Past President Ron Nelms and New Member Marti Sanders greeted the morning's attendees, who did a bang-up job extracting money from people’s wallets!
Thank you, Stephanie Baker, for handling the invocation for the absent and soon-to-be-fined Heath Niemeyer! Flag Salute was led by Sandra Parnell, followed by Carol Smith directing us in the song – “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”
Introductions were quite lengthy, thanks to a large number of guests and visiting Rotarians! We had:
Visiting Rotarians: Carlos Baldovinos and Cathy Abernathy were introduced by Mary Jo Pasek.
Guests: Steve Peterson from The Mission at Kern County; Brandon Phipps from Second Star Technology; Kristel Pollack from Houchin Blood Bank; Shannon O’Brien from O’Brien Technologies; and Don Griffith, CA Superior Court Commissioner.
President Pat and Community Service Director Robert Provencio were excited to present a $2,500 check to Executive Director Carlos Baldovinos and Steve Peterson from The Mission. The funds will go toward the bedding in The Mission’s new 28-bed building. (Mark your calendar for the September 23rd multi-club project at The Mission, where we’ll team up with Bakersfield East Rotary Club in making up the beds in the new building!)
The moment we’ve all been waiting for…Amy Thelen, former Senior VP at Bitwise, presented:
A Story of Grief, Self-Reflection, and Perseverance
Amy Thelen was a five-year employee of Bitwise, the organization that expanded to Bakersfield (and other cities) from Fresno. Their mission was to create a technology economy in “underestimated cities.” Bitwise offered classes to help prepare community members for work in coding, online marketing, and other tech-related areas.
Amy was the first employee in Bakersfield, and she was IN LOVE with her job and the mission of Bitwise! When she learned on Memorial Day about the 100% layoff of the Bitwise workforce, she found out on a 10-minute Zoom call just before the rest of our community found out.
Learning that the job of her dreams had ended abruptly, leaving many hurt individuals, investors, and communities in its wake, Amy processed the situation. She felt a loss of security and identity. Instead of focusing on the negative, Amy began focusing on what she could take away from her experience. In her self-reflection, she began accepting the situation and realizing that “success is not a straight line.”
This was Amy’s first public conversation about her experience. It was brave, and it was honest. Thank you, Amy, for speaking with our group!
New Members!
Maria Theresa and Steven Rosen, sponsored by PP Denise Haynes, were welcomed into the club. The Rosens are well-versed in Rotary and were formerly club members on the coast. Maria Theresa is a retired physician and UCLA professor, and Steven worked in clothing manufacturing in Los Angeles. Welcome!
Celebrations
Cheryl and Darren Scott would be celebrating their 34th wedding anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 16th. (Reporter’s note: Since Darren continues to live oh-so-large in my heart, it was appropriate to acknowledge our special day. Thank you, President Pat!)
Happy Birthday(s) to Heath Niemeyer and Sally Ann Selby!
And Happy 24th Club Anniversary to Ken Quarnberg. May your trigger finger continue to heal nicely!
Happy Spots
By now, this reporter was getting writer’s cramp, but here’s the gist of it:
Denise Haynes visited three places recently, including Parker, AZ (and a side trip to the hospital in Las Vegas via chopper), Chicago, and Yosemite. She donated $30 to the cause.
Tom Burke took quite the vacation, visiting Ireland (for a 200-cousin family reunion), then went on a cruise to Greece and Turkey. He brought some cool gifts back for the Pres and donated $60 to the coffers.
Will Duerksen brought some goodies from one of his frequent trips to Idaho to
spend time with his family, including River Rock Chocolate and Idaho Potato Poop. (Pretty sure that’s what he said!) $30 went toward helping the President get the club Back-in-Black.
Jacque Alexander was beaming with pride about her daughter’s recent appointment as manager at Ernst & Young in Boston. Great job! She was $10 happy (probably more than that, but hey, her daughter is getting the big bucks now)!
Fines
Past President Ron Nelms was fined $20 because no one saw him wearing his Rotary pin when he was a guest on the Laurie McCarty Radio Show. When asked if he really had his pin on, Ron responded, “I don’t recall.”
Singer Extraordinaire Bill Black won $70 in the drawing and turned around and donated it all to the Seal Shoe Shopping outing next Wednesday. (By the way…come help with that project at WSS Shoes on Chester at 10 a.m. next Wednesday!)
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