Last Wednesday’s Breakfast Rotary meeting certainly provided plenty to get up for. For one thing President Jeff Haynes has been delivering some pretty energy filled meetings, Pete Leveroni has continued to bring our members “top-notch” speakers, and the latest news on all the upcoming activities our club is organizing which is something you just do not want to miss! All I have to say is if you have not attended5 a meeting lately, you are missing out. So come join the fun and plan on seeing us this week at Lino’s Venue.
With the line-up of Mary Jo Pasek and Past President Kay Pitts, we got our Invocation and America’s Flag Salute off to a roaring start! President Jeff quickly snapped into announcing anniversaries. First, recognizing Pete and Michelle Leveroni who are celebrating 36 years as husband and wife, and Rotary anniversaries of Teresa Ramos-Alvarez and Jeff Bell, 18 and 12 years, respectfully.
***Our Program***
Wasting 
not one ounce of valuable time, The Prez called for Pete Leveroni to introduce the morning’s featured speaker. Jenny Holtermann of the Water Association of Kern County who is the executive director of the association. Pete told us as director and being raised within a local farming family, Jenny knows all too well the vital resource water is to farming as it is to our everyday life. Her role in this position allows Jenny the responsibility to provide a number of levels of service to Kern County residents through sensible water management. Through education and water advocacy, Jenny and WAKC are on the front lines of promoting ideals of fair access to our water rights.
not one ounce of valuable time, The Prez called for Pete Leveroni to introduce the morning’s featured speaker. Jenny Holtermann of the Water Association of Kern County who is the executive director of the association. Pete told us as director and being raised within a local farming family, Jenny knows all too well the vital resource water is to farming as it is to our everyday life. Her role in this position allows Jenny the responsibility to provide a number of levels of service to Kern County residents through sensible water management. Through education and water advocacy, Jenny and WAKC are on the front lines of promoting ideals of fair access to our water rights.One might say, what’s the big deal? I know there is a drought, droughts come and go. I’ve turned the timer down on my yard sprinklers…so what else do I need to know? Hence, this is a reason coming to Breakfast Rotary is so good for you, and your neighbors. Simply, we learn so much at Breakfast Rotary. Jenny put it this way, if WAKC was not the force it has become, advocating for our rights for the limited supply of water, we would need to seriously change our way of life in Kern County. From turning on the water at your tap in the kitchen, to building water banks to store water for agriculture and industrial use, WAKC ensures that those wells do not run dry, and what water rights we have are not lost in a quagmire of legal litigation.
I personally know this to be the case as my very own law office allocates 1/3 of its business to the often-litigated subject of water rights. You ask how can that be? To simplify, Jenny displayed a colorful California map depicting water district boundaries that resembled individual state counties. Each of these district boundaries are separate from one another, with different directors, and boards of directors. Most of these boards are made up of constituents of the very district they work and reside in. In essence, they have a direct interest in how available water is allocated.
Dissention sometimes introduces itself between districts, cities, the State of California, the Federal government, and even individuals. Because of limited water supplies, and misallocation of water reserves, there is an instability of the water these districts receive. Also, terms of contracts regarding water use are not always exercised as agreed resulting in disagreements requiring the involvement of attorneys who are experienced in resolving such disputes. Jenny told us that water use throughout the state and even in Kern County have a long history of “laws on the books” back to the mid-1800s. From those early beginnings much has been learned and continues to be learned towards best practices in the use of our water resource.
To say that the varying entities vying for their own piece of the water pie are happily and merrily skipping along the road in harmony is unfortunately not the case. Oh yes, did I forget to mention environmental interest groups, just to name one? Jenny brought up the abundance of water that flows from Northern California which never makes it further due to it being re-directed into the ocean due to environmental concerns. Jenny being the good non-partisan presenter, did not voice her position on this often-discussed debate, but she did state that 75% of that Nor-Cal water was being allowed to flow into the Pacific Ocean, with the remaining 25% flowing south to thirsty Californians.
Water is the key to life, as Jenny would say. We learned about what an acre-foot is, the importance of ground water and its sustainability, and how many gallons it takes just to grow one watermelon... 100 gallons. I bet you thought this would be The Beacon clue this week huh? We learned about water conservation, which comes into play with such projects as our Rio Bravo Water District’s Water Bank located in West Bakersfield west of Allen Road and Stockdale Highway, and Water Hydrology, which is directing water to destinations where it is most needed in Kern County most efficiently.
Certainly, a fun and perhaps less stressful aspect of Jenny’s role is providing education just like she was providing to us to members of our community. Even though outreach through education is a goal of WAKC, Jenny and her staff come face to face with obstacles when trying to educate others. Whether it be another’s unwillingness to embrace the reality of sensible water use and conservation, or that it all seems too complicated, Jenny has turned to portraying the natural resource in a positive light by painting grand colorful murals carrying an informative message upon water tanks that are often seen in several of our ag districts in Kern.
I am quite sure I could consume a few more pages discussing water issues in Kern and the good works that Jenny at WAKC is doing, but I’m pretty sure that by now you probably have to take a break from reading The Beacon to get a cup of coffee, or wash the car, or make sure your dog has enough to drink, grab a handful of almonds, or any number of things that you will need water for. So just keep this in mind, do not take water for granted. It is one of our most needed and fought over resources in California. Express your concerns, or even learn more by visiting WAKC website at https://www.wakc.com/
Thank you, Jenny, for a most eye-opening presentation and for your dedicated efforts to preserve life in Kern County. You are our hero.
**Announcements**
Past President Mike O’Doherty introduced us to his guest Lucas Dobrzanski, president of the Kern Athletic Fencing Foundation (this is a sport in the Olympics Past President Ron Nelms); Dave “Perfect” Perkins brought us Ariano Aguilar, Michele McClure introduced us to Carla Seamark of Tri-County Bank, Athena Collup’s guest was Pastor Robin Robinson of City Serve, and returning guest Devon Hardin was represented by yours truly! Waaaay to go Breakfast Rotarians bringing guests!
In the continuing series of Past Presidents, The Prez featured Past President Mike Daniel of the 1998-99 term. Mike who was instrumental in leading the way with our historic roofing projects told us that being the president of our club was The Best Year of his life.
The Craft Talk is another special in the series of events brought to us by The Prez. This week featured Pete Leveroni. Pete and Michelle make a great team and we already know that. But they also make an equally great sandwich. They have doing just that since 1984 when Michelle delved into her first franchise venture by purchasing the rights to Subway in Bakersfield. The first store she opened on Oak Street. With a $50,000 investment, Pete and Michelle parlayed risk and dreams into as many as 23 local Subway stores in the 35 years to follow. Pete tells us that the restaurant business has made a lot of changes that have not all been as sweet as teriyaki sauce, such as the initial price of a franchise is now over $250,000, but overall, it has been a great ride all along the Sub-way. Thanks, Pete, for sharing such a successful story!
Past President Denise Haynes is recommending that one and all Breakfast Rotarians place into full gear their efforts towards ticket sales and attracting sponsorships for Wine Place and Show. Visit our website for details!
President Jeff is calling for those who may be interested in participating in a club social at a Bakersfield College Football game that will follow a tailgating BBQ in the parking lot. Let The Prez know if you may want to contribute in planning. Potential dates are October 30th or November 13th. What did being President of Breakfast Rotary mean to Mike Daniel is our Rotary Clue.
*Happy Spots*
This sock of th
e week thing is getting out of hand, but don’t tell Dave Perkins. On a recent trip to Oregon to visit his granddaughter, he picked up some barely-worn U of O socks to add to The Prez’s already full sock drawer. David Lari visited Nashville, Tennessee where he scored some mighty fine Jack Daniels drinking glasses for President Jeff. I think the glasses are Hickory Smoked!
e week thing is getting out of hand, but don’t tell Dave Perkins. On a recent trip to Oregon to visit his granddaughter, he picked up some barely-worn U of O socks to add to The Prez’s already full sock drawer. David Lari visited Nashville, Tennessee where he scored some mighty fine Jack Daniels drinking glasses for President Jeff. I think the glasses are Hickory Smoked!Jeff Schwartz laid down a few bucks in announcing he and Donna were expecting another grandson. They will be traveling to Cleveland soon to visit the latest arrival. A thankful Dr. Tom Burke via ZOOM told us he was willing to open his wallet for us and close it to his son who has just secured a job at Heritage Bank in San Mateo.
Winners of our drawing were Michele McClure who won cold cash and Dave Perkins who bagged a set of BC Football Homecoming game tickets.
In Rotary,
Frank Wooldridge
Beacon Writer