UPCOMING SOCIALS & PROJECTS & EVENTS  

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

More socials, projects, & events coming soon!

Please note: The bulletin committee could use more writers.   

Opening the Meeting

President Casey opened up the meeting and invited the person who was to give the Pledge of Allegiance, 4-Way Test, and Opening Thought up to the front. Some of you might have missed the controversy but I was sitting right up front and noticed that Kris Anderson THOUGHT she was the one who was about to be called but then Casey called up Mary Graves instead! I’m pretty sure this is the first time in the history of our club that TWO people were prepared to give the opening thought.

At any rate, Mary did a great job (although she just about skipped the 4-Way Test) and shared the words of grace that the international Rotoract meetings open up with. I wish I could share that prayer with you but I didn’t quite catch it all. I’m sure Mary will be happy to share!

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

While there were no visiting Rotarians, we did see that Robbie Fouts had joined us and it was so great to see him that I put an extra Yankee Dollar into the Polio Pail in honor of Robbie’s return.

Our only guest was our speaker, Micaela Wallen, who I had the pleasure of chatting with over lunch. She said nice things about the YMCA so she’s already my favorite speaker of the year.

Sunshine Report

While Ginny didn’t have any news, Rich Rossi got up and shared the best possible news – that his wife had a mammogram and that she is 100% clear of cancer. So great to hear!

Opportunity Drawing

Kris Anderson was ready to do double-duty today with by also volunteering for the Opportunity Drawing. Someone is angling for Rotarian of the Month!

Kris announced that there was $75 in the pot and, fittingly, asked Robbie who has done countless Opportunity Drawings in his day, to draw the winning ticket. He picked Peter Holewinski’s ticket who also happened to be sitting at Robbie’s table. I’m not saying it was rigged but I’m also saying that I didn’t win.

Alas, Peter didn’t pick the right marble and was handed a crisp $10 for his troubles.

Announcements

When no one had anything to share with the club, after Casey asked, I was feeling pretty good about how quickly writing the bulletin was going to be this week. And since I tend to write the bulletin before going home from work on the Thursday or Friday following Rotary, I could just tell that I’d be sipping on a happy hour margarita by 5pm.

Alas, Casey decided to share everything there is to share about Rotary over the following 10 minutes. Sadly, each time he shared I could just envision the likelihood of a cheap margarita slowly fading away.

Doug Landin, who had no idea how he was taking away my margarita, was called up to FINALLY get his Blue Badge. It feels like he’s been a Rotarian here since the Obama administration but apparently it’s only been a couple of years. At any rate, he got his blue badge AND, in what is likely a first in Rotary history, he also was awarded Rotarian of the Month!

Casey then shared that SCARC was coming up on the 26^th of September from 5-7:30pm at Lucchesi Park in Petaluma. The topic is about RYLA. You need to RSVP this week so if you’re reading this, it might be too late but who knows? Not me. Contact Casey if you’d like to sign up.

Casey then reminded us of the Meat Auction that is taking place on September 28^th at 4pm at Kim Murphy’s ranch. I’m not sure I heard her correctly but it sounded like she wanted to know if there was anyone who was willing to ride a mule. Sam McMillan was an enthusiastic yes, so this might be your only opportunity to see Sam on an ass. (see flyer above)

Casey then pointed out that the SRJC Rotaract Club is doing a Chipotle Fundraiser on Sunday, September 29^th from 4-8pm. You can order ahead through the app and use code HARCXW9 to give the club credit. You can also go with a flyer. Contact Casey if you need one, or click here.

Casey then told us that the Boys and Girls Club bike giveaway project that some of you volunteered to help at was postponed because they don’t have the bikes yet, which sounds like could be a problem when trying to do a bike giveaway. So, stay tuned for a new date.

Casey reminded us that we got an email about the Rotary Foundation lunch fundraiser at Charlie’s Restaurant at the Windsor Golf Club from 12-3:30pm on October 5^th. Price is $65. See email for details.

We were also reminded that the Veteran’s Day event will be at Gareth Hall at the Fairgrounds on November 7^th. Purchase your ticket and, if you can, an extra one for a veteran. Contact Fred Levin for more information.

Casey then shared that Iron & Vine has been very good to us and to illustrate that point, told us of how they were burglarized this week and the projector we use for our meetings was stolen. The restaurant staff knew that we needed one for our Wednesday meeting and went out and bought one so it would be ready for our meeting. Because of how nice they are, if you ever have any concerns about the meeting space or the food, please let Casey know and he will approach them in a way that only Casey can – with grace.

Finally, Karen was up hobnobbing with Rotarians in Bremerton, Washington last week and brought back some goodies from the Rotarian Fundraiser, the Bremerton Blackberry Festival. I thought it was odd that there would be a festival honoring outdated cell phones but then realized that it was the fruit, not the phone. So Karen brought back some blackberry wine and Rotary wine glasses and some blackberry jam. At first, the bidding was rather tepid after Robbie opened up the bidding at $50. But then Susan Nowacki got into the bidding, followed by Heather Thurber. Then, Kim Murphy realized there was wine in the basket and outbid them all at $65.

Program

Micaela Wallen, from the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, came and spoke to us about how the Alzheimer’s Association supports people affected by Alzheimer’s, both patients and caregivers.

Alzheimer’s affects 7 million people currently living with Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s kills more than Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer, combined. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men will be affected by Alzheimer’s and 1 in 3 seniors die from Alzheimer’s or dementia.

She also shared how it impacts the workforce as many people are forced to personally care for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and that 6 in 10 caregivers are also employees somewhere else.

She did share some great progress in treatments this year with recent FDA approval of two drugs that slow the progression of early stages of dementia and as well as one that is an anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody that targets a plaque that is found in those with Alzheimer’s.

All treatments benefit from early diagnosis so it’s important to talk to a doctor at the first signs of dementia.

Micaela also promoted their upcoming Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Nationally, Rotary is a Platinum Level fundraiser, as Rotary Clubs across the country participate and raise money for Alzheimer’s research. The Sebastopol Rotary Club is the country’s largest Rotary fundraiser for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, raising over $20,000 annually.

This year’s walk will be October 5^th at SSU. If you would like to participate, you can register or donate. See below for more information or contact Casey who can facilitate a club team.

Here are a few key details about the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Sonoma-Marin

• Date: Saturday, October 5th
• Location: Sonoma State University
• Time: 8:30am Registration, 9:30am Start of the Event
• Santa Rosa Rotary Club Team Page: Register Here (to join our team click on “Join Team” or to donate click on “Donate to Team”)

Here is the walk flyer as well as information about their upcoming online education courses and Their Sonoma-Marin Support programs that they’d love to share with Rotary.

Presentation Slides

Click on image to view the program slides.

Additional Picture