UPCOMING SOCIALS & PROJECTS & EVENTS  

More socials, projects, & events coming soon!

Rotaract Fund Raiser
If anyone would like to donate money to GRA (Global Rotaract Alumni Club) they can donate the money on the GOSC site and include a note that it is for GRA. This would help us tremendously to continue growing as a club and be able to conduct larger scale projects. Here is the donation link: Donate Now – Global Offsite Care

Opening The Meeting

“Welcome to the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa where the Magic of Rotary is Alive as we continue to do good things in our world and have fun.” Said President Casey D’ Angelo.

Peter Holewinski led us in the reciting of the Pledge, the Four/Five-Way Test and gave us some quotes from Bill Moyers, Thomas Merton and Groucho Marx.  Here are a couple of them:

“Democracy is a conversation, and how we talk to one another is as important as what we talk about and what conclusions we reach.” says Bill Moyers.  On the same subject Groucho Marx says, “Democracy is where you say what you like and do what you are told.”

Thomas Merton said, “Finally I am coming to the conclusion that my highest ambition is to be what I already am.” Groucho Marx, on the same subject said, “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them…well, I have others.”

Visiting Rotarians:

Jennifer Strong (District Foundation Chair) from Lakeport and Frank Darian for East/West

Guests of Rotarians:

Jenny Harrison (Sam McMillan’s daughter), Libby Dalton, Elaine Olson, Dennis Ball. Max Buschman

Sad to Say:

This was Karen Ball’s last meeting at our club. Tomorrow she and Dennis finish packing and move to Washington.  See Debi Zaft for their new address.  Karen joined our club in 2011. She has been our treasurer since Cecil Humes retired.  We are sad to see her go, but excited that they are fully retired.  They will be living close, but not too close, to their daughter and eight hours away from Dennis’ family in Canada.

Sunshine Report:

Robby Fouts fell and broke his arm last Wednesday.  He’s OK but will miss a few meetings until he can drive again.

50/50 Raffle:

Only four marbles and $141.00 in the pot. Robert Pierce had the right ticket but pulled out a yellow marble. Oh well, the pot rolls over to next week with better odds of winning!

Paul Harris Awards with Doug Landin and Jennifer Strong:

First up was Libby Dalton. She works with Sam McMillan’s daughter at Manzanita Elementary School.  She is very active in the school and community. Sam McMillan has seen her in action and felt she was deserving of a Paul Harris Award and donated it on her behalf.

Jennifer then recognized the following as Major Donors: Jim Green (level 3), Jeff and Patty Kolin (level 1), Steve and Elaine Olson (level 1) Rick and Patricia Allen (level 1).  Jeff and Patty were also recognized for joining the Bequest Society.  When they were asked why they have been so generous to Rotary they said…..

Jim Green has been active in Africa and Mexico.  He has seen and worked on projects that have changed the lives of many people.  To be a level three donor is a testament to what good Rotary is doing every day.

Steve Olson commented on his 50 years in Rotary and the people he has met from around the world. He has seen the impact that Rotary has on the world. He knows that everything he donates to Rotary comes back to our District to fund local projects. “Service Above Self” is important to him.

Rick Allen said that he and Patricia managed to squirrel a lot of money away during their working careers. They must take the minimum annual distribution per IRS rules, but they don’t need it.  They opted to give that distribution to Rotary, tax free. Rick has been a Rotarian for 21 years and has served on our club’s international committee all these years. He has seen the good Rotary does in our world.

Likewise, Jeff and Patty Kolin have seen the impact of what Rotary does around the world and like the idea that every dollar they give to Rotary comes back to our district to be used locally.

If you would like to know more about the Paul Harris Fellowship, major donor status and/or the bequest society, see Doug Landin.  Consider going to the International Convention in Calgary and see for yourself the impact of Rotary in our world. Next year the convention will be in Taipei!

Announcements:

1. SCARC is next week, and we are hosting! 5:30 to 8:30 at Iron and Vine. Contact Debi Zaft if you have not already made a reservation to see if you can still come. Currently, 18 club members have signed up; 50 altogether.
2. There will be NO MEETING on April 30. Instead, we will be having a social at Shone Farm. Details on the social will be out soon.
3. Sam McMillan announced the Elsie Allen Ag Boosters dinner is March 28. Contact him for tickets.
4. To see the calendar of all events, please check out our website or Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Facebook page.

Cherkassy Update:

Curt Groninga meets with or friends in Cherkassy, Ukraine on a regular basis via Zoom. The war is now three years old and Rotary’s commitment to Ukraine has not waivered. Currently the greatest need is large generators.  The Russians are destroying the infrastructure of the country, literally trying to freeze the people to death. $270,000 that Rotarians have collected has just been sent to the Rotary Club of Cherkassy for generators, medical devices and mental health.

Today’s Speaker, Maximilian Buschman from Community Matters

Community Matters works with schools to stop bullying and other campus violence.  Since 1996, they have trained Safe School Ambassadors in 42 states.  These ambassadors work with their fellow students to recognize, intervene safely and effectively stop bullying behavior.  In the most recent school year (2023-2024) they worked with 37 schools in our area.  Schools with their program have seen a 33% reduction in bullying. It costs $7500 to implement the program in a school.

Presentation Slides

CREDITS