Good meeting last week! We had a very interesting program sponsored by new member Karen Young: Don Lee, president of the Hospitality House board, who gave us an update on their programs, noting a $250k grant they recently received to expand their services, but noting this does not reduce their need for continued community support. Interesting Q & A allowed us to delve into their collaboration with the Salvation Army’s Booth Family Resource Center (which we visited for a Club meeting not long ago). A large number of our club members are active in the work of Hospitality House in some way. Thanks, Karen!
My thought for the day focused on the 20th anniversary of Rotary’s opening its ranks to women. Anyone who has looked around our Club, looked at the Board roster, or the Committee chairs knows that our Club would be much diminished without the many contributions of our women members. Although I thought I had the list of our earliest women members, starting with Joanne Stone in 1994, but pP John Hensley was able to tell the history of his own-ground-breaking effort to bring women into the Club when he served as Club President a year or so earlier. Interesting to look back on our history and to acknowledge the contributions of John, PDG Dave Denney and others who broke ground in the face of substantial resistance on this issue.
Other meeting highlights included visiting Rotarian and Superior Court Judge Julie McManus leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance, Chair Carolyn Inglis’ report on the good work of the International Service and Foundation Committee on projects in Kenya, Uganda and with our sister Club in Cabo. pP Bob Buhlis gave a report on the District’s recent meeting on literacy efforts. Tom Coleman led a club-wide effort to guide me in the search for Lucy, my missing bell, who turned up in the book basket on the podium. While I didn’t get to ring in the meeting, I did ring it out and PE Eleanor Kenitzer, who is covering this week’s meeting for me (I have a business commitment) will get to use it, too. Lucy always seems to be around for Eleanor’s meetings. Hmm!
Mark your calendars for our new fundraiser for the Club and its scholarship programs – a Wine-Tasting led by local wine broker David Luce. It is slated for November 12th at the Trolley Junction Restaurant from 5:30 to 7:45. It will feature interesting wine, tasty hors d’hoeuvres, good company, and an opportunity to get a good price on wine you’ve tasted. Moreover, you can get your Rotary fix for the day because our Club meeting is moved from that Thursday to the Foundation Dinner on the 14th. Tickets are $20 a person and we must limit the event to 40 people, so sign up soon. Treasurer Ellen Davis and Derek Poppell can take your RSVP. Our thanks to them for leading this new effort to raise funds!
In addition, we will be raffling off at the Wine-Tasting a magnum (1.5 liters, or two regular bottles) of Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon 1997, well-cellared by a local collector. Jordan is a flagship producer of noted Cabernet Sauvignons in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, north of Healdsburg. Here is how noted wine critic James Laube of Wine Spectator magazine described this wonderful wine: "An elegant, graceful style, with ripe cherry, currant, green olive and bell pepper notes that are focused and well-mannered." You won’t find many magnums anywhere but at the winery and you won’t find them well-aged and ready to drink, so this is a rare opportunity to share something special with family or friends. It originally retailed for $95, but is worth more than that now. Just $5 a ticket and a fine way to support our Club if, for some reason, you cannot make it to the Wine-Tasting. Get your tickets now!
Another date for your calendars is the Area 4 Foundation Dinner on November 14th at the Nevada City Elks Lodge on Highway 49 north of town. Local Rotaractor Sol Henson is the speaker (you’ll get a taste on Thursday, as he and Scott Kellermann are our speakers), and he is midway through a year-long visit to the Batwa Pygmies in Bwindi, where he is working on water and sanitation programs. It will be an interesting program and a good opportunity for networking and fellowship with Rotarians from all the Area 4 clubs. If you are working on a Paul Harris for this year (and, we hope you are!), we can recognize you at the dinner if your get your funds in before the event. Write your check to The Rotary Foundation and get it to pP Bob Buhlis, our Foundation Chair. Talk to pP Bob about making your reservations for dinner, too. We have to give a final headcount on October 31.
Our next program is brought to us on October 29th by pP Don Fultz and will feature an update on our Club’s 3-H Grant from the Rotary Foundation for some $300k (and matched by $17k in locally raised funds) to provide a dairy goat husbandry project for the Batwa Pygmies of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. Should be a great program, so don’t miss it!
