Happy Fall, Y’all! A new season is upon us and it often conjures up thoughts of bright red and gold leaves, clear, crisp weather, apple pie, pumpkins and cozy evenings at home…oh, and football!
This month has made me so proud of our club – it has certainly been one to affirm the Rotary saying “People of Action.” Over the Labor Day weekend and for almost two weeks thereafter, our little club took on the daunting project of upgrading the tired and rather dingy interior of the Buellton Senior Center Thrift Shop.
In other areas of community service we met with the leaders of Bethania’s food distribution program and our Club is now going to be putting together “goody bags” twice a month for the kids who come with their parents to the food distribution each Tuesday. We are also donating $2,000 to Bethania’s food program to go towards what they need most.
We are delighted to welcome Cindy Mathews as a formal member of our club! Most of us already know her well, as she is the spouse of member John Mathews.
She recently retired after 17 years as the controller for Fess Parker Enterprises. She's an accounting wiz, having also worked at Wells Fargo and Valley Oaks Bank and then Bridlewood before joining Fess Parker. Her interests include tennis, cycling, quilting, gardening and interior design. Cindy has already been volunteering for our club helping with our events and bringing her interior design expertise to our Jazz and Olive Festival silent auction tables for many years!
Thanks to club members John Mathews and Dave Bemis, a team of dedicated club members put in dozens of hours to help renovate the Buellton Senior Center Thrift Shop!
The Thrift Shop happens to be a major revenue source for the Buellton Senior Center so when Pam Gnekow, the Senior Center’s Executive Director, mentioned that she had a project for our Rotary Club we were eager to help. We all felt it was a perfect “hands on” community project that would have a significant impact.
Under the capable leadership of Dave Bemis, our Community Service Chairman, and John Mathews, our contractor par excellence, the project tasks were organized and volunteers were assigned to specific duties. Then, after two weeks, the Buellton Senior Center Thrift Shop was transformed into a bright and cheery place to showcase all variety of items for sale.
Dave was quick to give credit to the volunteers who showed up to help with the project. Some came to help for a few hours when their schedule would permit and others were there for the entire two weeks! Please check out these photos of our hardworking club members!
As you know, this year we started a Members Care program as part of the Membership Committee.
The purpose of the Members Care program is for our Club to reach out with a special card that was artfully designed by Janice Nagler to members who may be experiencing something in their lives where a note from the club would mean so much. The member could be facing a health challenge, the loss of a spouse or parent, a divorce OR it could be a happy occasion like the birth of a new grandchild, a child’s wedding, or a milestone anniversary – happy or sad, we want our club members to know we are thinking of them at a significant time in their life. Please let Inge-Lise or me know of a member who may appreciate a note of cheer or congratulations from the Club. We are here for each other and that’s why we are Rotarians.
Despite the pandemic, we were pleased to gather our new club members in Candy Waldron's socially distanced backyard.
It was a well-attended New Member Orientation Meeting on August 30 with participating presenters Alice and Steve Berg, Judy Canby, Dave Bemis and Candy Waldron. It was informative and we hope it was helpful to our newest club members.
