Scribe: Tom Boylan Editor: Natalie Lim Introduced by: Sue Nelson

Brian Ling gave us his “Rotary Moment”.  It came in 1971 when he was in the 5th grade.  Brian’s Dad told him that he would be “host” at a Christmas party to children from families who had far less than they did.  Brian didn’t get a gift at that party, and his Dad explained to him that if you are to be successful in your profession and in your life, you have to be in service.   That was Brian’s Rotary moment.

We had no visiting Rotarians.

Our guests of Rotarians were:

• Emma Smith
• Lilly Simkins
• Kaley Fowler, all on the Windsor High School Volleyball team, and introduced by Jamie Williams.
• Domingo Kayeha from Chile, introduced by Renee Hyde, where he is staying.   Domingo’s brother was our Youth Exchange student 10 years ago and had a terrible accident.  Domingo thanked our Club and everyone who was involved in caring for his brother.
• Dr. Frank Chong, President of Santa Rosa Junior College, introduced by Sue Nelson.

The Windsor High School Girl’s Volleyball team representatives each thanked our Club for sending them to the “Women in Conversation” event, where they heard from professional women athletes.  Their take-aways and learnings were as follows:

• Emma Smith – In order to stand up, you must fall down.  Hope to fail, so you have practice getting back up.
• Lilly Simkins – Learn to balance sports and your home life.  Live in the moment and treasure every minute with your family.
• Kaley Fowler – It’s ok to fail as long as you learn from these failures.

Each of these girls was eloquent, well-prepared, and very appreciative of the opportunity we gave to them.

Beth Smith received her official Rotary badge from President Pam.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

President Pam thanked Renee Hyde, Joan Mora, and all others who helped us celebrate our Club Anniversary on the Town Green Thursday night.   It was a great social with Anniversary Flair!

Bill Bolster read us a congratulatory note from a Rotary Club in District 3150 in India, fro Sirham Puri, Assistant Governor.   He thanked the Rotary Club of Windsor for our global footprint and global initiatives.  Nice to hear from someone a world away from us.

Sue Nelson let our Club know that the invitation letters for requesting our grants are in the hands of the community.  We will begin evaluations in mid-October, with the final selection of the award of grant money to be announced by mid-November.   All members of our Club are invited to participate in the evaluation and selection process, so we are all committed and passionate about the financial commitment we are making to our community.   Sue sent around a clipboard seeking members to serve on the selection committee and nine members signed up.    Any other club members who would like to join this committee are encouraged to join the committee.   If so please contact Sue Nelson at jsnelson1@comcast.net.

Jamie Williams is seeking Snack Bar volunteers for October 15 and 22, Windsor High home games.  A clipboard was sent around seeking volunteers.   All Rotary members are always comp’d at Windsor High home games, all sports.

President Pam announced that a survey has gone out regarding input on re-opening the ON LINE/Zoom presence for our meetings.   Please respond to Michael Juric.  This is just a mental health pause as we plan how to start up again with a bit less stress on the zoom team.  Thanks to Chris Landwehr for re-arranging the schedule to accommodate those who are unable to attend and were assigned jobs (e.g., singing and scribing!)

Remembering Jackie Coffin, our former long-time member and producer of our Club newsletter.  Jackie has passed away and we are holding her in our hearts.  Jackie owned and ran Mailboxes, Etc. with her husband, Alan.  She was a polio survivor and walked with a limp because she suffered the after effect of many polio survivors – PPS, or Post Polio Syndrome.  PPS is a disorder of the nerves and muscles and can happen to people many years after they have had polio.  Jackie was in Rotary for at least 20 years.    Michael Juric remembers that in 1999 when he was President for the first time he asked her to do the Club newsletter, saying, “it will only take a couple of hours a week.”  In 2012 when Michael was District Governor she was still doing the Bulletin and took the time to say to the Club something to the effect of “watch out when he asked you to do something that will only take a couple of hours.”

Diane Brabetz spoke eloquently of her long-time friendship with Jackie.  President Pam asked for a moment of silence in remembrance.

SPEAKER:

Sue Nelson gave an excellent introduction for our speaker, Dr. Frank Chong, President of Santa Rosa Junior College, noting that this is his 10th anniversary as President of SRJC, which is a highly prestigious school, well-known throughout California.

With the passage of Measure 8, funding for improvement of facilities and technology at SRJC have successfully taken place.

Santa Rosa Junior College is an important institution in this county, on a par with some of our major services in the county, such as Memorial  and Sutter Hospitals, and  the Press Democrat newspaper.   Many nurses, dental assistants were trained at SRJC.

The Rotary Center for Student Leadership is a great example of SRJC working with the community to enhance the college.  Sue Nelson, who served on the SRJC Board for many years has worked hard for SRJC.

Dr. Chong discussed enrollment at the college, and enumerated a long list of in-person classes.  Since covid, SRJC has gone from 12% in person classes to over 32% in person this fall.  What we are learning is that, “one flavor doesn’t fit all.”  For some students, in home or remote classes work very well, because they fit into a life where commuting or work schedules do not easily allow attending class in person.

Covid-19 has had a large impact on enrollment  – financial, housing and mental health issues are challenges facing students  today.

In the interest of “Support Student Success” Dr. Chong said that this year over 600 (632 to be exact) students were accepted to Sonoma State University.  Dr. Chong mentioned the success stories of formerly incarcerated and undocumented students who went on to a very rewarding life after attending SRJC.

Dr. Chong showed photos of some of the excellent additions to the college campus including new student housing, a state-of-the-art Olympic size swimming pool, and the Linley Center for STEM education.

Dr. Chong states that through work on sustainability – free bus passes, SMART train passes, bike-friendly environment, SRJC plans to be net energy zero by 2050.

He says that SRJC is our college and he offers his appreciation and gratitude for the support from Rotary that SRJC has enjoyed.

President Pam offered her congratulations again to Rotarian of the Month Catherine Hanron.    She reminded us that the meeting next week was on CREATING THE FUNDRAISER!!  Encouraging everyone to attend so we can get off to a great start.

Her thought for the week was from Gandhi:  “Live as if you were going to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were going to live forever.”

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COVID UPDATE

From your Rotary Nurse………………

NEWS FLASH:     BOOSTER SHOTS ARE COMING!!!!!!!!!!!    Pfizer boosters are now available.    Moderna and J and J will be coming…….     STAY TUNED!

Total Cases:        39,399    (last week 39,075)

Recovered:    37,209    (last week  36,102)

Active Cases: 1806   (last week 2595)

Deaths:                384 (last week 378)  Almost 56% of our deaths are now not a resident of senior living or skilled nursing facilities!

New Cases:          324 new cases this past week      (last week 555 new cases)

Hospitalized:        43 confirmed and 0 suspected    (last week 52 confirmed and 6 suspected)

Vaccination information….  As of Sept. 26th,  689,159  residents in Sonoma County have received the vaccine (last week 679,380).     76% of our populations 12 and older are fully vaccinated and approximately 84% have received at least 1 dose.     With the FDA fully approving Pfizer vaccine, we are already seeing large employers as well as government entities and even private employers mandating the need for vaccinations.  As a health care provider and an employer we have been notified by the State of California that because we received Federal funds, all of our employees must be vaccinated by October.   We have seen only one employee who has refused and knows this is her last week of employment with us.    We are also beginning to see announcements from Stadiums and events that only those who show proof of vaccination may attend.   Restaurants have even begun to ask for proof of vaccinations and signs “No shirt, No shoes, No COVID shot, NO service” are beginning to crop up.  The service industry is serious about keeping people safe but being able to remain open.

Booster shots are available if you were given Pfizer and then we will probably see the Moderna vaccine approved and available soon.    You are eligible for a booster if you received two (2) shots at least 6 months ago, are 65 years old, reside in a long term care setting, or are 50-64 years of age and have an underlying medical condition such as cancer, diabetes, asthma, HIV infections and heart disease, or obesity.  Also anyone 18-64 years old and at increased risk for COVID exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting.

Please continue to wear your masks, be aware of your surroundings and even outside, if you are in crowded situations, mask up!   Wash your hands frequently, use hand sanitizer and take precautions.    The Delta variant is out there, very virulent, ready to strike and given that we still have 16% of our citizens not vaccinated over the age of 12 and all of our young children, it still has “hosts” it can latch onto.   We need to try and manage this disease as we are not going to control it!

Thanks

Di