MEETINGS AND SOCIALS
Gualala Rotary has a meeting committee that we call “The Fun Committee,” chaired by Steve Chell with Jim DeWilder, Ron Miles, Cindy Cione, Susan Martin, and Nancy Padgett.
MEETING TIMES: Member meetings: First three Fridays of the month: 12 noon, Elaine Jacobs Conference Room.
Dinner social:. 4th Thursday of the month: 5 pm, also at EJC. Spouses and guests welcome.
Dinner Social: January 26, 2023
Our weekly meetings are serious fun. Each week, one member or a guest gives a presentation: below Rich Hughes discusses “Kindness.”
The Rotary Book Club: NEW! Thanks to Rich Hughes, Lisa Woods, and Ron Miles.
The Book Club’s first book was “Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel” by Francine Klagsbrun. The next book, for discussion on January 20, 2023 is “The Lady with Balls,” by Alice Combs, wife of our own Michael Combs.
Holiday Party December 16, 2022
Our annual Holiday party was held at Del Mar Center, turned into a cheerful venue thanks to a wonderful caterer and decorations from Club members.
One of the highlights was a rousing rendition of our accomplishments, sung to “The 12 Days of (Rotary) Christmas; ” lyrics by President Annan and her spouse Rick. Here goes:
“On the first day of Christmas, Rotary gave to me: A pep talk from our DG. On the second day of Christmas, Rotary gave to me: 2 Rotary Banners and a pep talk from our DG. (Onward to): 3 cups of coffee, 4 bags of litter, 5 big, fat checks. 6 radio broadcasts, 7 scholarships, 8 morning meetings, 9 food deliveries, 10 students beaming, 11 parked cars, and 12 gifts for Project Santa.”
Very creative! Some Rotarians could even carry a tune.
And in the past…
Planning Meeting August 26, 2022
The Club met at the CLSD training room on August 26, 2022 from 7:30 to 11:30 for an extended planning meeting. Our goals for 2022-2023 will be :
- Gather as a group and decide on areas that allow members to serve in a way that is meaningful to them (satisfaction, commitment, and loyalty to Rotary Club).
2. Develop both ongoing and time-limited service projects
3. Know our fellow Gualala Rotarians and how they want to serve.
4. Reach out to others to see how Gualala Rotary might contribute/serve their needs (so that we don’t reinvent the wheel or necessarily develop service projects for everything). Examples: soliciting needs from teachers, Meals on Wheels, Redwood Coast Land Conservatory, and Coastal Seniors. More broadly, needs of children, literacy, or families with needs especially during the holiday season, and senior.
June 2022
Our June Member’s Meeting was a gala event at the Gualala Community Center, celebrating the 100th birthday of member Dick Soule, the introducation of new members, and a rousing acclamation for the winners of our Club’s Healthcare Scholarships.
Healthcare Scholarship Winners: In 2022 we awarded scholarships to local healthcare workers who wanted to extend their education in this all-important field. Two of our five scholarship winners were able to attend, bringing with them their smiling and supportive families. Marty Trieb, committee chair, shared with everyone the winners’ accomplishments, future goals, and motivation. Ara Chakrabarti, CEO of Redwood Coast Medical Services gave a keynote speech, reiterating the importance to rural healthcare of these scholarships.
Dick Soule’s Birthday: Long-standing member Dick Soule turned 100, so naturally we had to celebrate. Spouse Ellen came. Dick blew out the candles, Cliff Putnam gave a wonderful history-of-Dick talk, and Dick read an excerpt from his memoir of his World War II days.
New Members: a big welcome to the new members who joined in 2022, and their sponsors.
Mike Coombs, Treasurer, surprised Annan with a good financial report.
The rest of us chilled.
March 2022 Meeting
Nineteen of us met at Del Mar on March 11 for our monthly members/social meeting. Committee Chairs reports: Jim de Wilder tells us the Radio Project continues to roll right along. Marty Trieb reported the Scholarship Committee has two more recipients of our Health Care Scholarship Initiative. Club Secretary Ron Miles reported we now have 29 members in our chapter.
The Finance Committee reported our financial position looks good due to the rise in the stock market over the recent past. The Committee will next be discussing rebalancing the portfolio or Vanguard Index funds. To start getting more funds in the door, a fund-raising letter written by Paul Plakos will go out to the Coastal Community at the end of April.
Treasurer Mike Combs reported the Lions Club may be interested in allying with us or taking over entirely Oktoberfest. This event depends on getting the support of the beer vendors. Project Santa also has a healthy balance for next Christmas.
President Annan brought forward the discussion of election/re-election of officers for 2023. The membership voted yes to having the current officers continue in their positions for one more year to ensure continuity and stability.
We had two guests (and prospective new members) at our meeting and dinner, Susan and Neil Silverman.
The Meetings Committee (aka FUN) introduced a new feature to get us to know each other: the Interview. Steve Chell is the Club MC, and Annan agreed to be the first out of the gate. Here’s an excerpt of what we learned about Annan.
She lived in Fresno for 24 years after college working as a school psychologist and LIKED FRESNO. The event in her life that “rocked her,” as she said, happened at age 35 upon learning she had ovarian cancer. Amazingly, she said this life-threatening event made her life better. Also surprising: the most interesting place she has visited gave her claustrophobia (but she did it anyway.) Paul Plakos asked which she preferred, and not surprisingly, she chose the Beatles over the Rolling Stones. Her favorite song is “Lovely Day.”
February 2022 Meeting
The Committee Chairs reported on: the high school radio project, the Healthcare Scholarship program, and the introduction of four new guests, Dan and Heather Ruggelbrugge, Kristen Balliet, and Heather Giovanni. Icebreaker fun, and then pizza dinner.
Holiday Party: December 10 , 2021
Ever played “White Elephant Gift Exchange?” Here we are:
See you