Ronald McDonald House
The remaining date for dinner service this year is:
Aug. 30, 2018
President Doug called the meeting to order and we all recited the 4 Way Test together. Cathy Glover led us in the pledge and happily reminded us that the students in the Poway Unified School District still start their day saying the pledge! Alex Robertson gave the inspirational message and surprised us by telling us how he met Nelson Mandela long ago. Talk about and inspirational person. Mandela was one of the best. Lucky Alex!
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Dan Malloy was our greeter and introduced visiting Rotarians and guests and even led us in the welcome song and birthday song. His good voice has been a long kept secret until now. We know who to call on if we need a song leader some day. A very special thank you to Shirley who brought in a beautiful birthday cake for the August birthdays.
Doug thanked the other volunteers and gave Alex another turn at the mike to give us some information on a past speaker, Michael Gaulden. Michael spoke on being homeless as a child, surviving the streets and even graduating from UCLA. He brought his new found education back to San Diego to help others who have no where to turn. He didn't ask for money, just volunteers to help in classrooms at the school for homeless and underprivileged children.
Alex will follow up with asking for volunteers.
Mike Fuqua updated us on our "First Annual Fundraiser" and passed around the sign up sheet (again). This is hopefully going to be the one chosen to carry through, year after year. Having said that, he needs everyone to sign up on one or more of the committees to make this a success. It's called Vines and Vittles and there will be wine and beer tasting, games for the children, food vendors and much more. We are partnering with The RB Historical Society who will also be providing volunteers and sharing their notes from previous events they held.
Mike also mentioned that they are looking for sign ups for Model UN to help draft resolutions and possibly be a mentor for the event.
Incoming President David King announced that our club has almost 10 early sign ups for the RI Convention being held in Hamburg next year. He's looking into finding some interesting things to do as a club and welcomes ideas. LEAD, a program for 8th grade students, is gearing up for their participation in this event. Two students from each school will be chosen to attend on Oct. 12th and 13th.
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Don Glover talked about the upcoming Foundation Seminar (date and details found on our District web site Rotary5340.org). Our club represents at least 33 different areas in which we participate. We help 16 youth activities, 4 military and 13 general community needs through our Foundation. Please go to our web site for more details. Our District Conference is March 1-3, 2019 at the Catamaran Hotel. Lots more to follow but it sounds like a lot of fun at a beautiful venue. Plan to stay over and enjoy the beach, the complimentary Bahia Bell boat ride and much, much more! Check out the District Web page for all the information.
Don also announced that the applications and instructions are available on our club web page for Grants and Matching Gifts. Check details for deadlines.
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Don also gave us a detailed report on John O'Neill's back surgery on Wed. It all went well and John is recovering in the hospital for another 3 or 4 days, may have rehab for a few more days and then home.
He is requesting no phone calls or visits until he feels stronger. In the meantime, cards, prayers and emails will keep us in touch with him.
It was announced that a memorial service for Joe Max will probably be held at the end of Sept. More details to follow.
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In John's absence, we have Arilla at the helm so be careful what you do and say!
Pat Chaffee introduced our speaker, David Alemian, whose topic was The Great American Dream. It seems that previous generations brought their skills to a business, climbed the ladder and retired with a nice pension to sit on the front porch swing and watch their grand children grow. That just isn't happening with our newer generations. There is a shortage of skilled workers and companies are experiencing a large number of employees changing from one company to another at the rate of every 4.4 years. They are not earning retirement benefits and will find themselves wondering how to live a comfortable life when the time comes. Baby Boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 people a day, and it's predicted that there will be 1 applicant for every 2 jobs available in 2020. Again, it's predicted that by 2035, there will be a shortage of 500,000 nurses. Staggering. So....on that depressing note, let's hope our younger generations heed the warning signs and get a skill and stick with a company to enjoy the benefits that are given along the way.
Sept.7th is the pot luck TGIX at the Dawson's. Watch for updates as more people are signing up and there may be some changes in what's needed.
Sept. 15th is the District Leadership Conference. Sign up on line at the District Website at Rotary5340.org.
Upcoming Programs: Sept 6th: Steven Littlefield speaking on The Importance of Gratitude.
Sept. 13th: Robert Lutticken speaking on Abraxas High School projects.
We'll have special visitors attending from Tijuana Kumiai and our District Governor, wife, daughter and incoming District Governor Marta Knight! Let's have a big showing!
Yours in Rotary,
Karen Stelman, Scribe
