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By Dr. Bill Harlan
With the help of a hostage negotiator, President Kathy Gailey took control. After the obligatory acknowledgement of Overlord John Germ of R.I., she introduced Greeter Marco Bronzini. Marco made quick work of the Flag Salute and Thought for the Day: “To succeed you need three things, a wishbone, a funny bone and a back bone.” Bronzini Fun Fact: Son Nick, still in middle school, wears size 16 shoes, only available online. The Patriotic Song was led by Don Jones with the help of his church choir director, Betty Hunt, who added bel canto touches we were not used to hearing from the Songmeister. Other guests included Nancy McMillin and Tim Hunt of Teen Esteem and two possible new members, Harry Michaels and our old friend Mike Prilulsky. President Gailey reminded us that our club is sponsoring with the other Rotary clubs in the Valley the Young Professional Outreach Conference on April 1, 2017, 9:30 – 4:00 at Roundhouse Conference Center, 2600 Camino Ramon in San Ramon. Cost is $25 and includes lunch. Speakers include a lot of high-powered corporate and tech superstars.
Uncle Ray explained the difference between World Fund which are projects approved and managed by the RI Board and District Designated Fund, projects funded by money returned from RI to the districts for their local approval and control. Ray reminds us that we have until April 1 to get our annual foundation commitment fulfilled in order to take advantage of the matching points for Paul Harris fellowships made available by our club’s governing board. He then awarded a four-sapphire PH pin to Alan Ward, who was emotionally overcome. Guy Greco asks that those interested in the monthly Golf Fellowship respond to his email invitation by 2/10 or risk being taken off the list.
Program:
Marv Remmick introduced our speaker, Nancy McMillin, the Development Officer for Teen Esteem. This organization is a non-profit which seeks to educate and empower students, educators and families on the challenges facing today’s kids and on the need for respect for others and for self. It accomplishes its work through presentations in schools, at parent conferences and with online resources.
As Development Officer Nancy builds relationships with individual, business and community donors that support the work of the group. She organizes events to introduce Teen Esteem to the community and help generate more passionate supporters. She has a B.A. in Industrial Engineering from Nothwestern University and has worked at several large companies in Information Technology. She and her family live in Livermore.
Nancy told us that 80% of kids have witnessed bullying online. About 17,000 of them die each year from opioid overdoses and suicide is the second leading cause of death for teens. Young people just don’t understand that in today’s world their decisions can have life-altering consequences. Teen Esteem gives them tools with which to examine these choices with reliable information about what they face. The group also helps parents navigate through these situations with videos and online information.
A key to all of this is how kids see themselves. Nancy used an effective metaphor: kids’ self-image may be of a disposable plastic cup, a replaceable mug or a unique teacup. We would hope they all would see their self-worth, but many don’t. Nancy observe that sometimes kids can act as empowered and entitled to cover up their own fragility and lack of esteem. The group seeks to help them all see themselves as precious teacups.
Teen Estimate has reached over 180,000 kids in the Tri-Valley; it is their goal to reach 250,000 by 2020. One of their newest outreaches is to student athletes who are injured and run the risk of becoming addicted to painkillers. The group measures its effectiveness by the growth of demand for its services; 94% of the students who see the presentations say that they gained tools to help them cope. Most of the funding for the organization, which has 40 volunteers, comes from individuals. The group’s major fundraiser, Team Up, will be held at Diablo Country Club on March 18, 2017. If you wish to support Teen Esteem by attending that dinner or if you have some possible contacts for them, go to www.teenesteem.org.
Raffle:
The $20 Greeter’s gift was won by Alan Ward, who was not to be found. We looked under the table and in the men’s room and then Glen Weber said he thought he saw Alan being abducted by aliens on the third green. Those present, in Alan’s memory, divided up the pot and each made 57 cents. Norbert Waltz won the chance at the marble and to the cheers of his peers drew blue. Valentine’s Day with our very own Cupid, Chris Gallagher, is February 9.
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Rotary Moment with Ray Giles:
