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Provided $1800 to a Global Grant that provides for children in the 7th Grade in La Paz, Mexico to attend school. The cost of one year’s tuition for one child is $300, so our contribution provided for six kids to go to 7th grade. If the kids do not attend 7th grade, that is usually the end of their education and they go out into the workforce.

2. The Foundation provided $2500 to the Lucia Mar School District to teach Newsliteracy to 7th graders. The program teaches 7th graders to discern between what is a legitimate news article on the internet and what is an opinion piece, by asking themselves questions and checking the source of the article.

3. We provided $2000 for Operation Footprint in Honduras which repairs childhood deformities due to clubfoot.

4. Under Kelly’s leadership, the Foundation granted $6000 for college scholarships for local high school students.

5. $1000 for Vocational Scholarships

6. The Foundation contributed $500 to the Zach Elliot Scholarship Fund. Zach Elliot was a local student who is now deceased. A Scholarship Fund has been started in his name by the local High School.

7. The Foundation provided $615 for transportation for 6th grade students in the Lucia Mar school district to attend the Rancho El Chorro outdoor school. The Rotary Club of Cayucas has been instrumental in building that outdoor school and has written a global grant to fund it’s expansion.

8. The Foundation provided $500 to a global grant for children suffering from cerebral Palsy in Kolkata, West Bengal India.

9. The Foundation granted $4500 to the Nipomo Little League for a new scoreboard. The Rotary Club of Nipomo is recognized as a supporter on the scoreboard.

10. The Foundation provided another $1250 of a $5000 pledge to the Arroyo Grande Hospital.

11. Kelly completed a District 5240 grant that provided the funds for educational supplies to the school children that visit the Dana Adobe.

When you think about where all that money and went and what is did, you realize this little club has a far reaching impact, from Nipomo to Honduras to India.

Board of Directors for this year.

President Elect - Mary Mylan

Treasurer - Cees Dobbe

Secretary - George Dubois

Community Service - Jim Harrison

Membership - Judy Henbury

Program Chair - Odell Lee

Vocational Service - Walter Con

Public Image - Lee Baggett

International Service - Harry Walls

Youth Service - Kelly Ricker

Foundation Chair - Bruce Beaudoin

Club Administration - Judy Henbury & Cathy Cachu

Our Club Goals for 2020-2021 can be viewed on rotary.org, Rotary International’s website.

Here at the Rotary Club of Nipomo last year, as a club we donated 1074 hours of our time volunteering for different community projects. Thank you to everyone who volunteered to make Nipomo better. Thank you George for keeping track of that.

Our Rotary minute by Bill Pucciarelli

Rotary is an organization of business and professional person united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

President Kelly Ricker's Last Presidential Meeting

Honoring our local Sheriff's Department

In continuation of our June 6^thpost where Rotary Club of Nipomo honored local agencies that protect and serve our communities, here is information on our local Sheriff’s office.

The Sheriff’s South Station currently serves a population of 40,000 citizens living in Oceano, Nipomo, and the unincorporated areas of Arroyo Grande. The total coverage area extends from Pismo Beach to Santa Barbara County and East to the Kern County line. The station is comprised of one Commander, two Sergeants, four Senior Deputies, twenty- three Deputy Sheriffs and two Legal Clerks. The South Station is also home to two Deputies / K9 Partners teams. One K9 team is trained in suspect apprehension and drug detention. The other K9 team is trained in apprehension and explosive material detection.

The experience of the deputies at the station ranges from just completed training to over 30 years of law enforcement experience. The station is comprised of deputies that completed the academy through the Sheriff’s Office and others that came from outside agencies such as Pismo Beach PD, Santa Maria PD, San Luis Obispo PD, Roseville PD, Fresno PD, San Bernardino County Sheriff, and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

The South Station is responsible for approximately 850 square miles. In 2019, deputies from the station responded to over 23,000 calls for service, generated over 3,500 written reports, and made over 1,100 arrests and misdemeanor citations.

Our Virtual Meeting 6-10-2020

Giving President Kelly Ricker a break, today’s meeting was opened by Past President, Harry Walls. After our weekly prayer delivered by retired pastor, Ken Shadle, we proceeded with our virtual meeting.

Do you remember those boring history classes from high school? I do. Well, our club is fortunate to have the always exciting and dynamic Roger Ridley to teach us a little through our Moment in History. Today Roger covered events occurring on this day from 1190 through 2020:

1190: Third Crusade: Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa drowns while crossing the Saleph River

1610: Thomas West, Baron de La Mar, is appointed governor of Virginia and; settlers arrive (from NJ), to colonize Manhattan Island

1752: Benjamin Franklin tests the lightning conductor with his kite-flying experiment

1845: Andrew Jackson’s parrot removed from his funeral for swearing

1962: 54 homeruns were hit on this day

1975: New York Yankees Army Day Celebration with a 21-gun salute that blew away part of the fence and another part is set afire.

2020: This one is mine, not Rodger’s: “On this day in history”, we all got to see Rodger’s handsome face at our virtual meeting!

Ed Harris, President Elect, presented our Rotary Minute that came from this month’s issue, on page 12, of The Rotarian Magazine. The topic was Global Etiquette and here are a few tips when visiting other countries (and we will travel again!): when getting off an elevator in Poland, say “thank you” to your fellow riders; in Brazil, call people by their first names; in Germany however, do not address a person who is not a friend or longtime acquaintance by their first name – address them as Mr./Ms.; in Peru, kiss a woman on the cheek when introduced, while two man always shake hands; in Japan it is considered rude to talk on the phone on public transportation. Interesting stuff. Thanks Ed.

Our speaker today was CEO of the SLO Food Bank and member of the San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Rotary Club, Mr. Garret Olson. Garret gave us an informative and eye-opening presentation on hunger in our county and how the SLO Food Bank works to overcome it. He covered much information and here are my takeaways:

1 of 6 of our neighbors is food insecure
30,000 households are served monthly by the SLO Food Bank
300 Nipomo families are served monthly
71% of their $2.4 million budget comes from local donors
The current pandemic has caused a tremendous increase in the need for food that is likely to continue for the next few years
The SLO Food Bank has adapted rapidly to new safety standards
Fortunately, the SLO Food Bank has many volunteers
The need is for on-going, monthly donations of cash
A $1 donation yields 7 nutritious meals because of their operating efficiencies, the many volunteers and their partners!
See the SLO Food Bank website for more info: https://www.slofoodbank.org/

Thank you, Garret, for your time today and the work you and your team do to feed the needy in our county!

Rotary Club of Nipomo Donates $2,150 to SLO Food Bank

President Kelly Ricker and club members Lou Gomez, Ed Harris and Walter Con represent the Rotary Club of Nipomo in donating $2,150 to the San Luis Obispo Food Bank. Accepting the donation is Garret Olson, Chief Executive Officer of the SLO Food Bank (see the picture below with appropriate social distancing). On a side note, Garret is a Rotarian with San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Rotary Club and he is our speaker at this Wednesday’s meeting.

Garret explained to us that our donation will provide 15,050 meals! No, this is not a typo. It’s true, 15,050 meals. Through the efficiencies of the food bank, their generous partners and the many, many, many volunteers, the food bank is able to provide seven (7) healthy and nutritious meals for every $1 donated. That’s impressive. WOOHOO!

So, where did the $2,150 come from? Our normal weekly meetings include breakfast that each member pays for on their own. However, during this time of virtual meetings, club members made the decision to continue to be charged for breakfasts and donate these funds to the SLO Food Bank. Thank you to all members who did so. Service Above Self!