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

Past President Ray Giampaoli filled in for President Casey who is in Africa. His daughter is getting married to a man she met while on a Safari a few years back.  How fun is that! So, in Casey’s absence, Ray said, “Welcome to the April 16 meeting of the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa where the Magic of Rotary is alive and well and we continue to do good in the world and are still having fun.”

Kris Anderson led us in the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four/Five Way Test.

Once again, she consulted with Chat GPT for some quotes. “That sounds like a fantastic opportunity to speak on service above self, a principle deeply ingrained in the Rotary Club’s values! Here are some quotes for you with their author.” said Chat GPT.  Here are some of the quotes:

• True leadership is not about power, but about service. When we put others first, we build a legacy that transcends personal success.” – Anonymous
• The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Ghandi
• In serving others, we find our own purpose. Acts of kindness, however small, ripple outward in ways we may never see.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• No act of service is ever wasted. Whether seen or unseen, the impact of selflessness shapes the world in profound ways.” – Albert Schweitzer

Visitors:

Milla Veretienylo was invited by Ray Giampaoli.  She is originally from Cherkassy, Ukraine.

Sunshine Report:

No news is good news!

50/50 Drawing:

Pete Lescure ran the raffle today.  God only knows what is in the pot, but we have nine marbles.  Peter Holewinski bought the correct ticket, but he did not pull the blue marble out of the bag.  Less marbles, more money for next week!

Announcements:

1. Nona announced the April 30 social at Shone Farm from 5:30 – 7:00pm.
2. Foundation News: Mary Graves has committed to another three years to serve on the board. Kris Anderson is going back on the board after a three-year absence.  Craig Meltzner is joining the board for a three-year term.
3. Debi Zaft said today was the last day to commit to going to the SCARC meeting on April 24 at the Chops Teen Center.
4. The Giro Bello shirts that were ordered a month back are now in. Please see Robert to get yours. If you have not ordered one, see Robert. He will make sure you have it before the ride in July.
5. We have yard signs for the Giro Bello. Pick one, or more, up PLUS the new stickers with the correct dates. Sign-ups are falling behind last year at this time, so we need to work especially hard to bring in riders for this year.
6. District Conference is on May 2 and 3 in Fortuna. Please consider going. It is a fun and educational event.
7. On May 26 and 28, Roseland Prep will hold Portfolio Days. Volunteers are needed to listen to student presentations and provide feedback for improvement.

Recognitions:

1. Diane Moresi’s granddaughter Molly just turned 16 and had 10 friends over to bake three, three-layer cakes for her birthday.  It was a sweet success! Diane donated $100 to the Giro Bello.
2. Jacob Gospe is turning 16 too. Ann and Jeff took him to a Warrior’s game for his birthday. They donated $100 to Ukraine
3. Sam McMillan went to visit his sister in Chico. Supposedly she was supposed to have baked Sam a Coconut creme pie 70 years ago but did not. Sam decided to remind her, so he put a coconut creme pie in the refrigerator and stuck a sign about pigs (I take it this is an actual sign from 70 years ago) on her piano behind some sheet music. I did not understand what the bubble wrap was all about……sounds kinky! Sam donated $100 to his next Paul Harris Award.
4. 

   Nicole has been traveling!

   Nicole Le has been traveling! For those who do not know, she was born in Viet Nam 50 years ago about the time as the fall of Saigon. She and her family were emigrant boat refugees from Viet Nam. For her second visit to Viet Nam, she and her family went to Ho Chi Min City in December. The city was celebrating its 50^th birthday too. After this vacation she ran her first half marathon.  Then they went to Maui for spring vacation.  She will be doing the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim run too.  When does this girl have time to work? Nicole donated $100 to her daughter’s Paul Harris.

5. Mark Burchill and Mel Konrad have been traveling. They went to Las Vegas to see the B-52s, went on a cruise that specializes in jazz music, back to Las Vegas again and went to Mazatlan.  Holy cow Batman! Mark donated $100 to the club.
6. SHE’S BACK! Diane Moresi forgot that they went to Las Vegas to see the Eagles at the Sphere. She did not say anything about the Eagles, but she raved about the Sphere! She donated $100 to the club.
7. Jim Green is proud that his grandson has not only graduated from Fresno State but has a job too. I missed what he said about his granddaughters…. I think they are in college at Fresno State too. He is also proud that his adopted African daughter has graduated with a degree in economics and finance. Now he needs to adopt another to help with her education.  His first adopted daughter is a dentist in Kenya. Some of you might remember she visited us last year. Jim donated $100 to the club.

Milla from Ukraine:

Milla told us about her idyllic up bringing in Cherkassy, Ukraine.  It was a beautiful city with lots of gardens and flowers.  There was music and theatre and after school programs for the kids. When students graduated, they had parades. May 9, 1995, was their Victory Day from the USSR. It was celebrated every year with a parade of soldiers.  The people watching the parade would give the soldiers flowers.  The parade ended at the cemetery, and they would put flowers on the graves.  She really appreciates what we are doing for her home country.  Her father still lives there and goes to work.  It is a physically demanding job, and he would love to quit and find another job, but he is young enough that if he did that he could be drafted to fight in the war.  It is a very scary place!

Today’s program, a replay of the video, “The Great Santa Rosa Earthquake of 1906.”

This video was made in 2006 in commemoration of the 100^th anniversary of the 1906 earthquake. Our club financed it.  Club member, Jim Johnson, spearheaded the making of the video and was the narrator (Jim was a news broadcaster at our local TV station KFTY-TV50).  Here is Debi’s introduction courtesy of Susan Nowacki (and Matthew Henry):

‘Debi and I both worked in real estate financing.   After the downfall of the stock market and a brief stint in prison Debi dedicated her life to the art of trapeze and became a pole dancer.  However, that made raising her 13 children difficult, so she left her kids with her 5 ex-husbands and joined Rotary.’     (You are a good sport, Debi!)

Ted Wilmsen says he still has some of the videos in his home and he will bring them to the club next week.  I say, pick up a copy!

Extra Pictures

CREDITS