Rose’s Ruminations                                                                 April/May 2018 for June Pinion

Oh my goodness – Here I sit writing my last Pinion!  Last year as I calendared my Pinion due dates I wrote in June “Last Pinion – Time Flies!  I had no idea just exactly how true that was going to be for me.

I missed my April summary in the May Pinionbut I want to do a small recap of April because some really amazing things happened in April.  April 4^thwas a day I had been waiting for – It was the first meeting of the Communications Team led by Dana Jones, Club Administration.  This is a team that is always very busy making us relevant on our Web site, on our Facebook page, through our weekly e-bulletins, our Pinion, and photos, photos, photos. The team is made up of Dana, Padmaja, Maria, Jeff, Mary Lynn, Steve Cho, Audrey, and Sandi P.  Together they talked how best to coordinate communication among each other.  We addressed old password issues, updated all sites and they agreed to meet on a quarterly basis to review how things are going and what they can do to strengthen club communication.  Great communication in a large club is key to its success.  This is a great group of very collegial Rotarians that I know will work wonderful together for the next 2 years.

April 7, 2018 – Jeff Schinkel began a marathon of community service projects.  Jeff, Margo, Tina, Rich G, and Tina’s son Jacob kicked off the beginning of cleaning and preparing to build a new shed to house tools needed to attend to a bee population for LEAF.

April 10 -Niles Rotarians joined our amazing Rotaract Club at Durham Elementary as they hosted an Astronomy Night for the kids. Included in this group to name a few were Sandy S., Sherry, PP Lisa L., Adam, Margo, and Jeff.  A few Interactors from Fremont Christian were able to get in on the fun.  Of course, this was all documented by our Ambassador of Fun and huge Rotaract supporter Mary Lynn.

April 13- we were honored by the Music at the Mission’s Buccaneer Masquerade Ball for our generous support of Music and Arts in our community.  We all dressed up in our best pirate attire, and had a wonderful evening full of laughter and fun.  Thank you again Gael Stewart for a night I won’t forget!

April 14 – on to the District Training Assembly and the finals of the Richard D. King Speech Contest.  We heard from some very inspirational young speakers.  It was a great day.

April 21 – we joined City of Fremont, Newark Cub Scouts Troop 441, and Niles Mosque volunteers planting trees, plants, and spreading tanbark at Buena Vista Park the day before Earth Day.

April 22  – the annual Jeff Falk Day at the A’s was a huge success with over 35 Rotarians tailgating and enjoying a big barbeque by Sandra and Daren Young.

Meeting Highlights:

April 5 – Gael Stewart received her Blue Badge – We were joined by her very proud daughter Jen and her 2 children – Way to go Gael.

April 12 – We inducted Irshad Rasheed.  Welcome Irshad – I am looking forward to getting to know you better.

April 19– We welcomed our newest Niles Rotarian Stella Levin.  Stella has been attending with Ray for a while we are so glad to now call you Niles Family.

April 26 – We inducted Jasmine Basrai as our newest Rotarian and honored her father Gary for his 30 years of dedication to Niles Rotary – Jasmine grew up a Niles Rotarian and I am so happy she has joined us officially.

So if you’re counting – that is 3 community service projects, 2 socials, a district event, and 3 new Rotarians in 1 month. April was an AMAZING Month, but we didn’t stop there.

WECOME MAY 2018!!!

May 3 -I did some catch up on my Rotarian of the Month pins.  My January pick was Mary Lynn our Ambassador of Fun.  Mary Lynn is everywhere but my focus for January was her undying support for the Rotaract Club of Greater Fremont.  In June 2017 they had maybe 3 members.  Marty agreed to be President.  Because Mary Lynn has supported them, allowed them to use her home for game nights, activity nights, and is always present at their meetings, Marty with his small group has grown the club to 16 members in just 6 months.  They had enough support to sponsor their first community service event with Niles Rotarians.  Mary Lynn – thank you for not giving up on this group and encouraging them in their growth, we even have 2 Rotoractors attending the International Convention.  My February pick was not present, so I moved on to March.  My March Rotarian of the Month was Jeff Schinkel.  This guy is amazing, creative, funny and fun!  He has just been everywhere – he mans our Facebook page – he is now our Community Service Director, but if anyone in the club asks his advice or assistance he says yes.  Jeff – thank you for all you are to our club – you have made my year very special. We have had a tough year in our We Care department!  In May of 2017 I asked Margo Hood if she would be my We Care Advisor. She smiled and said, “Yes because you asked me.”  I do not think either of us ever imagined what this year would be like.  We encountered some very difficult losses, tragedy, and some very sick Rotarians.  The entire year Margo has exhibited kindness, caring, coordination, great communication, patience, and has just loved on every person or family that has needed us and her.   You are a treasure Margo – thank you for all you have done.  At this meeting a big Congrats to our Sergeant at Arms Sam Forbes for his Paul Harris plus 1. And it was announced that Lisa Lorenz was named Conference Chair for the 2018 5170 District Conference to be held at San Jose State.

May 5 – THE DAY had finally come for us to complete the painting of the United States map at Niles Elementary.  A great gang showed up including Dana, Rick J, Sherry, Margo, Jeff, Tina, Sandy S., and Tina’s son Jacob!!   We finally have this one DONE!

May 6- Steve and Amy Cho hosted a hike or bike ride with a Steve Cho barbeque.  It was a wonderful day! Sunny and quiet – half the group went for a rigorous bike ride in the morning while some of us showed up for the grub.  Lovely day – thank you Amy and Steve.

May 10- I announce my February Rotarian of the Month – Daren Young for an absolutely, successful Hot! Hot! Chili Pepper Challenge.  This would not happen without this fearless, tireless leader, and the entire Area 3 benefits from his commitment to Service Above Self.  Thank you, Daren.  Also, at this meeting we were honored to have a good friend join us – Richard Flanders. Richard announced that a Tribute Dinner to Richard D King is scheduled for November 2, 2018.  It will be a Celebration of Rick’s 50 years in Rotary. It will be attended by 4 other past International Presidents. It should be a lovely evening, but you may want to get your tickets early.

May 17 – I hopped a plane for a short visit to Playa Del Carmen Mexico and PE Brian Hughes took the reins at the meeting.  I hear there was a lot of fining going on! I was sorry to not be there as Dan Smith was honored with his Paul Harris plus EIGHT – that is $9,000 to the Rotary Foundation – thank you so much Dan.  Also, our comedy relief team Manuel Franco and Rich Godfrey gave a heartfelt yet incredibly funny look into the small hospital in Guatemala we have adopted.

May 19- a group of Niles Rotarians and students’ parents gathered at Cabrillo Elementary to weed, clean, spread tanbark, and plant a vegetable garden. They planted corn, watermelon, beets, strawberries, jalapeños, eggplant, rosemary, squash, pumpkins, and sunflowers.

We had great speakers the next two meetings, BUT our focus was completely on the 5170 District Conference.  We are encouraged by great signups and Niles Rotarians are stepping up to assist in every area.  It is getting exciting.

May 31 – we finish our month with a REALLY fun Feed the Hungry.  We have had some changes at Centerville Free Dining and we have worked on embracing the changes but also having fun.  Well May 31 was the day we are all rolling together, serving together, laughing together, and really making Mankind OUR Business! Also, this week I was honored to be asked to hand out four $1,000 scholarships – 2 at Washington High and 2 at Fremont Christian.  This was very important to me and yes, I cried because I have worked with three of the four students in Rotary for that last few years.  They are wonderful, amazing leaders of our future.  I am so blessed to know them.

On to District Conference!!! June 1-3 was District Conference at San Jose State University where my youngest son is now a student and rugby player, says this proud mama.  Back to the point – our theme was “Celebrate the Past, Create the Future” and Lisa Lorenz was the 2018 Conference Chair – she did an amazing job. They changed some things up which made for a much better Rotarian experience.  As President of the Niles Rotary Club, I was so proud of our Family! We were everywhere.  We busted out the Area 3 Hospitality Suite, we graciously and efficiently wo-manned registration and event details, controlled beautifully the minute by minute program flow, with the very special President Linda Anderson from Mission San Jose we collected, displayed and handed out the raffle baskets and had a significant presence at set up and tear down. We were able to spotlight a couple of our members as we enjoyed wonderful treats from our own Nothing Bundt Cake, Subway and Rita’s.  AND yet again we participated in a significant project in the San Jose Guadalupe Rose Garden on Sunday.  We were everywhere!  It was a great conference as the majority of breakout sessions were non-Rotary related and yet Rotary service was highlighted everywhere.  A Rotary feel with new information – that’s how you Celebrate the Past and Create the Future.  Thank Niles Rotary Family for your amazing support.

June 7 – I was honored to have District Governor Orrin Mahoney present to say a special thank you to Lisa.   Lisa also did her thank you’s with a special thanks to a Rotarian that simply signed up to help Olivia Poe with Registration on Friday Night.  Following that evening she went to the District Office where she and Olivia were up until 2:30 am preparing materials for Saturday.  She returned early the next morning to step back into registration, handled problems, made sure Olivia was fed and taken care of, and then returned on Sunday to be a part of the Community Service Project.  She has attended every service project in April and May.  For these reasons I was very happy to welcome back to the club after a short leave, and award her May’s Rotarian of the Month, Congratulation Sherry Higgs – we are so glad you are back and look forward to growing in Rotary with you in the years to come.

My first meeting in June I must say will go down as one of my favorites – I bet you thought Krazy George would be my favorite!!!  Although Krazy George was FUN – yesterday was special and moving.  First, we heard from one of our newer Niles Rotarians Tina Fernandez Steckler as she did her Icebreaker. And she brought a gift – her favorite bottle of Rosé – a girl after my own heart!  She did a little pop quiz and the noncompetitive baseball coach in the house – Sam Forbes – won the wine.  Congrats Sam and great idea Tina – fun icebreaker.  Our speaker was Sandy Stabile as she gave a very moving yet inspiring look into the life and people of Myanmar (Burma).  Sandy works with an organization that does surgery on children with cleft palates called Alliance for Smiles where she gets to be on the front row to see lives, families, and villages changed forever.  I wish I had room to go into detail but let’s just say I now truly know why globetrotting with this purpose is such a passion of Sandy’s.  We are blessed to have her in our club as she represents all that Rotary is, while handing out pins all over the world with my favorite motto of all time “Mankind is our Business.”

So there you go – I’m almost done, 3 meetings left.  I can truly say this has been my BEST year in Rotary.  I have laughed, struggled, been stretched, been challenged, learned and grown.  I step away humbled by the love and support I have been given by my Niles Rotary family. I have learned the importance of listening (I’m a talker), of patience, that everyone needs to explain but once heard great conversation and solutions can occur, perceptions can change, and so can people.  Our club is made up of VERY busy community and business leaders with very full lives and yet they CHOOSE to make Rotary Service a priority.  How do you ever say thank you?  I don’t think you do – I think the best words are “How can I join you? What else can we do together? How can I play a role in the mission of Service and Peace?”  Because that’s what Niles Rotarians do every day; they are not looking for favor or awards – they are simply looking for ways to extend belonging, purpose, and through service bring healing and peace to the world one person, one project, one meal at a time. I look forward to joining you again on the lunch table side and in service to our community.

Most of you know my favorite quote is from Maya Angelou – “People may forget what you say, they may forget what you do, but they will never forget the way you make them feel.”

Thank you Niles Rotary for making me feel like I could do it, even when I didn’t think so, thank you for making me feel cared for through my stumbling at the podium, thank you for embracing some of the changes that were important to me, and thank you for letting me know you always had my back that even if I goofed you would all be there to pick me up.  We enjoy a great club and really it has been an honor to be a President of Niles Rotary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rose’s April Ruminations will be postponed until a later date.

March was a very productive month for Niles Rotarians – so many worked so hard!  We kicked off the month with the Area 3 Speech Contest.  It was a great event because of two very dedicated Rotarians with a Heart for Youth and they were Adam Moura and Dirk Lorenz.  Thank you to Adam and Dirk along with their team (because nothing happens without a team) of timers, greeters, calculators and judges. I was so sad that I was not able to attend due to the flu but thank you PP Angus Cochran who jumped in and took over at the very last minute.  I can’t wait for the District Speech Contest on April 14, 2018 at the Training Assembly.

President Elect Brian was whisked off to his President Elect Training Session weekend (PETS).  He returned with a new appreciation of how lucky we are to have Past International President Richard King in our club.  Brian has heard Rick King speak many times, as have most Niles Rotarians, but surrounded by President Elects from all over Zone 5 was a very proud and humbling moment for Brian. And yes, he went pin shopping!  I was so excited to see what he brought back to start off his year.  I’m a pin girl as you all know.

We had a great mentor check in on the 6th, thank you to Geeta for again opening her home to our membership committee and our mentors, sponsors and new Rotarians.   As with all Niles Rotary events our mentor check in is half social and half informational. It’s all about making new Rotarians feel welcome, heard, have an opportunity to ask questions and know they are important to our Rotary Family.

At the meeting on the 8^thwe said good bye to our LONG time Rotarian Gary Raver and his new wife Debbie.  They will be moving to Florida in the next day or so.  We will miss you Gary – be sure to stop in to see us when in town.  We also honored (fined) several LONG time Rotarians on their Rotary Anniversaries – this is a big part of why we are Family By Choice: Gary Raver 39 years, Dick Mc Kay 39 years, Rick King 38 years (with Niles Rotary), John de Sousa 33 years, and last but not least, Harry Avila, 50 years; all Niles Rotarians with significant contributions to our club both in service and leadership.  Thank you all for your support and encouragement as I muddle through my year as President.

Of course, the Reverse Raffle Ticket Sales Competition is on as we head into the final week of sales.  This week Bruce Prescott’s team took the lead again as the Big Kahuna with Sam Forbes team on their heels.   Rich Godfrey introduced a fellow physician and friend James Cushman, MD, MPH who gave a fascinating presentation on healthcare in space.

The next weekend about 50 Niles Rotarians attended the Social at the Wine Steward.  We traveled the world of wine and truly enjoyed each other.  This is one of my family’s favorite socials and I was so happy to include, for the first time, my granddaughter Roquell as we celebrated her dad, Sancho’s, 45^thBirthday.  It was a great afternoon.

As I said earlier this is just the beginning of a busy March for Niles Rotarians; while all this fun is going on large groups of people are dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s hoping for a very successful Reverse Raffle.

On the 15^thas we still had not sold out of tickets making PE Brian’s BP rise we embraced the 4^thAnnual Gene Cowell Bad Joke Contest.  Prior to the giggles we welcomed to our club Lynn and Elizabeth Barnett and Honorary Niles Rotarian Gwen Cowell.  Steve Barnett took the Bad Joke reins following the passing of our Gene Cowell.  Sadly, Steve passed this year.  We were excited that Lynn and Gwen could attend and hope they will visit us in the future often.  We also honored Jack Rogers and John Dutra for their Paul Harris +4 and Chris Louie for his Paul Harris +5.   Aziz Akbari stepped into some very big shoes as our host for the Bad Joke Contest. Aziz does stand up and was very funny and got us off to a very upbeat fun start.  These are difficult comments for me to make because as there was a good handful of funny bad jokes some were just not.  As we embrace diversity in our club with the increase of women of all ages and people from different backgrounds, including politically, I find that before next year’s contest I would ask that contestants consider who is in the room.    We are a Family that embraces each other’s uniqueness, that wants to work together, play together, serve together and, yes, laugh together without offending. I was offended and mostly embarrassed.  I would like to take one sentence to sincerely apologize, if I have not already done so in person, to any of you that were offended by the direction the contest took.  I have promised Aziz, Brian, Gwen and Lynn that we will come up with a strategy for next year that reflects the Spirit of Gene Cowell and Steve Barnett’s humor.  Enough said!

That night we gathered at Campo de Bocce for our 4^thSocial Change evening.  We had a lot of new faces, great food, nice wine and beer – We enjoyed some very competitive Bocce Millennials some of whom had never played Bocce before. Fun was had by all.  Sophia and Aziz, thank you again for a wonderful fun evening.

On the 17^thled by our Community Services Director Jeff Schinkel, we worked with a team to clean Niles Park, spread tanbark and, yes, plant a tree or two.  It was a great morning as Niles Rotarians with some help from Rotaractors and City of Fremont employees just did what they needed to do to get it done!  Great JOB – thank you to all that participated, including Rick Jones, Aziz Akbari, Dana Jones, MaryLynn Pelican, Brad Louie, Chuck Canada, Margo Hood, Wendy Mills, Rich Godfrey and our newest family member Pranav Panchel.  Great Team!

Reverse Raffle and EVERYONE is scrambling, venue, baskets, seating, paddling, live, silent, it’s a whirlwind week and Brian is still stressed between leis and not being sold out!  I keep saying we’ve got this Bri – and the week moves on.  Our meeting on the 22^ndwas a very interesting discussion on North Korea.  Tim Gavin introduced Sharat Lin who visited North Korea in 2015, and he gave us an inside look at the real North Korea.  He answered some fascinating questions about nuclear arms and his views on the current governments, North and South Korea as they relate to the US. Also, during this meeting much to PE Brian’s relief, we SOLD OUT of Raffle tickets.  The Big Kahuna went to Bruce Prescott’s team; however Bruce wanted to share the honor with Sam Forbes team member Daren Young who sold the most tickets in the club at 28.  Geeta was honored for her Paul Harris +1 and Marty Spellman honored Martin Herder with his first Paul Harris and Paul Iannaccone with a Paul Harris plus.  I also took the opportunity to flash a pic secretly passed to me by Jasmin Basrai of Gary Basrai and his cousin Dr. Ajit Sandhu as they visited in Pakistan.  Gary with a significant beard and both wearing their turbans, and most importantly Gary was wearing his Rotary pin.  The entire club could tell that this was not just any trip for Gary – it was a very special, emotional trip as they visited the lands of their relatives.

Friday evening March 23^rdNiles Rotary was honored as the Non-Profit Organization of the year by the Indo-American Community Federation at their 17^thAnnual Unity Dinner.  About 25 Niles Rotarians were present, and they also honored Niles Rotarians, Chief of Police Rich Lucero and John Dutra.  It was a lovely evening.

March 24 – THE BIG DAY – Our Niles Rotary Elimination Raffle and dinner.  A year’s worth of work has gone into this event and countless hours by many Niles Rotarians.   This year the leader of the pack was President Elect Brian Hughes who decided to theme the event early.  Brian chose an Aloha theme that was very well done from the printing of the tickets to the big night.  His team consisted of Live Chairs Steve and Terri Landon, Silent Chairs Bev and Chris Louie, Event Administration and Venue Audrey Kearns, leis and décor Lisa and Dirk Lorenz, Registration Dana Jones, along with Cyndy Mo and team, Elimination Raffle Rich and Jim Brunelli, Seating and Data Entry Jack Rogers and ticket sales, check out and reconciliation Tammi Sousa.  This night’s success requires the support and participation of the entire club. From Ticket Sales to every other job one can imagine.  We had 7 Rotaractors attend and help along with over 20 Interactors from the 3 schools we support, Washington High, Fremont Christian and Robertson.  Thank you kids; you did a great job of keeping things flowing and organized.   We had a photo wall and at the 11^thhour I was noting that I would bring my son’s surf board for the area – Jack Rogers says do you need surf boards?  Yes, was the answer and Jack told us of his two boards he MADE with his son in a 10-day Surf Board making class 5 years ago.  He brought both boards and they were the highlight of the evening.  They were both beautiful.  Check out pics later in the Pinion.

Totals are not in yet, but we think we grossed over $160,000.00 with over $30,000.00 going to our hospital in Guatemala.  Rich Godfrey was over the moon.    A BIG Mahalo to our club for always having the President Elects back on this event – It is our OHANA that makes this a success year after year and your participation Niles Rotarians is soooooo appreciated.  Congratulations to the entire club for a very successful event.  Now let’s get to the giving!!!

On Monday and Tuesday, the following week Membership Chair Chuck Canada and team did two orientations for Irshad Rasheed and Stella Levin – both will be inducted as new Rotarians on April 12, 2018.

And if that is not the busiest month on record we ended with a program on de-cluttering.  Sharon Yap has lived in the Tri City area for the past 33 years.  She gave us information on the KonMari Method of tidying up!  She presented very interesting information and I signed up to have her come help me finish organizing my office.

Prior to her talk it was Chuck Canada’s, Rick Hood’s, and my honor and special privilege to induct Lynn Barnett as an Honorary Member of Niles Rotary.  We had Honorary Member Gwen Cowell join her in the front of the room as we pinned her.  This was an especially moving for me since I have known the Barnetts since they came to Fremont.  Steve was my Niles Rotary Big Brother, we share a birthday and I was inducted in his year as president.  We officially welcome sweet Lynn to our Rotary Family although you have been for many years just without that Big Blue Badge.

We also had the pleasure of Larry Day’s Ice Breaker.  Wow Larry, what can I say?  You did a great job and we really got to know about where you have been, your family, your hobbies and your heart for God, ministry and Service Above Self.  You’re going to be a great Niles Rotarian.  We capped off his Ice Breaker with the exchanging his Red Badge for Blue.  Following the meeting a group of us ran off to Feed the Hungry at the Free Dining Room at Centerville Presbyterian.  Niles Rotarians served over 250 meals to 127 guests.  We served Dino’s meat loaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and salad. Great way to end a month.

AGAIN Thank you and Congrats on an AMAZING Month – It was sooooo busy, but wow so much was accomplished.  I hope you all had a Happy Easter, and 4^thQuarter here I come!!