Meeting for the Week of Feb. 9th, 2015
Greetings
Welcome to the third week of the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley! We are a new Rotary club dedicated to exploring how technology can serve service, and at the same time provide Rotarians everywhere the chance to enjoy a meeting while in pajamas late at night, with a cup of tea early in the morning, or on a wifi-enabled airplane jetting from one part of the world to another.So what does the coming week look like to you? Do you face challenges or opportunities that consume your thoughts? Do you have ongoing worries that permeate your mood? Will it be an unusually busy week? It's our opinion that whatever the outlook, taking a moment to help someone else will make the week a better one. Drop off some cookies or a flower for a neighbor, give a stranger a smile, or buy someone else a coffee. Will the loss of time or money hurt you? Probably not.Guests, we ask that you consider contributing the cost of a meal to the service projects our club is putting in motion. While we do not yet have our online payment system in place, you are welcome to mail a check made out to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley to our treasurer: ℅ Allen Thompson, 13500 Cascade Ct., Bakersfield CA 93314.
From Start to Finish
As a reminder to our members, please note that to complete a meeting, one must BOTH do the survey at the end AND leave a comment. If you are having any issues with either piece, please let me (Rushton) know immediately.Guests, when finishing the meeting, filling out the survey will generate an email you can use to verify your attendance with us. We also ask that you leave us a message letting us know what you think of what you watch and read; we welcome your feedback!
Thinking Outside the Box
In last week's meeting of the Rotary eClub of the Southwest USA (the online club which helped get us started), President Doreen shared a really beautiful video that speaks to our club's interest in creative exploration. I'll share that gem with you now, and encourage you to use the strong ending to consider what this video is truly about. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments as you finish.The Adventures of a Cardboard Boxby Studiocanoe on Vimeo.com
Club Happenings
As you all know, many of our programs over the coming months will be talks given by our members introducing themselves, telling about their work, and describing what motivated them to join Rotary. Member Kevin Brookhouser got us off to a great start last week with his talk on training young people to solve wicked problems. Next week, board member and PR Committee Chairperson Chris Cochrane will share his history with Rotary, as well as his work as a videographer and some of his hopes for the club.I ask that every member of the club (other than Kevin and Chris) write me (rushton@gmail.com) letting me know when over the coming months you would like to give your talk. That will help us plan out the schedule of meetings, and allow me to give you any feedback you need on your preparation.Feel free to send that email right now, and then return to the meeting!
Service Time
Please let us know about any service activities you've done via this survey.
Committee News
The Meetings and Programs committee will have a hangout in the second half of February to talk strategy for inviting speakers from outside the club to provide a talk. The intro to this week's program will give you a sense for how easy that can be! Committee members, watch for an email asking what times tend to work best for you for the hangout.The Membership Committee met last Friday and has begun talking about monthly face-to-face gatherings for all whose schedules (and proximity) allow. Way to go, y'all!
District Happenings
Last Wednesday night there was a shindig that included a fine meal, news of Rotary events, a major award for Dr. Tak Yoshida of the Sunnyvale Rotary Club (our sponsoring club), and an inspiring keynote talk from John Blount, a well-respected California Rotarian who was the organizer of this year's worldwide district governor elect conference. Dr. Yoshida's recognition from Rotary was in the form of the Rotary International Vocational Service Award, which is a very high honor. Kudos!While at the meeting, District Governor Ed took time to record a message for us:
Governor Ed has been enthusiastically supportive of our efforts, and it's great to have him give us this welcome!Please consider attending the next gathering, which will be Wednesday, March 4th, in Fremont. The program promises to be especially strong, and let's work to get a nice group of our members there to take part.
The World of Rotary
Project Amigo
One of my favorite projects launched by Rotarians is Project Amigo, an effort in Colima, Mexico, to help resource-poor students with their education. We'll work to get them to speak to us sometime in the coming months, but as a preview, you can hear from Marissa, one of Project Amigo's scholarship students:
Rotary's Four-Way Test
from our Membership Chair, Shags ShagrinOne of the Guiding Principles of Rotary is The Four-Way Test. It serves as a foundation for our relationships with each other and the action we take in the world.Authored by Herbert J. Taylor in the midst of the Great Depression to help him rescue a beleaguered business, and soon embraced and popularized by Rotary International, the Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and many clubs make a point of reciting it at the beginning of their meetings:Of the things we think, say or do:1. Is it the TRUTH?2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?You can learn more about The Four-Way Test and its history at: http://thefourwaytest.com/
Money Matters
A Timely Treatise from your Tenacious and Trusty Treasurer, AllenGreetings fellow eClub of Silicon Valley Rotarians! Here is your regular weekly report from your awesome treasurer. By now, I had hoped to have the invoices out to you for our initial dues. Sometimes these things just take a little longer than we think they will. Life gets in the way. I’ll definitely get those out within the next day or two. It may be just as well that I haven’t gotten the invoices out yet since we don’t have our online pay system in place. We hope to correct that this week. If we do, it may come online while this report still says we haven’t done it yet. Please feel free to give it a test drive.Please notice on your invoice (when you do get it) that I have included a little encouragement for each of us to think about The Rotary Foundation and the Every Rotarian Every Year campaign. “With their volunteerism and generous philanthropy, Rotarians are at the heart of The Rotary Foundation’s mission to eradicate polio and further Rotary’s humanitarian and educational programs worldwide. Financial support for the Annual Fund from every Rotarian is the key to helping rebuild suffering communities and nations by resolving conflict, eradicating disease, providing safe water, feeding the hungry, educating children and adults, and alleviating poverty. Every Rotarian, every project, and every contribution makes a difference every year.” (from Every Rotarian Every Year Club Success Booklet 2013-13) The Rotary Foundation has 501(c)(3) non-profit status and contributions are tax deductible where allowed by law. Give generously.Best wishes, and yours in Service to Rotary,From your treasurer,Allen Thompson
Selected Comments from Last Week
from member Tracy Poelzer (British Columbia):Great meeting! I was so inspired by Kevin's talk that I asked for a copy of his book to read, and have been chatting it up with many teachers who I work with. I loved the student projects and the inspiring interviews - you could tell how engaged they were in solving real-life problems and learning in context. Lots of great service going on too!
from member Gene Tognetti (California):I think Kevin's idea of 20 minutes of purposeful 'bad ideas' is excellent. Get those students out of their comfort zone and really get that creative thought going! Impressed by the students' projects, too. Thanks - great program overall.
from member Andrew Taw (California):Thank you so much Kevin! This was a very inspiring presentation. I organize an annual summer program for low-income and first generation high school students. You've given me more to think about!
from member Heather Shaw (California):Wow what a blessing he is for our youth! I was inspired by the approach to learning and development of the students thought processes. I am really enjoying the new club and opening my mind up to other ways of helping people.
from Chris Cochrane (Ontario):This format of live speakers recorded mixed with images and stories is a great blend of technology and education. Kevin's passon and commitment to his students is obvious and it may be one reason for their success.
from member Manju Ramachandran (California):Kevin, thank you; I loved this video. My daughters went to GMS and as a parent volunteer there we are mentors for an Entrepreneur program. The girls create companies and pitch it to VC's. The concepts of creating a business plan, elevator pitch, powerpoint presentation the funding process are taught. The girls create a website, sell, and take their company from all the way through liquidation. I love "out of the box" ideas like this to empower kids. I can't wait to subscribe to your blog! Thank you for taking the time to share. Kudo's to you for being an inspiration to the students!
from member Martin Fox (Utah):Further kudos to Kevin. For the record, I took more notes during your program than I've taken in 5 years of Rotary meetings combined. So many brilliant ideas to think about and I want to connect offline to see where I might be able to help in scaling this. Brilliant work Kevin.
from member/program speaker Kevin Brookhouser (California):Thanks, everyone. It's an honor to be part of this group. So stoked to see what we can do when we put our heads together.
The Power of Images
Last week we enjoyed a beautiful Yosemite picture from member and avid photographer Keith Marsh. This week we get another gem from Keith, this time, one he took of Mt. Whitney a few years ago on his way back from Death Valley. "I caught it just before the moon set. It is the tallest mountain in the continental US and within a day's drive of the Bay Area."Mt. Whitney Moon
This Week's Program
This week's speakers are Benjamin Rasmus and David Bobanick of Rotary First Harvest. "Wait," you say, "didn't we see a video last week about one of those two riding his bicycle across the United States to raise awareness of hunger and food waste?" Indeed, we did.On Monday of last week, I sent an email to First Harvest via the contact info on their website, letting them know we were showing the video, and adding that it would be nice to talk to them about the possibility of presenting to our club sometime.Later that day, I received a favorable response, and on Tuesday we arranged via email a time to do a hangout to record their message to the club. Wednesday afternoon we had them online, and just like that, we'd used our flexibility to get a wonderful program at a time that would fit the speakers' schedules. Cool, no?So I introduce to you David and Benjamin, both Rotarians, and both dedicated to a very important mission. Gentlemen, the podium is yours!
Those interested in launching something similar in their communities can take a look at the RFH Resource Guide. While on Facebook, give the Rotary First Harvest page a like!If you find you'll be in Washington state, you might choose to take in a meeting at David's club, the Rotary Club of Mercer Island, or if in Seattle, feel free to join Benjamin's club, Seattle ID Rotary, at their weekly meeting.You can learn more about the work of Rotary First Harvest via their website. There is also a Rotary Action Group for alleviating hunger, which you can learn more about from their Facebook page.
I Attended!
To register your attendance, members, do both the survey below and leave a comment with thoughts on the meeting and/or word of what's happening in your life.Guests, please leave a comment below. If you are a Rotarian from another club wanting verification of your attendance, feel free to fill out the survey. If you type your email properly, you should receive a nice message you can pass along to your club's secretary.See you next week!
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