Sept. 23, 2021
Co-President Althenea called the meeting to order at 1 p.m. and introduced RZ Norris to lead the pledge. Mike Stelman gave the Inspirational Message, Diane Remick was the Greeter and Doel Doss lead us in the Welcome Song. Bill Brehm is our Sgt. at Arms but also filled in as photographer in for James Kaspar who was unable to be at this meeting. Arilla St. Laurent worked the front desk this week with Joel and Pat Chaffee.
David King gave a quick update on Poinsettia sales and encouraged our club to buy and sell boxes of these beautiful flowers to raise money for our Marines and sailors at Miramar to support them through our donations. Each box has 8 beautiful red plants and sell for only $110 this year. Please contact David or Mike Stelman for more information. The deadline for sales is Nov. 15th.
Mike Fuqua made a request for applications to be turned in for Grants and Matching Gifts to our Board. Bob Vaughn is our representative for The Rotary Foundation and had two awards to be given out today. Pat Chaffee received his PHF+1 ($2,000) and Sonny Googins received her PHF+2 ($3,000). Our club also has an exciting event planned for November 4th when we travel to the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier for a guided tour of the ship (by Mike Fuqua) and lunch! Don't want to miss this one!!
With a date yet to be confirmed, Jim Reid announced that The Poway Center for Performing Arts is setting aside 28 seats for our Rotary Club, front and center, when the venues are set and we have a firm date! Sonny announced that this years Model UN will take place but will be done virtually. Anyone interested in listening in is more than welcome!
Arilla had two members who have had some serious ailments and need your prayers. Steve LaPoint is seeing a few doctors to determine if he has cancer. He assures me that he will be at the meeting next Thurs. and share his findings. So far the doctors aren't agreeing on the prognosis. Then John O'Neill had a serious situation that put him in the hospital. He gave Arilla the following note to share with our club.....
"On Sunday, 9/5, I was once again feeling disoriented, anxious and confused. By Monday it was worse because I could no longer think clearly. Linda drove me to Palomar Hospital in Escondido. They determined I was experiencing kidney failure, Massive infections in my urinary tract, colon and skin, plus a serious salt deficiency. The infections included staph, strep and the original UTI infection that had been treated with antibiotics six times. All of this caused unrelenting, continuous leg spasms, headaches and anxiety. I did not sleep for four days straight. With the help of a saline drip and large doses of a broad spectrum antibiotic intravenously, it helped me get on track. After six days and five nights I was sent home with a 200mg per day different antibiotic for at least 30 days and maybe longer. I am still recovering and will return to the fold as soon as I'm able. I miss all of you. I would like to hear from any who would like to call.
Many thanks, John O 858-395-9545"
And finally, Athenea was excited to introduce our speaker, Camille Newbern of Club 33. She is a 5th generation San Diegan who has traveled to the African Continent to aid in refugee relief efforts. Her story was compelling and filled with moments that make you laugh. She is a colorful storyteller who graduated from USC with a degree in American Literature. After college, she moved to LA where she worked as a commercial actress appearing in commercials for Bank of America, Sprint and Nikon. Today, she is the youngest board member of the San Diego Rotary Club and has been on three service trips to East Africa since joining Rotary 5 years ago. Two gentlemen from Club 33 travel to Africa for humanitarian reasons and they encouraged her to join them. After a couple of years, she did join them and had the experience of a life time. Professionally, Camille is an asset manager for the Tom Hom group in La Jolla, CA. Her father is also a member of Club 33 and joined us for her presentation. Mike Fuqua had the honor of presenting her with a book to be signed and donated to our local middle school.
Our next meeting on Sept 30th will host Jeffery Sitcov. His topic is "Doors of Change".
Respectively submitted,
Karen Stelman, Scribe
