President Chris “Top Gun” Gallagher opened our meeting by reminding us his year’s Rotary International President is Holger Knaack from the Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany, and our theme is Rotary Opens Opportunities. The expectation is for Rotarians to create opportunities that strengthen their leadership, help put service ideas into action, and improve the lives of those in need.
Greeter, PE Terry Koehne, started with a short but oh-so-accurate quote – “Every day about ground is a great day.” He shared that he and his wife Christine have a full house again since their son graduated college this year, and his daughter, a recent Cal High graduate, is attending DVC from home. He emphasized that he is “not retired”, as it has been suggested by some people wondering if he needs more projects to fill his time. His time is amply filled with the consulting projects he is working on.
WELCOME GUESTS
Speaker and District Governor Mark Roberts joined the hybrid meeting live in President Gallagher’s conference room.
Renee Matsumoto, our esteemed ADG, also joined the virtual meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Norbert Walz briefly discussed the auction by encouraging members to finish the collection process. All donations can be brought to Chris Gallagher’s office for safekeeping. Norbert also shared the number of items collected is down quite a lot this year, almost 100 items in comparison to 300 items in a non-COVID year.
Blue Star Moms project is collecting items through October 22nd. Colette Lay has sent detailed emails regarding items needed, but if you cannot locate those you can contact her for more information. They are especially in need of CARDS.
The PolioPlus Society has been established by the Rotary Foundation, and membership is easy! Simply designate $100 of your Foundation donation to this society. The Gates Foundation is matching every donation 2-1. Ray Giles presented our first member, President Chris Gallagher, with his certificate. Ray went on to present Chris with his Paul Harris Fellow +7 ruby pin. Impressive, President Top Gun.
Although this event has passed, it is absolutely worth knowing that Ana Dominguez’s father, Renan Dominguez, was a keynote speaker at the First District Alumni Association's Reunion on Sunday October 11th. Mr. Dominguez is the first Ambassadorial Scholar, and has proudly been a Rotarian for 73 years, and today hold the distinguished title of oldest Rotarian in the world.
PROGRAM- DISTRICT GOVERNOR MARK ROBERTS
DG Mark Roberts is an 11 year Rotarian and member of the Lamorinda Sunrise Club. In preparation for his term as District Governor, he was fortunate enough to attend an inspiring live event (remember those?) back in January with all the incoming District Governors and the incoming International President Holger Knaack.
Although the well laid plans for this Rotary year have been waylaid, he is wholly impressed by the response of the clubs in the district to pivot and continue to fill needs in their communities. To name just a few – food programs, blood donations, and virtual tutoring.
Mark shared his priority for his term, and beyond: Find ways to grow Rotary. There is a slow decline of membership, and he suggested several ways to help reverse the trend:
Club members are an invaluable asset. Be sure to thank each other for their contributions to Rotary and to the club. Appreciation results in retention of membership.
Stay connected to young people who have had previous positive experiences with Rotary and keep them interested in participating throughout their lifetimes.
Encourage the creating of new clubs, both geographically and demographically. Even in geographic areas with several clubs, there might be a demographic that could be well served by starting a new club.
Ask people to join your club by telling your Rotary story and experiences, emphasizing the satisfaction you have gained by being a Rotarian.
Mark told a story about a conversation he had with a non-Rotarian. That individual commented, “yeah, Rotary, that’s the rich old man’s lunch club, right?”. Mark wants that myth dispelled to create a stronger and better Rotary for the future.
Before concluding his presentation, he announced the District Conference is scheduled to take place LIVE AND IN PERSON from April 30th – May 2nd in Sacramento. Mark your calendars!
As a thank you, President Gallagher presented our District Governor with a magnum of a 2009 fine wine.
No raffle this week as this scribe cannot simultaneously coordinate the raffle, but it will be back next week with the marble pull. Be ready to buy your tickets for a chance to pull the blue marble!
NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
The meeting was adjourned at 12:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Julie McKinney, Scribe
