Message from our president, Colette Lay, "Lady Grizzly"
Hello Rotary Family,
I hope everyone is doing okay, I miss you all terribly!
I know things are very strange now and changing every day, it’s a lot to keep up with. I am forcing myself to take a break occasionally, and pay more attention to cdc.org and contracosta.ca.gov than the TV. It’s less stressful and easier for me to absorb the information that is relevant to me.
All this chaos and empty shelving can be exhausting, please give yourselves permission to do what you need to do. It’s wonderful to clean out all the closets, but if you find that more stressful then therapeutic then take a pass!
We will be having a Board meeting next week using Zoom, and likely our weekly meetings moving forward. Zoom seems to be the most common platform for communication right now, and I urge you to become familiar with it. There are several of us that can help you and Zoom also offers tutorials on their websites. I’m happy to do a practice session with you, just contact me. I don’t want anyone to feel disconnected or lonely right now. My cell is 925-325-1611. I really encourage you all to reach out to your friends in the club or contact someone that you don’t know well for a chat!
I’ve been very excited watching the people in our communities turn into Rotarians before my very eyes! So many people stepping up to help, it’s very heart-warming. Maybe they will find their way to our club once this is over; wouldn’t that be wonderful? If you know of a specific need that we can help with, please let me know.
I am working to usher us through all this weirdness, and I am open to ideas on how to proceed. We are all learning as we go. Keep reading your emails to find out the latest Rotary info and hopefully I will see you soon!
Colette
“Lady Grizzly”
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From Dr. Bill
TOP TEN CHANGES AT CROW CANYON COUNTRY CLUB DURING OUR HIATUS
Our hosts at the country club have been busy making changes while we have been dark. Look for some interesting new developments when we return.
10. In an effort to create a more contemporary vibe, management has changed the room where we meet, the Eugene O’Neil, to the Kanye West Room.
9. The regular golf course is being replaced by 24 miniature golf courses, offering 7/24 family fun. Watch for those cute little windmills.
8. Thanks to an extension of Ana Dominguez’s Bolivian Water Project grant through Rotary International, we will now have potable liquid at the two back tables for lunch.
7. A new hat check desk has been installed at the front door, especially for Priya Jhingan’s headwear.
6. The club chef has a new cookbook he is anxiously to try on us: “!01 Recipes for Tasty Dishes Using Soy Protein.”
5. The front desk has removed all the after-dinner mints and left just the Jolly Rancher candies.
4. The Club has installed a new synchronized flush system in the toilets to avoid another unfortunate flooding of the tennis courts.
3. A new Facial Recognition system will allow Mo and the rest of the wait staff to identify the Old Guys in Red Shirts who try and sneak into our buffet line.
2. Late-comers to meetings will only be able to enter through a trapdoor in the middle of the room, so that Garth Riopelle and Naim Katiby can finally receive the special recognition they richly deserve.
1. New security procedures at the front gate require that every fifth visitor will have to be stripped searched. The only exception is Chris Gallagher who was discovered making multiple entries just for the attention.
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From Carolyn Degnan
Our First Zoom meeting was Friday, March 20
OMG! I have not laughed so hard in a long time!
It was a huge success and we plan to begin using the Zoom platform even more.
Chris Gallagher has generously offered his company's Zoom account so our Club does not have to pay the monthly fee Thanks Chris!
There are free accounts available but right now you are limited to a meeting length of 40 minutes (that won't work for our Club) and only 100 of your closest friends.
If you weren't able to attend- you missed the best laughs of the year!
The theme of tonight's meeting was "Tell us something interesting about yourself that most people don't know"
We learned that we have several musicians/entertainers in the group
(I hope I caught everything correctly between laughing and crying from the laughter)
Ed D. grew up listening to his father's Glen Miller style band and paid his way thru college playing the drums and piano
Geoff D. played to the Raiders (band) and plays a mean trumpet
Glen W. not only played in his alma mater's band but played at Radio City Music Hall as a professional musician before he became a Vet. Sorry Glen I spaced on the instrument but I do remember that not many play it and that's probably why you got hired.
Priya was a Hip Hop dancer and competed with a dance group. She also traveled nationally with a professional paid group. If we have a band form, Priya will dance to the music.
Steven P is an artist and was able to show us some of his amazing charcoal and painting work. (I am thinking Silent Auction items!) He is also a twin.
On a professional level:
Norbert once served as CFO of a Mortuary and became licensed as a Funeral Director.
Our wonderful Lady Grizzly got her undergrad and masters degree in Child Development studying twins.
As for childhood trauma:
Chris G shared that he was supposed to be on the Howdy Doodie show but was crying so hard that he peed his pants and didn't go on the show.
In the sports arena:
Gary S was a talented high school football player and was recruited by several top schools before he became a Banana Slug
Carolyn got a complete football uniform and pads for her 8th birthday and can throw a perfect spiral-- You might see Gary and Carolyn tossing a few before a meeting.
An in a category that stands alone:
Naim told us he was a dog (specifically a German Shepherd) in one of his past lives and he is growing a beard he called his Corona beard- he hasn't shaved since the shelter in place was enforced.
We also had the pleasure of Ginnie Weber and Barbara Kumas joining in the comradery as well as several dogs and a cat.
Until next time!
Carolyn
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From LOURDES YLAGAN
That sounds like so much FUN! At 5 PM, I was with Hermann Welm to pick up this awesome Little Free Library he made for me. He is quite a carpenter/craftsman. We should keep the ball rolling with what people don’t know about us and what people do in their spare time. I’ll be there next time.
I’m waiting or my neighbor to help me put it up in front of our Condo. Once installed, I will take a picture of it and send it to you. A Little Free Library: https://littlefreelibrary.org/ is a way for communities to add to the collective of promoting literacy in its communities and it’s taken the US by storm, as you see in this World Map: https://littlefreelibrary.org/mapyourlibrary/. People charter them. Basically, you take a book and you give a book back. But because of the current COVID-19 scare going on, I think I’ll wait to inaugurate opening its doors because of the book exchange that's inherent in it, bummer!
I had installed one of these babies in Buffalo, NY before I left and it was received very well, see below. It was the inspiration for Hermann’s design. My neighbors, to this day, tell me that they use it quite a bit and each time they take a book, they think of me :)))
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From Hermann Welm
I’ve got three furniture-building assignments on my plate, so I am not at all bored! If this lasts, however, I’ll need one of you to step up and find something for me to work on!
AND, two more to complement, not replicate, this end table I built last year for a Lindsay volunteer
PLUS, on the Drawing Board, two display cabinets for fruit bats at Lindsay; boring but needed!
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From Horace Crawford
1. Grandson Paul recently become an Eagle Scout.
2. Granddaughter Laura is now home and well after 2 weeks in intensive care in an Australian hospital.
3.Horace is scheduled for minor out patient surgery on March 31. (happy that it is finally scheduled).
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From Don Jones
Our son bought his first home in Livermore. It took a little help from his parents but all of the fixing up is on his shoulders.
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From Ana Dominguez
Bad News: I have to shelter in place.
Good News: Jim is sheltering in place with me. We alternate between our San Ramon and Glen Ellen home.
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From Guy Greco
My daughter and son-in-law are celebrating their anniversary today 29 years
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Polio and COVID-19.
Your March 2020 Polio Minute.
Just over 70 years ago, polio was a virus that terrorized population clusters around the globe
(and still does in Pakistan and Afghanistan). Today, it’s COVID-19, a virus with no cure or
identified vaccine to ward off its spread.
Yet today, unlike with polio before the polio vaccine, we have a vast infrastructure developed
to track viruses, reach out and communicate with diverse communities because of Rotary’s
fight to end polio. It’s a critical piece of public health infrastructure developed and refined
over decades as part of Rotary’s world-wide END POLIO NOW campaign.
Given this expertise, the polio eradication program is pitching in to protect the vulnerable from
COVID-19, especially in polio-endemic countries that are on the front-line of fighting polio and
polio outbreaks.
As reported on Pakistan’s Polio Eradication Teams in endpolio.org, “Few health programs have
as much practice tracking virus or reaching out to communities as the Pakistan polio eradication
program.” Partnering with the Government of Pakistan, the polio team has:
Strengthened surveillance and raised awareness of COVID-19;
Trained over 280 surveillance officers in COVID-19 surveillance;
Supported development of a new data system that’s fully integrated with existing data
management systems for polio; and
Sensitized, through cascade training, over 6,200 health professionals on COVID-19.
Adding to the capacity of the government and WHO Emergency team, Pakistan’s polio team is
also involved in COVID-19 contract tracing and improving testing in six reference labs.
And you thought Rotary’s END POLIO NOW was just about polio. Stay safe.
COVID-19 Not the First Epidemic
