Are you an established professional who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship.
Our 1.4 million-member organization started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.
In the beginning..
On a lovely January day that felt like an April day, Past President Betsy Watson presided over today’s meeting and gathered Rotarians for fellowship and service. Betsy asked for a moment of silence to acknowledge that our admired and beloved Sue Gilbreth was undergoing surgery today.
Rod Owen led Pledge of Allegiance and Patricia Gates recited a timely poem from John Donne. Betsy then thanked all those whose efforts make Rotary possible.
Upcoming Programs
Bruce gave us a quick update on future programs:
Next week the Artistic Director of the Ojai Music Festival
Next will be County Supervisor Matt Lavere
5th Friday (Saturday actually) will be game night at St. Andrews
Announcements
Clint announced that the winner of the Skankey Humanitarian Award will be Paul Jenkins of the Surfrider Foundation.
Catherine Lee announced there will be a blood drive on Feb. 13
Dr. Jerry Marianuk gave us an update on the latest with the AED equipment
Terry Becket warned us that the Clubrunner will require password updates
Fining
Gary Liptak designed some devilishly devious questions in a “Jeopardy” format. His obscure questions on Geography, Music, Sports, Politics stumped several of us and generated a lot of loot for the club.
Program: Derek Edson of Ventura Rotaract
Derek Edson, President-elect of Ventura Rotary and member of Ventura Rotaract, gave a spirited and enthusiastic program. Here are some of his most memorable points:
Ventura Rotaract helped build a school in a remote area of Northern Vietnam
The people of Vietnam do not forget the tortured history between the US and their country, but they do forgive.
They partnered with the “Build a School Program” , which handled all of the permitting and design considerations.
The school is not only a classroom but also the residence of the teacher.
They partnered with the Corozon Foundation for an upcoming project to build a home near Tijuana.
The club will go to finalize the build on April 18 and invites volunteers from our club to go.
In addition to building the home, the club will finance 2 scholarships for the family’s children.
The fundraising target is $13, 500.
President Betsy ended the meeting with a quote from MLK:
“Never, never be afraid to do what is right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way”
You are invited to visit us at an upcoming meeting.
