Congratulations everyone on a fabulous Parade of Lights. It may seem old fashioned but everyone really does love a parade! There were thousands of people lining the parade route and I was so honored to be the one waving to them from our Rotary float. We missed many of you at the after party, but I have an idea that at least a few of you snuck off to watch the Santa Maria High School football game. As we begin December and the “Family Month” for Rotary International, it seems so fitting that we should start with a Rotary parade to bring families together in our community for some fun and frivolity.

This is the month, where for better or worse, we gather with our families to feast, gift and relish the last few days of a year that we will soon put behind us. The month is steeped in tradition and stress, as most of you are well aware. Children (whether adult children or little ones) expect the Advent Calendar to be full and the Christmas Village be lit. Cookies must be baked, and there is always the cry “but we always do it this way!” Trying to find the perfect gift, trying not to spend too much and all the while trying to remember why we do all this in the first place.

This month, as we all muster through, let’s remember “family” and instead of giving stuff and striving for perfection, let us give of our time and strive for peace and unity. You have so many opportunities this month for fellowship, whether it be bell ringing or simply joining us next Tuesday evening for our Christmas Party. In your own family, remember that time is the most precious gift you can give, whether you visit someone you have not seen for a while, pick up the actual phone and call an old friend, or just devote your full attention to a child or grandchild by playing a game with them or baking those cookies.

Tomorrow our guest speaker will be Deepa Willingham and she will be sharing with us information on the Rotary Peace Builder project. If you have not heard Deepa speak before, you are in for a treat. I can’t think of anyone more appropriate to start us off on our journey to peace and unity, during the Rotary Family month, than Deepa.

Amadeus O. Early 

Classification: Appointment Secretary 

 

HRHYPHW called the meeting to order at 12:10 PM. The inspirational Invocation was provided by Jim Talbott.  Lynda Gantt led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

There were no visiting Rotarians.  Since we have not had any visiting Rotarians in a long time I guess it means that no Rotarians want to visit our club.  Their loss. 

There were a couple of guests of Rotarians.  Camille O'Brien introduced Janine Dunn from the Community Bank of Santa Maria IT department.  Patrice Mosby, who by the way is still not married, introduced Robert Yamasaki, our speaker from Rabobank.

 

    

Sunshine Reporter Frank Culley said that his wife Pat has had some medical issues for the past week or so.  She went to the doctor last week, who sent her to the ER.  From there she was admitted to the hospital for a bleeding ulcer, and then she was discharged (after the doctor told her to avoid acidic foods).   She had a check up today and is still OK.  Frank also got a call from Elizabeth who told him that his grandson Terry was shot in Lompoc last week.  It was not a good week for Frank and we certainly want to keep him in our prayers. 

                                 

 

More bad news as HRHYPHW announced that Joni Gray had died last week and that her funeral would be on Thursday at 2:00 PM at the Elks.  Joni was the first woman inducted into our club.  She then asked members to share memories or accomplishments of Joni.  Lynda Gantt said that Joni was her first friend when she started working in the Mediation Department.  Fred Donati said that he met Joni in high school.  They served on the high school board together.  Joni took the Kiwanis sign off of a street and then she brought it to the Rotary-Kiwanis Field Day, and the Kiwanians were really upset at her.  Carlie Engel said that his father and Joni's father were partners in their business so their families spent a lot of time together.  Joni was part of the color guard at the Elks Parade for a long time.  Bob Miller said that Joni was quite a horse person.  Part of the "Horse Whisperer" was about Joni.  Andrew Millar said that he got into Rotary because of Joni.  I guess not all of her accomplishments were positive.

HRHYPHW circulated two letters we received.  One was from Dick Weldon thanking us for presenting him with the Don Melby Ethical Business Award.  The other was from the Central Coast Literacy Council thanking us for participating in the spelling bee.

 

The still unmarried Patrice Mosby introduced Robert Yamasaki who talked about Cyber Security.  If you want to be 100% secure than you won't have any internet, no cards, and pay everything with cash.  Unfortunately, that is not very practical in our high tech world.  However, he said that if you keep your anti-virus software up to date and update your programs when they come out with patches you should be OK.  There are many scams that we need to be aware of.  There is the "Microsoft" scam where someone calls your phone and tells you that they are from Microsoft and you need to let them into your computer so they can take care of a virus.  Actually they will put a virus on your computer as they steal your data.  Another is the "IRS" scam where someone calls pretending to be an IRS agent and wanting you to settle an IRS bill with a credit card.  There is the "Lottery" scam where someone calls and tells you that you have won some humongous amount of money, but you need to give them your credit card in order to collect.  Finally, he talked about the "Grandkid" scam where someone calls pretending to be your grandkid.  They tell you that their wallet has been lost or stolen and they need you to send them some money.  ATM machines and gas station pumps often have card readers or skimmers put in them by unscrupulous persons who get your data off of your card.  If you suspect that the card reader is not the original try pulling on it to see if it comes out of the machine.  If you have had transactions at Google, or Uber, or Target and you are worried that your identity might have been stolen, then you can use one of the credit reporting services and check your credit on a regular basis.  You can also set up alerts with your bank or with your credit card companies, so that transactions over a certain amount have to be approved by you.  If you do become a victim of identity theft you need to report it to the local police first of all.  

              

Exemption Badge holder Jason was on vacation in the Bermuda Triangle, and we don't know if he will ever return.  When the cheering died down HRHYPHW tried to auction off the Exemption Badge, but got no takers.  The drawing was held for next month's Exemption Badge.  Fred Pratt won $5. Karen Fothergill won $10.  Diana Harb will have the Exemption Badge for next month. 

HRHYPHW announced that Deepa Willingham will be our speaker next week.  On the 12th we will have the Christmas party at her house in Nipomo and she is looking for a Santa who is willing to work cheap.  On the 19th we will have the Tom & Jerry Party in the Tap Room and we will order from the menu. 

Moving on to Fines & Brags, Cynthia Schur was going to receive a mega-fine, but she skipped out early to temporarily avoid financial ruin.

For Celebrations Jim Talbott celebrated seven years in our club.  Because it only seemed like 20 years he paid $20. 

 

Under announcements HRHYPHW again told us about the celebration of Joni Gray's life at the Elks on Thursday at 2:00 PM.  Carlie Engel's phone went off and either he didn't hear it or he didn't care to answer it, so he was fined $5.   He didn't much care about that either.

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Tom Martinez reminded us that the Parade of Lights was coming up this Saturday.  He still could use some help with intersection control.  Contact him if you want to be of service. This year will be challenging since there is going to be a football game starting at 7:45 PM at Santa Maria High School. 

 

            

The forever unmarried Patrice Mosby said that we are ringing the bell for the Salvation Army on December 9th at the Wal-Mart from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM.  She needs some more volunteers to ring the bell for some of the hourly shifts. 

 

Still unmarried, she then talked about the RiseUp Program through the YMCA.  (A summary of this program appears later in this jam packed edition of the Rotator.)  We have selected a family to help and she circulated a list of items they need for Christmas.  Please sign up to contribute one or more of these items.

Despite the members' objections Andrew Millar told a joke with the help of HRHYPHW.   It was one of his better efforts. 

 

There was $5421 in the 50/50 pot.  That's not right.  That was the number of marbles in the container.  There was $753 as the winner's share in the pot. Judy Hearn had the lucky ticket, but not the lucky marble. 

HRHYPHW adjourned the meeting at 1:20 PM. 

 

 

RiseUP Program 

RiseUP is a three year pilot program the Y designed with the assistance of Hancock College in response to the current gang situation in our community.  There are two approaches in dealing with the gang situation, early prevention and intervention. The Y is well suited to address early prevention and the Mayor's task force Youth Protection Committee will be working with the older children on intervention.  The Y is bringing in nine year olds because this is the statistically proven age where preventative behavior is most effective.  RiseUP started in the summer of 2016 with 25 third grade local students.  These are nine year old students whose parents work long hours to provide for their families, children with gang involvement and/or drug abuse in their families, or students who are lacking social skills and are in need of extra motivation to stay in school. They have been selected for the program by teachers and principals at five schools.  The program's main objective is to give these students an opportunity they would never otherwise experience.  The goal is to circumvent future gang behavior by presenting tangible options to both these students and their parents, before they make poor life choices.  The program consists of four key components:  swimming lessons, STEM, literacy, and the Health Behavior Initiative (HBI).  The STEM components, the exposure to networking, and the variety of hands on activities will support them educationally while increasing their confidence.

 

    

 

Press Release: Freedom Monument Veterans Memorial Ceremony will honor Richard R. Landers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - On Thursday, December 7, 2017, at 10:00 am, the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and the City of Santa Maria will present a plaque dedication ceremony to honor Richard R. Landers, an Orcutt casualty of the Vietnam War. There will also be a Wreath Ceremony in honor of all fallen Veterans. The ceremony will be held at 600 S. McClelland St, in front of the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center, where the Freedom Monument Veterans Memorial is located.

On the same day of the ceremony, a “Remembering Our Fallen” exhibit will be available for viewing inside the youth center. It will be on display until Wednesday, December 12 and open to the public.

The Freedom Monument was constructed in 2001 in a collaborative effort between the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and the City of Santa Maria. Within the monument area are remembrances to 112 Santa Maria Valley Veterans who have given their last full measure of devotion in times of conflict from WWI to the present War on Terrorism. Richard Landers will be the 113th casualty listed.

The public is welcome to attend the plaque dedication and wreath ceremony on December 7th at 10:00am at 600 S. McClelland. In case of rain, the ceremony will be held inside at the Abel Maldonado Community Youth Center.

For questions and additional details, contact Alex Magana, Events & Special Projects Manager at the Santa Maria Valley Chamber at (805) 925-2403 x 814 or alex@santamaria.com.