April 17, 2013 Bulletin

DIGITAL EDITION   No. 25     April 17, 2013     EDITOR: Jim Johnson     PHOTOGRAPHER: Diane Moresi

Our Program For April 24th:

“WHAT IS NORMAL?”

Ginny Scales-Madeiros talks about her early life and her new fictionalized memoir

Rotary’s speaker at this Wednesday’s meeting has seen her fair share of disappointment in her life but because of her drive, determination and pure guts she has become an inventor with patents & trademarks, an entrepreneur, a real estate investor, and an advocate for animal rights, anti-bullying and—as a board member for ZAP—a proponent for 100 percent electric transportation. Completing high school only through the 9^th grade and getting her GED, Ginny’s new book, a fictional memoir entitled “What is Normal?” was published recently and she made the list as one of the nation’s “Top 40 Most Inspirational for 2012”! Ginny has been quoted as saying “Remember where your passion comes from and give it five minutes every day.”

UPCOMING PROGRAMS….

May 1, 2013: Michael Santos describes life after prison
May 8, 2013: Santa Rosa Symphony Conductor Bruno Ferrandis
May 15, 2013: What’s New in High Tech Gadgetry?

OPENING CEREMONIES

Editor’s note: It was great to have the large projection screen in our half of the ballroom this week. It was a welcome addition to today’s program, and we were once again reminded how much we appreciate the initiative and the flexibility of the Flamingo staff, the Sergeant of Arms Committee, our visitors, and our fellow Rotarians.

John Berto led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and, before Tim Delaney closed with a heartfelt prayer of gratitude and condolence, he shared with us a thank you note from one of this year’s third graders:

            “Dear Rotary Club,” Vanessa wrote, “Thank you for my dictionary. I had so much fun. When you came to our room, I was super excited. And I “not liked”, but loved, the dictionaries. It helps me with a lot of things…like words. My teacher is giving us dictionary homework that is so much fun. Thank you again. Love, Vanessa.

SUNSHINE REPORT

The sun was brightly shining on our Rotary Club this week as we welcomed back our iconic veteran Rotarian since 1970, Dick Jenkins; still in recovery from several fractured vertebrae. It was terrific to have you back, Dick! The standing ovation is indicative of how much you have been missed by your friends at Rotary.

GUESTS OF ROTARIANS

Welcome back to three returning guests this week: Robert Pierce introduced web designer Darren Elliott and Jack Abercrombie introduced entrepreneur Nikki McKenna. and Jeff Gospe introduced his very own personal event planner, Ann Gospe, and Dick Jenkins introduced his attentive caregiver.

VISITING ROTARIAN

Judy Glenn welcomed the lone visiting Rotarian to today’s meeting. Unfortunately, he did not sign in and we missed hearing his name and his Rotary affiliation.

TODAY’S PROGRAM

For a complete summary of Harold Kwalwasser’s presentation on schools, please scroll down to the end of this issue of The Santa Rosarian. FYI, the name of his book is Renewal: Remaking America’s School’s for the 21^st Century. It is available as an eBook and in hardcover, but paperback copies are in short supply.

THE RAFFLE!

Today was an exceptional and exciting day for the Rotary Raffle Team. First, the record-setting Jackpot was $791. Next William Rousseau, Lame Duck Rotary President and Sonoma County Assessor, announced that today’s odds of drawing one of the winning jokers from the purple velvet bag were one in 14. Then surprisingly, guest speaker Harold Kwalwasser was ruled ineligible to draw the lucky raffle ticket for practical reasons—he had almost cornered the market, purchasing way too many raffle tickets.The team hastily assemble to jointly oversee the drawing of Julia Parranto’s red ticket but alas, it was all for naught. Correction: It was not “all for naught”… it was for Julia Parranto’s $10 consolation prize!

PROSPECTIVE NEW MEMBERS

Ann Gospe – Sponsored by Jeff Gospe
Sonoma County Economic Development

Darren Elliott – Sponsored by Robert Pierce
Owner, UNET Solutions

ADIOS, RED BADGER

When Katie Barr was called to the podium, we all started our deep-breathing exercises, only to see Katie disconnect her ancient Red Badge and pay President Bill for a bright shiny Blue Badge. Congrats, Katie!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Debi Zaft, Past President and Rotary Powerhouse, reminded all Rotarians that April is Rotary Magazine month and next week’s Rotary meeting is your last chance to get credit for reading this month’s Rotarian by signing the official certification by Wednesday, April 24^th.

It was a dismal day for our Rotary Club’s 91 year tradition as Party Animals. Social Chair Debi Zaft was unsuccessful in tracking down a venue for April, an unfortunate month that will live in infamy. When last seen, Debi and a handful of former Animals who shall remain nameless, where seen heading to the Flamingo Bar, singing “Hi fiddlely dee, for the Merry Month of May!”

Speaking of contests, Membership Chair Deborah Gray urges us to remember that our club’s New Member Drive comes to an end on Tuesday, May 21^st. The first Rotarian to bring in two new members by the May deadline will be the winner of our Rotary Club’s $100 Grand Prize!

GSE host family needed: Jeff Gospe sent out a last minute call for the inbound French Group Study Exchange team who needs one more host family. Contact Jeff or President Bill if you can help.

Past President Yale Abrams reminded everyone that Rotary’s next Hands-on Project is coming up…scheduled for Saturday, April 27^th at the New Directions School, on Stony Point Road just north of Todd Road. Volunteers will devote their efforts to two of the school buildings and will include general maintenance and the usual clean-up work. If you enjoy these hands-on projects, contact Yale Abrams or Paul Hamilton with any questions and to sign up.

SCHOLAR OF THE MONTH

Chair Bill Hatcher announced the final Rotary Scholar of the Month of the current school year and introduced Maria Carrillo High School Principal Rand Van Dyke to tell us about Allen Chu, one of the most distinguished high school students in California. Allen, who has been offered scholastic scholarships by six different state universities, said that his career goal is to become a doctor.

SOCIAL MEDIA & ROTARY GROWTH

Engagement, not just recruitment: With the conclusion of the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa’s New Member Drive exactly one month away—Tuesday, May 21^st —recent R.I. studies of new Rotary membership tell us that to build and strengthen our membership; Rotary Clubs must focus on engagement, not just recruitment. But engaging prospective and current club members is an on-going process: People don’t propose on the first date, so club members must stop asking young professionals to join Rotary the first time they meet. Joining Rotary is about building a relationship, the same as with other long-term experiences and commitments.

Use your personal social media account to talk about Rotary: When Rotarians use their personal Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter account to talk about Rotary; they are making connections with their own online community. Do your friends and followers even know you are a member of Rotary? Tell them that you are, why Rotary matters to you, and how membership can benefit them.

Design events with social media in mind: Social media can promote your events and expose them to new audiences. The best Rotary events are fun, support a good cause, and pass the “share-worthy” test. Make it easy for participants to talk about you on social media — by posting your event on Facebook, providing free Wi-Fi, allowing people to check in at your venue, developing a hash tag, encouraging participants to post photos and tag your Rotary club, and making it fun.

ROTARY PUBLIC RELATIONS?

Have you noticed the Rotary PR Tips in your email once a month? You might not read them but these tips from Rotary International are read by more than 18,000 people in 120 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. It’s a great opportunity for each of us to learn how the media works and how other cultures promote their Rotary projects. What PR tip would you share with fellow Rotarians in Santa Rosa and around the world? Email your ideas directly to pr@rotary.org then share them in your weekly Santa Rosarian by forwarding your thoughts and ideas to bulletin editor Jim Johnson, jim@jimjohnsonassociates.info

TRUE CONFESSIONS

Eileen Carlisle admitted that she had spent some time on the East Coast then escaped on a vacation into the past with a visit to Havana, Cuba. She bragged that she bought an almost-new car from her sister, and then confessed that a windy down draft had resulted in a small fire in her home. She contributed $100 to the John Brown Foundation

With very little encouragement Roy Thylin confessed that now owned his first hot car in 25 years that was not a Porsche, then waxed eloquent about his brand new 320 horsepower BMW Sport Coupe, in “LeMans Blue”. Roy also contributed $100 to the local foundation.

RENEWING OUR SCHOOLS

Back in the year 2000, when attorney Harold Kwalwasser became the general counsel of the Los Angeles Unified School District, he became part of a management team charged to repair one of the worst school systems in America. Since then, his focus and passion has education reform, to create a system where every child can learn. At the Rotary meeting this week, he asked eight questions about public schools:

* What do you want from our schools?
* What is the greatest obstacle to getting the schools you want?
* Who do you trust with education policy?
* What is your theory of action for change?
* Who drives the change?
* What is the challenge to get where we want our schools to be?
* What do you mean by “systemic change”?

Harold emphasized that he was not asking for parents to micromanage their school districts, he wanted parents to understand what good schools look like. He admitted that quality management is tough in all endeavors, and teachers already feel overworked, but schools—administrators, parents, teachers, and students that call for quality, and remain committed to evaluating and training educators—were most successful in teaching our children

“We now understand that we need to better provide individualized instruction and, even better, we know how to do it. It takes a new system designed to support the delivery of that kind of education in the classroom”, Mr. Kwalwasser stated, outlining six beliefs & eight practices that he believes are fundamental to a successful school.

Six beliefs:

1. Every child can—and will—learn
2. Every child will graduate, go to college, or be well-prepared for a career
3. The school district must make a distinct and unique contribution to the community, to education, or both
4. Academic preparation is the focus and has priority over all others
5. Administrators and teachers must trust each other
6. Continuous, rigorous improvement based on responses to data is fundamental to all aspects of a district’s operation

Eight fundamental practices:

1. Take curriculum seriously
2. Enhance collaboration
3. Expand professional development
4. Give teachers multiple roles
5. Build robust data platforms
6. Assure regular formative sessions
7. Institute aggressive enrichments and interventions
8. Guarantee safe & civil schools

Harold answered the question, “What am I supposed to do?”

* Pay attention
* Make sure the district has a real improvement plan
» Any district without one cannot even hope to stay even
» Make sure it has real metrics that will get measured, revealed & acted on

* Insist the school board focus on the plan’s goals, benchmarks, etc. Do not let them micromanage
* If you don’t know how the district is doing, you have the legal right to demand that data under the Freedom of Information Act
* If the board does not do its job, support someone who will do the job. If it is doing its job, then support it vocally.
* Being a board member striving to do good job can be a very lonely job. They need to know you are with them.

DISTRICT BOARD MEETING AGENDA

DISTRICT 5130 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
APRIL 20, 2013, 9:00 PM
FAIRFIELD INN, CONFERENCE ROOM
UKIAH, CALIFORNIA

BOARD MEMBERS
Michael Juric, DG; Helaine Campbell, DGE; Kevin Eisenberg, DGN;
Maureen Merrill, PDG; Bert Campton and TBD, Members-at-Large.
Non-voting Members:
Leonard LaBranche, District Treasurer; Carolyn Anderson, District Secretary

AGENDA

1. Call to Order

2. Approval of Minutes from meeting of February 2nd

3. Financial Report

4. Discussion and clarification of operating practices of a Board of Trustees
a. Discussion of contractual agreements process
b. Strategic planning session – August 17, 2013

5. Selection of governor bylaw change

6. Finance Committee bylaws change

7. District Electronics Communication Sub-committee recommendation for website and
district data base

 

OFFICERS

Rotary Club of Santa Rosa

President: Bill Rousseau, President Elect: Peggy Soberanis, Secretary: Jack Abercrombie, Treasurer: Cecil G. Humes, Sergeant at Arms: Jack Geary

President Rotary International

Sakuji Tanaka – Rotary Club of Yasjio, Japan

Governor, District 5130

Michael Juric – Rotary Club of Windsor

Attendance Secretary

Jack Abercrombie P.O. Box 505 Santa Rosa, CA 95402 707-538-4770

Board of Directors

Matt Fannin, Jose Guillen, Paul Hamilton, Nicole Le, Diane Moresi, Vinay Patel, Robert Pierce, Carmen Sinigiani, Creed Wood, Marnie Goldschlag, Past President