Escondido Sunrise Rotary; Meeting to Serve our Community via Zoom; and “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Greetings as 2020 Ends and 2021 Dawns” … December 17, 2020
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…
We met via Zoom… On December 17 … Sunrise Rotary members talking about service and connecting through fellowship in new ways…
President Chris opened the meeting… Even with a gavel and the familiar chime of a gavel striking a bell… 25 Sunrise Rotarians joined the Zoom meeting… Nice job all of you for joining us…
Future President Mark Maus led the salute to our Nation’s Flag…
Andy Ommen offered an invocation…
Guests and Visitors:
Sami Miller joined us as a guest…
Lisa Behymer was with us again as a guest…
And, a special, surprise guest from ‘Whoville’…
Now, some Sunrise Rotary member milestones…
Birthdays:
December 25: Membership Chair, Dr. Joe Holtz
26: Past President Rich Aeling
31: Lee Baker
Anniversaries:
None this week
Rotary Anniversaries:
None this week
Sunrise Rotarians Having Fun…
Christmas Shopping For and With Youth from the Boys and Girls Club
Christmas shopping for the youth at the Boys and Girls Club took on a different flavor this year as the children submitted their wish lists and items were purchased for them…
Past President Rich Aeling shared the details…
Photos of the wide array of gifts presented to the children at the Boys and Girls Club…
And, 10 extra bikes were added to the list for the kids at the Boys and Girls Club…
Bikes for Kids… Distributed at Camp Pendleton through the YMCA
100 Bikes were also shared with the children of Marine families at Camp Pendleton… In cooperation with the YMCA and the Bikes for Kids Foundation…
Bell-Ringing for the Salvation Army
Salvation Army bell-ringing at Major Market brought out the best of Escondido Sunrise Rotary. Thanks to the hard work of Club Secretary, John Schwab, the time slots were filled by willing volunteers…
Some pics of our charitable efforts benefitting a most worthy cause…
Shown ringing the bell for Sunrise Rotary are future Rotarians, Sami Miller, and Kristin and Matthew Ommen…
Also pictured is the Christmas tree in the pavilion downtown at Grand and Juniper… The tree was beautifully decorated for the first time with some extra help from George Weir and Past President Rich Aeling...
Keep your ‘fun’ photos coming to President Chris…
Sunrise Rotarians Serving, and Announcements:
Community in Unity and Pajama Drive…
Future President, Tina Pope provided details of the opportunity to add special gifts at a ‘drive thru’ gift drop-off opportunity the evening of December 17… PJs for Rady Children’s Hospital, blankets for the Elizabeth Hospice, and youth-aged toys for the Police Athletic League are all welcome at the donation opportunity… Arts Center drive through on Escondido Boulevard is the location…
Tina Pope sharing information about the Community in Unity gift drop-off…
Update your Rotary Calendar
President Chris shared some upcoming Rotary events… Mark your calendars.
High Fives:
Corona Virus Vaccine to be Available at Community Colleges
President Chris shared with Club members that planning is underway for the Corona Virus vaccine to be available at Palomar College and other community colleges in the County.
Escondido Sunrise Rotary Ranks Third in the District for Rotary Foundation Per Capita Giving
President Chris shared that our Club was recognized recently for our giving to the Rotary Foundation… Third in per capita giving in District 5340
Library Strategic Plan Effort…
Club Secretary John Schwab commented about the Library Trustees’ effort to strategically plan for the Library’s future… As part of that process, John thanked Past President Jack Anderson for his assistance in developing the team for the plan development process…
Job Opportunities and Generator Evaluations…
President Elect Richard Agnew announced that a job opportunity for a property and facility manager was available at his wife, Marcia’s company… Contact Richard if you’re interested or know of someone…
Past President Dave Herbert is in the market for a generator… Let him know your experience in researching options…
Future President, Dave Luevanos Thanks Sunrise Members for our Boys and Girls Club Support…
Dave Luevanos expressed appreciation on behalf of the Boys and Girls Club for our support of the youth and their families through the Christmas gift program and for the bicycles…
Program:
A surprise guest appeared as our program speaker…; unfortunately was unable to join us on Zoom…
Past President Jim Ponder arranged for a special guest to have a conversation with Sunrise Rotarians…
Past President Jim Ponder; Live from the North Pole!!
The special guest, direct from Whoville, was none other than the Grinch himself…
The Grinch started off bad-mouthing the group of “Rosarians” that were a bunch of grey-haired old men giving gifts to kids… Apparently, he had been on line in our meeting when we were sharing all of the good things we were doing for the kids at the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA at Camp Pendleton…
The Grinch, in his own negative way, bad-mouthed Christmas music, children getting excited about Christmas, and the giving of gifts, sharing with those less fortunate and the overall meaning of Christmas…
The Grinch also took responsibility for the ‘Grinch Flu’ in 2020, causing people to be isolated and to remain ‘locked-down’… His view was negative for sure…
But, Past President Jim Ponder, gently ‘interviewing’ the Grinch would have none of his nonsense…
Also on the Zoom meeting was Jim’s grandson, JD and he wanted to speak directly to the Grinch…
Apparently, JD told his Grandpa what to say to the Grinch… Such things as he shouldn’t take gifts away from people, and he shouldn’t ruin the joy in Christmas…
As JD was talking to the Grinch, the Grinch threatened him by saying he was “not getting nothing” for Christmas…
JD, through his Grandpa, reminded the Grinch to not use double negatives as he spoke about his dislike for Christmas…
JD finished his comments to the Grinch by saying “Christmas is about heart and understanding”…
Mr. Grinch finally acknowledged that his heart was “two sizes too small”…
The Spirit of Christmas ultimately prevailed…
Thanks to Past President Jim and Mr. Grinch for a fun program…
Second Half of the Rotary Year Begins Now…
A reminder to all of Escondido Sunrise Rotary Members; President Chris has led us artfully through the first half of his presidential year in spite of the pandemic impacting our ability to meet in person. We accomplished a significant event with our Virtual Grape Day 5K, and raised an amazing amount of money for all of the good things we do as a group of “Rosarians” or old white guys and gals helping kids… So says the Grinch!!
But now, we have the last half of President Chris’ year to continue being the beacon of good hope and strength to our community…
Keep attending online meetings and supporting all of our efforts to care for those in Need…
Next Week’s Meeting:
Our program will be Solutions for Change..
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 January 7; 7:30 AM… Check President Chris’ or Richard Agnew’s email for the Zoom Link…
