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Scribe Notes, March14, 2019 By: Hermann Welm President John “Copy Cat” Milich’s opened this meeting by reminding us that the R.I. President is Barry Rassin, of the Bahamas, and his theme for the year is “Be the Inspiration!” Our Greeter, Don Bierman, started us in the Salute to the Flag. His Thought for the Day was attributed to Madonna: “People don’t ask for what they want so they don’t get what they want!” This Scribe then led us in a rendition of the Patriotic Song, “God Bless America!” Visiting Rotarians: Joyce Castro of the SRVFPD, an Honorary Rotarian for this club, who announced that she will shortly have six (as in “6”) grandchildren. Other Visitors: Only our Speaker, Nick Vleisides. Announcements: PE Colette Lay stated that she just came back form “PETS” (aka: President-Elect Training Session) and that “she liked it!” Apparently she is prohibited from indicating what exactly she liked about it (It’s probably a “secret handshake” thing!). She also noted that she spent quite a bit of time with the PE’s of the six San Ramon Valley clubs and it seems they will get along just great! Colette went on to state that she and several other club members will be attending the Rotary International Conference in Hamburg, Germany, June 1 thru 5. There’s still time to get on board! Priya Jhingan will be submitting Ana Dominguez’ “Water Project” to the Rotarian Magazine for possible publication in their People in Action section for an upcoming edition. Some upcoming events were noted: - March 26, there will be some publicity video recordings done at Chris Gallagher’s office, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and then again from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Contact Chris if you are interested in participating.
- April 17, the Six-Club Dinner at Round Hill Country Club (cost is $39.00 per person).
- April 18, our Scholarship Program for Cal High Seniors will be held during our Regular Meeting.
- April 25, our “Educator of the Year” Luncheon; please remember to indicate your attendance since this will be a plated lunch.
- April 27, the Sunny Glen Smoke Alarm Project will take place. Please reserve that morning for this “Rotarians at Work” activity!
- May 11, Rotary Bocce Ball in Martinez.
- September 19, the Rotocare Gala.
Good News/Fine Free: Mark Hornstra indicated that he will be moving to the Sacramento area because he needs to be closer to his business partners. He will, however, remain in the club since he has frequent business dealings in this area. PP Gary Sloan took a moment to recognize Patti Hennigan for the outstanding work she is doing to organize the Scholarship Program! Chris Gayler indicated that his oldest, a son aged 15, will be joining Cal High’s Interact Club. “No pressure” from dad was involved! Recognitions: None. Program: Nick Vleisides, the 15-year Chaplain for the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District (SRVFPD) and several Police agencies in the County, is the lead person for a team of ten Chaplain volunteers. They respond to fire and police tragedies and work primarily with the victims and their families by offering their presence during these trying times. Nick says that one of the most important traits of being helpful is to say as little as possible, letting the others voice their feelings and concerns. Keeping quiet is particularly difficult for an outgoing, extravert like him. Chaplains do not promote their religion but may ask the victims whether they are affiliated with any religion so as to provide an opportunity for prayer and/or to refer a Chaplain of a different faith to them. When asked about their faith, most people respond with, “I used to go to church.” So Nick is in the process of writing a book entitled, “I Used to Go to Church.” At the beginning of his talk, Nick provided a very humorous story of how he got involved in this ministry. He had wanted to be a firefighter but gave that up to become a minister. Then, after moving to Texas, he was “recruited” into his community’s volunteer fire department. He was handed a complete set of firefighting gear and told to respond when called in spite of him having received no training! He recalled his first call-out where he arrived in full gear but hadn’t a clue as to what to do. But he certainly “looked” the part! Nick also spoke about working with firefighters and police officers who have been exposed to particularly upsetting -- he called it “messy” -- situations. He noted, while answering a member’s question, that the macho image these first responders have of themselves frequently makes it difficult for them to reach out for help. It’s getting better, he stated, because colleagues are starting to take note of changes in their co-workers when they are stressed. Raffle: The Greeter’s Gift of $20.00 was won by this Scribe, and it was high time that he was rewarded for donating big $$$ to purchase raffle tickets every week! PP Gary Sloan won the chance of drawing the gold marble, however, he drew a blue marble and had to settle for the $10.00 booby prize! Next week’s prize will be approaching $200.00, I guess! Next Week’s Program: Committee updates, member spotlights, club business and fellowship!. The Greeter will be Gobind Anad. This was all written by Hermann |
