The Beacon May 8, 2024 (May 08, 2024)

The Beacon May 8, 2024

The Beacon

The official weekly publication of The Rotary Club of Bakersfield Breakfast

for May 8, 2024

by Cheryl Scott

Pictures by David Perkins

Beacon Author: Cheryl Scott

Pictures by: David Perkins

Thank you for the friendly greeting today, Anne Galavez and Bill Potter!

The invocation was led by Bill (double duty) Potter, Flag Salute by Ken Quarnberg, and Robert Provencio led the group in a rousing rendition of God Bless America.

Amazingly, we had a visiting Rotarian! It’s a rare day that other clubs’ members will venture out to a BBRC meeting at 6:45 a.m., so we were extra happy to welcome Cathy Abernathy from the Downtown Club!

Cheryl Scott brought returning guest Blair Knox (executive officer of Kern LAFCo), who was enticed to attend because of the morning’s program.

Program of the Day: Lois Henry, SJV Water

In her presentation, Lois explained how she established her non-profit, which provides information on water issues in the San Joaquin Valley. She talked about the area’s 2023 flooding, touching on some history, intrigue, and, dare we say, “high drama” that contributed to the flooding, which devastated some areas. Lois also discussed California's Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and its effect on our region’s economy, especially in the agriculture arena.

Program Chair Pete Leveroni continues to bring interesting speakers whose topics are relevant to our club members. Thank you, Pete!

Other Fun Stuff

Happy B’day to Temo Lopez, who we hear will be missing in action for the next couple of weeks. (Temo, where arrrrrrre you?) BTW many thanks to Shannon and Brandon for stepping up to help with A/V in Temo’s absence.
Happy 8^th Club Anniversary to Sandra Parnell.
Happy Wedding Anniversary to Fred & Ida Walkover.

Happy Spots

Bill Potter recently accompanied Honor Flight participants, and he brought President Pat a challenge coin from his trip. He was $20 happy.
David Perkins recently visited Savannah, GA, and he brought the Prez a flask from the Prohibition Museum to help facilitate any “day drinking” he might be looking to enjoy. (He is, after all, on the downhill slide of his presidency!) David was $10 happy.

Announcements

Infirmary Report—Past President Ron Nelms is recovering from knee surgery. Wishing you some quick healing, Ron!
If you haven’t yet made good on your Foundation pledge commitment, please do so ASAP. This is how we fund our service projects, so please let Mindy know your pledge. The recommended amount is $150 to the BBRC Foundation and $100 to the RI Foundation.
Thousand Flags planning and fundraising is going very well, Past President Denise Haynes reported! *This is our 10^th time presenting Thousand Flags!*
First Lady Karen Thompson has created a lovely, patriotic quilt, and tickets are being sold to raise money for BBRC. Thank you, Karen! Get your tickets for next week’s meeting!
First Lady-Elect Marti Lari is also helping bring money into the club in a patriotic way. Marti is making beautiful patriotic wreaths and selling them for $65 each, with proceeds benefitting BBRC. Beautiful work, Marti! If you’d like to purchase one, let David or Marti know!
Many thanks to the nine presenters and all the newbies who attended this weekend’s Fireside Chat (aka BBRC 101). Thanks also to William Gordan and Denise Haynes for putting together such a comprehensive program.
Our Above & Beyond award recognizes “on-the-job excellence” exhibited by a non-Rotarian in the community. Please get your nominations in by Monday!
The May 22^nd meeting will feature another round of Vocational Speed Dating. If you’re interested in being a presenter, let President Pat know!

Congratulations to Scott Tangeman on winning the $58 drawing!

See y’all next week, same bat time, same bat channel! (For you young’uns, that means we’ll be at Seven Oaks again next week!)

The Beacon May 15, 2024

The Beacon

The official weekly publication of The Rotary Club of Bakersfield Breakfast

for May 15, 2024

by Cheryl Scott

Pictures by David Perkins

By: Cheryl Scott

Pictures by: David Perkins

Jeff Schwartz stood in for Donna as a greeter and head ticket seller. Dennis Scott led the invocation, and Cheryl Scott led the Flag Salute. President-Elect David Lari brought the only guest, Marti, who is selling patriotic wreaths as a fundraiser for BBRC.

Program: Your Piece of Peace

Our own Mindy Wilmot was speaker of the day, and she talked about the importance of BBRC being a Peacebuilder club. Peace is also now an area of focus for Rotary, by the way.

Mindy mentioned some of the many roles she plays in life and pointed out that being a “peacebuilder” intersects with each role! While we often think of peace as simply freedom from conflict or disturbance, peace is also a bridge that helps prevent anxiety, conflict, disturbance, hunger, and many other problems.

“Peacebuilding is in the every day,” Mindy reminds us. So true!

Mindy encouraged us all to try to remain in peace ourselves, personally, and she suggested we try “sense grounding.” This means becoming present and aware of our surroundings and thinking of 5 things that we see, feel, hear, smell, or taste at any given moment. [Not realizing I was sense grounding, that’s exactly what I did on a recent run and it changed my perspective on the whole morning! I highly recommend it.]

Thank you, Mindy, for an informative and enjoyable program! (Whoever brought this woman into the club deserves some chocolate. Oh, wait! That was me!)

Major Donor Kay Pitts

Congratulations to Kay Pitts, who recently reached the level of “Major Donor” for Rotary. Three club members have now earned that designation, meaning they have given at least $10,000 to the Rotary Foundation (translation: they have received one Paul Harris Fellow + 9)!

They Say it’s Your Birthday.

Happy Birthday to David Spalinger TODAY! Pres Pat said he doesn’t look a day over 50. Dave…I say not a day over 40!

Happy Spots & Fines

Sandra Parnell was recognized for her amazing ability to squeeze in 9 hours of sleep. Apparently, day-napping helps her achieve it. She and Pat each gave $10.

Willie Gordon is back from Mexico, where he drank the President’s gift. Sorry! Also, his son Dean is turning one year old, and…guess what…there is another Gordon bambino in the oven! Also, kudos to William and his family for being voted Best in Bakersfield (his mom, agent of the year, and their team won team of the year)! He was $60 happy.

Jacque Alexander gave 5 bucks in honor of her grandbaby turning 5 weeks old. (This may get expensive for her if she keeps this up! She’ll be a major donor soon!)

Infirmary

Continued well wishes for Ron Nelms who is recovering from knee surgery, and for Tom Burke who recently broke some ribs (I’ll let him tell you that story!).

Thousand Flags

Hear ye, hear ye! We need helpers for the breakdown at Thousand Flags on Memorial Day.

Club Social

Be sure to sign up for the club social at Frugatti’s wine room on May 29…we need at least 25 people!

See y’all on May 22, when we’ll have another exciting round of Vocational Speed Dating!