Escondido Sunrise Rotary; Meeting to Serve our Community via Zoom; and “Vallecitos Water District’s Use of Desalinated Water Enhances Local Water Service…” April 8, 2021
Editor’s Note…
As we all try to conduct our professional pursuits in new ways, it’s appropriate to remind ourselves of who we are as a Serving Organization… Our accomplishments, our fellowship and the reminder of our many successes is valuable as we await the time we can gather together again…
So, we met via Zoom… On April 8 … 23 Sunrise Rotary members talking about service and connecting through fellowship in new ways…
President Chris opened the meeting… But, without his Presidential Bell…
Heaven Forbid… The Presidential Bell is missing…
As recently, reported, The Presidential Bell was on life support, experiencing the trauma of COVID 19…
Seems the Cherished Presidential Bell has experienced an amazing recovery… This photo depicts the healthy bell enjoying the “March Madness” championship game with a group of Sunrise Rotarians and friends of Rotary…
One asks, “Will President Chris unleash the ‘bell-finders’ to bring the bell back while ready to “Serve Above Self”…???
Even with our Presidential Bell missing, and only partially accounted for… We had the beginning of a great Sunrise Rotary Zoom meeting…
Today’s meeting was a ‘hybrid’ meeting, with President Chris ‘broadcasting’ from All Star Signs with Past President George Beitner at his side. The hoped-for plan is to look to in-person meetings possibly accompanied by a virtual piece for those not able to attend…
Past President and Foundation Chair, Kevin Svetich led the salute to our Nation’s Flag…
Past President, Jack Anderson offered an invocation…
Guests and Visitors:
Visiting today were:
Assistant District Governor, Keith Rickenbacker
Craig Elitharp, Director of the Vallecitos Water District
Now, some Sunrise Rotary member milestones…
Birthdays:
None this week…
Anniversaries:
None this week…
Rotary Anniversaries:
None this week…
Rotarians Having Fun and Serving…
All kinds of fun and service this week… Pictures are worth a thousand words…
“March Madness” Results are in…
Past President Rich Aeling reported on the March Madness “Opportunity Pool” that enabled some Sunrise Rotarians to ‘cash-in’ on the basketball championship… Even from his sick bed recovering from surgery, Past President, Mike O’Malley soared to the champion’s winnings… Past Presidents, Dave Herbert, John Boyce and Rich Aeling also enjoyed ‘the luck of the draw’ for the tournament…
Some “side action” on the basketball championship was undertaken by Past President’s Dave Herbert and Mike Muehl… Seems that Dave’s allegiance to Gonzaga (his daughter Sarah Kate is an alum) and Mike’s daughter, Emily, (an incoming Baylor freshman) had a side bet… It’s not enough that both the Herberts and the Muehls were and will become “tuition bound” to the two universities…
The rivalry will continue, with Mike having the “winning hand” in 2021…
Rising Star Scholarship Recipient Thank You…
A Thank-you note from Fiona McGarry, one of our community’s ‘Rising Stars”…
Sunrise Rotarians Serving, and Announcements:
Mark you Calendars…
District 5340 Training Session; Saturday April 10
President-Elect, Richard Agnew announced the District Training session via Zoom on Saturday the 10th… He was encouraging some more club member participation…
North County Veteran’s Stand Down Delayed Until September 16-19…
As previously announced, due to the pandemic, the event will be delayed until late summer… Mark your calendars, as volunteers will be needed for the September event…
Rotarians at Work Day
Set for Saturday April 24, there will be activities with ‘Escondido Shines’ or the ‘Creek to Bay Cleanup’… More information will be forthcoming…
Golf Events
Rotary 5340 Golf; Monday April 5, 10:00 AM at St Mark Golf Club in San Marcos. Contact Scott Putnicki no later than March 26…
Chamber of Commerce Golf Challenge on April 12th at the Vineyard. Shotgun start at 8:00 AM… Cost is $150 per person or $500 for a foursome…
High Fives:
Rotary Foundation Update…
Past President and Foundation Chair, Kevin Svetich reported on our third-quarter status of Foundation support.
Escondido Sunrise is currently below President Chris’ goal for the year. Kevin encouraged all members to complete their Sustaining Member commitments…
Kevin reminded all of us of the great value that the Rotary Foundation provides world wide…
Past President Mike O’Malley Recovering from Back Surgery…
President Chris mentioned Mike’s recovery from surgery, and asked all members to remember Mike in their thoughts and prayers… The initial outcome of his back surgery is a great reduction in pain…
Remembering Rotary Support for the Mexicali Project(s)…
Past President Mark Hoekstra reminded us that our continuing support for the Mexicali community is temporarily deferred due to the COVID virus…
Pictured is Mark’s ‘meme’…
And Mark reported that Al McDonald, a consistent supporter of the project (although not a Sunrise Rotarian) is experiencing health challenges with a cancer diagnosis. Mark reported that plaques commemorating the work in Mexicali of both Al McDonald and Past President John Masson are being prepared to install on the projects when we return to Mexicali…
President Chris’ New Ride… Results in Sizable Fine from Past President Brigade…
President Chris is proudly driving a new truck… Not to go unnoticed by the Brigade of Past Presidents, Chris was the recipient of a ‘Huuuuggge’ fine…
Program:
Past President George Beitner introduced our speaker, Chris Robbins of the Vallecitos Water District. Serving all of San Marcos, the District was one of the first water agencies to connect to the Claude, ‘Bub’ Lewis Desalinization plant in Carlsbad. Chris’ presentation to our Club was focused on that water source and how it benefits the customers of the Vallecitos District.
Chris Robbins speaking to Sunrise Rotarians…
Desalinized water has been part of the water supply of Vallecitos for five years.., The Poseidon organization operates the facility in Carlsbad, and they went through numerous environmental challenges to bring the plant on line…
Chris shared some of the aspects of the use of desalinized water throughout the world… It’s a proven technology, making use of the vast resources of ocean water…
Chris described the process for sea water to be desalinized for potable consumption… The Carlsbad plant uses a reverse osmosis process; and the water is ‘re-mineralized’ to a degree prior to distribution. The ‘re-mineralizing’ process is necessary as the totally de-salted water will damage the distribution pipe system unless the re-mineralization takes place…
Chris continued his presentation by discussing the percentage of desalinated water within the total Vallecitos distribution system.
Chris also spoke about the benefits of this additional source of local water; the use of this resource continues to support the diverse water supplies in San Diego County, continuing to remove our dependence on water from the Los Angeles controlled, Metropolitan Water District…
Next Week’s Meeting:
The California Center for the Arts will be highlighted as we host Executive Director, Jerry Van Leeuwen as our speaker…
Thanks for Attending Today’s Meeting…
Support for our Escondido Community …
Our great community and the success of its businesses is all of our responsibilities… Support the businesses that are doing all they can to survive during this challenging time… Take out some chow… Be ready to support them when the economy begins working again…
The ‘Giving Arch’ on Grand Avenue and Centre City Parkway reminds us that Escondido is a caring, giving community…
To all; be safe and be well…. God Bless those men and women that carry the load at our medical facilities, and God Bless the first responders… May our governmental leaders be wise, thoughtful and smart as this pandemic is overtaken by our hard work and collective support…
Online Meetings:
Technical Support for Online Meetings:
Our on-line meetings continue to be technically managed by President Elect Richard Agnew… Thanks for that Richard… And, Richard is prepared to support all of our attempts at joining the on-line meetings… Look for his email with details and links to log on to the upcoming Zoom meetings…
Watch for emails defining the next online meeting. The system works fine, dependent upon your technical support available through your PC or laptop…
SEE YOU SOON… ON LINE OR IN PERSON….. Next meeting; Thursday April 15; 7:30 AM… Check President Chris’ or President Elect, Richard Agnew’s email for the Zoom Link…
