Escondido Sunrise Rotary; Meeting to Serve our Community via Zoom; and “Leadership Qualities in Times of Crisis; a Discussion with Kevin Crawford”… October 22, 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…
So, we met via Zoom… On October 15… 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… 23 Sunrise Rotarians joined the Zoom meeting… Nice job all of you for joining us…
Past President Rich Aeling led the pledge to our nation’s Flag…
Membership Chair, Dr. Joe Holtz, offered an invocation…
Guests and Visitors:
None this week
Now, some Sunrise Rotary member milestones…
Birthdays:
October 24: Marie Schwab
26: Natalie Shultz
Anniversaries:
October 23: Past President Tony and Connie Criss Congratulations!
Rotary Anniversaries:
None this week
Sunrise Rotarians Having Fun…
Liz Phillips and her fiancé enjoying hiking in Yosemite…
Keep your ‘fun’ photos coming to President Chris…
Sunrise Rotarians Serving, and Announcements:
Feeding San Diego Links in North County
President Chris shared a story on the great ‘linking’ opportunities through Rotary service. In a recent program, we learned about the non-profit organization, ‘Feeding San Diego’… Chris’ connections at Palomar College has seen more than one connection to serving our region’s hungry families through this great group… As we learn of service opportunities, we find connections that were not expected…
Youth Protection Certification
President Chris reminded all that Youth Protection Certification is required if you work with youth in any of our programs.
Past President Mike O’Malley oversees the certification and recently sent emails with the forms, procedure and all the details…
Project Mercy Tijuana House Build Project
Past President Rich Aeling reported on this next year’s Tijuana House Build Project; he reported that due to the Covid pandemic, our project will entail constructing the frame elements of the house in San Ysidro from which they will be transported across the border to the project site. Likely to take place on a Friday in March, 2021… Watch for more details.
Escondido East Rotary Thanksgiving Dinner Delivery
President Chris announced that East Rotary is seeking drivers to deliver meals on Thanksgiving Day… Contact is with Darrol Castor of the East Club, contact President Chris to volunteer and connect with Darrol.
Rising Stars Program
Escondido Sunrise will be contributing to this academic achievement awards program co-sponsored with the Chamber of Commerce
Jump Ropes for Elementary Students…
The Escondido Education Foundation is still collecting funds for jump ropes so that students can fulfill PE class requirements at home… Contact Past President Barry Baker to lend a hand.
Peanut Butter for the Food Bank:
Past President Rich Aeling announced that donations of Peanut Butter are important for the Food Bank… You can drop off you gifts at Aelott Air Conditioning on West Washington…
Update your Rotary Calendar
President Chris shared some upcoming Rotary events… Mark your calendars.
Rotarian Awards…
President Chris was out and about socially distancing with our recent Rotarian Award recipients…
Liz Phillips receiving her ‘Women in Rotary’ award
And, Liz also receiving her first Paul Harris Fellowship Award…
Membership Chair, Dr. Joe Holtz, receiving his ‘Rotarian of the Month’ award…
Special Announcement:
Grape Day 5K Update:
Time is creeping up on us…
Keep making your contacts and encouraging participants to join the fun…
As shared by President-elect, Richard Agnew…
Our virtual event is Saturday October 24 at 2:00 PM……
Our fundraising progress to date is $37, 719 through the team’s competition…with a tight race between Teams Dragon and Kraken…
Actual dollars received through the Classy website is $41,401…
266 participants have registered to date… Each of us Sunrise Rotarians can register as participants…
This effort is significant to our ongoing ability to serve and support those in need in our community… Do your part!!
Past President Jim Ponder reminded us of our membership role in each registering as participants... and making our donation contacts...
This is an ‘ALL HANDS’ effort… Your Club and your community need your active support…
High Fives:
Past President Rich Aeling announced that he will be a grandpa again… The new grandchild is due in mid-April… Unfortunately affecting Rich and Donna’s travel to Singapore and Bali… So Sad!!
President Chris shared that his family is celebrating his mother’s 85th birthday… Happy Birthday Mrs. Miller!!
Program:
Past President Jim Ponder introduced our speaker, Kevin Crawford…Kevin has significant experience in leadership within the Fire Service and in local government in general. His leadership in emergency service settings also extends to the national and international levels… Kevin is also experienced in not-for-profit leadership.
Kevin Crawford speaking to Sunrise Rotarians…
Kevin spoke about various leadership observations based on his experiences locally, nationally and internationally…
His view is that leadership is not just about behaviors, but also about attributes that one brings to situations that set the need for and challenge leaders….
Often, one sees the source of leadership, either excellent or poor through the manner in which behaviors to deal with circumstances are managed by those in leadership roles.
Examples were shared that reflected leadership in emergency or strategic situations being manifested in one’s background and culture of decision making. Kevin’s experience with FEMA and Hurricane Katrina showed that appointed leaders’ egos often got in the way of good decision making. Also, looking at problems from an overview perspective allowed leaders to direct services in a more organized fashion.
Interestingly, Louisiana did not have an ingrained ‘Incident Command System’ (ICS) such that the ways in which problem solving was undertaken, was not defined, with work effort directed to problem solving methods. ICS methods are used extensively in California dealing with many emergencies, namely wild fires, yet such systems were not broadly used even by FEMA whose oversight spans local jurisdictional control…
Another example of leadership reflecting the values of an organization or culture of the organization was shared as relating to Kevin’s work with the fire service in Moscow. The Russian focus was to save infrastructure and not to prioritize the protection of lives over property…
Kevin entertained questions from the members and the dialogue further illuminated the aspects of leadership that seem innate in many quality leaders as they are influenced by their environment.
Next Week’s Meeting:
Our program will feature Dr. Nick Yphantides of the County Health Department, speaking to us about COVID-19 and the flu…
The next meeting will be via Zoom on Thursday, October 29…
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 October 29; 7:30 AM… Check President Chris’ or Richard Agnew’s email for the Zoom Link…
