If you don’t have the Spirit of Christmas running through every morsel of your soul by now you must not be a Breakfast Rotarian. Yes, Breakfast Rotarians have the Spirit of Christmas with the ideal of service in mind. This is displayed in our festive glee we wear, our closeness to one another and gratitude we have for the blessings we have been given. It certainly helps to have Rotarians like Past President Dave Spalinger who generously, with his wife Melody, who opened their home to Breakfast Rotarians last week for our annual Christmas party. Great food by the Haynes Boys, great song thanks to Carol Smith and libations by Pat Thompson which was enjoyed by one and all! Thank You all for bringing the spirit to all. As a follow-up, with various holiday service opportunities for Rotarians to become involved, we have a number of events that our club is excited to announce. More on that later.
Following our invocation by Darin Blunt and America’s Pledge of Allegiance by Past President Denise Haynes, Carol Smith brought us together in song for a classic, The Twelve Days of Christmas. Did you know that there are some very interesting historical theories about the song, why it was written and to whom? You might want to put that on your Google to research list, but as to our morning song, with Carol as our Songstress I think Breakfast Rotarians are sounding more and more like a real choir! Speaking of choirs, next week’s meeting we will be entertained by The Bakersfield College Chamber Choir. Make sure you don’t miss this special Christmas meeting, as this top-notch choir will bring seasonal joy and love to your heart.
As many of you know our Wine, Place and Show was …well…a hit! Due to all that planned, organized and helped make Wine, Place and Show successful your efforts will bring happiness and security to others for months to come as we enter 2022! Mindy Wilmot spoke on this later in the meeting, but first, President Jeff Haynes asked some special guests to come to the stage to receive their proceeds as this year’s WPS beneficiaries.
The 999 Foun
dation lead by President Sgt. Brian Sandrini of the Bakersfield Police Department, joined by BPD Reserve Officer Billy Owens and retired Shafter Officer Bobby Courtney accepted a Super-Sized check in the amount of $13,100 to be used towards providing support to families of local first responders who have been injured or killed in the line of duty. Brian spoke of the need for his foundation, and the grim prevalence of the reality of daily dangers in being a first responder. Personally, eleven years ago I too engaged in such first responder hazards, and yes there are established services and death benefits for officer’s families. But, what The 999 Foundation’s purpose is to make available assistance to families for costs that are not covered by pre-existing benefit programs. Supporting 999 Foundation is a great way to show tribute and support to our community heroes. By the way, you might be wondering why the name 999 Foundation? The numbers 999 represent a police emergency code that is used all too often in radio communication between police cars when the officer is in dire need of immediate help as they are under serious attack and fighting for their lives. For those efforts Sgt. Brian Sandrini towards the 999 Foundation, we salute you and hope that you will never ever have to use one cent of the donation we gave you this morning.
dation lead by President Sgt. Brian Sandrini of the Bakersfield Police Department, joined by BPD Reserve Officer Billy Owens and retired Shafter Officer Bobby Courtney accepted a Super-Sized check in the amount of $13,100 to be used towards providing support to families of local first responders who have been injured or killed in the line of duty. Brian spoke of the need for his foundation, and the grim prevalence of the reality of daily dangers in being a first responder. Personally, eleven years ago I too engaged in such first responder hazards, and yes there are established services and death benefits for officer’s families. But, what The 999 Foundation’s purpose is to make available assistance to families for costs that are not covered by pre-existing benefit programs. Supporting 999 Foundation is a great way to show tribute and support to our community heroes. By the way, you might be wondering why the name 999 Foundation? The numbers 999 represent a police emergency code that is used all too often in radio communication between police cars when the officer is in dire need of immediate help as they are under serious attack and fighting for their lives. For those efforts Sgt. Brian Sandrini towards the 999 Foundation, we salute you and hope that you will never ever have to use one cent of the donation we gave you this morning.**Featured Program**
You never know what Pistol Pete Leveroni is going to wear, or not wear. Did you get a load of what he wore at the Christmas party at Dave’s? Pretty Cool. Pete introduced our featured speaker, Al Bensusen, which is the all too familiar, by character, and by marriage to our own Connie Bensusen. Connie, who was absent due to an illness, allowed her charismatic husband Al to share a subject that each and every BBRC attendee had better been paying attention to. Al spoke to us about sleep. 
Yes, if you did not realize alre
ady, Al was the owner of Sandman, and is an expert on the subject of sleep apnea. What’s that?…It’s snoring! Cute you say, Al would tend to disagree in a BIG way.
Yes, if you did not realize already, Al was the owner of Sandman, and is an expert on the subject of sleep apnea. What’s that?…It’s snoring! Cute you say, Al would tend to disagree in a BIG way.Al has since sold his business, but he has not lost the passion of delivering his message that applies to each of us. Known as the Guru of Sleep, Al’s job was to “put people to sleep”, literally. With a varied educational background, Al educated us on the Why’s for the importance of experiencing a good night’s sleep and if not, Why we need to be treated by a physician who is knowledgeable about apnea.
Apnea is basically stopped breathing due to the lack of an open airway through your throat due to blockage. This condition occurs when the person sleeping enters what is known as REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. Al tells us this is a phase of sleep in which the muscles of the body are in a deep relaxed state. Muscle tone is lost throughout the body and of course, this includes muscles in your throat. Muscle tissue settles against airway passages which essentially blocks the airway and causes only a seepage of air to pass. The seepage of air causes a vibration; hence the infamous snore sound is the result.
Imagine the stress constricted air causes upon all of the physiological processes of the body while sleeping. Al said that a completely blocked airway is not only a serious condition while sleeping, it is more frequent than one may realize. For those diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension, the serious harm sleep apnea can have on your body is greatly magnified. Since this may include a number of BBRCers, attending the meeting and listening to Al pays dividends which could improve your quality of life. But of course, Al says all the talk without action on your part will not make any difference.
The solution to sleep apnea? Al provided the answer to us. It is as easy as completing a sleep evaluation that each of us received, which a 5th grader could complete in 2 shakes of a lamb’s tail, well maybe 3 shakes. The evaluation serves as a baseline for potential further review by a physician to decide whether you may be a candidate for a prescription for a sleep apnea machine called a C-PAP.
Getting up a lot at night lately? It might be something more than just to go to the potty. The culprit could be sleep apnea. Al believes he has enough empirical data to prove that sleep apnea leads to complications with high blood pressure and diabetes, it can promote dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease too. Additional medical complications from sleep apnea which compromise the body’s ability to thrive can lead to numerous other maladies including memory loss, attention disorder, reduced immune system due to lower anti-bodies, and stroke.
Oh my, Al is not in business as Sandman any longer, so if we want to explore whether a sleep apnea test is something you and your doctor want to explore where do we go? I bet that since we are Breakfast Rotarians and the kindness of Al and Connie, Al could recommend where he suggests we should be tested. Al Bensusen, you are a friend to us, and in my opinion, you have given us knowledge to help us live happy healthy lives. We thank you Al and wish you the best in the coming new year.
This week’s Beacon Clue is what is the name of the device Al Bensusen told us is used to treat sleep apnea. No Past President Ron Nelms, not Smith’s Christmas thumbprint cookies.
**Announcements**
We have a few celebratory Breakfast Rotarians to recognize. Little Miss Michele McClure is still celebrating her birthday! Happy birthday Michele. We like how you party! David and Marti, the chef, Lari are celebrating 31 years of marriage harmony, and they are making beautiful music together. Welcome to the meeting Marti.
Rotary Anniversaries are freaky. Not all of them, just this one. Ya see, we have three members each with December 1st as their membership date. Celebrating 26 years together with us are David Lari, Pete Leveroni, and Past Pre
sident Neil Walker.
sident Neil Walker.I mentioned Mindy earlier in the Beacon and that she would be speaking about her financial report from Wine, Place and Show. Mindy took great pride in overseeing our club’s progress this year. Coming off a COVID year where we did not even have a fundraiser, Mindy probably had some apprehension as to whether we would make a profit. Well, no need to worry Mindy. As we would say in baseball lingo…We Crushed It!
Mindy reported that after the donation to The 999 Foundation, our Revenue including sponsorships was $87,205 and after Expenses, Bakersfield Rotary netted $39,039.39. Weird number huh? Well, as Mindy said what is more eerie is that as you know BBRC is celebrating the beginning of our 40th year. Yet, members of the club have been meeting for 39 years. What do you think of that strange coincidence…or is it?
Dear Athena Collup is seeking a little help from her friends, Rotary friends that is. The club is sponsoring an annual Christmas Shopping for children event at the East Hills Target this Wednesday. She needs just a few more volunteers to shop with children from families of The Mommy’s House. Mommy’s House is affiliated with Jason’s Retreat Rehabilitation Center. And December 17th Athena is setting up time slots for interested BBRCers to “Ring their Bell”, or at least for The Salvation Army as we do each year. This year, Breakfast Rotary will spread the Christmas cheer by staging in front of Hobby Lobby on California Avenue. Time slots available are 11a-12p, 12p-1p and 1p-2p. See Athena to sign up for these two great opportunities to serve Rotary and community today.
**Happy Spots**
Stephanie Baker is happy as a lark and signing songs of joy as she announced that she is celebrating 25 years of being cancer free. She multiplied $5 times 25 years which adds up to $125 dollars. That a gal Stephanie!
And then there were the president’s pets. Those that bought gifts for The Prez when out galivanting around. Let’s see, there is Dave Spalinger who traveled to Colorado Springs to visit his new granddaughter. The thoughtful Dave gifted a Colorado coffee cup and a shot glass. Dave, I don’t think President Jeff even drinks.
Sandra Parnell whose husband Jon accompanied her to the meeting, brought from Mexico to President Jeff one of those wooden musical instrument things which I think is called a maraca. My question Sandra is they usually come in sets of two’s…so where is the other one?
President Jeff reminded us that those club members and their guests that are thinking of attending the March 11-13 RV weekend on the coast, to make your reservations soon. You can see Jeff for more detail. The Prez also encourages members to patronize Bonnie’s Best Sandwich Shop at the corner of F and 21st Street for a fine lunch. They are this month’s Rotary community partner participant.
Mary Jo Pasek has the luck of the Irish and you know the girl hasn’t a speck of Irish blood in her. But whatever she has, she is $57 dollars richer after having won the weeks raffle.
In Rotary,
Frank Wooldridge
Beacon Writer