February 18, 2021
As the Rotarians from the Petaluma Club began dialing into the weekly Zoom meeting, we were met by the ever vivacious President Anne adorned with her sparkling tiara but highlighted by a bright, red crab headpiece...."getting the party started!"
Since he was celebrating another birthday, hmmmm... Chris Elzi was honored by leading The Pledge of Allegiance.
And then Maggie Radany expressed our Covid challenge places us in a dark place from which we will grow bigger, better and brighter.
Chris Ranney addressed the Crab Feed pickup information for Friday, Feb. 26 at the Bowling Alley parking lot from 4 to 7pm. He added that anyone needing a delivery he will make arrangements so let him know.
Our weekly honored guest from Colorado, Lou Steinberg mentioned that the new Argus Courier editor, Tyler Silvy was a former member of the Greeley, CO Rotary Club and should be recruited. Oddly enough he is our featured speaker for a March meeting so we will put on our best to recruit him,
Brandon Trammell was reminded by our resourceful President that she had not received the two ticket stubs with her name on them, in lieu of a fine. He promised to do so as soon as he buys the tickets...Still time!
Our online ticket sales organizer extraordinaire Maggie Radany said we have 212 Crab Feed sales to date. C'mon folks, our deadline is Monday at Noon. Our annual Crab Feed profits helps support many outstanding projects both domestically and internationally. Dig in this weekend, go online, buy dinners for the family and those friends to show them that you care and WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!
President Elect Rick Gorman gave us an update on the Super Raffle which will be drawn at our March 4 meeting. 773 raffle tickets have been sold and Rick passed out kudos to Tom Baker who topped the leader board with 160 sold, Brian Breen is second with 127 and Shari Ranney is in the third slot with 107. In my Math brain these three Rotarians have sold more than half of all the tickets sold thus far. Atta way to go!
It is no wonder that Shari Ranney copped the Rotarian of this Month award. Shari always is an active participant in ALL of the major events within our organization, yet extremely dynamic as the Chairman of our International Committee where she has gained worldwide recognition for leading our support of many international worthy projects. Hats off to Shari, so well deserved!
President Anne was delighted to introduce a longtime friend, Bridget Mackay as our guest speaker. Bridget is an Attorney at Law whose expertise is Estate Planning and Elder Law. She was well versed and led a great discussion on Prop 19 and Trusts. A lively period of questions and answers on Prop 19 and Trusts followed Bridget's informative presentation.
As a postscript to this, yours truly is happy to announce that he will receive his 2nd Moderna Vaccine shot at the VA in SF this Saturday. May I shout HALLELUJAH!!
This week's Editor: Mike Ambrosio
February 11, 2021
This week, we went international from the comfort of our homes. To accommodate Rotary members from all over the Western Hemisphere, the meeting was called to order at high noon.
President Anne Gealta called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Anne’s thoughts for the day were all sage:
“Be careful with your words, they
can be forgiven but not forgotten.”
“Whatever you decide to do, make sure it makes you happy”
“At the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your
eyes sparkling.”
Global Project Chair Shari
Ranney asked all visitors to list their location in the chat
box. We had Rotary members from all over joining our club meeting.
Past President Chris Ranney gave
a Crab Feed update. We are up to a little over 160 dinners sold.
Our goal is 300. You can but your dinner online at www.petalumarotary.org. Ticket
sales will close on February 22.
There was no Super Raffle update but we encourage all members to sell, sell, sell! The drawing will be Thursday, March 4 during our meeting.
Shari Ranney opened
the program with an overview of our community and Rotary Club.
We then heard from members of the Rotary E-Club of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala about their community and Rotary Club. Hearing about the projects they are leading was impressive and an excellent example of "Service Above Self."
This week's Editor: Joanne Ferris
February 4, 2021
With her tiara sparkling almost as much as her smile, Queen Anne convened the February 4 meeting right on time.
Past President Onita Pellegrini led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Next up was the Thought for the Day. The Queen called on a startled (and unprepared) Ed Fullerton, only to learn that he hadn’t gotten the message. She recovered quickly and offered the thought that things are slowly getting back to normal and that we must continue to take care of ourselves and our family.
Lou Steinberg was our sole visiting Rotarian, visiting again from his Colorado home.
Several members introduced guests. Suzanne Tucker introduced Diane Alexandra, Glenn Evans, and Margaret Barbee. Joanne Ferris introduced her daughter, Lauren, joining us from Australia, and a neighbor (whose name I missed). Kip Herzog introduced his wife, Marilyn.
Queen Anne introduced Sylvia Bertram from the Sonoma Valley Rotary Club. Sylvia discussed a new District project, the North Coast Ethics in Business Awards. The awards will recognize businesses and nonprofit organizations that exemplify Rotary’s 4-way test and core values. We’ll be hearing more about this later but detailed information is available at https://www.rotary5130.org/ethics/.
Queen Anne was back but her tiara was missing. In its place was what she called a Crab Feed Hat. She has a number of these and members working at our drive-thru Crab Feed will be wearing them. What a way to segue into her next topics.
It was time for fines and Mike Baddeley was her first target. She asked him why he hadn’t yet picked up his Super Raffle tickets. It’s hard to imagine Mike being clueless but . . . . “What tickets?” “What’s a Super Raffle?” “What Crab Feed?” The ploy didn’t work. His fine was to purchase two Super Raffle tickets — and put Queen Anne’s name on them.
Brandon Trammell was next. Same offense. Same penalty.
Brian Breen announced a clever twist in the drawing for Super Raffle winners. Rather than drawing tickets in a dark, empty parking lot at the conclusion of the February 26 drive-thru Crab Feed, the drawing will take place at the Rotary meeting following the Crab Feed (March 4) and will be Zoomed so everyone can watch. Good idea.
Memo to members from Queen Anne : Share this info with ticket purchasers.
President Elect Rick Gorman urged members to get selling those Super Raffle tickets. He said that 374 tickets have been turned in so far. You can pick up your tickets, turn in your tickets, or get additional tickets from Rick (downtown Exchange Bank) or Brian (second floor of downtown Bank of America). If you can’t get in to pick up your tickets, call Rick or Brian and they will be mailed to you. No excuses!
Here are early standings in the ticket selling sweepstakes: Brian Breen 107, Rick Gorman 55, Shari Ranney 53, John Zimmerman 40. Way to go, Rotarians!
Chris Ranney asked members to place their Crab Feed orders soon. We need to get a handle on the quantity so our caterer can plan accordingly. Remember, it’s just three weeks away!
Ticket coordinator Maggie Radnay said that 91 Crab Feed tickets have been purchased so far and that the website is set up to quickly take your order. You can pay by credit card or check. It works. Your editor, practicing what he preaches, did it today.
Suzanne Tucker introduced our guest speaker, Mike Ferris. In addition to being Treasurer of the Petaluma Rotary Club, Mike is board certified in public health microbiology and served as the lab director for Sonoma County until his retirement in 2019. He’s been called back to duty for the pandemic and also serves as a consultant for Humboldt County.
Mike explained Covid-19 vaccines and he was tremendous. Using props like golf tees and jigsaw puzzle pieces, he made a complex subject almost understandable. He fielded lots of questions and answered them clearly and directly. Thanks, Mike, for a great job. And Happy Anniversary to you and Joanne, celebrating your 29th anniversary this Saturday!
Queen Anne ended the meeting with the sad announcement that Wally Bragdon passed away on January 27. Wally joined the Club in 1988 and was President 1996-97. Ed Fullerton added that Wally suffered a stroke on December 30, was hospitalized, moved to a rehab facility, and then returned to the hospital with Covid-19. He said that Marilyn is surrounded by family and friends.
Wally, we will miss you.
This week's Editor: Al Cattalini