Meeting Notes: 01/25/2024 by John Leatherwood
After President Jim Reid called the meeting to order we stood and recited the 4-Way Test followed by President Jim Reid leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Jim thanked today’s meeting volunteers, Pat Chaffee, Joel Doss, Mark Alberts (Front Desk), Mike Ortiz (Greeter), Bill Brehm (Photography), Sgt. At Arms Joel Doss and Bob Vaughan and crew, John Leatherwood (Scribe) and Alan Turner (Audio Visual).
Among today’s guests were Marni von Wilpert with her associates Eric Young & Joon Su and 3 members of the local NAACP.
We celebrated all January birthdays. No members with a January birthday were present but we sang anyways.
Alan Turner attended Chuck Pretto’s celebration of life on January 24th at the Liberty Station Conference Center. There were over 500 people present.
We observed a moment of silence in remembrance of Larry Valente.
There was a check presentation of $2500 to Satia Austin & Reggie Branch from the NAACP. Funds will help their Tides Foundation.
Sandie Dewane reported Family of Rotary and welcomed back Athenea Luciano, Emily Paup, Terry Heck, and Mike Fuqua. There were no new illnesses to report.
Bob Vaughn rallied a spirited session of Happy Bucks while members touched on many reasons for giving.
President Jim Reid made a few announcements:
* Casa de las Campanas will be hosting a showing of Arilla St. Laurent paintings on Thursday February 1st at 4:00 pm. Everyone is encouraged to attend before our next evening meeting.
* A joint meeting with our friends the RB Sunrise club has been scheduled for April 4th. More details to follow.
* San Diego Oasis at Rancho Bernardo will be hosting a preview of the Don Giovanni Opera on Monday, January 29th @ 1 pm. See Jim for details.
Marni von Wilpert spoke before our guest speakers took the stage. She first thanked all first responders for their quick actions and bravery during last Monday’s flooding around the county. She also wanted to stress the importance of Fentanyl awareness and the current opioid crisis we are in. It’s been a priority of hers while in office and she’s very thankful for the efforts of today’s speakers and others educating our communities.
John Mullin introduced our two speakers’ todays, Ed Ternan founder of “A Song for Charlie” non-profit & US Attorney Adam Gordon, coordinator of San Diego’s Opioid Criminal Division.
Ed lost his son Charlie to an accidental Fentanyl overdose in March 2020 and has since dedicated himself to educating the public about the dangers of black-market pills. Since the street demand for such opioids as OxyContin, Percocet, etc. have risen sharply in the last 10 years, illegal drug manufactures are flooding the black-market with fake pills containing Fentanyl. It’s cheap to manufacture, extremely powerful and can kill in concentrated doses. You can learn more at www.songforcharlie.org
Adam then spoke to us about the different classes of users, recent consumption patterns, and where death rates are rising. This is still a growing epidemic but with the continued education of everyone in our communities, we can turn the tide.
