The official weekly publication of The Rotary Club of Bakersfield Breakfast
for September 20, 2023
by Shane Bryan
Reporter for the week: Shane Bryan
Pictures by: David Perkins
Hello Rotarians,
Our meeting was filled with friendly faces and special guests. We were honored to have visiting guests Laurel Cappo and Lane Cappo, President Pat Thompson's daughter and 2nd youngest grandson. Additionally, Kay brought Brandon Fitz, and Bill Black brought his spouse, Jan. The presence of our guests added an extra touch of warmth to our gathering.
During the meeting, we expressed our gratitude to Jeff Haynes and Kay for their exceptional work as our greeters. Everyone in attendance highly appreciated their contributions.
Bill Black introduced Nita Hanson from Gods Hidden Treasures as our guest speaker. She shared with us her mission of Giving Hope to the forgotten. They also acknowledged Bill Black for his dedicated efforts in securing grants for her organization. Additionally, Nita provided us with her perceptive insights on the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
In the spirit of celebration, we recognized John and Susan Guerard’s' wedding anniversary and the club anniversary of Frank Wooldridge and Robert Provencio. These milestones were a testament to our club's enduring commitment and camaraderie.
There were several reasons to rejoice during the "Happy Spots" segment. Dave Perkins delighted President Pat by bringing back Mickey's ears from Orlando, making him $10 happy. Mindy happily shared that she had moved her only child to Irvine for college to pursue criminology, law, and science, earning us $20 on the happiness scale. President Pat was grateful for his quality time with his daughter and two grandchildren, making him $30 happy. Willie Gordon shared the joy of his son Dean turning four months old and his wife returning to work, making him $40 happy. Lastly, Duncan Harris, who bears a resemblance to Hunter Biden, expressed his busyness, bringing him $15 on the happiness scale.
Overall, the tone of our meeting was friendly and filled with joyful moments.
This Rotary Year we have an outstanding Polio Committee, with members that represent the four Regions and twelve Groups in our district. Contact information for members of the District Polio Plus Committee is attached.
It has been almost 38 years since Rotary International and its partners began fighting the good fight to eradicate this horrible disease. The good news is that we are in the last mile to End Polio Forever!!! When we started in 1985 there were 350,000 cases of paralytic Polio in the world every year. Today, since January 1st we have had just 7 cases in two countries, Pakistan - 2cases and Afghanistan - 5 cases. Both of these countries have been very cooperative with the GPEI Team. Vaccinators are being allowed to go into remote areas of the countries to vaccinate the children.
We have a few goals that we would like to accomplish this Rotary year.
Reach out to DPPC members and have them come to your club and do a program on Polio.
The Rotary Foundation goal is $1,500 or more from each club to Polio Plus. Please contribute what you can to help our district reach that goal.
Have members of your club join the Polio Plus Society. We have had this program in our district since 2018. It is a terrific way to raise money and for club members to feel they really are doing something to help eradicate Polio. I have attached the pledge form. Complete the form and we will take care of the rest.
There is a new program called the Kennel Klub, started by PDG Greg Owen in honor of his dog, Mollie. You can donate the money to Polio Plus, become a member of the Polio Plus Society and your dog will be named. See the attached flyer.
World Polio Day is October 24th. It was started to honor Dr. Jonas Salk.
We would like to see your club do something to honor this man and this day in your club. Hold a Polio bike ride, walk, run or a dinner, take the money raised and donate it to Polio Plus. You will find information on World Polio Day on the RI Website under Polio Plus.
Club Presidents and members, have a great year and please reach out to us for anything to do with Polio.
Bill Black introduced Nita Hanson from Gods Hidden Treasures as our guest speaker. She shared with us her mission of Giving Hope to the forgotten. They also acknowledged Bill Black for his dedicated efforts in securing grants for her organization. Additionally, Nita provided us with her perceptive insights on the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
There were several reasons to rejoice during the "Happy Spots" segment. Dave Perkins delighted President Pat by bringing back Mickey's ears from Orlando, making him $10 happy. Mindy happily shared that she had moved her only child to Irvine for college to pursue criminology, law, and science, earning us $20 on the happiness scale. President Pat was grateful for his quality time with his daughter and two grandchildren, making him $30 happy. Willie Gordon shared the joy of his son Dean turning four months old and his wife returning to work, making him $40 happy. Lastly, Duncan Harris, who bears a resemblance to Hunter Biden, expressed his busyness, bringing him $15 on the happiness scale.
Overall, the tone of our meeting was friendly and filled with joyful moments.
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