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November 24, 2022 |
With the traditional ringing of the bell we bring this meeting to order!
Club member's attendance is recorded by logging in.
Visiting Rotarians may complete a makeup form at the end of this meeting; YOUR donation for making up with us helps fund our service projects!
Visitors are always welcome to browse and register without obligation.
Our club offers the flexibility of ROTARY ON YOUR TIME!
and an opportunity to remain connected with Rotary!
Welcome to this week’s meeting of the eClub of the State of Jefferson.
I am Bob Gibson, President of the Rotary eClub of State of Jefferson. Welcome to this week’s meeting. I hope this finds you well.
As we come to the end of November, Rotary Foundation Month, my thoughts are of just how important supporting the Foundation is to our organization. The Foundation has been structured to maximize the resources that go to fuel our work all over the world. Administrative costs have been kept to a minimum, while allowing for sophisticated processes and procedures. The structure of Rotary International and our grant and aid policies give us the opportunity to develop projects that reflect the passion and foresight of our members. Consider that any member of Rotary can “hatch” an idea for a service project and bring the full force of Rotary to meet the need. Isn’t that something? Please consider supporting the Foundation.
Also, mark Saturday, December 10 at 9:00AM Pacific Standard Time on your calendar. We will have member Zoom meeting to vote on the proposed Bylaws and a slate of officers and Board members. It will put us on schedule for these important decisions.
I am very thankful for our Rotary Club and all of you. Your work and support exemplifies the best of Rotary. If you celebrate this U. S. holiday, have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Thank you for your interest in our Club and your commitment to “Service above Self.”
Enjoy the meeting.
If you have any questions or comments, I am available. My e-mail address is: bob@bluewaterphoto.net.
email president@StateOfJeffersonRotary.org
Tom Turkey wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving
and reminds you to . . . EAT BEEF!
Saturday, December 10 at 9:00 A.M. (PST)
Member Zoom meeting
to vote on the slate of officers and Board members and proposed Bylaws.
A Sense of a Goose
Next fall, when you see geese heading south for the winter, flying along in "V" formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.
People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily, because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.
If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are.
When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.
It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south.
Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
What messages do we give when we honk from behind?
Finally-and this is important-when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies; and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.
If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that. ~ Author Unknown
Ways to celebrate Rotary Foundation Month
Generous gifts to The Rotary Foundation help create lasting change in communities both nearby and around the world. In honor of Rotary Foundation Month in November, we’re asking club and district leaders to thank donors and reflect on the good that their donations make possible. Here are three ways you can celebrate Foundation Month:
- Make a special gift to the Foundation on Giving Tuesday, 29 November. The top clubs in fundraising, participation, and online giving will be featured on My Rotary. Take a look at last year’s honorees.
- Help others in need by giving the gift of Rotary anytime during November.
- Take time during a club meeting to show members how the Foundation transforms gifts into service projects that advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by fighting disease, improving the quality of education, protecting the environment, alleviating poverty, and more. Invite a Foundation scholarship recipient or a community member who was involved in and benefited from a grant project to speak about its impact on their life.
Every three years your gifts to the Rotary Foundation, Annual Fund SHARE, return in part to fund the important work we do in our local communities today. And if we had only gifted $100,000 more back then, we could have funded all the projects you identified this year as being critical needs in your communities. Gifts to the Annual Fund Share three years ago are now funding $130,000 worth of critical needs in the areas of literacy, food insecurity for youth, maternal and child health, homelessness, economic development, clean water, and disease prevention. These problems sound familiar don’t they? We are grateful for the funds we are now leveraging with Club funds to complete total project benefits of $234,000.
Unfortunately, $25,000 worth of your important community projects could not be funded. There was not enough Annual Fund dollars to go around.
This year, let’s pre-position ourselves to fund all the future needs in our local communities. Please give generously this November, to support the Rotary Foundation! Our target is $30,000. Can you help?
The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world.
Since it was founded more than 100 years ago, the Foundation has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.
With your help, we can make lives better in your community and around the world.
Our mission
The Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty.
What impact can one donation have?
- For as little as 60 cents, a child can be protected from polio.
- $50 can provide clean water to help fight waterborne illness.
- $500 can launch an anti-bullying campaign and create a safe environment for children.
Colorado Rotary members show comfort and care
By Ashley Kasprzak, president of the Rotary Club of Twin Peaks, Colorado, USA
Rotary members in Colorado showed what it means to create a welcoming club experience of comfort and care, one of Rotary International President Jennifer Jones’ initiatives for this Rotary year.
I was a small part of an effort to help longtime Rotary member Dennis Gordon and his wife, Kate, this spring. Every spring and summer since they had married 46 years ago, Kate had planted and cultivated brightly-colored gardens. But this year, she was in bed with a terminal illness which prevented her from doing so.
Dennis (Denny as he prefers to be called) is amazingly positive and agile even though he is a triple amputee. As a Vietnam veteran, a successful accountant, and a competitive cycler, not much stops Denny. But gardening is one of the rare things he doesn’t do. He shared with his friend and fellow Rotary member Charlene Santala Gearing that it would be wonderful if the club could help brighten up Kate’s view.
Charlene asked Denny if it would be ok for the club to get things looking nice for Mother’s Day, when his children and grandchildren would be visiting. Charlene then contacted members to help. Kirsten Pellicer donated flowers, and Beth Shipp a truck. Half a dozen members and friends cleaned up flower beds and planted.
Kate watched from her bed as we gardened. At the end of three hours, shrubs and trees were trimmed. Flowers were planted and everything was spiffed up. One member, Laurell Richey, even brought her pet alpaca, Dobby, who thanks to double doors, was able to come inside and say hello.
Everyone shared smiles, laughter, and a bit of joy. Rotary volunteers were able to bring some moments of distraction and levity to Kate and Denny during a sad time. Kate passed away on 18 May. Denny faithfully continues to attend Twin Peaks Rotary Club every Thursday at noon in Longmont, Colorado, USA.
No Borders Rotaract
No Borders Rotaract is the eClub's sponsored Rotaract club, founded in 2015, No Borders is a Global Rotaract club. Visit their website to see what a great job they are doing.
The No Borders Rotaract brings together young professionals from across the world to exchange ideas, develop leadership and professional skills, and have fun through service.
As an online global service club you can live anywhere and still be an active member of No Borders. We have two online meetings each month that focus on leadership, professional development skills, life hacks, updates on global humanitarian efforts, and advancements through Rotary. We also work together on projects in our local communities and abroad.
Meet the No Borders club officers
President
Name: Zoe Hershenson
Vocation: Freelance Writer and Proofreader
Home Country: United States of America
Vice President I President-Elect
Name: Aishwarya Saxena
Vocation: Education
Home Country: India
Secretary
Name: Anja Jungmayr
Vocation: Environmentalism
Home Country: Austria
Treasurer
Name: Sierra Mayer
Vocation: Teaching & Art
Home Country: United States of America
Member at Large
Name: Anshuman Nayak (Moon)
Vocation: Defense R&D, Government of India
Home Country: India
Immediate Past President
Name: Karl Uzcategui
Vocation: Higher Education Administration
Home Country: United States of America
Thanks to eClub Rotarian Carol F. for suggesting this article.
Polio Update
WHO Allows nOPV2 for cVDPV2
Let's unpack that. Last week, the World Health Organization issued a recommendation that will allow rollout of a new oral vaccine, Novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2). This vaccine will be available for limited use in countries affected by outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2).
We can unpack it a bit more: of the three strains of wild polio virus, only type 2 has never been eradicated (is "endemic") in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The oral vaccine that has been used for a long time to protect against type 2 is live, and can mutate and spread (circulate) to unvaccinated children. The new (novel) vaccine is more stable, less likely to mutate and very unlikely to circulate to unvaccinated children. This means it is preferred in regions where vaccination rates, for cultural or logistical reasons, are low.
If you want to hear someone else repeat what you just read, here's a nice animation: Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 animation
Navajo Literacy Project (NLP)
The Navajo Nation is the largest reservation by land area in the United States.
During a period of continued COVID that remains out of control on most of the Navajo Nation, traditional Navajo Solar Light (NSL) installations are still not safe and feasible. To continue our service and to bring light to the elders and to students, a bookmobile provides a way that Navajo residents can do those installations for us. The Chinle Plants Hope trained personnel and volunteers, who drive the bookmobile, do the solar light installations … we, Rotary, provides the light kits, tools, and materials required for the installations.
The humanitarian issue is simply this:
- The impact of the COVID pandemic on Navajo children has been significant. Children have been out of school and many lack reliable internet for access to online education.
- 67% of third graders and 89% of high schoolers on the Navajo Nation lack reading proficiency.
- 30-40% of families on the Navajo Nation do not have electricity, running water or toilet facilities in their homes.
- The nearest library is over 70 miles away from the Chinle Chapter of the Navajo Nation.
- Many roads are unpaved dirt, unpassable when rain comes.
- Without solar lights or electricity, elders and children use kerosene to light their homes. This comes with an inherent danger of fire as well as health degradation due to the soot emitted from kerosene lamps.
- The light can be detached and used as a flashlight for safely going outside at night.
- The kit includes a charging outlet for cell phones that enhances the resident’s safety and contact with family.
The Navajo Literacy Project (NLP) addresses all of these issues. The Rotary eClub of the State of Jefferson’s Foundation has donated $5,000.00 towards this project and received word that a District 5110 Grant request was recently approved for an additional $5,000.00
Significance of R.E.A.D. in Beauty
There is an essential Navajo concept, "Walking in Beauty," which entails living in harmony - Hozho - with both one's self, and the natural world. This concept is centered around making good choices and expressing love.
Chinle Planting Hope has adapted the concept of "Walking in Beauty" to the Bookmobile project. Its goal, and therefore its name, is "R.E.A.D. in Beauty," because it aims to help Navajo children and families experience harmony through expanded educational opportunities in a respectful learning environment.
Chinle Planting Hope ... Contact Us
- Website: www.chinleplantinghope.com
- Email: chinleplantinghope@gmail.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/ChinlePlantingHope
- Linkedln: linkedin.com/company/chinle-planting-hope
Romello "Mello" Early, 12, said he had grown tired of watching fellow 7th grader Melvin Anderson, also 12, face ridicule from their peers at Buffalo Creek Academy Charter School in Buffalo, N.Y., over his shoes, according to The Washington Post and Today.
Some of Melvin's peers mocked him for being "dirty," which didn't sit well with either student. "It made me feel sad, mad and very disliked," Melvin told the Post.
"It just put a real ache in my stomach to see somebody have to go through that," Mello told NBC affiliate WGRZ.
Last month, Mello became fed up with the bullying. He later asked his mom Anita James to take him to the store so he could buy his friend a pair of shoes with his allowance, and she agreed, per the reports.
Mello used $135 he had saved from his allowance to purchase the pair of black-and-white Nike Dunks, according to the Post. The next day, he gave them to Melvin at school.
Melvin told the Post he was "grateful" for Mello's gesture. "I was totally shocked," he said. "I felt very happy and very surprised."
At one point during the day, Melvin placed his new shoes on the desk of Bryant Brown Jr., Dean of Culture at Buffalo Creek Academy, per WGRZ's report. After learning what had transpired, Brown shared Mello's kind gesture with the world.
"My student Melo told me he was tired of other students picking on Melvin about his shoes," Brown wrote on Facebook, later adding, "This is what I live for ð¯ ð¯ be that helping hand."
Melo told WGRZ that he understands how it feels to be picked on, having experienced bullying himself. "All the grades I went through, I was picked on because of my height," the boy said.
"And the way it made me feel, I just thought … nobody else should have to go through that feeling," he added.
Melvin said he is doing some extra chores at home to try and repay his friend for the gift, according to WGRZ. But Mello insists otherwise.
"You don't have to pay me back," he told his friend. "It's just a gift from me to you."
Read the original article on People
Family Letters Offer Glimpse Into Civil War Thanksgiving
This family letter from the Civil War provides a glimpse into what the holiday was like for Union soldiers
By Nanci Edwards
A letter from Union soldier Vidal Thom to his brother, William NMAH
Vidal Thom was my great-great uncle. On Christmas Day, 1861, the 19-year-old enlisted in the Union army in Nashua, New Hampshire.
I transcribed this letter he wrote on Thanksgiving to his younger brother, William "Willie" Thom (my great-great grandfather) from a "camp near Bealton Station, Virginia." In addition to imagining the chicken pie, cider, and plum pudding his brother was enjoying for Thanksgiving (and he was no doubt missing), Vidal also reflects on what he is thankful for, even though he was far from home.
This is just one of about 20 letters and one diary that came down through my dad's family in New Hampshire NMAH
The transcript of Vidal Thom's letter to his brother NMAH
A very young looking Vidal looks out at us from this tintype. The tintype is about 6x8 and portrays Thom wearing his military uniform with the gold buttons on his coat painted on the face of the tintype. I just can’t get over how young he looks.
Through his letters and diary entries, I've been able to follow Vidal as he moved through Northern Virginia (where he was captured at Middleburg and then spent some time as a prisoner of war on Belle Island in Richmond), to Cold Harbor, Stony Creek, and then out to the Shenandoah Valley. The last letter that we have was sent from City Point, Virginia, and was dated July 8, 1864. Vidal Thom was killed on July 18, 1864, while on picket duty at Cox's Mills, Virginia (north of Charlottesville).
Whether you're eating baked beans or plum pudding this Thanksgiving, take a moment to reflect on your family history.
This post was originally published on the National Museum of American History's blog on November 23, 2013. Read the original version here.
weekly@StateOfJeffersonRotary.org
Forget A "Twindemic," Experts Anticipate A "Tripledemic" This Winter
A "tripledemic" is a trio of viruses, including influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, which are anticipated to soar this upcoming season.
The only thing scarier than the simultaneous surge of two viruses is the simultaneous surge of three. That's what scientists are saying this season, anyway, since three separate viral threats, including influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, are all showing signs of spiking this winter.
So, what would this supposed "tripledemic" actually mean, and why might so many viruses surge all at once?
Turning A Double Into A Triple
Since respiratory viruses are more active in the winter, scientists have worried about the possibility of a "twindemic," or a combined surge of influenza and coronavirus, almost from the start of the pandemic. And specialists warn that a surprisingly severe spike in cases of flu or COVID-19 could bend the already strained medical system in the U.S. beyond its breaking point. This, experts say, would undermine the medical system's ability to care for a wide variety of patients, whether they're suffering from respiratory viruses or any other medical condition or concern.
Read more: Why Are Viruses More Active In The Winter?
This year, scientists' anxieties about a potential "twindemic" continue thanks to several signs that foreshadow a severe season of influenza and coronavirus to come. For instance, there is an outpouring of flu activity around the globe. And the relative inactivity of influenza in the U.S. throughout the past couple years could foretell a serious season in the future.
Adding to those concerns is the alarming assortment of coronavirus variants that are currently spreading. They also show a remarkable resistance to the immunities that are already implanted in the population thanks to previous COVID-19 infections and vaccinations. These factors, specialists say, suggest that a combined increase in influenza and coronavirus cases is much more probable this season than in previous years.
More about influenza and coronavirus:
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Specialists previously said that this season could create a "twindemic," a simultaneous increase in influenza and coronavirus, adding additional strain to the already stressed medical systems.
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This season, scientists say, could also see an increase in co-infections of influenza and coronavirus known as "flurona."
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These two respiratory viruses split off into separate variants as they pass from person to person, and several of the currently circulating coronavirus variants are particularly transmissible.
Now, new signs are pointing to the possibility of something more serious than a "twindemic." Infections from yet another respiratory virus are already starting to trouble the medical apparatuses in some states in the U.S.
This third virus, known as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), is a common form of infection that tends to target younger children and older adults. Similar to influenza and coronavirus, the threat spreads through the air after an infected individual coughs, sneezes, speaks or breathes, and its infections feature similar symptoms, including a cough, a congested nose, and a sore, scratchy throat.
Though these symptoms tend to remain mild, mirroring the typical severity of influenza, coronavirus and many other respiratory viruses, scientists still say that these three viruses in combination could cause an overwhelming wave of hospitalizations.
Why a Tripledemic?
While specialists are certain that the coincidence of these viruses could cause some serious trouble, they aren’t quite as confident as to why the three will seemingly surge at the same time. Still, some suspect that the reason may relate to the reduction of coronavirus restrictions throughout the recent months.
In fact, these scientists say that many of the mitigation measures taken to stop the spread of COVID-19, such as social distancing directives and mask mandates, suppressed infections from coronavirus as well as infections from several other respiratory viruses. As a result, recent relaxations of these measures in the U.S. may increase the risk of passing influenza, COVID-19 and RSV from person to person.
Ultimately, specialists say that vaccines are the top option for individuals interested in protecting themselves and those around them against the threat of a "tripledemic." In addition to cutting the chances of catching these conditions, shots for flu and for COVID-19 are also known to soften the severity of symptoms in the off chance that recipients of the shots still catch the viruses, regardless of their reduced chances. Similar capabilities are also anticipated for future vaccines for RSV, though they’re still in the trial stage.
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