By: Priya Jhingan Welcome President Lucky Sandhu opened by reiterating RI President Ian H.S. Riseley’s theme of making a difference, after which he welcomed all of us “difference makers” to the meeting. Fred Nevarez, who was originally scheduled to be today’s greeter, was out visiting a sick friend, and luckily, Magic Marv Remmich pulled out all stops to sub in as greeter. Marv’s thought of the day, stemming from none other than Zig Ziglar, reminded us that “it’s not what happens to you that determines how you will go in life; it is how you handle what happens to you”. Marvin A. Remmich is a real estate broker, property manager, and investor, and had just closed four deals in the last week. Alongside his passion for real estate, Marv acts on the Board of many clubs (including Rotary), plays tennis, golfs, and boards about 65 horses on his ranch in Brentwood. After the pledge, many of us urged Don Jones and Herm Welm to sing the patriotic song as a duet. However, they decided to lead us all in singing “My country tis of thee” instead. Perhaps next time, we will be fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to head the duet version! Announcements The Bard (a.k.a. Modern-day Shakespeare, Dr. Bill, or William Harlan - how many names does this elusive character have?) kicked off our announcements with updated information on the dictionary project, which is a great annual tradition that provides local children with dictionaries every fall. Although thirteen people have already volunteered, we still need another dozen folks to help distribute dictionaries the week of October 16. According to Dr. Bill, volunteers will also have the pleasure of participating in an important side mission of locating a school where Mike Gunning does not have grandchildren. The words “polygamous cult” were used in the explanation of this critical mission, but we will not delve into further details at this time. In concluding his announcements, Dr. Bill, who had previously been seen bringing a birthday bag to the meeting, pulled from said bag a Shakespearean pen and a court jester hat, which were used to officially anoint Priya Jhingan (yours truly) as our club’s fifth scribe. Colette Lay recognized Athena from Interact (who was here the week before) in her dedication to working with Rotary all summer. Colette mentioned that, in the spirit of true service, Athena had turned down all offers of payment and served purely from the heart. The online auction is live, so please forward the link to your family and friends. Also, Guy Greco is hosting the next golf tournament on October 12. Events last week included the District Assembly conference in Martinez, where Ana and Garth attended Management Training, and the Business Expo, where John Milich, Ana, and Marie met some promising prospective members. Ana's Global Grant effort, a water project in Llojeta, Bolivia, will have a segment in an upcoming KQED World documentary: "My Bolivia, Remembering What I Never Knew" by Rick Tejada-Flores. If you have Comcast, watch it on channel 190 at 7:00 PM. A slew of wedding anniversary announcements occurred, including those of Steve Wilcox, Patti Hennigan, and Guy Greco. Also, Steve Wilcox mentioned that the annual charity event he just hosted brought in 200 people and raised $51,000. This year, the money is going to Rooms of Hype, and will be used to re-decorate 11 bedrooms for seriously ill children, as well as their siblings, in an effort to help pick up their spirits. Program Today’s speaker, Rotarian Mark Hornstra, provided a very informative and inspirational background of his energy technology company, SoloGrid, which is creating low-cost, reliable, renewable energy hubs to power off-grid users, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
SoloGrid: Mark, CEO of SoloGrid, began exploring low-cost power hubs in 2012 when his cousin, Jeff, was contacted about South Sudan refugees being pushed into the Nuba Mountains, an area with no electricity or running water. The army kept bombing any power units they had, making it very difficult for them to complete any tasks that required electricity. And so, SoloGrid began with a trip to Frys and various components compiled into a makeshift power unit. As a part of their research, Mark and his team asked the community what they wanted to use power for the most, and the three main things were (1) light, (2) cell phone charging, and (3) entertainment (laptop / TV). Fast-forward a few years, and SoloGrid is manufacturing top-of-the line, low-cost, robust, and user-friendly power units for use in Africa. Uses for the power hub include (1) homes, (2) schools, (3) clinics, and (4) small businesses. In addition to providing power to save lives, SoloGrid also powers local economies by nurturing entrepreneurs and small businesses that can do business around the concept of providing electricity. SoloGrid has filed patents with 22 claims and is currently deploying 10 pre-production units, manufactured in Sacramento. Official production will begin next month. At a time when 1.2 billion people live in homes with no electricity and 1 billion people lack access to adequate medical care due to lack of electricity, Mark and SoloGrid are truly “difference making” for the community by combining business and public service. To learn more about SoloGrid, visit their website, https://www.sologrid.com. Raffle To end the meeting, John Milich had the winning ticket for the raffle, and Marv had a shot at the $60 cumulative pot, but ended up picking a blue marble. On final news, Lucky Can-Do will be out from 10/7 to 10/26, as he will be taking his parents to India. This means, for the rest of us, it’s party time. |