Meeting was held online via Zoom and called to order at 12:30pm by Marty Fishman
We had 50 Zoom participants
Marty started with, ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ by Charles Dickens
Pledge of Allegiance was led by Marty Fishman.
Visiting Rotarians - None
Other Visitors – Andrew Howard introduced two of his friends; Mark Vantress and Martha Dollin
Inspiration – Susanne Boxer-Gassman provided our inspiration, focusing on the Rotarians that do so much for others. She shared a poem with that theme that was written by Pope Francis. Marty also shared a video showing acts of kindness and inspirational quotes.
Announcements
COVID19 Updates:
- Reminder about the new mask requirements as mandated by Governor Gavin Newsom on June 17, 2020.
- Santa Clara County Public Health Officer “The Path Back” plan that was effective as of June 5, 2020. This detailed what has currently opened back up.
- Santa Clara County guidelines on who should be tested and where to go to have it done.
- Reminders to continue to wear masks, social distance and wash your hands.
Rotary Happy Hour will take place this Wednesday, June 24,2020 from 5:30pm – 7:00pm at Flights restaurant in Los Gatos.
Marty Fishman announced that we will not be meeting at the Los Gatos Lodge until January, 2021 so we will be offering Zoom breakout sessions starting at noon before each weekly meeting so that small groups can meet online. Doug Brent will help set them up if you are interested.
The Club is looking for new members to join our Bulletin Team. The position involves taking meeting notes roughly once every 8 weeks and emailing them to the editor, AnnMarie. Contact Patti van der Burg if you are interested. Patti can also provide a hard copy of notes to those who don’t use a computer.
Mike Norcia shared updates from the Great Social Distancing Race. There were 308 participants, including 28 Rotarians. 15 Rotarians reached the podium. The virtual Firecracker Run 5K/10K run/walk in Santa Cruz will take place from July 1 – 14, 2020. Mike will send out an email with info on how to register.
Contact Dick Conrad, Service Project Chair if you are interested in community volunteering. A list of service project opportunities was presented.
“Rotarian at Work” t-shirts are available from Marty. They cost $15 each and Marty will deliver one to your door.
Marty reminded the Club to make their donations to the Polio Plus Campaign. The deadline for contributions is June 30, 2020. So far, 75% of our members have contributed for a total of $17,180.
Rotary Zones 26 & 27 are holding a Vibrant Club Workshop Series from May 4 – June 29.
Register in advance at http://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0kcOGogjotHt1yytfWeX0QMwsHBuWZZeXZ
The 2020 Rotary International Convention will be held virtually from June 20 – 26, 2020. You can register at RIConvention.org. There will be numerous interesting breakout sessions available.
The District 5170 Year-End Celebration will be held virtually on Saturday, June 27, 2020 from 3:00pm – 4:30pm. Club members Avis La Grone and Jeffrey Barnett will be recognized. Contact Tina Orsi-Hartigan if you are interested in participating.
Our annual Roast & Toast to celebrate Marty’s Presidential year will take place on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 at the Oak Meadow Park Bandstand from 7:00pm – 8:00pm. Please bring your own face mask, folding chair and beverage. Folding chairs will be provided for those who are not able to carry one from the parking lot.
We are not dark on June 30. We will hold a Cub Assembly to share what we have achieved during the past year and look forward to the year ahead.
The Board of Directors will be meeting this Thursday, June 25, 2020
Presentation
Our speaker today was Budd MacKenzie. Budd shared with us details of the work he has done in Afghanistan over the past 17 years. His accomplishments are vast and include:
- Building schools and school playgrounds for boys as well as girls,
- Planting over 12,000 fruit trees,
- Donating computers and creating computer libraries complete with Khan Academy online classes and over 1000 translated educational videos,
- Solar cookers and training on how to use them,
- Sponsoring street children to get them off the streets and educated,
- Donations for street workers impacted by COVID crisis.
He also discussed two online courses that he teaches at Dominican College called ‘Reversing the Trend from Narcissism to Compassion’ and ‘Include the Excluded’.
His website is TrustinEducation.org and Marty will also pass on the resources from Budd to the Club via email.
Budd also wrote a book entitled, “Off the Couch into the War for Hearts and Minds”, published in 2016 which is available on Amazon.
Marty thanked Budd by donating 50 polio inoculations in his name.
Marty closed the meeting at 1:33pm.
Click here to view the slides from this meeting.