Clubnews

ROTARY ANNOUNCES ITS NEW HUGE RAFFLE

by Al Blake

Last year the Valley of the Moon Rotary Club held its first fund raising raffle. It was a success and raised more funds for Rotary’s many charitable projects than previous events. Naturally, the club decided to do it again, but with a couple of twists. This year the grand prize is still a European cruise or cash, but the raffle period will be shorter, the targeted audience will be larger, and “early bird” prizes are offered. Here are the details:

•The grand prize is an all expense paid 14 day Mediterranean cruise for two, including round trip air fare from San Francisco, ocean view veranda stateroom, shipboard meals, and transportation taxes.

•The cruise sails from Rome (Civitavecchia) and visits Santorini, Greece, Athens (Piraeus), Istanbul, Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey, Mykonos, Greece, Naples/Capri, and back to Rome.

•The optional grand prize instead of the cruise is $10,000.

•Second and third prizes are $500 and $250

•The drawings will be on September 15, 2010; winners do not need to be present.

•“Early bird” incentive prizes of $100 each will be drawn on July 15 and August 15; winning tickets will be returned to the pot. Winners do not need to be present.

•Ticket sales are limited to only 1,000.

•Tickets are $50 each. Checks should be made to “VOM Rotary Foundation,” which is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt foundation.

There are many ways to purchase tickets, which are:

•Clip, fill in the adjacent entry form, mail to the address shown or drop in the Rotary folder in the OVA office.

•Phone 1-800-993-1794

•Log on to valleyofthemoonrotary.org for information and ticket sales.

•Find the ad in the July–August issue of Via, the American Automobile Association magazine, clip and fill in the entry form and mail or fax to the addresses shown.

•If given a flyer, clip, fill in the order from and mail or fax where shown.

•See any Valley of the Moon Rotarian.

As if the chance to win one of five prizes is not reason enough to buy raffle tickets, consider how the money is used. Every contributed cent (additional to the raffle direct expenses) is applied to the many charitable endeavors supported by the club. There is no profit or gratuities accruing to the club, its members or anybody. Examples of some of the club’s charities include: R (Recovery) House and the Sierra Youth Center, which are residential schools and counseling facilities for low risk boys and girls who are charges of the courts; the St. Joseph Mobile Health Clinic, which immunizes agricultural and service workers from communicable diseases; and academic and vocational scholarships for graduating high school seniors and transferring SRJC students to four-year universities. Contributions for raffle tickets are a good investment to help worthy local organizations.

ROTARY HEARS ABOUT SENIOR DRIVING

by: Al Blake

A problem that faces everyone eventually is knowing when to stop driving. To address this, the Valley of the Moon Rotary Club invited Ginny Doyle from the Area Agency on Aging, a part of the Sonoma County Human Services Department. In particular Ginny talked to the club about transportation issues for seniors and making tough driving decisions.

Ginny said California has over 3,000,000 drivers over 65. What is not surprising is that transportation is a major concern for the elderly and that older drivers are affected more than others by accidents. Most seniors will outlive their ability to drive and should plan alternative solutions to getting around before that happens. In addition to hooking rides from family and friends, there are many transportation options available, including Paratransit (in Santa Rosa call 541-7180), public bus, taxi (expensive) and volunteer drivers (call 573-3377 or 1-800-992-1006.) In Oakmont in addition to the #30 bus line passing through, the City Bus travels within Oakmont and goes to popular shopping areas; the exact schedule and route are available at the OVA office.

Ginny gave some good driving tips. Make sure the line of vision is at least 3 inches above the steering wheel; adjust seat belts to avoid them around the neck; position hands at 4 and 8 o’clock on the steering wheel to reduce injury from the air bag if deployed; make sure the vehicle is in good condition; be especially cautious at intersections, where 60% of accidents occur.

In order to handle medical needs, grocery shopping, personal business, etc. seniors especially covet the independence of being able to drive. Some tend to drive beyond their safe ability, but Ginny noted that most seniors know when to accept the inevitable and stop driving. Everyone is responsible for determining when it is time to quit driving. She pointed out the risk to one’s physical and financial well being when driving if impaired or without a valid driver’s license.

Find out about Rotary? Attend a Friday morning Rotary meeting? Call Fred Polkinghorn at 538-3738, fpolkinghorn@gmail.com or Gordon Freedman at 537-0202, irenegor@pacbell.net.

Raffle Report: Raffle tickets have been distributed to Rotary members and are available for the grand Mediterranean 14-day all-expense cruise, or alternately $10,000. To buy tickets and help Rotary’s many charitable projects, call 1-800-993-1794, log on to valleyofthemoonrotary.org, cut out and fill in the order form from a flyer or the ad in Via (the AAA) magazine, or see any VOM Rotarian. Be quick for a chance to win an early bird prize.

ROTARY: SCHOLARSHIPS, A NEW ORDER & SYC SAVED

by Al Blake

Nothing is more important than educating our kids.. The Valley of the Moon Rotary Club did something to encourage education by awarding academic and vocational scholarships to eight worthy students. Local high schools and Santa Rosa Junior College were requested to garner students to submit applications, and Maria Carrillo, Santa Rosa, Rincon (R House) high schools, the Sierra Youth Center and SRJC submitted ten applicants for each of the eight positions. The 10 were pared down to the selected recipients. Scholarships were given to students planning to attend UC Berkeley, San Francisco State University and SRJC.

With their parents or guardians, all but one recipient came to a breakfast meeting to receive their scholarships. Each was introduced by a club member sponsor and expressed appreciation for the award and told about their education plans. All the students spoke eloquently and with assurance, and members could sense the parents’ pride in their children’s accomplishments. One of the recipients was raised in a foster home and the foster mother was recognized and applauded. The club members were especially proud of the students from R House and the Sierra Youth Center, who as wards of the court and kids at risk turned themselves around to be worthy of scholarships and productive members of the community.

The Rotary club’s programs for kids don’t stop with scholarships. The club annually sends a younger child who needs a break from his or her home to Cool Kids Camp and sends a high school student to Rotary Youth Leadership Award camp.

Speaking of scholarships, Rotary International offers many foreign scholarships for students ranging in age from high school to postgraduate. For information on high school scholarships, call Caroline Keller at 539-7618 or for college and postgraduate scholarships call Carolyn Anderson at 478-0565.

Now for the new order. Incoming club president Valerie Hulsey has taken the reins for the upcoming year from outgoing president Gordon Freedman. To celebrate this, the club presented a dinner featuring a clever skit poking fun at some of the happenings during Gordon’s term. It was an especially enjoyable evening, giving Gordon a fine sendoff on a trip to Paris promised to his wife Irene.

FLASH! Activism Works. These articles have told about the club’s activities helping the Sierra Youth Center, the residential school for at risk girls who are wards of the courts. Club members were surprised and downright mad to learn that the County was planning to close the facility and transfer the girls to Juvenile Hall, a sure path to serious delinquency. Under the leadership of Vocational Services Director Caroline Keller, many members sent protesting letters to the Press Democrat and the Board of Supervisors. Thanks to this effort, it was recently announced that the SYC will not close.

Raffle Report: Raffle tickets are available for the grand Mediterranean 14-day all-expense cruise, or alternately $10,000. To buy tickets and help Rotary’s many charitable projects, call 1-800-993-1794, log on to valleyofthemoonrotary.org, cut out and fill in the order form from a flyer or the ad in Via (the AAA) magazine, or see any VOM Rotarian. Be quick for a chance to win an early bird prize.

ROTARY: A KID’S SONG FEST & A STRIPTEASE

by Al Blake

At a recent meeting the Valley of the Moon Rotary club was treated to a children’s chorus from the Douglas Whited Elementary School. As appreciation for the help the club has given the school during the year, a group of kids showed up to sing. After consuming huge piles of hot cakes, the children sang the National Anthem. This was followed by a few remarks by the school’s principal, Tom Castagnola. Tom bragged a little and told about the academic accomplishments of the school. Whited scored 10 out of 10 in the Academic Achievement Index, one of only 10 high achievers in Sonoma County, and the third grade scored 100% proficiency in advanced math and English – the best in the state. Tom further explained that the extra attention given to struggling students is observed by the parents and leads to increased parent participation in their children’s education. To finish the program, the chorus entertained the club with three more songs. The kids were delightful and their performance brought smiles to everyone there.

Noting the inappropriateness of the event for kids, the striptease occurred at a different meeting. Here’s what happened. A rather shabbily dressed, grey-haired woman using a walker showed up. She not too suggestively shed her dress, grey wig and walker and was revealed as Christine Sallee, a registered nurse at Oakmont Gardens. Christine told about many ways to deal with declining physical and mental conditions. Some options are to move in with family or to have part-time or full-time home care. Another option is to move into a licensed care facility such as Oakmont Gardens, where meals are included and most of the cleaning of the living units and some laundry is furnished. Twenty-four hour care is available and depending on the extent of decline, the care can range from simple prescription management to bathing and dressing assistance. Many care facilities have in-house assisted living units giving 24-hour nursing care.

Raffle Report: There is only a month and a half left to acquire raffle tickets for the grand, two week, all expense paid Mediterranean cruise or optionally $10,000. There are many ways to buy tickets and at the same time help Rotary with its many philanthropies. To buy tickets call 1-800-993-1794, log on to valleyofthemoonrotary.org, cut out and fill in the order form from a flyer or the ad in Via (the AAA) magazine, or see any VOM Rotarian. Be quick for a chance to win an early bird prize.

Interested in Rotary or want to find out about it by attending a meeting? Call Gordon Freedman at 537-0202 or email at irenegor@pacbell.net or see any VOM Rotarian.

ROTARY: SERVICE AWARDS & LOAN DEALS

by Al Blake

Every year the Valley of the Moon Rotary Club recognizes local people who have served the community. This year two service awards were given to individuals who helped the community by assisting the club’s project that supports the Sierra Youth Center. Specifically Mike Sutcliff, owner of The Rental Place, was recognized for furnishing trenching equipment without charge for the 100 feet of underground conduit for the Sierra Youth Center garden utility shed; and Rick Gooler was recognized for providing electrical service to that same little building. A third award was presented to Roy Blinn, the owner of Calvary Tire and Brake. Roy was recognized for his helpfulness and generosity to everyone, as well as for his contributions to the club’s causes.

International Service Director Ron Nicholson introduced Herb Liberman. Herb, a member of the Healdsburg Sunrise Rotary Club, told the club about Village Hopecore, a program similar to others that grants low interest loans to people in third world countries. Village Hopecore happens to be located in a village in Kenya. The main industries there are tea and banana cultivation and cottage clothes fabrication. The purpose of the program is to give small business a chance to start or improve and to foster experience and training in business practices and accounting

It works like this: 12 motivated, dedicated individuals are formed into a group. Formerly the members were limited to women because the men tend to fritter the proceeds away on wine, women and song, but recently qualified men can join the group. Each member contributes a small amount and takes a turn as the group leader, and each is trained to manage their respective current or prospective business. Upon approval of a business plan and satisfactory training, individuals are given a 24-month, $400 micro loan at 9%, a very good rate in Kenya. A fund contributed by each member secures the loan in case of any default. The defaulting member can be issued another loan only if the default payment amount is reimbursed. On average, only 8% default. Members are required to keep financial records and to meet monthly to collect payments, help one another, and maintain accountability.

Raffle Report: There is only one month left to buy chances for Rotary’s raffle for a grand all-expense paid, 14-day Mediterranean cruise (or $10,000). See the boxed insert and select one of the ways to buy tickets.

Curious about Rotary? Come to a breakfast meeting as the club’s guest. Call Gordon Freedman, 537-0202 or email irenegor@pacbell.net

ROTARY’S PROGRAM ABOUT AGEING

by Al Blake

As seniors are fully aware, ageing is challenging and a fact of life. To help understand these challenges, Les Holve and Barbara Spangler prepared a program on ageing for their fellow members of the Valley of the Moon Rotary Club. Les, a retired doctor, began by saying that the key to successful ageing is handling of health issues, enjoying life, being cheerful, realistic, open to new ideas, and maintaining utility with a sense of humor and, accepting what has been.

There are certain aspects of life over which we have no control, such as our genetic inheritance and predispositions. Family history is key in determining our physical and cognitive makeup. Longevity runs in families, as do such things as our physical characteristics, obesity, diabetes, glucose levels, high blood pressure and so on. Additionally, we do not have control over our early environment, such as the size of our family, its wealth or lack of it, or our early education.

By age five or six we begin to be aware of good environmental practices – cleanliness, balanced diet, vigorous play (exercise), enough sleep – but we still must rely on our parents’ guidance. By adolescence we learn to depend more on ourselves to know right from wrong and to interrelate with our peers and parents; we are responsible for our own behavior.

As adults we learn to manage our lives separate from our parents. We are responsible for determining our ethical, spiritual, and physical and mental practices and how these interact with our genetic factors. During our lifetime there will be new ways to live, new health management choices,. but also there will be physical and emotional setbacks that we must cope with.

There are physical changes that occur in the body as we age. These include decreased body water, decreased weight and muscle mass, increased fatty tissue, decreased tolerance to medications, and reduced organ functions. In today’s pharmaceutical practices, the proliferation of prescription drugs is an increasing problem which is further complicated by the use of over the counter drugs and herbal remedies. Of persons 65 or older, 83% take at least one drug daily and 30% take eight daily.

There are many life changes that lead to substance misuse, such as loss of friends and family, bereavement, loneliness, adjustment to retirement, conflicts/estrangement, depression, and peer pressure. Also life changes can be caused by medical problems: physical distress, chronic pain, insomnia, hearing and/or vision loss, anxiety, cognitive impairment, multiple doctors. There are many causes for substance misuse: unawareness, proliferation of drugs (the multiplicity of products resulting in adverse reactions), forgetfulness, guilt, marginalizing the elderly, pressure to follow the doctors’ orders, history of taking illegal drugs.

Summarizing, successful ageing is the culmination of the juxtaposition of our lifetime choices and our genetic makeup; it is the interplay between nature and nurture. We must be active and socially involved and actively involved with our doctors to limit our prescriptions only to what is necessary in minimum doses and only for as long as needed. We should eat a nutritionally sound and balanced diet according to our ages, and we should exercise regularly to maintain body mass and strength in addition to cardio/vascular well being.

Les and Barb are available to groups that would like to hear the full lecture, including visual aids. To arrange for this, call Les Holve at 539-6840. .

Raffle Report: It’s the last chance to buy raffle tickets; see the attached insert.