Our return to in-person meetings was a huge success!
Over 35 members and several guest Rotarians. The piano is gone so Sam soloed on electric guitar leading us in the Welcome Song followed by The 4- Way Test song. The lyrics to the Welcome song have returned to “Read about it in the Hub” which everyone seems to remember. The 4 Way test lyrics remain elusive to some/many/most. As its most enthusiastic supporter Kelly is nominated as the member to contact for lyrical clarity. And given his strong and pitch-perfect performance thereof, he’s a good person to sit near to cover for inability to carry a tune.
Sam also told a very successful joke of the day and Dr. Art had a poignant thought to share.
Kendra and Nelson set up the Zoom attendance though we may have only had one person on zoom- Trish. Kendra bought a much improved sound system which worked well. The zoom link is on line and very easy to connect to.
Michele B reminded us that the Holiday Lights display gathering will be Saturday November 13.
Kendra reminded everyone to please RSVP for lunches so we get the right amount of food at the right price from Seascape.
Also, the November 11 meeting will be at Michael’s on Main in Soquel- we also need a head count for that.
Dr. Art followed his thought for the day with a stint as detective. All attendees were interrogated as to what they have done to save the planet. Many folks spoke about water savings such as replacing lawns, others have cut out plastic water bottles, others have cut out red meat. Dr. Art suggested that we all do as much as we can including riding bikes and taking advantage of the county’s public transportation system to cut down on emissions.
Our guest speaker was District Governor Richard Flanders.
He was introduced by past DG Ron Seckel who is well known in our club. Attending with him were Camilla Boolootian from the Santa Cruz Sunrise Club who is our Assistant District Governor and Community Services Chair and Hung Wei from the Rotary Club of Cupertino Rotary Club who is the District Membership Chair. DG Flanders recognized Dr. Art’s exceedingly generous donations to fight polio and commended the club on its 100% member-contribution. He also spoke glowingly of his interactions with our beloved John Fisher, gave a shout out to Karen S. as the best treasurer the district has ever had and recognized our ever-young nonagenarian Keith Medeiros for his longevity. The DG also presented Dr. Art and Michele B with pins for contributions of $1,000+.
DG Flanders is an attorney in the East Bay who was introduced to Rotary as a young associate lawyer by his boss, Richard King. Richard King is the past world president of Rotary International and has given many inspirational presentations on Rotary. DG Flanders inherited Richard King’s passion for Rotary. He urged the club to increase membership and expand the club’s reach into the community.
DG Flanders spoke at some length about a favorite project of his- the wheelchair foundation. In recognition of this, the club “passed the hat” for donations, and Al, Doug D and Dr. Art pledged to match the members’ contributions up to $1,500.
DG Flanders told about the generosity of the Bering family from Danville/Blackhawk towards the wheelchair project, donating $21,000 which is 50% of the costs for each of 2 containers of 280 wheelchairs. There is another fundraiser at the Blackhawk museum on Feb. 27, 2022.
DG Flanders also spoke about the donations of former LA Laker Vlady Divac and his wife who are developing a partnership with Rotary to build a peace project in Serbia. Eric Costello paid $100 for the basketball signed by Vlady D.
DG Flanders told a moving story about his personal experience with the fellowship of Rotary. His father died in Taipei when Richard was about 12. His mother moved the family from Indonesia to the US and promised that when she died, her husband and she would be together again. After her passing many years later, Richard and his brother flew to Taipei to try to recover their father’s ashes. They had been put in touch with a Rotarian in Taipei named Gary Wong who helped them locate their father’s ashes at a Buddhist monastery. The monks were reluctant to release the ashes until the Rotarian spoke to them and took responsibility if anything was wrong. As a result of his kindness and influence, Richard and his brother were able to get their father’s ashes and his parents now rest together. Gary Wong became President of Rotary International.
DG Flanders concluded his story by reminding us that Rotarians are people of action in service to our communities and the world, and sometimes, as in his case, that service is rewarded by people who give to us.
The visiting Rotary dignitaries complimented us on how fun our meeting was. Let’s keep it up!