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!