In the beginning...
At 12:20 on a beautiful sunny day, President Cheree gaveled the best Rotary Club she knows to order. President C thanked all those whose work and support made today’s meeting possible.
Today’s meeting was a major departure from the typical: today was the “Mid-Term Club Assembly Conference and thus we did not have fining, but we did have these additional features:
- Each Rotarian was given a “passport” which provided proof and documentation that the Rotarian had visited the display tables for each Avenue of Service.
- A drawing was held to award two prizes: a year’s dues and some chocolates.
- Bryant Huber, Andy Giman and Terry Becket staffed the “Internet Bar”, where these gentlemen coached Rotarians on the best and most useful Rotary aps for installation on iphones and ipads.
Mid-Term Assembly
The purpose of the Mid-Term Assembly was to share the accomplishments and goals of each Avenue of Service. Here is a short re-cap of the comments:
Kay Bliss: International ServiceKay provided a comprehensive report on current and planned projects for Niger, India, Roatan, Cuba, Mexico, Uganda, Congo and Ghana. Kay highlighted the contributions of Carl Gross, Bob Skankey,
Tony Thacher, Bob Davis and Leslie Bouche.
Kay emphasized that she is not looking for projects to fund, rather she is interested in funding Rotarians who engaged in and committed to their projects.
Bret Bradigan: Community Service
Bret briefly described the major programs under CS: Living Treasures, Community Grants, Arbor Day. This Avenue of Service will distribute up to $30k in Community Grants, and is looking in particular for grant applications that show collaboration with other agencies and have a peace component. Applications are due March 15.
Suzanne Scar: Club Service
Suzanne shoulders the responsibility for all of those quotidian and unglamorous functions necessary for the club to survive. Here is what Suzanne and her team deliver with no fanfare:
- Logistics and Support
- Fundraising
- Reminder
- Fining
- Programs
- Sargent at Arms
- A/V
- Webmaster
Tara Saylor: Vocational Services
Tara is responsible for overseeing some of our most important and visible initiatives:
- Taste of Ojai with David Scarlett
- Portfolio Project at MJHS (April 30 and May 1)
In addition, Tara is running the “Fog Catcher” demonstration projects at MJHS and MO School. Also, Tara is looking to be an “incubator” for innovative initiatives.
Nancy O’Sullivan: Youth Service
Nancy described her work on these sectors:
- Interact Club with Kathy Yee
- The RYLA
- “Walk for Kids” to support the Ventura Ronald McDonald House
Judy Gabriel and Brian Berman: Peace
Although not a formal “Avenue for Service”, the Peace initiative can be seen as an umbrella for everything else Rotary does. Judy stressed that Peace must start within each of us and then extend outward.
New Member: Sue Gilbreth
Deirdre and Jack Jacobs gave a spirited talk on the importance of finding new quality members of the club. Jack insisted that the effort to recruit a new member is easy. (see attached description of the process).
To memorialize the importance of finding new members, Deirdre and Jack announced that Sue Gilbreth will be joining our club. Sue brings many assets and skills that will be helpful to our collective efforts, (and may offset her dubious choice of spouse):
- Sue is a skilled musician (Viola and fiddle)
- She is an energetic volunteer
- She is a productive fund raiser
President Cheree will be Sue’s mentor. Sue was welcomed with a standing ovation and genuine warmth.
New President and Board: Michael Scar
President-elect Michael introduced his new Board:
President Elect: Judy Gabriel
Secretary: Suzanne Scar
Treasurer: Sandy Buechly
Club Service: Betsy Watson
Community Service: Bret Bradigan
International: Leslie Bouche
Vocational: Tara Saylor
Youth: Nancy O’Sullivan
Membership: Jack Jacobs
Member at large: Michael Malone
Drawing
Fred Farkhani won the drawing which will pay his annual dues. Larry Beckett won the second prize, some chocolate.
Adjournment
President Cheree adjourned the meeting amid enthusiastic applause for a well run Mid-term review.
