Stories
Next Meeting: Sept. 16, 2024 Offsite: Carlsbad Strawberry Fields (no Zoom) Volume 6 Issue 9 Reporter: Julie Walker Photographer: Nancy Starling Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary President Velyn Anderson Pres. Velyn Anderson called the meeting to order, Julie Walker led the pledge, and Ken Clark led us in the Smile song, You’re a Grand Old Flag and the welcome song—accompanied by Ed Rouquette on spoons Visitors include our own Raegan Matthews, in her capacity as a District 5340 assistant district governor. Also attending was Ana Fernandez of Club Rotario de Tijuana. Limericks were provided by: Phil Urbina, Rocco Ciesco and Velyn Anderson • Sept. 16: Offsite Meeting at Strawberry Fields • Sept. 19: North Cty Food Bank Packing • Sept. 30: Offsite Meeting at Dove Library • Sept. 30: Okt Training Session at Discovery Ctr • Oct 5: OKTOBERFEST • Oct. 7: DARK (after Oktoberfest) • Oct. 9: Brother Benno’s Food Service • Oct. 14: DARK (Columbus Day) • Oct 17: North Cty Food Bank Packing • Oct. 25: CHNR Rotary Cup Football • Dec. 7: CHNR Holiday Party • Dec. 14: Holiday Bike Build Event MEETING SITE CHANGES!! • Next week’s meeting (Sept. 16) will be at the Carlsbad Strawberry Fields, with lunch from Mendocino Farms (guests and non-regular dues club members: $10 each). Jimmy Ukegawa will talk on the history of the strawberry fields, and the Oktoberfest team will provide layout info about our Oct. 5 event there. RSVP required. Sign-up info emailed. • Sept. 23 meeting will be at the Sheraton (next door to the Westin) in the Terramar Room, and the topic will be conflict resolution. • Sept. 30 meeting will be at the Dove Library in La Costa, with lunch from Mendocino Farms (guests and non-regular dues club members: $10 each). Guidied tour of the library included. RSVP required. Sign-up info emailed. PAUL HARRIS HONOREEE Mimi Gaffey recognized George Porter, who not only has pledged to donate $100 a year until polio has been eradicated, but who has completed another Paul Harris fellowship. Gaffey presented Porter with his pin that now features his second ruby, as he nears Major Donor status. George Porter and Mimi Gaffey OKTOBERFEST 2024 (Also see: PROGRAM section, below) Our Carlsbad Rotary Oktoberfest fundraiser is less than a month away, to be held Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Carlsbad Strawberry Fields. Online volunteer sign-ups are going on now, with a final push for sponsorships to meet the fundraising goal of $75,000. Proceeds enable CHNR to do the many projects and programs it offers locally and beyond. • Oktoberfest Training Session, with dinner: All Oktoberfest volunteers are asked to attend this training session, to be held from 5-7pm Sept. 30 at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center. RSVP is required to ensure enough food is available. Okt Chair Kate Hanham has sent the link to sign up, or contact her at chabhan@mentara.com. • Oktoberfest Tickets and Wine: Members soon will receive their Oktoberfest dinner tickets (paid for with our dues) to distribute. Bottles of wine, value $25 or more, are still being accepted for the Okt Wine Wall fundraiser. GOLDEN ENVELOPE FUNDRAISER Tom Applegate offers this update on the club’s annual Golden Envelope fundraiser for the club foundation: Contributions have been received from 10 members, totaling $7,750. Of that, $5,250 was designated by donors for the Manuel Castorena Fund. Contributions have ranged from $250 to $3,000. Each club member received a Golden Envelope, welcoming a donation of any amount to the club foundation, and these can be designated to the Castorena Fellowship and deposited to our Investment Fund, or contributions may be designated to projects/areas you want to specifically support. Annually, 4% of our Investment Fund is added to the club fundraising proceeds and designated contributions to fund club projects. The current balance in the CHNR Foundation is $397,500. For more info contact Applegate: tjappleg8@gmail.com SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING, Sept 17: Rotary District 5340 and the SD Therapy Center are hosting a QPR session (Question-Perusade-Refer) offering simple steps to save a life from suicide. Bob Stonebrook said this will be at the Pine Avenue Community Center, 3209 Harding Ave., Carlsbad, beginning at 6pm. Information on a 988 crisis hotline will be provided. There is no fee. Contact Stonebrook: bobstonebrook@gmail.com. Bob Stonebrook ANNOUNCEMENTS • BEACH CLEAN-UP, Sept 21: I Love A Clean San Diego will hold a beach clean-up, and participants can select the beach where they wish to help. • CONFLICT MEDIATION EVENT, Oct. 10: Carlsbad Rotary Club and Mediators Beyond Borders will host a conflict resolution training session at Holiday Inn Carlsbad from 6:30-8:30pm Thur., Oct. 10. The cost is $37 per person at the door and includes dinner. RSVP by Oct. 7: rmeenes@rmvail.com. • WALK TO END POLIO, Oct. 26: The Escondido Rotaract Club is hosting a walk to end polio at Grape Day Park in Escondido. The walk, which is 50 yards (longer, if you wish), begins at 8am, with check-in at 7:30am. To form or join a walk team: https://rotary5340.org/event/district-5340-walk-to-end-polio/ INVITES from TIJUANA ROTARY Ana Fernadez, visiting us from Club Rotario de Tijuana, said her club is one of 10 in Tijuana and is the oldest, about to celebrate 93 years. It also is the largest. She shared three coming activities, inviting our members. Her club members would be happy to meet ours at the border and provide an escort. Coming activities are: Sept 12: a traditional Mexican party ($45 US) 2-5pm at the Hotel Marriott Salon Chopin; Sept. 20: their 40th annual golf tourney ($200 US); and Oct. 31: the club’s 93rd birthday gala ($85 US) 7pm-midnight at the Hotel Marriott Salon Gran Mozart. For info, contact her at (619) 889-4403 or afernandez497@yahoo.com. Ana Fernandez ROTARY CUP FOOTBALL GAME Our annual Rotary Cup game between Carlsbad and La Costa Canyon high schools will be held at La Costa Canyon Friday evening, Oct. 25. To attend the game, contact Christian Chapman: chapman1095@gmail.com. COMMUNITY SERVICE • Brother Benno’s Food Service: 6:15-8am Wed., Sept. 11, at 3260 Production Ave., Oceanside. A few more hands needed. Info: Paul Kartzke: prkartzke@gmail.com. Next date will be Oct. 9. • North County Food Bank Food Packing: Thur., Sept. 19, 1-4pm. Friends and family welcome to help, but EACH must sign up separately. Beth Garrow will email sign-up information. Next date will be Oct. 17. • Our annual holiday bike building project will be Dec. 14, at the Carlsbad Boys & Girls Club downtown. A local Oceanside vendor has commited to provide 40 bikes, helmets and locks with our approved budget. A challenge this year will be where to store the bikes. Contact Pres. Velyn or Tom Applegate if you might be able to help store some or all. YOUTH SERVICE Julie Gibbs said our Interact Club at Carlsbad High School has been re-started, with a lot of enthusiasm from the 30 students who signed up. Maureen Taylor announced Carlsbad Hi-Noon will be hosting the District 5340 Four-Way Test Speech Competition sub-regionals this year. Gibbs said there will be lots more information to share on our youth programs in a couple more weeks. Julie Gibbs PROGRAM CARLSBAD OKTOBERFEST FACTS & FUN Phil Urbina Samantha Richter introduced fellow CHNR member Phil Urbina, who provided some background on the club’s annual Oktoberfest fundraiser that is 42 years old. Urbina is one of the longest active club members and served six years as Oktoberfest chair. He explained that in the beginning, the event raised funds to enable club Rotarians to build a room onto the home of a CHNR charter member who had been paralyzed after a fall while working on his roof. The only way Glenn McComas could return home after his accident and rehab was if he had a room adapted to his needs. That was in 1984, and the Oktoberfest raised $5,000 for this project. Urbina, who used to work for what then was Daniels Cable TV, recently discovered a 30-minute VCR promo video (now digitized), made during the 1994 Oktoberfest at Holiday Park with him as the interviewer, chatting with Rotarians, event benefactors and attendees—all having a grand time; many in German attire, enjoying live German music, authentic German beer and food and learning and/or dancing the Chicken Dance. That year, Oktoberfest raised $20,000 for the beneficiaries, which included the Boys & Girls Club of Carlsbad and the Women’s Resource Center. Oktoberfest back then necessitated a crew of Rotarians prepping the food beginning at about 2am on Oktoberfest day. Other teams of Rotarians worked from 7:30am with onsite set-up and others until midnight, for teardown. The event itself, which needed a couple of hundred volunteers, went from midday until 10pm. Today, Oktoberfest is held at the Carlsbad Strawberry Fields, and while there still is authetic German music, beer and food, the dinners are now catered. The hours have been changed to 11am to 8pm, and while many, many volunteers are needed, the number is now a lot less. This year, the Carlsbad Oktoberfest goal is to raise $75,000. This year’s event will be Saturday, Oct. 5, chaired by CHNR member Kate Hanham, and volunteer signups are going on now. Next Meeting: Sept. 16, 2024 Offsite Lunch at the Carlsbad Strawberry Fields *** RSVP Required *** Speaker: Jimmy Ukegawa Strawberry Fields Facts and History |
CHNR RemindersPOLIO PLUS PIGGY BANK New this Rotary year is the Polio Plus piggy bank, now at the front table for each meeting, encouraging Rotarians and guests to donate any spare change, and maybe more, into the large glass Polio Plus jar. CHNR's goal is to collect at least $1,500 for the Polio Plus campaign this Rotary year. ROTARY ELEVATOR PITCH Share Rotary with others! Here is an example "elevator pitch" as suggested by CHNR President Velyn Anderson: We are a group of your neighbors and professionals who want to make the world a better place. We put food in kids' tummies, shoes on their feet and books in their hands. We feed seniors and homeless, and deliver it with a smile. We provide Christmas gifts for families, do improvement projects in our community, and provide clean water to communities without. We provide shelter for war widows in The Ukraine, support youth behavioral health at home and abroad, and send youth to leadership camps. Last year, we raised $42,000 for scholarships, and we are going to eliminate polio from the world. And we have fun doing it! We are your premier non-governmental, non-political action group in the world. There are 1.4 million Rotarians worldwide, and we are people of action. We would love to have you join us at a meeting. |
Welcome to Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary ClubWelcome to Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary Club! The Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary Club (CHNR) welcomes Rotarians and other visitors to its Monday meetings. The club meets at the Westin Carlsbad Resort and Spa, 5480 Grand Pacific Drive, Carlsbad, CA 92008. A buffet lunch with salads and hot entrees is open at noon, with the business meeting beginning at 12:20 pm. The Club, chartered in February 1980, has over 70 members. The membership is very active and committed to the Rotary principle of "Service Above Self." The club sponsors an energetic Interact Club at Carlsbad High School and each year sends both facilitators and students to the annual RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) conference for high school juniors and the Rotary LEAD symposium for eighth graders. The club sponsors Oktoberfest a Family Fall Festival--Oktoberfest 2024 is Number 42--including German food, German music, costume contests, games and a beer garden. Check out the website for event specifics: www.RotaryOktoberfest.org. This event has been designed and implemented since its inception by BOTH Rotary Clubs in Carlsbad: Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary and Carlsbad Rotary. Proceeds from Oktoberfest are shared with Carlsbad charities and used by each club for its many local community service projects. Additionally, CHNR also supports our Carlsbad students via the AVID program at Carlsbad High School with a business and ethics conference plus college and trade school scholarships, a literacy project and book fair at Jefferson Elementary School, Junior Achievement and What Grown-Ups Do For Work, music instruction and a competition for middle school students, an essay contest for middle school students, a speech contest focusing on the Rotary Four-Way Test for high school students. CHNR members provide service every weekday through meal delivery to seniors, once a month to Brother Benno's to serve breakfast to the homeless, once a month to the North County Food Bank, a massive 20,000 food packaging challenge to assist the Food Bank and financial support to a variety of organizations in Carlsbad assisting food insecurity, the homeless, Solutions for Change, the Carlsbad Educational Foundation, Hospice of the North Coast, Casa de Amparo, the North County Food Bank, the Veterans Association of North County, La Posada, Stand Up for Kids, the Carlsbad Boys and Girls Club. We are People of Action. During the 2023-2024 Rotary year, club members provided 1338 hours to ease food insecurity locally, 207 hours to elementary school projects, 237 hours to middle school training sessions, 1606 to high school conferences and activities, 1273 hours to senior citizen and family needs projects, and 2701 hours to international Rotary projects relating to potable water, pediatric health, Ukranian refugees, school design in Nairobi and gifts for disabled children in Mexico. In addition to all the service members provide, they also have time to socialize and enjoy one another. During the 2023-24 Rotary year, members had an opportunity to attend over 22 separate social events. Guests are always welcome at Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary Club . . . come to a meeting and learn more about the activities (service and social) that members enjoy. |
THE PROGRAM OF THE DAYAllison Henderson SD Natural History Museum aka “The NAT” Allison Henderson Allison Henderson provided background and a brief overview on “The NAT,” which originally evolved from a conversation in 1874 between two members who loved to collect local flora and fauna. It started in two rooms in what was The Hotel Cecil in downtown San Diego and is now a 150,000-square-foot facility in Balboa Park. During Covid shutdowns, it has operated virtually and continued its many scientific activities and research projects. Henderson likes to think of “The NAT” as a trifecta made up of a visitors’ center, a museum and a lab. The visitors' center involves special exhibits, including the current Fossil Mysteries and Coast-to-Cactus exhibits. The museum portion features collections—with more than eight million specimens—and a research library. The lab involves scientists working in the lab and out in the region: surveying, making and researching discoveries and trying to understand the effects of fires, climate change, etc. on the environment. “The NAT” has been closed due to Covid restrictions, but virtual visits are welcome and there is a large inventory of online lectures done by the museum’s scientists. The Nat has speakers such as Henderson available to visit school classrooms and organizations—now done virtually, but usually an in-person visit. Also, adults may check out physical elements of “The NAT” (think dinosaur bones, etc.) for “all you grandparents to share in classrooms, too.” Check out “The NAT” at www.sdnat.org. The NAT The NAT in Balboa Park |
ROTARIAN MOMENTS• Wendy Wiegand talked about the club’s annual Mexico House project—building a home for a family in Mexico in one day. She was especially happy when she participated last year because she got to hand the house keys to the family. • Mike Metts talked about his longtime leadership with the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program (RYLA). He said friendships, giving back and RYLA have made Rotary very important in his life. Because of the pandemic, RYLA was not held in 2020, nor will it be held in 2021. However, a new Zoom program is being created for RYLA.
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ROTO-ROOTERRoto-Rooter Mary Fritz-Wilson recognized December and January birthdays. December: Jani Jackson, Jos Magaña, Lisa Walsh, Randy Ferren and Mike Metts. January: Bob Kreisberg, Tom Applegate, Rocco Ciesco, Justin Peek, Alan Cobb, Alesia Clark and Jim Brubaker.
Holiday Happenings: Wendy Wiegand had good and bad news: Her new Tesla arrived on Christmas Eve, earlier than expected. Alas, her Mercedes was damaged when it was hit by a red-light runner. Nancy Starling’s son and grandson also were in a car hit by a red-light runner; both are okay. Dave Dana’s extended family celebrated Christmas together, as did Harry Peacock’s. Mimi Gaffey’s granddaughter left for Germany for her college studies. Yvonne Finocchiaro’s grandson graduated from college virtually, so the family created a full graduation ceremony at home. |
PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIPSPaul Harris Fellow: Mimi Gaffey, the club’s liaison with The Rotary Foundation, provided Neal Stehly with his PHF + 5 pin and thanked him for his continued support of TRF and the worldwide work it does.
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AVID SeminarsAVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a college prep program targeting students who will be first generation college attendees in their families. Students and parents make a commitment to participate in the program for all four years of high school by choosing to take the AVID Class as an elective all four years of high school. The AVID class supports students in succeeding in challenging academic programs using peer coaching strategies and study skills designed to support student learning and achievement. Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary Club (CHNR) began their support of the AVID program in 2008. Working with other Rotary Clubs, a Conference was put together for Senior AVID students from Carlsbad, Oceanside, El Camino and Vista High Schools. Students joined Rotarians for breakfast and panel presentations from Rotarians and representatives from potential career areas. The next year, CHNR decided to focus on Carlsbad High students. The Club invited the Junior and Senior AVID students and followed this format until 2013. At that point, the event was renamed the AVID Seminar and the focus was changed to engage the students in an interaction with successful Rotarians and successful former AVID students. Rotarians became facilitators during Breakfast and talked to students about their goals and shared their struggles and successes. Then, in smaller groups, selected Rotarians and former AVID students shared their experience and offered ideas for building success in life through a small-group format. A debrief of the small group work and a keynote presentation on a specific leadership skill closed the seminar. A highlight of the event is the recognition of the top Senior AVID Students by their teachers. March 22, 2019 marked the Twelfth Seminar. This year Hi-Noon Rotary reached out to Sage Creek High School to involve their AVID Juniors and Seniors. There were 44 students from Carlsbad High and 24 from Sage Creek. The 68 students were supported by their teachers, school and district administrators, counselors and 20 Rotarians. To support the student experience, the Club began to collect “Words of Advice” from members in 2016. A group of students created a set of questions that were then asked of all members of the club. The responses were recorded and presented to the students. The documents are used as reference materials in the AVID classes and have documented the variety of experiences that Rotarians bring to our Club. Each year the students select a different set of questions to ask the members. April 3, 2020 was to be our 13th AVID Seminar. Unfortunately, 13 did not end up to be our lucky number. Along with many other activities, this event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a wonderful experience for students and our members was lost. However, we did continue to recognize the Top 5 AVID Seniors for 2020 from each school. Their pictures are attached as are several years of pictures of the Top 5 and group pictures from past events. We want to take a moment and express our deep appreciation to the AVID Teachers on each campus. They are: Jeff Spanier and Laurie Britton at Carlsbad High School; and Aida Salah and Allison Williams at Sage Creek High School. For 2021 we are going to move forward to the 14th Seminar! Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary Club Top 5 AVID Seniors Class of 2020 Carlsbad High School Analaura Flores Makella Nordquist Jasmyn Lemus Christen Opp Bianca Herrera Sage Creek High School Angelica Venancio Cavaughn Higgs Destini Perkins Hayat Sherif Roxana Dominguez The Carlsbad Hi-Noon Rotary Club would like to thank the following people for their continued support of the AVID Program: AVID Teachers, Jeff Spanier, Laurie Britton, Aida Salah and Allison Williams, Principals, Dr. Brian Brockett and Jesse Schuveiller, Superintendent, Dr. Ben Churchill, the District Leadership Team, and the Carlsbad Unified School District Board of Trustees |