Our 1.4 million-member organization started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.
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In the beginning....
HIGHLIGHT: Opening - WATCH
This Friday, September 8th, Co-President Bill Prather called the meeting to order 
where we welcomed yet another packed room of Rotarians and guests.
Inspirational moment...
HIGHLIGHT: Invocation - WATCH
Christine Golden gave us this poem by Donna Ashworth, called Hello September, The Season of Letting Go:
And so begins the season of Letting Go
when Mother Nature shows us all
how it's done.
Let go,
free yourself,
shake it off,
drop it,
give way for the new.
Create space for new thoughts, new ideas,
new adventures, and new connections,
by shedding the dead weight you've been carrying around for so long.
And while you were there being reborn and renewed,
let go of old anxieties too.
Let go of any doubts, fears, or beliefs which no longer service you well.
Release bitterness or past hurts, which feasts on your beauty.
Be brave.
Don't fear the nakedness as your leaves slip away.
Mother Nature doesn't,
watch and learn.
Introductions and Thank Yous
HIGHLIGHT: Thank yous and visitors - WATCH
Bill thanked Jerry Maryniuk and Cindy Frings for the room setup.
Fern Barishman for the pledge of allegiance. Christine Golden for that inspirational moment. Greeter, Bret Bradigan. Roving mic, Haady Lashkari. Treasurer, Dave Brubaker for taking our money. And yours truly, Kevin Davis for editing the newsletter. Bill also gave a very special “have fun” shoutout to our greeting accompanist, the very talented Fern Barishman.
We had a number of guests attend our meeting this week, but no visitin
g Rotarians. Guests included Alec Lorimore, Joyce West, Jeff Hooper and special guest, Dr. Chris Lee. We also were joined on zoom by Chris from Honduras
Moments of History with Bret Bradigan
HIGHLIGHT: Bret Bradigan's historical interludes - WATCH
We were then all nailed to the seats of our chairs in breathless anticipation as Bret Bradigan treated us to seven minutes of not-taught-in-my-high-school US history, deep from the annals of his incredible mind. This week, the trials and tribulations of Jim Thorpe, one of the world’s greatest athletes ever, and the first Native American Olympic gold medalist.
Announcements...
Road trip a great success...
On September 7, a group of Rotarians led by Jerry Maryniuk, went to the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology. A good time was had by all.
HIGHLIGHT: Lets Have Fun - The Rotary Year - WATCH
It’s hard to believe, but it’s already one quarter way through this Rotary year. The theme for this year for Rotary District 5240 is “Lets Have Fun.” Carl and Bill are trying hard to make sure that we all do just that. It started with the phenomenal “pop-up” social we had the prior Friday at the Ojai Valley Brewery. Cheree Edwards has also done a phenomenal job with the newly reconstituted Peace Committee. Burning Mud Man survivor Tara Saylor, is heading up the events committee. Catherine Lee is heading up the Christmas party planning.
We still do need someone to lead the PR committee and for people to help, particularly with marketing around our events, as Kevin Davis has stepped down from the board to go back to grad school. Finally, Bill was delighted to announce that Wendy Barker is now our new President-Elect, as Sean McDermott will now be in Santa Barbara and was unable to take the role.
Programs with Jack Jacobs...
HIGHLIGHT: Jack Jacobs talks about upcoming programs - WATCH
With that, Bill invited Jack Jacobs to fill us in on all the upcoming programs. All of the programs, except one, have been filled for the year and we have some very exciting people and events in store.
Ever meet someone who is curious about Rotary but is not quite ready or unable to attend an event in person? Jack suggests inviting them to attend a meeting via zoom. It's an excellent way to give people a front-and-center view of all that we do.
Upcoming programs:
Featured Program:
HIGHLIGHT: Bret Nighman interviews twice Oscar-nominated filmmaker Alec Lorimore. A resident of Ojai, Alec is a twice Oscar-nominated filmmaker with over 30 years experience as a production executive, producer, writer, and director of financially successful, award-winning documentary films, among other things. Here are a few highlights brought to you by Zoom and Fathom.video:
Rotary Club of Ojai Co-President Bill Prather closed the program very punctually.
Looking forward to seeing you again at an upcoming club meeting!
You are invited to visit us at an upcoming meeting.
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