It was a sweltering summer noontide when the Rotary Club of OJai all linked in by the dozens for the first meeting of the co-presidency of Marty Babayco and Kay Bliss. Being on Zoom was both nostalgic and slightly retraumatizing.

 

As we waited for the opening gavel, some shared fruit tree stories: Leslle Bouche, with a surplus of apple butter from last year’s crop of her Anna apple tree, is now cooking up big batches of applesauce, while Christine Golden rued the vanishing peaches on her tree. Speculation ran either to squirrels or enterprising birds. Leslie also had plentiful plums: “The bluejays knock them down but they don’t like them much this year.”

 

Members shared a few stories. Leslie talked about keeping cool in her client meeting, even after being interrupted with a spider’s sharp bite. "All I could to keep from ripping it off and running around the room screaming. The soul of cool. They never knew,” she said. “The next several days, though, I was completely creeped out.”

 

PLEDGE: Bill Prather led us in the flag salute, particularly appropriate after Ojai’s big 4th of July parade.

 

INVOCATION: Kevin Davis gave us a Stoic meditation from Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, that we are not the first generation of humans to face adversity and that, “What stands in our way becomes the way.”

 

GUEST: Bruce Hanson joined us.

 

All told our our attendance was just over 50 - a full two screens worth of faces with a party going on with Sue, Suzanne, Deirdre and Cindy.

 

 

- BETSY’S DEMOTION PARTY: New co-prez Marty thanked the organizing crew of Michael, committee of Cindy, Suzanne, Sue and Kathy Yee for opening her beautiful home on the clement evening of June 24th.

 

- Marty said we should have received our Membership Dues Fees & Invoice. Membership fees have been reduced because of fewer meetings and so forth. He urged prompt payment online or to either bring checks.

 

 

 

 

- New board members took a bow, and Marty said they will continue to meet the third Thursday of the month at 7:30 a.m. the at Aquinas Center library. All are welcome to attend. “There are some heavy-duty subjects and we need your input,” said Marty. “It’s interesting to look at how Rotary is changing,” he said, including “the first-ever Rotary International female president Jennifer Jones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KAY also had a few announcements:

 

- There’s an upcoming social event. We’ve been invited to join the Rotary West on Friday, July 22nd — 7:30 pm for the "Music Man” performance at Ojai Art Center. Before that, there will be private reception at Art Center itself, from 6 to 7 p.m. before the show. The personal connection is that Dr. Gross’ daughter Darrienne is Marian the Librarian. Dr. Gross said, “They’ve been getting good reviews and full houses.” Kay said she will be sending out a flyer with more information.

 

- The District 5240 Conference is November 18-20 at Santa Barbara Hilton Resort. If you want the best rate, “Now is the time to book it,” she said. Marty added that it will be an extra-lively one because it is combining with last year’s pandemic-postponed meeting.

 

- The Social Committee is also busy planning the next Fifth Friday on July 29th at Meiners Heritage Table, with appetizers and wine at 6:30 pm on their outside patio.

 

- Marty said we’ve been working closely with the Catholic Church, who did inform us that they could not accommodate us today because the SCE is having a planned power outage. Hence Zoom. “We tried to be accommodating, without electricity,” he said, but it wasn’t possible.

 

- QUOTE: "Find a group of people who inspire and challenge you, spend a lot of time with them and it will change your life.” That’s Rotary, Marty said.

 

This year’s theme: Imagine Rotary. So that’s been the purpose of the focus groups and the survey — “What was important you, what would you change,” he said. “And based on input — we’ve made a few changes: Different format, reduced fees, challenges to be out in the community; time for real fellowship. Use technology more effectively. Increase and retain membership.”

 

It’s also time for the 75 years celebration. Cheree Edwards and Tony Thacher are working on that, and the Board of Directors are coming up with goals for the year. Marty and Kay also said next week’s meeting won’t be the typical club assembly. But a time to reflect on “goals and projects — past, present and future.”

 

The co-presidents also talked about the changing meeting schedule. That means typical Rotary meetings with programs on the 1st and 3rd Fridays. The second Fridays will be more about fellowship, craft talks, service committee meetings, some activities. “The program is going to be us,” Marty said.

 

The Fourth Friday is going to be one of three things. “We’re instigating Lunch Mob. Signup four to six of you, go to restaurant have meal there. It’s a way to honor Taste of Ojai vendors,” he said.

 

We are also going to rotate club meetings among member offices, or nonprofit groups on which members sit or support. Wendy Barker will be organizing this innovation, which harkens back to Rotary’s original design, to rotate among member locations. There are also plans to actually do service projects on those dates.

 

- Big Events:

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin Davis introduced our distinguished guest and fellow Rotarian Taras Tertychnyi from the International Business Club in Kviv, Ukraine. He was born in 1981 and is a practicing lawyer in international law and business issues, resolving multi-million dollar disputes. He now is a partner in a small firm in the city and loves Ukraine, world history and culture, hiking, camping and he helped organize the club in 2020. Rotary is new to Ukraine, as it was banned by the Soviets until their collapse in 1991.

 

 

"Thanks for supporting us in these difficult times,” he opened. Then ran us through the stages of the war, which he said actually started with the invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014. “We’ve been in the shadow of this war for 8 years,” he said.

 

It was terrifying at first, with Russian artillery shelling the city and infantry invading, but Ukrainian resistance proved surprising strong and the invaders were pushed back into something of a stalemate, trading artillery fire and with the Russians gaining small areas in Donbass. Taras knows plenty of people who have been displaced, including a close friend who took the risky journey into besieged Mariupol to rescue his mother, going through dozens of Russian checkpoints. The war has displaced millions - as many as 4 million total in a country of 40 million. He went into greater detail with a Canadian legal journal about the details of life in a state of war. While things in Kviv proper have settled into a sort of routine, fighting continues in the East, and the tremendous damage done to the suburbs in the Battle of Kviv are constant reminders of the cost and risks. The occasional air raids are also reminders, and the stories circulate about people living with no electricity, heat, running water, risking death just to cook their meals on fires in the open.

 

"It was the most fearsome in first months, when fighting was around Kviv” he said. "Half the day was air raids —do you stay in house or run for cover. We didn’t have bomb shelters for 4 million. One million fled in first days. That was quite stressful. Thanks to armed forces and help of allies, our friends and US and UK, Slovakia … provided air cover. It became better."

 

About half of Kviv’s 4 million population remains. Residents can still hear distant cannon fire, air raid sirens, but the supermarket shelves, once nearly empty, have been restocked and Taras showed us a video of musicians playing amid Kviv’s rubble and ruin, with their resilient spirit and hope for a better future. He didn’t need to remind us “Kviv is a beautiful city,” with its ancient churches and golden domes. He also showed us war maps of the Russian forces invading, then being pushed back and the mutual fortifying that is taking place. The government buildings are heavily fortified but "the embassies are now back and working” he said. There is also plenty of activity with military training and logistics support. The fear remains of an invasion from the north, as Belorus is merely 50 miles north and they are a staunch Putin ally.

 

He fielded a few questions before enduring an outpouring of applause. Mike Weaver asked about the humanitarian aid, are the refugees starting to come back? He said that more than 5 million people have been internally displaced and many public spaces, gyms, theaters, schools, etc are occupied.

 

Many people have fled twice, from one region to another and lost everything - their homes and jobs.

 

Kay asked two questions. How was his 19-year-old son? What are young people thinking? “And second — how is Rotary Club actually functioning in all this? "

 

Taras said his son is a student now. “It’s been an unfortunate two years. First with the distance learning from Covid, and now another due to the war. He is legally in the age be drafted into the Army — but we have more than enough who want to serve. It’s not a problem of people, it’s a problem of weapons."

 

 

 

 

"Our Club has same unfortunate fate — it was organized just before Covid … and rarely see each other in person. It’s all by Zoom.” It’s a Rotary International Business Club - half of foreigners, most of them moved out since beginning of the war. Employers do not allow them to go back to Kviv. Our president is Austrian, is doing charity events in Austria and Germany. Possibly good to have our people there than here,” he concluded.

 

 

Marty said, “Next week it’s not your usual Club Assembly. We’re back at Aquinas Center with lunch.

 

Closing remarks this year will be “life hacks. Practical things to improve your life.”

 

Marty started with two: