In the beginning...
President Betsy called the meeting to order at 12:10.
Terry Beckett greeted us as we entered the meeting.
Janet Campbell led us in the Flag Salute
and Kevin Davis read a message about the Rotary Club of Kyiv for our invocation:
From Taras Tertychinyi
Ukrainian business resilience.
Yesterday I attended the bi-weekly meeting of my Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Kyiv International Business. Due to the .. outside of Ukraine, instead of our regular meeting at the hospitality of Radisson Hotel in Kyiv.
What have I learned?
Initially, all businesses – either situated or headquartered in Kyiv – have focused on the safety of their employees and support of the Ukrainian Army. Warehouses, showrooms, and offices were destroyed by the Russian fire. Still, the companies managed to relocate hundreds of employees to the western parts of Ukraine or to the EU…In the month since the beginning of the war, however, everybody is gearing up to work….their employees – many of them being refugees in Ukraine or abroad – are eager to get back to work. …Buy Ukrainian products and services and help us save ourselves.
President Betsy encouraged everyone in the room to wave to our many Rotarians on zoom.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Randy Roth introduced his guest, Tess Turner
This Day in History...
President Betsy, shared that on this day in history, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs’ parents' house in Cupertino, CA.
We will be dark on April 15 for Easter.
April 22nd is our Arbor Day Celebration. Plans are still in flux.
Upcoming Programs
Andy Gilman announced Meagan from Help of Ojai is our speaker next week, then Pradeep has been rescheduled for April 15th,
A sign-up sheet to help the Diaper Bank at Secure Beginnings on Wednesday at 9:30 am was sent around. Bring a mask and gloves. It will be a couple of hours of work but you don’t have to stay for the whole time.
Paul Harris Recognition
Tony Thacher handed out TRF pins to Janet Campbell, Fred Coleman and President Betsy Watson.
Taste of Ojai
Taste of Ojai is almost here. A full committee meeting will be held on site, Tuesday at Libbey Park at 5pm.
There will be a special perk just for Rotarians – you can pick up Taste of Ojai your wrist band in advance, at the our next meeting so you don’t have to stand in line at the event.
Greg Webster announced a Fireside Chat tonight at 4-5:30 pm Ojai Valley Brewery. Snacks provided and BuyYOB. All Rotary are welcome. It will be fun.
Thanks to...
President Betsy thanked everyone who helped today. They include Greeter Terry Beckett, Janet Campbell for the Invocation and roving mic, Kevin Davis for the invocation, Deirdre Daly at the front desk, finer Larry Wilde, room set up Bill Prather and Andy Gilman and yours truly, Wendy Barker, Reminder Editor.
Rotary Humor
Confessions and Fining
Larry Wilde was our fine master. Catherine Lee confessed she’s going on a trip to Israel and asked for help with a message in Hebrew.
Wendy Barker announced the museum has a new exhibition up, Ojai at the Crossroads, and she has a new grandson, Luke Patterson, born early that morning.
Larry’s questions were all about April Fool’s Day. Rene Halbrook, got not one but two questions right, and was off the hook. Dominic Pino, on zoom, missed his question. Greg Webster got his question right but paid up.
Andy Gilman introduced our speaker, Tom Maloney. Tom worked at the Nature Conservancy, Audubon, and the Tejon Ranch Conservancy before landing at the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy. Tom is an avid birder, hiker, and an inept surfer. He joined OVLC about three months before COVID started.
Their mission is to protect and restore the open space, wildlife habitat, watersheds, and views of the Ojai Valley for current and future generations. The big question they ask themselves is “how can we partner with the community to adapt as needed to the changing climate?”
The organization is in a growth mode right now. They recently received a $91,000 grant and have also added 28 acres. There are 11 staff members with two more being added soon.
Their Ojai Meadow Preserve, Valley View Preserve and Ventura River Preserve, before had about 60k visitors per year pre-covid. They estimate visitors have jumped about three-fold since then.
Upcoming projects include a small, shaded parking lot for the meadow. And adopting a new Rice, Wheels loop trail.
They can help with the wild urban interface here –how to balance fuels management and wildlife management.
Land acquisition is a focus. North facing slopes especially, as they are critically important for climate change resiliency. OVLC is looking to expand their holdings on Sulphur Mountain.
Restoration is major focus. Arundo removable is doable here. Recently mapped, they now know there are “only” 70 acres of Arundo in the watershed. Lots of it is on private land so that should lead to good relationships with additional land owners.
How can land and water conservation work together for conservation? There is an opportunity here to be a demonstration area for the country, to reassess how we make land use choices. Working toward climate resilience is a must.
President Betsy ended the meeting with a Japanese proverb:
“We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.”
Dr. Fred Favre reminded us that 
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