On a stunningly gorgeous Ojai day, the honeyed rays of sunshine greeted the assembled doers of good as they ambled into St. Thomas Aquinas fellowship hall, and so commenced the Rotary Club of Ojai.
First to check us out was our treasurer Dave Brubaker, with his ritualistic parting of the money, and greeting us was the amiable Sue Gilbreth. Tony Thacher led us in the pledge of allegiance, while Christine Golden shared as inspiration a few choice morsels of hillbilly wisdom. A few samples were as such …
- Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
- If you don’t take the time to do it right, you’ll find the time to do it twice.
- Life is simpler if you plow around the stump.
- Keep skunks, bankers and politicians at a distance.
- The best sermons are lived, not preached.
- Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not preached.
- It don’t take a big person to carry a grudge.
Presiding today was co-president Dr. Carl Gross, who said "We are celebrating our 75th Anniversary of Service Above Self. We are the Club with the biggest heart!” Then he thanked the following helpers;
Reminder Newsletter - yours truly (Big Bret); Photographer - Little Bret; Roving Mic - Taundra Roddick; Sgt. at Arms - Kelly Rasmussen (please see her about volunteering to help with the meetings). And, of course, Jayne for her “sumptuous repast” of minestrone soup, croissant sandwiches, chips and salad.
Visiting Rotarians included Guests included;
Past District Governor Jack McClenahan, Alexia Parks from Boulder, and Steve White from Washington state.
Guests:
Leah Hecker, Carla Sherman, and Ojai Police Chief Trina Newman (our presenter).
Announcements:
Kay Bliss shared the sad news that Cheree Edwards was battling again with cancer; it had spread. A signup sheet went around for volunteering to drive her to treatments at Cottage Hospital.
Dr. Jerry Maryniuk updated us on our Ukraine project. Our club was helping out a school/orphanage in the western town of Kremenetz, pop. 20,000, with 3,500 war refugees. Despite a series of nearly comical hurdles, we eventually transferred $7,000 for the purchase of a large washer and dryer, a wood stove and a wood chipper that were desperately needed.
Fred Clapp Award: Larry Beckett was meeting with his group post-meeting to select a winner of this prestigious award given to local business people who display the highest ethics.
Coming Programs:
Had Jack Jacobs had the chance, he would have told us that next week (March 15th) we were having craft talks with Taundra Roddick and Chris Williams — and on March 21st, our program was going to be given by Marilyn Mosley Gordanier, founder of Laurel Springs School.
Fining:
Sue Gilbreth ran through a list of Daylight Saving Time questions, as the dreaded thief of time returned this weekend.
Confessions - the only confession was yours truly urging people to listen to the Ojai podcast episode with Casey Roddick, Taundra’s son and an NFL draft prospect, who grew up in Ojai, played Div. 1 football for the Colorado Buffaloes and the No. 6th ranked Florida Seminoles. “He makes you feel good about the future,” Bradigan said.
Questions about the origins and history of DST did not stump Tony Thacher or Dave Brubaker, but Sue did snag Barry Verga.
Hysterical Moment:
Big Bret Bradigan (that’s me) brought together two prior moments with a talk about Cesare Borgia, Machiavelli’s Prince, (author of such maxims as “Better to be feared than loved,” and “The means justifies the ends,” who was born as the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI, and likely killed his older brother. An effective and terrorizing mercenary captain, he conquered most of northern Italy for France and his father’s Papal States.
That is until he ran into a determined young woman named Caterina Sforza, (heroine of an earlier moment) who held out against him for 3.5 months, causing an international sensation and denting Borgia’s air of dominance. After his father died, a friend was made pope, who then died after 26 days. That made his mortal enemy Guiliano Della Rovere the pope, who had his rival jailed.
After escaping, Borgia went to work for Spanish king Henry Navarre, who used him for a siege against a group of rebels. Some them escaped, and Borgia chased after. His men, tired of his tyranny and scare tactics, did not follow, leaving him to be captured and killed at the ripe old age of 31.
Frederick the Great, also a Great Moment hero, wrote the book “The Anti-Machiavelli,” about how Cesare was no role model, and that the greatest rulers in history were those who were loved by their soldiers and their citizens, like Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great.
Program:
Capt. Trina Newman has been with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department for 26 years (?!) and serves as the Chief of Police of Ojai. She’s worked as a school resource officer, backgrounds investigator, mounted unit supervisor and as a critical incident review supervisor. She is also a police academy instructor and holds a BA in Criminal Justice Management. She lived in Ojai with her family, which includes 11 rabbits, two dogs and a horse.
Newman talked about the policing strategy, as formulated by county Sheriff Jim Fryhoff, that involves the Seven Pillars.
1. Leading the Law Enforcement Organizations through community partnerships, education and outreach and engaging youth.
2. Combining traditional and modern policing methods.
3. Using evidence to guide policing.
4. Community partnered policing through community councils and social media.
5. Engaging stakeholders.
6. Providing secure and humane detention.
7. Improving outcomes for all.
Capt. Newman took a few questions from the audience; footage from home securities may not be available to police for much longer as privacy issues constrain security companies, the post office thefts have been stopped through not leaving the bins on the back platform of the post office, police visits to local institutions like schools or the Ojai Valley Inn are kept as low-key as possible, unless there is an imminent threat to public safety, then “it’s guns blazing.”
The crowd was left gratified and satisfied that dedicated law enforcement professionals like Capt. Newman were looking out for us. She said, “Law enforcement is a people business after all."
Final Thoughts/Adjournment
Prez Carl closed us out with this quote:
“Over the course of my career in law enforcement, I have witnessed over and over again the selflessness and sacrifice of law enforcement who lay their lives on the line every day to protect people who they will never meet and people who will never know their names.” —
VP Kamala Harris
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