President Deirdre Daly rang the bell to commence the meeting.
Alexia Parks led us in the flag salute and Leslie Bouche gave us a thoughtful invocation:
"Let us take a breath, and turn within--taking a moment out of our busy day to connect with Gratitude.
Gratitude for our families and friends--gratitude for our beautiful valley and our community-gratitude for the fellowship of Rotary-and gratitude for our opportunities for service.
Service is at the center of our lives as Rotarians, and service will transform each of us personally just as much as the projects we do help to change the world. The opportunity to serve is truly a blessing from the Divine.
As the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote,
'I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy.'
Amen"
We escorted our guests and ourselves to the buffet for lunch.
Thanks to...
President Deirdre rang the bell again to thank Fred Coleman and Bill Prather for setting up the room for our meeting, Therese Brown and Randy Roth for warmly greeting all of our members and guests, Mike Malone for the roving mike, Sandy Buechley and Ren Adams for manning the front table, Suzanne Scar for serving as our Reminder Editor and Ginger Case for lunch!
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Our guests this week were Wade Nomura’s fiancé from Australia, Debbie and Bruce Bouche. Dr. Fred Fauvre introduced the PEP student of the month Leslie Ruiz, along with her twin brother Andrew, mom Norma and teacher Mrs. Patsch.
Ode to the Pint
Tony Thacher recited the Irish poem by Brian O’Nolan “The Workman’s Friend”:
"When things go wrong and will not come right,
Though you do the best you can,
When life looks black as the hour of night-
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.
When money's tight and hard to get
And your horse has also ran,
When all you have is a heap of debt-
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.
When health is bad and your heart feels strange,
And your face is pale and wan,
When doctors say you need a change,
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.
When food is scarce and your larder bare
And no rashers grease your pan,
When hunger grows as your meals are rare,
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.
In time of trouble and lousey strife,
You have still got a darlint plan
You still can turn to a brighter life-
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.
Announcements
The announcements for this meeting were:
Thank you to Jane Spiller for coordinating the dinner and play last Friday.
Alex Kim for inviting the Rotarians to a fabulous lunch at the new Ojai Valley Inn Farmhouse.
Colin and Cindy will be hosting the 5
th Friday at their home at 6:00 on March 29. Please sign up if you are attending.
Larry Wilde reminded us all of the 2019 Fred Clapp Award which honors a non-Rotarian business owner in the Ojai Valley who exhibits high ethical standards. Forms were at each table for us to recommend our choice for this award.
Bruce Bouche..a Paul Harris Fellow
Bruce Bouche was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship. Congratulations, Bruce!
The PEP Student of the Month Award was presented by Dr. Fred Fauvre. Teacher Mrs. Patsch introduced PEP student Leslie Ruiz from Mira Monte Elementary, who thanked the Rotary Club for this award and $300. She finished her speech with wise words, “Stay Active!”.
President Deirdre announced that there would be no fining and that 4 Rotarians were honored by the Chamber of Commerce Awards. Marc & Julia Whitman, Andy Gilman, Alex Kim and Steve Adams.
Leslie Clark gave us an update on the
Nomad Foundation in Niger and the many projects the International Services Committee have been involved in.
The Program: Past Governor, Wade Nomura
Mike Weaver introduced Wade Nomura, former District Governor in 2011-2012 and President of Nomura/Yamasaki Landscapes, Inc. Wade also serves/served as Zone Trainer, Speaker at the Rotary Presidential Peace Conference for Civil Rights, International Technical Coordinator of Cadres for Water and Sanitation, Community and Economic Development in English and Spanish speaking countries, Rotary International Director Nominating Committee, Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee Chair, Southern CA/Nevada PETS Chair and producer and host the TV show “Rotary Serving our Community”.
Wade spoke to us about being involved with projects in nearly 30 different countries on 5 different continents for Rotary. With a Cadre for Water and Sanitation, he has evaluated 20 Global Grant projects totaling $3.5 million and benefitting over one million people.
At the local level Wade is the Mayor of Carpinteria, President of the Carpinteria Boys and Girls Club Foundation, President of the Santa Barbara Junior golf Tour and the President of the Santa Barbara Japanese American Citizens League.
President Deirdre left us with these words from John F. Kennedy,
“Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel Prizes – one for peace and one for science.”
