warmly greeted by Suzanne Scar.
After the usual schmoozefest, Wendy Barker called the meeting to order, with Bob Eisler giving us a rousing flag salute, and Bret Bradigan (yr humble correspondent) giving an invocation about how humanity’s finest moments often come during disasters, citing our club’s heroic fund-raising efforts during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 under the leadership of club president Nic Frank. He cited passages from Rebecca Solnit’s important book, “A Paradise Built in Hell,” about the connection and resilience people find in each other during disasters such as the unfolding Hurricane Helene.
Guests included Margaret Marapao with SagePointe Wealth Management, brought to us by Fern Barishman, and our program presenter Paula Power, along with another Meiners Oak park organizer.
Wendy gave a grateful shoutout to our meeting crew today:
Room set up and tech crew– Kelley Rasmussen
Greeter – Suzanne Scar
Roving mic – Bret Bradigan
Moneyman – Dave Brubaker
Flag salute – Bob Eisler
Inspirational moment – Bret Bradigan
Finer – Cindy Frings
Bag – Bob Davis
Reporter – Bret Bradigan
Jayne Cruise for our delicious meals each week
Announcements:
Wendy said, “Thank you to everyone who came to our picnic in Libbey Park last week. I thought it was really fun, and the movie Maya and the Wave was amazing. Shout out to President-Elect Sue Gilbreth for sharing her talent with food.”\
There’s no social this month on the 25th, as Taste of Ojai will occupy the club’s efforts on Oct. 27th.
TASTE OF OJAI
Speaking of which, Deirdre read off the list of vendors signed up and urged everyone to support them in this intensive effort to help the club. (Little) Bret Nighman talked about the amazing sponsors which have signed on to help, including stalwart club members like Tony at Friends Ranch, Haady Lashkari with the Ojai Valley Community Hospital, Christine Fenn with the Gables of Ojai, Marc Whitman with the Iguana hotels, Gabi Cesena (friend of the club), SagePointe Wealth’s Margaret (our guest) and others.
Bob Davis added that we are yet short of our goal, but thanks to the tireless efforts of Fern Barishman, we have 70 “asks” out there, with more to come. We need 40 total sponsors so the goal is within reach. Fern, in fact, was awarded the Bob Davis Red Beret of Distinction for her hard work. Also getting a nod was Leah Hecker, for taking over the website and other outreach efforts.
Wendy said that donations are being urged for Hurricane Helene relief in devastated areas. Those areas overlap Rotary Districts Zone 33 & 34, and they are organizing relief efforts. Heading up that effort is Zone 33/34 director Patrick Eakes. Information to make a donation - be it through check, ACH or wire transfer - can go to RIZones33-34.org/disaster-relief. They are asking the Rotary clubs in affected areas to coordinate as well, and to appoint teams of experienced leaders with disaster relief experience. This will insure that the aid goes directly to where needed, without layers of bureaucratic confusion in this ever-shifted scenario of destruction.
Dave Watson also noted that there is a blood drive for the affected area being organized in Ventura. The date is Thursday, October 10th from 2 to 6:45 pm, at the top of Mills Road, 3501 Loma Vista Road. For more information, call Debra or Trevor at 805-90-14886.
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
Wendy said that the RCOEF has a couple vacancies on their board of this $6 million endowment with which we fund more than $150,000 in scholarships each year. See Jeff Loebl or Haady Lashkari if you are interested in serving.
PROGRAMS:
October 11: Tom Krause, to talk about his newest book, “If Your Culture Could Talk.”
October 18: Bob Roper, former VC fire chief, Wildfire!
MUSEUM MOMENT:
Wendy took us on photographic tour of the El Roblar Hotel, from its sparse beginnings in the early 1900s, through the various photo manipulations used in its marketing materials, to the lush jungle it presented in the 1940s.
FINING
Cindy Frings ascended the podium to a smattering of golf claps, only to say she’d switched from a fining session about our distinguished president Wendy, to Suzanne and Michael Scar, who are taking a year-long sabbatical. First they will spend 4.5 months on an international cruise, then spend the rest of the year in Portugal, on a shelf overlooking the Atlantic, in a setting Suzanne said looked remarkably like Ojai.
With able bagman Bob Davis scurrying about the room with a glower of money-raising intent, they extracted funds from:
But first, Confessions:
- Patricia Gates, birthday, donated $100, you read into that what you will
- Bill Hatch, birthday as well, donated $100 but clarified he was 81
- Christine Golden, birthday, 80 yo, gave us a great rendition of Julie Andrews’ classic, “Few of My Favorite Things” in which Julie rewrote lyrics to include such gems as:
“Cadillacs, cataracts, hearing aids, glasses / Polident, Fixodent, false teeth in glasses / Pacemakers, gold carts and porches with swings
“When the pipes leak, when the bones creak, when the knees go bad.”
Dave Brubaker took the opportunity to thank our own Rod Owen for retiring after 17 years of running the Ojai Valley Shelter’s annual golf tournament, during which he raised more than $350k for the estimable organization.
Cindy then tasked a few questions about our departing stalwart couple the Scars: What are among their favorite travel memories? Including the Funchal Couch Race, near where they will stay in Portugal, as well as the emergency delivery of a special vintage wine for a grand occasion while on a cruise ship, which took place by drone. Don Reed guessed correctly, while Kelly Rasmussen and Randy Roth were stumped.
Program: Paula Power
Deirdre Daly introduced Paula Power, who talked about the innovative approach to building a public park in Meiners Oak, at the site of the derelict carwash near the five points intersection. Power grew up in Ojai, and spent her career as a biologist with the National Park Service.
She stressed the need for people to connect with nature, citing a statistic that youth typically spend four to seven hours per day on electronic devices, and fewer than 4 to 7 minutes in “unstructured play.” She asked us to remember our first experiences being in the great outdoors, the calming sense of timeless rhythms, beauty and sense of wonder.
She has lived in Meiners Oaks for 20 years, and said it’s got great restaurants, hardware store, brand-new library, etc, everything required for an incredible quality of life. But it is missing one key ingredient: a public park. She began several years ago meeting with a core group to conceive and organize around the county-owned two-acre property of the car wash. They’ve come up with a plan, which includes play structures for kids, “things to stack and build,” benches, picnic tables and covered picnic areas, drinking fountain with a focus on the nature all around. There is also planned a .25-mile walking path, and a Portland loo (it will be the only public restroom in MO).
Power also mentioned that the park has exceptional views of Chief Peak.
The park is expected to cost about $2 million, and about $765,000 has been raised from the state and county. A full capital campaign is about to start. The Meiners Oaks Park committee has established a tax-exempt 501(c)3 foundation with various committees for the design, fund-raising and such. Another $2 million endowment is also expected to be necessary down the road to fund maintenance and improvements on a sustaining basis, drawing 3-4 percent annually from the earnings.
Meiners Oaks Park needs the community to rally behind it. Besides money for the capital campaign, they have needs for all kinds of volunteers - plumbers, designers, gardeners, committee service and more. You can find out more at ImagineMOpark.org
CLOSING
Wendy re-recommended Paula’s recommendation The Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv.
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