August 2020 Bulletin (Aug 13, 2020)

Well, these may be the “dog days of summer” with sizzling temperatures throughout the Valley but our little “club that can and does” is continuing to work hard on planning community projects through the end of the year that will benefit local organizations doing tremendous work during the pandemic.

Our Community Service Chair, Dave Bemis, and his committee have been conducting their due diligence in finding the needs that are most pressing in our community. They have also been working with me on collaborating with our local Rotary clubs for various community projects this Fall (when it is cooler!). Stay tuned and you will hear about them in early September after our Foundation Board meets.

At our July 30^th club meeting we welcomed a visit from our 5240 District Governor, Deb Linden. As our program that evening, Deb gave us an overview of what the District is doing to manage meetings and conferences during the pandemic. She also told us about the Polio Plus Fitness Challenge and the District’s $52.40 fundraiser for the TRF (The Rotary Foundation) Annual Fund. I will be sending out more information about how to get involved with these District efforts.

During the meeting Deb presented the annual “People of Action” award to John Mathews for all the work he has done for our Rotary Club. From chairing the Jazz & Olive Festival in 2019, building and placing the little Libraries throughout the community and just recently organizing our container move (see article below) and many things in between, John has been an exemplary Rotary club member. Congratulations, John, well deserved!

I am also happy to report that Candy, our Membership Chair and Inge-Lise, her Co-Chair, have planned a New Member Orientation meeting for Sunday afternoon, August 30. The meeting is for our members who joined the Club over the past couple of years but did not have the benefit of an orientation.

Speaking of masks, Stacey, Public Relations and Club Branding Chair, presented us with a Rotary logo mask that can be purchased by club members. Stacey is also working on getting Rotary logo shirts that club members can be proud to wear.

Well, this is getting long but I am excited for all that is happening in our club.

Stay cool, drink lots of water and stay virus safe!

Yours in Rotary,

Chris

This Month's New Member Highlight

We are delighted to welcome Casey Bemis as a formal member of our club! Most of us already know her well, as she is the spouse of member Dave Bemis.

Casey was born in St. Louis, then lived in Chicago. She came to live in California with her first husband, eventually landing in Santa Barbara. After they divorced, she worked in various nonprofits, doing all kinds of supportive work for them, including producing a local access cable show called "The Counseling Corner." She met Dave after 10 years of being a single mom and they eventually came to settle in our lovely Valley. She sings with the SYV Chorale and is on their board. She enjoys hiking, being out in nature and bridge with her friends.

She shared, "I think Rotary provides a much needed service to the community and the world at large. As someone who has always worked in non profits I believe strongly in volunteering and contributing to the community." Welcome to the Los Olivos Rotary Club, Casey!

Casey Bemis

Container Moved!

When we were told our storage container on Club member Dean Davidge's recently sold property needed to move, John Matthews and Dave Bemis sprang into action!

When we were told our storage container on Club member Dean Davidge's recently sold property needed to move, John Matthews and Dave Bemis sprang into action! The first piece of the puzzle was to find a new home and the second piece was to get it there--both were daunting problems! Thankfully our friends at Rancho Olivos, John Copeland and Shannon Casey, generously offered to host the container on their property. Then came the fun of figuring out how to get it moved. First, it had to be emptied and since the Grange isn't in use these days, several club members helped to move (and then sort) the contents while Smitty's brought in a massive tow truck. After the container got dropped in its new home, it was filled back up again, a little more organized than before. We are so grateful to Rancho Olivos for hosting our container which is home to vital supplies for our annual Jazz and Olive event and other club activities.

As a thank you to John and Shannon, please go out to Rancho Olivos and buy some of their delicious locally produced olive oils! And huge thanks to John Mathews, Dave Bemis, Ray Lopez and Peter Robbins for getting all of this figured out and organized within a very short time period!