Giro Bello

–> The Giro Bello was Saturday! June 29, 2024. It was a big success. More details below.

UPCOMING SOCIALS & PROJECTS & EVENTS  

For pictures and descriptions of previous socials and other events click here.

For more details and additional events, see the Announcements section below.

More socials, projects, & events coming soon!

Opening

President Casey opened the meeting reminding us that we will continue to do good in our world and have fun doing it!

Kim Murphy led us in the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four-Way Test.  Kim’s Reflection was out of the book, “Millionaire Mind.”  This was from the introduction about SAT Scores: “Some of us scored under 1000 on the SAT, yet we became millionaires. What school and college experiences influenced us in becoming economically productive adults? Fully 72% of the 900 Club members said it was Learning to fight for our goals because someone labeled us as having “average or less ability.”

The vast majority of us believe that we benefited from the educational experience.  93% indicated that our school and college experience was influential in determining that hard work was more important than genetic high intelligence.

Most of us also felt that school was important in enhancing our abilities to properly allocate time and make accurate judgments about people.

The millionaire population contains many people who were not straight-A students, but they did learn a lot in school. It wasn’t just core courses that were key. Discipline 101 and Tenacity 102 were also important parts of the school experience.

Visitors and Guests:

None today.  Too bad, this was an inspiring meeting!

Sunshine Report:

Steve Marburger is waiting to have, I believe, hernia surgery.  I hope he gets it scheduled soon!  Beverly Owen, Norm’s wife, had another fall and is back at Arbol again.

Raffle:

Craig Meltzner said we had 7 marbles and $69.00 in the pot.  Julia Parranto’s ticket was drawn……and she won!  She got $10.00 and the other $59.00 will be mailed to her.  Congratulations Julia!

Polio Plus Update:

Jim Green is our club’s Polio Plus representative for the district. This week there were three new cases in Pakistan.  That makes 14 cases for 2024 thus far.  All cases this year are being reported from Afghanistan or Pakistan.  In 2025 it will be 40 years since Rotary started the eradication process.  They ran a test case in the Philippines that was very successful and was prepared to put five million dollars to end polio.  Who would have known it would be so hard!  But Rotary has stuck with it and with their partners, like the Gates Foundation, somewhere between 20 and 30 billion has been spent on eradication.  Now we are “That Close” to ending it.

Announcements:

1. SCARC (Sonoma County Area Rotary Clubs) will have their monthly dinner on July 25^th at Balletto Winery. This is always a favorite dinner (I got Covid there last year. If I thought I was going to get Covid from Ann, I still would have gone).  Debi Zaft is taking reservations.  She forgot the flier, but she thinks the dinner cost is between $55 and $60 dollars.
2. The 100 Black Men Golf Tournament is July 19. See Mary Graves for details if you want to play.

Rotarian of the Month:

Yay! Andrea Geary! She has been our hard-working Giro Bello treasurer for years! Much deserved.  Especially what she had to go through for the permits this year!  She is a hero!

Recognitions:

President Casey wanted to remind us all that we each have $150.00 in recognitions built into our dues each year.  So don’t be afraid to donate unless you go over your $150.00 per year “to the club.”  Speaking of recognitions:

Pete Lescure is donating $500 to the Giro Bello as a “late” sponsor in recognition to Rich Rossi’s good work this year.

Craig Meltzner was so happy with Pete’ Lescure’s job as a part of SAG at the Giro Bello that he is donating $50.00 to the Foundation.

Paul Hamilton was so happy with the amount of non-Rotarian help at the Giro Bello that he is donating $500 to the Giro Bello. He is also donating $100 to the club because his granddaughter came with 10 friends for brunch on the Fourth of July.

Kim Murphy’s son has joined her company so she donated $100 to the club and $100 each for her grandchildren’s Paul Harris’s.

Nicole Le was sorry to miss the Giro Bello because her family booked the wrong week for their vacation. She donated $50.00 to her daughter’s Paul Harris.

Diane Moresi reminded us that she and President Casey were colleagues for many years. She donated $100.00 to the club.  She probably knows so good stuff for his debunking next year.  It is never too early to plan!

Food Bank Tonight:

Ted Wilmsen, Richard Lazovick, Casey D’Angelo, Doug Landin and Kris Anderson were there to pack apples.  Nine members of Kris’s BNI group were also there to help this week.

Giro Bello Update:

Rich Rossi thanked us all for our help with the ride.  630 signed up to ride. Very few injuries or other problems.  Our riders had a good time!  Final numbers on what we raised will be available soon (anyone who has outstanding invoices to be paid, please get them to Andrea Geary ASAP).  We know we need more help in certain area for next year.  Road marking and rest stops in particular.  We are looking into a new way to mark the roads that will be less labor intensive for next year (Yay!). We need more truck drivers too.  Another thought: no swag bags unless we can get some good stuff in them!  Maybe a Giro Bello water bottle?  Just a thought.  Rich Rossi and Robert Pierce are volunteering to be cochairs next year.  Kris Anderson says she will help too.

Mary Graves said four Rotactors helped at the Giro Bello (let’s get more to help next year).

Julia Parranto  and Rose went to Hawaii with their now adult children to Hawaii. Her two older sisters went too. She donated $250 to the club.  No more spring break holidays for her and Rose!

President Casey:  The Magic of Rotary

This is the last year that Rotary is going to have themes for the year.  No more pins ????

Casey planned on having a magician open for him, but the magician called today to say he had Covid.  Ugh!  First meeting and he gets to wing it.  I have to say, it was a home run! Casey started it off with the question, “What is the magic of Rotary to you?”  President Casey started:  the kids being given their dictionary or “Book of Why” and seeing them so excited.  It is seeing another successful Giro Bello and the magic of so many Rotarians coming together for lunch and a weekly meeting.

Then everyone else had something to say:

Julia Parranto:  Working a rest stop with Rose.

Craig Meltzner: His office is pretty quiet.  Getting to come to a meeting to see us, talk to us, and getting to know each other better is magical to him.

Julia Parranto: The Children’s Christmas Nutcracker program.  hearing a child say, “We are so lucky to be chosen!” That is magical!

Kim Murphy: The infamous martini party of many years ago.  Remembering Bergin Johnson, Eileen Carlisle, and Kris Anderson having wee bit too many martinis.  Clarice Bolles too.  It is the collegial connections.

Barry Silberg: Traveling with Rotoplast with other Rotarians from around the world and fixing 200 kids mouths so that they have a better future without a cleft palate.

Fred Levin:  Being a Rotarian from 2000 – 2020 and coming back after a couple of years absence and being welcomed back like he had never left.  That is magical to him.

Paul Hamilton: it is the diverse people in our club that come together and do good in our community and the world.

Robert Pierce: the friendship and compassion that happened after to 2017 fires. How we stepped up and helped our community.

Steve Olson: It is the friendships you make around the world. Lazlo and Eva from Hungary sent him a picture from the convention in Sidney Australia.  They are just one couple that he has kept in contact with from attending so many conventions.  Also, it is magical to call all the kids who receive a scholarship from our Foundation.  They are so excited!

Sam McMillan: Yes, his father was a Rotarian, but it was Steve Olson who brought him into our club. Having known some of our most famous members; Harold Bostock and Stan Lance. They inspire him. They were magical.

Curt Groninga: He says he has been following Steve Olson for 40 years at the Santa Rosa Junior College. Curt was active in the Rotary Club of Cherkassy, Ukraine when Russia invaded Ukraine.  He asked his friend Leonid, “What can I do to help?” Leonid said, “Contact Rotary.”  Curt called Jeff Kolin and before you knew it, a cadre of Rotarians from our club, East/West, Healdsburg, Eureka and so many more started raising money to help.  We first put together the medical first aid kits, we have sent generators, we have been the much-needed moral support.  We have raised $400,000 to support our friends in Ukraine.  That is magical to him.

Jim Green: he has traveled to Africa and Mexico many times for medical/dental work (he put a lovely woman through dental school in Africa.  He is magical to her!). He remembers one man walking for two days with a man on his back just to get cataract surgery.

All magical! Casey ended the meeting with announcing his goals:

1. Increase membership
2. Continue to have fun

Don’t forget we have the first social of the year on July 31^st.  We will NOT have a meeting that day.  Instead, we will have a social at Sonoma Clean Power, 741 Fourth Street, Santa Rosa.  5:30 – 7:00pm

We’re In The News

We were mentioned in the Thursday, July 11^th Press Democrat.  You can read the article here:

> https://edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dynamic_article_popover.aspx?artguid=6c740bd2-cfa4-4e00-87b9-1dfac0fd9bd9&appcode=PRE341&eguid=6dcf4dde-ab8c-4f52-9b99-52dd9d246437&pnum=15#

 Additional Pictures: