President Terry “Showtime” Koehne opened the last lunch meeting of 2021 with the Rotary theme: “Serve to Change Lives”. Our club theme is: “Reconnecting - Back Together Again”. R.I. President is Shekhar Mehta. Greeter, Patti Hennigan, provided us with basic reminders of how we should treat people every day - “Be kind to each other. Practice patience.” Patti has an open house for her new salon, Studio X, and all Rotarians are invited to her open house on Thursday, December 9th at 5:00 p.m.
After the flag salute and greeter profile, a new meeting segment named “Mindful Moments” had its pilot run This will become a regular activity starting in January. President Showtime appointed Sgt at Arms Julie McKinney to implement the program. This week the game “Would You Rather” was played at each table. Meant to be a fun, light-hearted five minutes of conversation starters as we regularly gather again for in-person meetings.
WELCOME GUESTS
Four (well, 2 ½) welcome guests this week:
Judy Denning – recent San Ramon transplant and longtime member of the San Rafael Rotary Club
Kathy Chiverton – Discovery Counseling Center Director and presenter of the day
Danielle Lee from Interact
Chris Lofaso - counting as ½ guest because he is about to be our newest member. So he’s in limbo as ½ guest (no badge) and ½ member. Welcome, Chris!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Holiday Party on December 16th at The Lot from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. No lunch meeting that day. If you haven’t already RSVP’d, why not?! Carolyn Degnan would love to receive your RSVP ASAP. Plus one’s not only welcome but encouraged, as many members prefer to socialize with spouses/significant others.
Karen McNamara provided a recap of the Trinity Center visit on November 30th, attended by five SRR members. They were treated to a full tour of the facility, and a preview of how the district grant funds will be used to update the computer resources available to the Trinity Center members.
Glen Weber presented Tom Port with his Paul Harris+2 pin, which signifies that Tom and his lovely wife Judy have contributed $3000+ to the Rotary International Foundation.
CCC Food Bank is having a food drive this month that we are co-sponsoring. Keep your eyes out for more information about how to help, including possible volunteer opportunities.
HAPPY FINE FREE NEWS
Mike Thelan shared that the Blackhawk Chorus is performing on Saturday December 11th at the Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church. Showtime is 8:00 p.m. and tickets are $30. Geoff Disch also performs in this group, so if you attend you get a “two-fer”.
Dr. Glen Weber happily announced his son has completed training and is now a Captain with FedEx. Even better, he is now based out of Oakland instead of LAX. He also pointed out that now there are two Captains in the family, since Dr. Weber served as a Captain in the US Air Force.
INTERACT UPDATE
It’s advisable to read this next part with either a strong cup of coffee, or a strong cocktail. A nap might also be in order after reading.
Danielle Lee’s update on the latest Interact activities:
Old Business:
■ During CCC Food Drive we collected 3,500+ pounds of food
■ We had 3 Interactors that performed during the Trinity Center Thanksgiving
Brunch
■ We collected 200+ winter clothing items for Trinity Center drive
New Business:
■ Holiday Movie + Card Making Event Via Zoom
○ Date: Sunday, December 5th /// Time: 5-7 PM
■ Krispy Kreme Fundraiser
○ Orders: Now - December 6th /// Pickup/Delivery Day: December 10th
○ Location: Delivery to your house OR Pickup in Cal High Commons @3pm
on December 10th
○ Support Cal High’s Partner Club, Hilali Targa Interact in Morocco, by
buying a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts for $14! You can pay in cash or by
venmo @cindyzhuu. Funds will go to help support our partner club’s
Winter Act project.
■ Holiday Toy Drive with NVLP
○ Date: Now - December 8th /// Location: Dropoff at 2495 Paddock Drive
○ Donate new toys to be sent to children in the holiday season!
■ Trinity Center Sandwich Making (December 9th /// 3:30-5:00pm)
○ Monthly event with two board members and four volunteers each shift
making sandwiches going towards homeless
■ Recycle Drive
○ Date: Now - December 15th /// Location: Dropoff 3305 Veracruz Drive
○ Donate plastic water bottles, aluminum cans, and glass bottles to sell to
the Refund Recycle Center in Livermore which will help us fundraise!
■ CCC Food Sorting
○ Date: December 15th /// Time: 6 PM - 8 PM /// Where: 4010 Nelson Ave,
Concord, CA, 94520
○ Join us at the Contra Costa and Solano Food Bank to sort food donations
and box fresh produce! We'll be checking food for quality, sorting it all
by category, and packaging it for distribution in the warehouse.
PROGRAM- Kathy Chiverton on Measure X
Kathy Chiverton is always a welcome guest and presenter at our meetings. Her passion for her work in the mental health field and in her role of Executive Director of Discovery Counseling Center is evident.
Today, she diverted from that topic and spoke about her experience serving on the Measure X Community Advisory Board, which was created to conduct needs assessment, create a priority list of service gaps, and use needs assessment to make priority funding recommendations for 95% of Measure X funds.
Measure X overview:
- Half Cent Sales Tax Approved by Contra Costa County Voters November 2020. General sales tax measure, funds go to County’s General Fund starting FY 2021/22
- Purpose is to support essential services: keep County regional hospital open, fund community health centers, fire/emergency response, safety-net services, childhood services, protect vulnerable populations, and for other essential county services”
- Estimated Revenue: ~$97.8 million in FY 2021/22 Estimate based on Measure J projections—significantly higher than the $81 million ballot figure. Tax Expires in 20 years.
There were five main goals the Advisory Board had for use of the additional revenue. Kathy shared the strategies and organizations that were considered for funding, and the ultimate outcome of each.
GOAL 1: MENTAL WELL-BEING - strive to be a community that supports the mental and behavioral health well-being of all residents, through prevention, crisis response services, intersectional supports, and innovative cross-sector approaches.
GOAL 2: EQUITY IN ACTION - strive to be a community that prioritizes equity and removes structural barriers that cause inequities and poverty, so that all residents can thrive.
GOAL 3: HEALTHY COMMUNITIES - strive to be a community in which all residents have access to affordable, timely, culturally-responsive healthcare; adequate housing; high-quality childcare; and nutritious food, all of which has become more urgent as we address the ravages of the pandemic.
GOAL 4: INTERGENERATIONAL THRIVING - strive to be a community that intentionally strengthens and provides support for all residents and for family members of all generations, including children, youth, and older adults.
GOAL 5: WELCOMING & SAFE COMMUNITY - Strive to be a community where all residents feel safe and welcome, and receive emergency help when they need it.
Raffle - Mike Thelan won the $20 greeter’s gift, and Glen Weber pulled a blue marble. Marble game is now up to $190.
Respectfully submitted,
Julie McKinney, Scribe
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