Marty, we will miss you.
By now you should have received the sad report of the death of our friend, mentor and perfect Rotarian, Marty Babayco. His celebration of life will be on August 19th at 10 AM at the Ojai Presbyterian Church. Kay has asked if any of you have photos or mementoes of or about Marty that might be of interest, the family would be most appreciative if they could borrow them for the event.
A personal note: Please add the names Marty Babayco and Kay Bliss to the list of exceptional explorers of the unknown and those who probe the future. You know that list. Dynamic Duos such as: Lewis and Clark; Armstrong and Aldrin, Earhart and Noonan, Hillary and Norgay, and the Curie’s.
The trails that Marty and Kay have blazed for Rotary, locally and internationally, for our community in education and mental health are unique and will stand the test of time. No one else that I know could bend the force of intellectual curiosity, sensible foresight, and all-encompassing empathy and understanding into a gentle yet overwhelming force for collective involvement, and a positive future. With Kay, this dynamic altruistic Gentleman changed my life, and yours, for the better! Thank You!
In the Beginning...
In other news, CoPres Carl gaveled to order our peripatetic group of wildly “service above self” volunteers and supporters at a bit past noon in our smaller and more collegial room, Kent Hall, not named for famous Kent Hall, best known as the inventor of the useful “Hall Closet”.
The Bag lunch consisted of Turkey sandwiches and additives built, bagged and bussed by our own (for the day) Jayne. Yum! A perfect transition from lunch to program following a “fowl” theme, as the subject today was “Condors “and their resurgence to 561 total birds. There are, apparently, more turkeys, but their eggs aren’t as big!
But I digress, which I may do more than once, while I try to read my writing.
Thank-Yous
Carl enthusiastically thanked the following:
Setup/Technology: Kelley Rasmussen, Jerry Maryniuk, Bill Prather and Andy Gilman.
Pledge of Allegiance: Clinton Haugen.
Inspirational moment: Fern Barishman quoted famed Rabbi Hillel:
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if not now, when?
Money manager; Dave Brubaker.
Greeter: Sorry, the badge stayed in the box, so, for anyone who missed a greeting:
HELLO!! Welcome to Ojai Rotary, the most energetic club in Rotary!
Fining and Net person: Clinton Haugen (for a red Badger he really knew his stuff!)
Roving Mic: Bret (the younger)Nighman.
Reminder Editor: Bob Davis ( Randy, Come Back!!, Please)
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Next came the introduction of Visiting Rotarians (a species about a rare as a Condor in the wild) and guests. (A little note in the agenda I was given says get the signup sheet to see names of guests and Rotarians. I wish I had seen that first.) Editor's Note...I had the signup sheet.
Guests included:
Judy Hillewaert, guest of Kevin Davis
Taundra Roddick, special guest of Carl Gross
Debbie Parisi, our guest speaker
It was nice seeing Marc Whitman!
I was so busy thinking up puns and zings that I missed the names of some guests. I do remember Judy Hillewaert, dog trainer, was a guest at the same table as special guest Taundra Roddick, daughter of the CoPres Carl, and wife of Robert Roddick. Our speaker. Debbie Parisi was also introduced. If there were other guests that I missed, please come again and the next Editor might get it right.
Carl then asked Cherie Edwards to come forward and receive her Paul Harris +4 which was granted to her by Immediate past co-presidents Marty and Kay for all her effort for the club during their year. Congrats to our Club Cheer Leader for a job well done. (Curious aside: The first Paul Harris Awards ($1,000) were given out in 1948. $1000 then is equal to over $12,000 today. In essence, Rotary is giving these things away at a 90% discount. Get yours today!)
Report on Community Service
Betsy Watson gave her community service report and appeal, succinctly repeated here:
Our goal for this year is to support our club menders as we pitch in for the benefit of our favorite valley. All are Welcome! Please sign up for this Avenue of Service and we will have a meeting (soon).
Community Grants is our high visibility gift to Ojai. Other projects include, (but may not be limited to) the October classic, Nordhoff Cemetery cleanup, Contra Dance. New ideas include a community shred event, CPR classes, A bicycle event. Have a project in mind? Let’s do it!”
Carl and Bill have started a new tradition for this year. Each month a worthy club member will receive a pin recognizing them as the “Rotarian of the Month”. Today, the first recipient was announced. It is thrilling when one of our newest members grabs the crystal, er, brass. Congratulations to Kelley Rasmussen for earning the recognition!!
Fining and Confessions
Fining and confessions were handled coolly by Clinton Haugen. Well, confessions, as there wasn’t time for trivia. Cheree succinctly reiterated Kay’s request for Marty pics or memorabilia.
Bret, the younger, showed off the new mic which became necessary after a rolling accident caused the loss of the old one.
Catherine Lee reminisced about her early days in Rotary, including a trip to Niger where a revolution occurred. Is it Déjà vu all over again?
Andy Gilman announced that the movie Psycho will be shown free on Monday night at the brewery on Bryant, presented by the AGORA foundation. You may not see this by Monday, so the important thing is this is a part of an ongoing series of classic Hitchcock films every other week, so check them out! Click here for more information.
Kathy Yee is celebrating 53 years of marriage to the same person. Let’s hear it for Larry and Kathy!!!
Bill Prather is into the construction business in Camarillo resuscitating an older house and feeling justified pride in how it’s going.
There was more. I confess.
Upcoming Programs
Jack Jacobs, in his capacity as Program chair, announced that his verbal doppelganger, Colonel Jack Jacobs has been rescheduled to August 25th on Zoom due to time conflicts.
This Friday, Col. Keith Nightengale will be presenting the current status of our involvement and readiness in Taiwan, Ukraine, and will discuss our supply and demand for armament. Word on the street is that this guy out Nightengales Keith.
Even Jack says he will stay awake for this one!
Tara Saylor deftly introduced our program speaker, Debbie Parisi, who spoke elegantly about her favorite subject, our feathered neighbor, the California Condor.
Debbie was full of encyclopedic knowledge of these birds and her presentation was well documented and illustrated. I extracted just a bit for your memory bank which follows, but I urge you to follow any threads you might seek for more information on these fascinating creatures.
Current North American condor population:
World: 561 (up from 22 in 82)
Free flying pop: 347 of which 89 are nearby.
Captive population: 214:
Ways to help? Volunteer! Activities including helping with refugee projects, monitoring Condor nests, provide help an outreach at educational booths, staff Condor viewing area by Bitter Creek NWR: supervise tours for the public.
OK, and if you don’t want to volunteer, but still help, then here is how:
- follow “leave no trace” principles when you are in a condor habitat area
- NEVER feed or approach a Condor; but report sightings to: HopperMountain@FWS.gov or call 805 655 518?
- Always use lead free ammunition
- Donate to FCCW&F to support their work.
Ms. Parisi was kind enough to leave her email (Debbie@friendsofcondors.org) should anyone have more questions. it is not often that one gets to use the term “for the birds” in a positive sense, But Today was definitely a different story.
Penultimate thoughts... SCE
For the last several weeks SCE has been performing “routine” maintenance, including long outages during the heat of the day. I have contacted a good acquaintance within SCE’s hallowed halls and have asked them for information as to what we can do in these situations. I hope to have something to share with you by next week. I When I receive anything, I will forward to next weeks editor.
SCE Emergency Services / Outages and Power Concerns
(800) 611-1911 / Open 24 hrs
General Customer Service / Any other type of issue:
(800) 655-4555
Additionally, SCE has a Critical Care Backup Battery Program. Customers in high fire risk areas on qualified medical devices and enrolled in our Medical Baseline Allowance program may be eligible for a battery to be delivered and set up, including training in the use of the battery at no cost. Inquiries: (800) 736-4777
And a reminder: contact SCE to update outage notifications if a customer would prefer to be contacted via email or cell text, etc.
Ultimate Thoughts...
Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Will Rogers
Finally, a note of thanks to Reminder chair, Carl, for allowing me total freedom to exercise my “it’s all about me” button one more time. I’m trying to follow Deirdre’s mantra about Rotary. If it’s not fun, it’s not OUR Rotary. I had fun, and I think I just heard Marty LAUGH!
Now, Hopefully, it’s your turn!
YIRS, Bob
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