Introduction
Co-president Carl Gross welcomed us to the meeting. He acknowledged this was meeting as president. Carl noted Father’s Day is coming up on Sunday and wished all the fathers a wonderful day.
He shared a joke and then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance on Flag Day.
Christine Golden’s inspiration moment was all about the teenager who designed the 50 star American flag.
After lunch co-president Carl thanked today’s meeting crew:
Bill Prather, Jerry Maryniuk, Bret Nighman and Wendy Barker for set up,
Bret Nighman on the roving mic,
Greeter Jerry Maryniuk,
Himself for leading the Pledge,
Christine Golden for the Inspirational Moment,
Welcome and lunch money taker, Dave Brubaker,
Photos by Jerry Maryniuk,
Jayne and her crew for our delicious meal,
Fining by Terry Beckett with Bob Eisler on the net
And the musical talents of Fern Barishman.
We welcomed a number of guests. The most worthy was Cindy Fring’s 2 year old granddaughter Ruby.
Program announcement by Jack Jacobs
Jack Jacobs announced our last speaker, Scott Daigre of Tomatomania. Jack acknowledged the other members of this year’s program committee: Wendy Barker, Carl Gross, Bret Bradigan, Dave Watson, Bill Prather, and Marty Pops.
Announcements
Two cards were sent around for Bob Skankey who broke his femur bicycling. He is recovering from surgery, and doing fine.
Bret Nighman shared information about Demotion on June 28 at the home of Bob Eisler and Liz Sampson. If you haven’t paid, please do asap. Live entertainment including singing and dancing will make this a fun party. Pay at the meeting, or online, no later than June 21.
Co-president shared the sad news that Cheree Edwards has severely declined this week.
Julie Tumamait-Stenslie
Mike Weaver gave a Paul Harris award to Julie Tumamait-Stenslie for a lifetime of preserving the history of her native ancestors and setting an example of outstanding community service in the Ojai Valley. He was standing in for Chere Edwards who, as Peace Committee Chair, has lead our club programs to promote peace, good will, and understanding int the community. Julie was given a certificate, a Paul Harris pin, and a donation to further her work. Julie spoke eloquently about her spiritual work throughout the valley.
Other Announcements
This Saturday, June 15, a number of people are volunteering with the Rotary Club of Ojai West is having their annual Wine Festival.
Larry Beckett looked for confessions.
Jeff Loebl thanked Betsy Watson for her work on community grants and Dave Watson for his leadership with scholarships. Dave Brubaker paid $65 for his Medicare birthday and shared that he and Bill Prather’s birthdays are both on Father’s Day. Fern Barishman’s two little doggies sadly went over the rainbow bridge. Renee Halbrook’s son got into a summer writing program at Cal Arts. Then Larry tried to stump people about the Summer Solstice. Dave Brubaker and Deidre Daly teamed up and got their question half right. Then Deidre Daly then got another question correct. Clinton Haugen’s missed his question and Catherine Lee had funny remarks, ending with the correct answer.
Program: Dr. Ocean
Jack Jacobs introduced on speaker today, Dr. David Gugenheim, aka the Ocean Doctor. For 18 years he’s led a program in Cuba exploring coral reefs and sea turtles. He is a professor at John Hopkins University and he works with the University of Havana, Center for Marine Research. David zoomed in for his interesting program, starting with a gorgeous video.
Coral reefs are in big trouble. We’ve lost 80 to 90% of the coral reefs in the Florida Keys, for example. But in Cuba the barrier reef is still in good shape. Corals are very, very sensitive. Climate change and the warming of the water are global factors damaging them. There are also local factors. One is that because Cuba couldn’t afford to fertilize, they don’t have the same run off of chemicals into the ocean as we do here. Nutrients bring algae and there isn’t enough fish to keep the algae in check. Another interesting yet alarming fact is that 99% of sea urchins died in the 1980s because of a virus and they have not recovered. They ate algae.
In Cuba Castro enacted some of the strongest environmental protected areas in the world. They have No Take areas, where fishing is not allowed. Environmental diplomacy that works.
We’ve lost about half of the coral reefs worldwide. We can’t save everything but we can focus on the healthiest reefs with the hope they can help reseed other areas at some point in the future. Ten percent of those healthy coral reefs that are most likely to survive and thrive are in Cuban waters.
For more information, watch Chasing Coral, a film on Netflix by a colleague of David’s, read his book, The Remarkable Reefs of Cuba, and watch him on YouTube with Anderson Cooper.
Exeunt Omnes
Our meeting ended with co-president Carl thanking all of us for our talents, passion, and time, that made this a stellar Rotary year.
Thanks Carl and Bill!
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