In the Beginning…
President Cheree gaveled the meeting to order and welcomed everyone at 12:10, and brought the meeting to a close an hour and twenty minutes later.
Michael Scar lead us in our flag salute and Suzanne Scar lifted our spirits with her Invocation. President Cheree then recessed the meeting for lunch – after asking that we escort our guests to the buffet table.
Appreciation…
When she resumed the meeting, at approximately 12:30, President Cheree invited everyone to continue with lunch while she thanked Bill Prather and his stalwarts for setup, Kathy Yee for serving as our Greeter, Michael for the flag salute, Suzanne for the invocation, Matt Clements for chaperoning the roving mike, Deirdre Daly for serving as our photographer, your obedient servant as the Reminder Editor, and – most of all – Ginger, for our lunch and her continued good cheer.
Welcomes…
President Deirdre then welcomed our guests - including special guest Tiffany Morris.
Announcements…
President Cheree began by announcing that our Club has again been named as the Best Service Organization in the Ojai Valley, for the fifth consecutive year. She then:
Awarded a “Cheree Buck” to Suzanne Scar, for correctly answering that this year will be our 19th Taste of Ojai – and recognized the many hard workers who are about to again make “Taste” an enormous success.
Called on Bret Bradigan to announce the upcoming October Classic.
Brought us up to date on the recently concluded District Conference (attended by, in addition to President Cheree, Sandy Buechley, Kathy Yee, Tara Saylor, Mike & Susan Weaver, Suzanne & Michael Scar, and Kay Bliss) – in which Kay was named Rotarian of the Month, Mike Weaver hosted our Peace booth, and the club’s recent Polio Plus fundraiser @ Bocalli’s was recognized by the District as a “Model Event”!!
Fining…
Greg Webster then took the podium as Fine Master – to less than thunderous applause, and with Colin Jones as his bag man – and befuddled us with a continuing series of questions concerning the Channel Islands. (Good job, Greg; it was fun and, with the opening confessions, raised money for our various service projects – which is what fining is all about.)
The Program…
Our speaker was Ventura County Chief Deputy District Attorney Mike Frawley – who began by describing the increased attention his office is giving to domestic violence cases. (When he started with the office 30 years ago, Mike handled all such cases, in addition to his other duties. Now 10% of the staff attorneys (12 Assistants) handle over 600 domestic violence cases a year – and what was just the D.A.’s Family Justice Center has grown to separate space (near the hospital) supported by dozens of different agencies.
Mr. Frawley then described his office, generally:
- 100 attorneys and 45 investigators.
- Separate units to handle such recurring crimes as homicides, gang violence, drug trafficking and elder abuse.
- Approximately 20,000cases/year, which leads to about 200 trials/year. (90% of those charged with a crime in Ventura County are found guilty, by plea or by trial.)
Closing….
President Cheree concluded the meeting by warmly thanking Mr. Frawley, presenting him with our traditional Speaker’s gift of Ojai’s Pixie Tangerines, and gaveling the meeting to a close at 1:30 with President Truman’s comment that:
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
Yours truly,
Bill Gilbreth