Rancho Bernardo’s Webb Park will be the home on July 14, 2019 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, to “Vines & Vittles” a Western-themed Family Festival.
Rotary Meeting Notes - February 21, 2019 Meeting
By Sandie Dewane
By Sandie Dewane
President Doug Dawson called the meeting to order. Bob Chambers led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and Dan Barrios shared an inspirational message with us. Greeter Shirley Napierala introduced visiting Rotarians and guests and Joel Doss led us in singing the welcome song.
President Doug thanked today’s volunteers: Front Desk- Joel Doss, Jim Hyldahl, Phil Warner; Set up Crew- Pat Chaffee, Jim Reid; Photographer- James Kaspar; Meeting Organizer- John O’Neill and Scribe – Sandie Dewane.
Arilla St. Laurent auctioned off a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Jim Hyldahl was the highest bidder and presented them to County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar who was visiting us today.
Mike Stelman was “officially” welcomed as a returning member to our Club and Terry Heck gave a power point “Who Am I” presentation after which he received his gold badge. Congratulations to Charley Crew who is the “Hats Off to Volunteers” choice from our Club for 2019!
Russ Haskell reported that the 4-Way Speech Contest is coming up next week and he needed two more volunteers. Mike Fuqua and Arilla immediately volunteered to help.
Dan Barrios returned to the podium with a Paul Harris Fellow acknowledgement to a somewhat surprised Diane Remick. Congratulations, Diane! Don Glover had the pleasure of presenting a check to Valerie Brown of Interfaith Community Services.
President Doug welcomed County Supervisor Kristin Gaspar to the podium. She spoke about the opioid crisis in San Diego and how it has touched her family. Last year there were 527 deaths in San Diego alone from drug overdoses; 73,000 in the United States. She gave examples of how drugs are often stolen from medicine cabinets in our homes. Kristin is spearheading a community-based program in which leftover prescription drugs can be disposed of in a safe and convenient manner. She is reaching out to her fellow Rotarians to help spread the word about the importance of this program and left informational flyers with us.
Sandie Dewane introduced Michele Moberg, a volunteer at Lions, Tigers and Bears, which is a certified rescue sanctuary and educational facility for big cats and other exotic animals, located in Alpine. Michele was substituting for Founder Bobbi Brink who was unable to attend due to snow and icy conditions in East County. Michele showed a video in which Bobbi explains that she founded the sanctuary in 2002 after learning about the exotic animal trade in the U. S. and the mistreatment and cruelty to big cats and other wild animals. Michele introduced us, via photos, to some of the animals who live there, along with their rescue stories and answered numerous questions from our members. The always-amazing Jim Hyldahl concocted another story that somehow related the speaker’s topic to the book he chose to donate to the BH Middle School library!
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Lions, Tigers and Bears gives guided tours on certain days, by appointment only and reservations can be made on its website. This scribe recently toured the sanctuary. It is an eye-opening experience that will stay with you. It’s all about the safety and comfort of the animals who are free to enjoy their natural habitat where they can live out their lives with dignity and respect. The dedication and compassion of Bobbi Brink, staff and volunteers is awe-inspiring.
Rotary calendar: March 1-3, District Conference at Catamaran Resort/Mission Bay. March 30 – District Training Assembly, USC Croc Center
Upcoming Programs: February 28 – 4 Way Test Speech Contest; March 7 – Meteorologist Alex Tardy.
After telling some funny jokes, President Doug adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandie Dewane, Scribe
USD TGIX Party 2.23.19 - Here are a couple images taken at the USD - St. Mary’s game which was a fun evening.
