Rotary Club of Ojai Zoom Meeting 5/7/2021
12:00-12:10 Greeter/Bill Prather
Past President Cheree Presides...
Hello & Welcome everyone, my name is Cheree Edwards, Past President of the Rotary Club of Ojai, the best Rotary Club I know!
Pledge: Pradeep Kapadia
Invocation: Pradeep Kapadia
Thank you, Pradeep, for leading the pledge and for the invocation, Bill for being our greeter, Tara for facilitating our Zoom meeting and Andy serving as our reminder editor.
Rotarians, do you have any guests to introduce?
Steve White joined us today.
12:10 - 12:15 Announcements:
1. Jack Jacob – Membership MeetingNormally we have a membership meeting today but it is postponed for a couple of weeks. An announcement will be sent out.
2. Marty Babayco - Nordhoff Musical
Marty promoted the Nordhoff musical The Theory of Relativity this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (only one weekend), which will be online. The play will be about teenagers, thoughts about college, and how they are feeling about life. The students were reticent about an online event, but it turned out wonderfully with all original music. It’s going to be a different take on what the students and audience are used to in live theater. Marty encouraged everyone to support the local arts www.nhsmusic.com for tickets.
3. Pradeep discussed the extreme COVID problem in India. We have tried to create a group with AMAZON.COM to see what we can do for these people. We are working to ship as many small, portable oxygen units to India as quickly as possible. We are putting together a plan. We have identified a Rotarian in Chennai who will help to distribute. We have raised $3,000 so far and we are hoping raise more and we can send as many units as possible. We are asking for any help that is available from Rotary Clubs from around the country. Leslie also mentioned that the International Committee is already discussing how much help can be provided. She also discussed the Prashanti School and deaths that have happened there. It’s a terrible situation in India now.
4. MikeWeaver discussed the Peace Committee and the upcoming meeting.
5. OFWC had a Public Art walking Tour with Christine to benefit Bravo Music Education in our school– a few slots available for the next tour 9-noon.
6. Mark your calendars for Friday June 25th for President Michael’s Demotion Party at Boccali’s- more details to come soon!
April Membership Minute:
If you could be President of Rotary Club of Ojai for a day, what one thing would you implement/change/do?
Betsy Watson:
Funny you should ask!!!
What if I were president for only one day? It's the other 364 that perplex me.
At the moment, my wish is to get back into Soule Park with tasty, fresh, affordable lunches that appeal to our members.
Al West:
Under the circumstances with just zoom meetings I think the club is doing well. We have added a couple and in talking to some old timers they miss the getting together and probably we not join us until we can meet as a group. I would hope somehow we are able to go back to the golf club even if it meant a slight increase in costs. You need the bar to get some of old timers to have their chat time.
Bill Prather:
I would like the Rotary Club to create an annual report like the Ed Foundation now has. We don’t give ourselves enough credit for the good work our Club does.
Mike Weaver:
I would take more steps to promote our brand in the community. I think the Rotary Club of Ojai is still an unappreciated secret in most of the Ojai Valley. Our programs reach out to a wide range of youth, seniors and educators and we need to promote this. Additionally, we need to continue to challenge ourselves to stay relevant and responsive to the community needs of today.
Frank Finck:
Re-institute the emphasis on attendance.
Deirdre Daly:
If I were President of this amazing club again, I would implement a change of meeting together as a group from weekly to once a month at a great venue with a good meal (maybe the Inn). I would then implement that every member join a small focus group of 6 or 7 people who meet weekly as a special focus group at a restaurant or at each other’s homes. Each of these groups would represent a different area of focus or interest. At the monthly meeting, each focus group would give a 3-5 mins update on their project or area of focus. I believe we get more work done in small groups and are more connected when we are part of a small group.
Suzanne Scar:
Great question! I love our club and can’t wait to be back in person at our new location! I hope the transition goes smoothly and everyone appreciates all of the work that our members did to find our new home. This is not a change where we had a choice about moving, but I believe it could be an exciting new beginning!
Don Reed:
I would ask the Club Board of Directors and the Ed Foundation Board of Directors to schedule a joint meeting each year, open to the entire Club membership, to discuss what each Board plans to accomplish that year and how they can help each other do so.
Pradeep Kapadia:
I would invite the president of a random Rotary club from far far away to join in one of our meetings and I would offer to do the same for them. We are, after all Rotary International.
Bret Bradigan:
I would celebrate the many hundreds of volunteers who make Ojai possible. Many of whom are in our club. And if I could do two things at once, drive a stake through the heart of polio.
Cartoon
Confessions & Fining – Christine Golden
Tabloid Stories from Around the World!
Christine offered multiple choice answers to extraordinary, unbelievable (but true…) questions!!
Andy Gilman, Mike Weaver, Jack Jacobs, and Bill Prather participated.
12:30 - 1:00 Program—Kathy Nolan
Drawing from the natural environment and the art and science of landscape architecture, Kathy masterfully embraces and expresses the fundamentals of stewardship, environmental responsibility and great design. With over 40 years of experience in the landscape industry, and an innate sense of aesthetics, form and function her ability to work with design teams and clients is a valued component. Understanding how to work with people and work with the land – making connections, is what sets us apart.
Kathy discussed the importance of community, governmental participation, business involvement, and individual work. She also discussed systems change and culture change. Of special importance is the difficulty of culture change.
Kathy discussed the first step is individual commitment. “Walking your talk.” For Kathy, her focus is environmental activism. She discussed sustainability, balance, and passion.
She discussed her personal history, growing up in Southern California, in the LA area. Her father made a big impact on her, with his focus on a love for nature, spending a lot of time in nature, and taking that love back to being in the city. There was terrible air pollution, traffic, and crowding.
She was determined to educate herself, be active, and involve this passion in to her education, especially in landscape architecture and design.
Finding your passion, finding your purpose, and finding your trim tab… the rudder that effortlessly turns the ship… what can we do to “turn the ship”.
Her person guiding principles are:
1. Always ask questions… what’s needed, what do people want, how can I be of service
2. Operate with honor, truth, and integrity
3. Start with a dream, and vision, and they plan it out.
4. Make a commitment.
5. Get the facts.
6. Patience, perseverance, and have some fun while you are doing it!
She has served on the City of Ojai’s planning commission for 12 years, as well as the board of the Ojai Valley Green Coalition, in addition to her on landscape architecture business.
She also thanked the Rotary Club for the recent grant the Ojai Valley Green Coalition was awarded and is eager to reach out to younger people. Also the City of Ojai Arts Commission gave a grant to OVGC as well.
She went into detail of the new program, working specifically with 8-11 year olds, involving the environment and the arts. The focus is local and intrinsic, building an environment for future stewards to bloom. Local environmental leaders and artists will be teachers in the program. They are looking to accommodate 80 students, and will take place at Cluff Vista Park.
Closing Quote
The quote for today felt this especially fitting after gathering together last night in our first social in over a year… this quote sits at the entry to the walking bridge at Rotary Park and is by elder and spiritual leader of the Chumash Nation, Vincent Tumamait Sr.
You feel the freedom of life attending these gatherings. People can walk in unity with one another and have that joy of being in unity.
Everyone have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there ~
