In the Beginning...
President Cheree Edwards welcomed Rotarians and Guests.
Tony Thacher lead the flag salute and Al West gave the invocation.
Bill Prather was thanked for room set up, and Sandy Buechley and Deirdre Daly were thanked for being on desk duty. Tara Saylor was on the roving microphone, and David Scarlett handled the fining with Greg Webster. Andy Gilman was the reminder editors, Carl was our photographer, and special thanks to Ginger for serving us today.
Visiting Rotarians – Steve Frank, Mark Hollar
Guests: Mark and Adam, friends of Tara. Diane Duncan and Tiffany Morse
Announcements:
Thank you for coming out to the Ojai Band Concert. Joint events with the Tuesday Club are fun and we look forward to our next on August 30th which out Social Chair Betsy Watson and Polio Plus Chair Bob Davis will be talking more about next week. But Deirdre is going to say a few words now.
The next board meeting will be August 30th at the Gables.
The Next Tuesday International Service Committee Meeting at 7:30am at Café Emporium.
The next Peace Committee Meeting will be at 5:45 at Brian Berman’s home.
Upcoming Programs
Bill Gilbreth spoke about upcoming programs:
Robert Stratton – Ojai Hoops, August 23rd
Karen Evenden, Ojai Women’s Fund on September 6th
District Attorney of Ventura County will be here in the future, along with a representative from the Ventura Civic Grand Jury
Deirdre spoke about the Land Conservancy trail project – The Alan Jacob’s trail work
this weekend. Also, August 30
th social get together at Boccali’s.
Steve Frank, Ojai West Club President, spoke about looking forward to the August 30
th event and appreciated the clubs working together.
Mike Malone commented about Taste of Ojai. Everything is coming together. All of the groups are in progress. The event will be more compact at Topa Mountain Winery, and it will be really fun. The band that was at Deirdre’s demotion part will also be at this event, which will super. Mike is on logistics, Therese is on Public Relations, Mark is getting great sponsors. We are looking forward to it.
Rotary Humor
Tony Thacher mentions that Wendy Barker is out of town because of family needs, and the museum is having its Ojai Studio Artist reception tonight.
Fining
David Scarlett lead the fining and confessions.
Starting to beat the drums for the October 5K classic for the Ojai Hospital. For those who think miracles are dead, Steve Frank spoke and did not stumble on his words at all… words for Jack Jacobs… Bill Prather offered $48 to celebrate his 48 years of marriage. There was a remembrance of the flying tigers, when the Rotary club used to meet at the Ojai Valley Inn.
Then David proceeded with Elvis questions and encouraged people to sing Elvis songs. "Thank Ya Verry Much!"
Cheree gave her Rotary Moment – Service Connects the World! And gave Tara her Rotary bucks.
The Program: Dr. Tiffany Morse
Bret introduced Dr. Tiffany Morse, Ojai Unified School District Superintendent.
Tiffany described the initiatives that have been taking place this summer, including the 3 Engage to Impact workshops where she met with stakeholders throughout the community, focusing on the values of Inclusivity, Creativity, Resilience, and Wellness. She has been on the job for seven weeks.
The school is the heart of the community, and values OUSD are focusing on is:
Place-based education
Agile Thinking
Continuous Improvement
Remain flexible and adaptive
There have been many improvements to the campuses in the valley, and OUSD is excited to begin the school year next week. Tiffany spoke of signage in Spanish, the new communication tool called Parent Square. On the academic focus, the District is focusing on critical thinking and meaningful activity, including project-based learning modalities and student-centered structure. Additional there is a community teaching piece, which will involve members of the community coming in to the classroom.
There is a restructuring around the standards as well. The District is committed to ensuring that a student achieves the standard before moving on. Focus areas this school year will be:
- That students feel good to be there.
- Students feel cared for and that adults are kind to them.
- That students have the tools they need to overcome struggle, including social/emotional curriculum.
- Students have what they need to learn.
- Students have access to nutritious food.
- An environment of restorative justice.
- That parents have the resources to support their students.
We are very excited to see the changes at OUSD and special thanks to Tiffany for spending time with our club.
Cheere gave closing remarks on Rotary’s Strategic Plan, focusing on Together People Create Change. We will hear much more about this initiative.
