Bob Whalen, Bill Klepper, Karen Thompson and Sue Klepper (left to right) gave Ayden a Happy Face Hill send off last week to his latest hospital visit. The good news is that a donor has been found so keep your prayers coming.
Stephanie brought the meeting to order. Following are her comments:
Throughout our lives we are blessed to have people come into our lives who impact us in ways that sometimes we don’t realize until a special moment causes us to reflect back and realize that the person played a part in who we are today. We can all sit here and think of people who have impacted our lives in ways that we will forever be blessed.
I have always said and truly believe that everything happens for a reason and that people come into your life for a greater purpose. Sometimes we don’t immediately recognize the gift that the person brings to our life and sometimes it takes us looking back at a time to see what that gift was and to recognize the roll that person played in helping you to become the person you are today.
When I was recovering from two major surgeries by swimming at 5 am in the YMCA pool every morning, I met Rob Hitchcock. As Rob and I would talk each morning and he would tell me to swim faster, he also talked about Rotary when he learned that I conducted a Christmas fundraising event when I was at the police department and would arrange for toys and gifts for hundreds of local needy families. This resulted in me coming to Rotary Simi Sunrise and meeting all of you and being a part of this amazing club and all that it does.
Rotary gives each of us the opportunity to be the receiver of the gift of relationships and the influence that those relationships can have on our lives.
AND Rotary gives us the opportunity to provide that same gift others. Rotary allows us to extend our emotional and physical energy to people that we might not meet otherwise meet. AND each time we extend ourselves to others, we pay forward the impact that those before us had on us.
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President Kathryn Scroggin
President Kathryn welcomed our virtual Zoom participants including Bruce, Arun, Karen, Cindy, Dan, Linas, BJ and Corey.
She then let us know that both Jim Visage and Arun Sharma are recuperating from medical issues. Two Get Well cards were passed around for signing.
Kathryn then went on by saying what an inspiration and an example that Chas Wilson's Dad (Mr. Herbert Wilson) and our Guests (Ms. Maria Begman, Mr. Rocky Rhodes and Mr. Tony Falato) are with respect to what it means to work together for a shared future. See stories below.
In that spirit, she quoted Maya Angelou. "When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed."
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Harry VanDyck lead this morning's Invocation.
Jesus Torres lead the Flag Salute.
Gary White welcomed our guests this morning including the esteemed Mr. Jim Lowry, a former Club president. It was great seeing Jim. We also had Mr. Rocky Rhodes, Mr. Tony Falato and Ms. Maria Begman. And we had our Guest Speaker, Ms. Samantha Argabrite, Deputy City Manager for the City of Simi Valley. She had her Ventura County Civic Alliance hat on this morning.
Maria, Tony and Rocky, left to right.
Maria, Tony and Rocky share a common bond involving kidney donations. Maria received a kidney from Rocky's stepmother 11 years ago. And that donation was the impetus behind Tony Falato receiving Rocky's kidney 6 years ago. All three are part of the Team Ginny effort and have been working hard on Ginny's behalf. If anyone knows of an opportunity for Team Ginny to speak to groups or organizations, please let Carolyn Boucher know. They do so with heartfelt emotion.
Mr. Jim Lowry
Bob Whalen, right, was our Greeter this morning. This four-legged guest brought Mike Sidlinger.
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Mr. Herbert A. Wilson
Kathryn presented Chas Wilson the Club timer after Chas spoke about his recently departed Dad, Mr. Herbert Wilson. Mr. Wilson, who was 94 when he passed, was the quintessential Rotarian joining in 1963 and rising up to be a District Governor. He was involved in starting several Clubs as well as the Rotary Action Group for Clubfoot. Chas said his Dad never went any where without his Rotary Pin. Quite a legacy and one that you, Chas, have carried on in a manner that we're sure made your Dad proud. Please accept our deepest sympathy.
Chas said that part of his Dad's legacy was the Rotary Foundation and encouraged us all to donate to this most deserving organization.
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Bill Klepper is looking for help cleaning up Happy Face Hill. Mark your calendar for Saturday, February 26th. Meet at Jerry's at 7 AM. If you bring a weed wacker, make sure you have a really long extension cord.
Kathryn announced that she got word from Leigh Seaton that the Senior Center is looking for volunteers to help pack 175 meals per week. Let Kathryn know if you're interested and she will pass that on to Leigh.
Kathryn also announced that we need to remove the container/trailer we have stored on the Dave's Towing property. There is a lot of Rotary material stored in this trailer so this is a high priority item. This needs to be done by the end of March so please let Kathryn know if you have any ideas on where this trailer can be moved and/or the material therein stored.
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John Baxter reminded us about the Four Way essay competition for high schoolers. Scholarships are handed out to the winning writer that applies Rotary values to their daily lives. He said that this is something you could work with your grandkids on and John can loan his out if you need any.
Contest Information
A note about the upcoming Rotary International Convention being held in Houston from June 4th through the 8th this year. Kathryn encouraged those that can to accompany Laura to this world wide event.
Kathryn borrowed an idea from the Solvang Rotary Club and handed out an invitation card - see below. She has challenged us all to utilize this card and invite at least one person to a Rotary meeting. The card is great in that it gives a quick overview of what we are all about.
Carolyn also had a great idea along this same line. She suggested to those with a business and employees to reward a top performing employee with an invitation to one of our meetings. Great idea!
Front side
Back side
Bill Klepper is organizing our next Bolio event. Mark your calendars for April 10th at Harley's Valley Bowl. Bill said that teams are being formed and that Special Olympic athletes will be participating. A very good cause and a great opportunity to show your stuff. And, if you don't have stuff to show, the worst score will be rewarded.
Bill Klepper
Tim Gray unveiled the logo for the Happyface Music Festival - see above. Tim shared a PR video that was prepared and said that the buzz was growing for the event. And he was giving out free T-shirts with the logo to anyone....who wanted to be a sponsor. See Tim if you're interested.
To recap, The Happyface Hill Music Festival will be held on Saturday, May 28th which is Memorial Day weekend. It will be a half day event at the Rancho Simi Park with no more than 2000 tickets being sold at $50 per ticket. It will follow a minimal concept with Food, Alcohol (both beer and wine), and Entertainment provided with only those 21 and over being admitted.
Things are moving along nicely. Larry said that we have 15 musical groups on our radar and are waiting to hear on a couple of offers. Larry needs to fill 3 spots and hopes to make an announcement on the headliner next week
Tim showing off the "free" T-shirts and Demi Fox unfurling the banner
John Bagnall is involved with the For The Troops organization. They prepare Kits for Service Members. John brought these Kits with him to our meeting this morning. He needs help in writing notes on the Kits for the recipients. Once you have written the note, please return the Kit to John. This will take a few weeks (he has 600 of them) so grab some Kits at the next meeting if you didn't get any today.
John Bagnall
Carolyn Boucher talked about the upcoming Simi Street Fair on April 30th. The plan is to have a booth highlighting Team Ginny as well as the various events and activities that our Rotary Club is involved with. She's looking for help and ideas.
HELP US SAVE A LIFE
Carolyn Boucher all fired up!
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Kathryn, Samantha and the coveted Club timer
Ms. Samantha Argabrite, Deputy City Manager for the City of Simi Valley, spoke to us this morning about the recently published State of the Region Report in her role with the Ventura County Civic Alliance. This Report is prepared every two years by the Alliance and covers many facets of Ventura County's economy, public safety and quality of life. In short, Samantha said we are good shape but have some definite issues to deal with such as an aging population and of reach home prices and rents. Nothing new about that news! Following are some highlights from the Report, which can be obtained from the City.
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Congratulations on an amazing milestone!
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The Brain Trust....
Congratulations Larry!
Happy Birthday Bob!
Happy Birthday Mike!
Happy Birthday Gary!
Thanks for the Social last week Martha!
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We will be meeting next week, February 24th, at the Best Western. Hope to see you all there!
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Please remember to bring a friend or an acquaintance to our next meeting. This is a GREAT way to grow our membership! And the guest's breakfast is taken care of.
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Rotary Club Finder Need to find a club to do a makeup? Or find out where Rotary clubs meet while you are traveling? Click here to access the Club Finder page on the RI website.
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