We meet Thursdays at 12:00 PM on

ZOOM

JOIN US!

Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse group who share your drive to give back.

Weekly Program
Meeting Notes for December 10, 2020
 
 
 
The fearless aviator “Top Gun” Chris Gallagher muted us to order and acknowledged R.I. President Holger Knaack; Holger is especially fond of “Knaack, Knaack” jokes.
 
 
 
Our Greeter Karen McNamara led us in the Flag Salute and offered the Thought for the Day: “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the courage and perseverance to succeed in extraordinary circumstances.” Karen told us she had been working part-time for Hayward City Recreation until she was laid off because of Covid.  She joins 350 other part-timers, many of them long-term employees, who have been furloughed from the department.  Here we see in miniature what faces us as a country.

We were treated then to a remote transmission from Lourdes Ylagen’s cell phone at the boxed lunch distribution in front of the San Ramon Senior Center, once Lourdes figured out how to stand on her head to get the camera angle right.  Jake Brown and Norbert Walz were helping at the task with the lunches provided by Checkers.  We rewarded them all with a heartfelt Aloha Greeting.  December is Disease Prevention Month at RI, which seems appropriate.

Chris provided us with the News You May Have Missed:            
 
Koala in a Christmas Tree caught the spirit of the Australian holiday song.    
Firemen rescue the cow in the swimming pool without water wings.       
 
     
An up-and-coming politician in West Africa named Adolph Hitler is elected to office.  The Trump White House sends warmest regards.      
 
           
Woman in a snit stops at 7/11 and buys winning lottery ticket.  
 
        
Something about chocolate and an Advent Calendar with just 3 days left on it.

Announcements:      
 
                                 
Priya Jhingan and Julie McKinney remind us that the Holiday Party will take place remotely on December 18 at 6:00.  We will be mixing and sampling three holiday drinks (ingredients provided): The Reindeer Surprise, the Naughty Elf and the Chocolate Martini.  Contact the mixologists for more details.                
The dictionaries will not be delivered to the third grade classes until January.    Karen McNamara says we raised over $5,000 for the Food Bank.  Look for a list of items needed for the homeless from Horace Crawford. Don’t forget gift cards.    Gary Sloan announced the Interact President will deliver the State of the Club talk in January.
Program:                                              
Terry Koehne developed his talk originally for Leadership San Ramon Valley.  He has modified and retitled it “Ring of Reciprocity in the Time of Pandemic.”  His thesis is that we are seeing the accelerated erosion of the American community; we need a different approach to community service to reverse it.
Terry began by invoking his parents and the lessons they instilled in him.  They were life-long smokers who quit cold turkey.  His father had been hospitalized for some time as a child with polio and injuries from spilling hot water.  Despite these challenges, he could fix anything and had a bowling average of 215.  When home, his father maintained an Open Garage Door policy; if the door was open, the neighbors could drop by and “shut the shit.” The couple bowled several times a week and maintained an active social network.  There was a kegerator filled with beer at the front door and neighborhood card games of bridge, pinocle, tripoli and cribbage.  These things were the glue of social cohesion.
A recent book by Robert Putnam, titled “Bowling Alone” speaks to the loss of that cohesion and the need to build networks for social capital.  Instead of social isolation, deepened in this pandemic, we need reciprocity.  The more we give, the more we get back.  Those who achieve reciprocity will help a friend move, the ultimate favor for both parties.  But the contribution must be made without overt expectation of quid pro quo.  As we help others, we learn more about them and become more engaged with our community.
Terry then had us draw up a specific need we each had that we could use help with.  We were encouraged to reach out to offer help.  Priya wanted to learn how to make midcentury furniture and Hermann offered to advise her, provided the project was something unique.  John Milich missed playing basketball and Guy Greco revealed he had been a basketball ref. Terry suggested contacting school principals.  Dr. Bill asked for help finding good homes for the plethora of books he has collected; he will send out a list of possible adoptees.  We all agreed it was an outstanding program.  Appropriately Terry Koehne won the raffle and drew blue.
 

 
Greeter Checklist
When you are called to be a Greeter for a Zoom meeting, take a sec to review the checklist Priya put together. Thank you, Priya!
 
Speakers
Dec 24, 2020
Dec 31, 2020
View entire list
Please add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your safe sender list or address book.
To view our privacy policy, click here.
 
ClubRunner
102-2060 Winston Park Drive, Oakville, ON, L6H 5R7
Russell Hampton
ClubRunner
ClubRunner Mobile