Rotary International Theme 2020-2021	THE ROWEL Rotary Club of Durham		Rotary International President: Holger Knaack Rotary District 5160 Governor: Mark Roberts Durham Rotary President: Jen Liu _____________ Editor: Phil Price Publisher:  Jen Liu
	January 12, 2021	The  2021 Harvest Festival scheduled for Sunday, September 19, 2021.

This was our twenty-first Zoom meeting, and our first of the new year.  It was also the drawing for our virtual Crab Feed.  This time we had about 15 members present.    The Meeting   President Jen opened the meeting by asking Glenn Pulliam to lead the pledge, which he did, although he was muted during the first part of it.  President Jen then asked Jim Patterson to give the invocation, which he did.

FUTURE MEETINGS:

All meetings at BCCC are cancelled until further notice.  But there will be meetings on Zoom as follows:   January 26th:  Bruce Norlie   February 9th:  Eric Hoiland   February 23rd:  Brenda Sohnrey.   March 9th:   Kelly Lotti   March 23rd:   Mike Crump   April 6th:   Jen Liu   April 20th:    Phil Price   May 4th:   Dave Jessen

 

 

Program

Virtual Crab Feed Drawing

 

The program tonight was drawing of the tickets for the Virtual Crab Feed.  The drawing was conducted by Kristen Cargile.  She held the clear container with the tickers in the air after mixing the tickets up.  She had her husband to draw the winning tickets. The winners were Jolie Webb, Mike Wacker, Susan Murphy, Ken Thorpe and Liz Cox.  Actually, Susan Murphy and Mike Wacker had two tickets drawn, but each {Susan was called during the meeting) gave up one so two additional names were drawn.

 

The Crab along with other dinner elements will be delivered on Saturday.

 

Kristen reported that we had received $2,100, for sales of tickets at Tri-Counties Bank in Durham, and $1,480 for sales through Eventbrite.

 

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be on January 26, 2021, with Bruce Norlie.  He is working on a program which highlights one of the wineries located in Durham.

 

Reports and Announcements

 

President Jen’s Announcements

 

President Jen announced that he and Pam will be traveling to Taiwan next Monday.  They will be visiting Pam’s parents.  They will be there about 30 days, due, in part to the long quarantine they will have to go through when they get there.  However, even though Jen will be in Taiwan, he will still attend and conduct our Zoom meetings from there.  He will leave the Bell with President-Elect Eric.

 

President Jen also reported that Jim Kirks had his gall bladder removed, and is doing well.

 

President Jen reported that Steve Plume has been diagnosed with colon cancer.  Steve corrected him noting that it was prostate cancer although the testing involves the lower end of his colon.  Having been there and done that, the biopsy of the prostate involves sticking a needle into the prostate through the colon wall, 12 times.   The plus is that prostate cancer is fairly treatable with good long term results.  Mine was 12 years ago.

 

President Jen did note that no member of the club has contracted Covid 19.

 

District Grant for Chrome Books

 

Steve Heithecker reported that the Chromebooks have arrived and are at the High School.  There will be a check presentation to the principal on Thursday AT 12:30 at the High School.  Pictures will be taken which we will hopefully get in the newspapers.  All are invited to attend.

 

District Conference

2021 will be here faster than COVID testing at CVS. With the new year comes hope of a return to enjoying the company of our fellow Rotarians - in person!. What better place to do that than our District 5160 Conference, April 30 – May 2 at the Holiday Inn in Downtown Sacramento.

Rotarians are optimists by nature and the conference committee members are hard at work planning a weekend of fun, connection, and inspiration in Sacramento. If given the green light, a fabulous event awaits.

Dynamic speakers? Yep!

Fellowship and fun? You got it!

Inspirational service project? Check!

Why would you want to be anywhere else the weekend of April 30 – May 2?

Secure your spot with a small deposit of $20 today. This deposit allows the committee to begin to plan activities and meals. This conference train is moving forward and we invite you to grab your ticket before it leaves the station.

All Aboard!  Place your deposit today!   (See the email you received).

 

From the District Governor

To all in District 5160

To all District 5160 Rotarians:

We can look back at this rather difficult and challenging year and be proud of what we did, as individual Rotarians and clubs, to keep our members connected and to keep serving our communities, locally and, through our support of the Rotary Foundation, around the world. For all your efforts, THANK YOU!

So, as we end this calendar year, let's kick 2020 to the curb and give it a well-deserved one-finger salute in the rear-view mirror!

Now, let us commit ourselves to opening new Rotary opportunities in 2021 and continuing to serve our fellow Rotarians, clubs and communities with renewed energy, enthusiasm and excitement!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Mark Roberts
Rotary Club of Lamorinda Sunrise
District Governor 2020-2021
Rotary District 5160
Mark@Rotary5160.org

The Rotary Foundation Donations

When every Rotarian gives every year, no challenge is too great for us to make a difference. The minimum gift to The Rotary Foundation is $25.00.   An annual $100.00 gift is a sustaining member.  Once your donations accumulate to $1,000 you become a Paul Harris Fellow.

It is possible to learn more about The Rotary Foundation on the Rotary web site.  Your gift can be made online or by sending Jim Kirks a check made out to The Rotary Foundation.  Send your check to James Kirks, 1199 Diablo Ave., Apt. 246, Chico, California 95973.

Recognitions

 

President Jen had nothing to recognized anyone for, however Mike Crump volunteered $25.

Membership

When we have live meetings again, bring guests, who you think you can interest in becoming a member, to meetings.  Your dinner and your guest’s dinner will be paid for by the Club.  In the meantime, please invite Durham business owners and/or managers to one of our Zoom meetings.  Actually, you can promote membership by having a guest sit with you during one of our Zoom meetings.  Also, bring a guest to one of our occasional social gatherings in the Durham Park.

Conclusion

Steve Heithecker was asked for a quote in conclusion of the meeting.  He quoted from Elenore Roosevelt.  Her quote was:

“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That is why we call it the present.”

 

However he change it to read as follows:

 

“Last year is history.  Next year is a mystery.  And today? Today is a gift. That is why we call it the present.”

 

 

__________________________________________________________________________________

From Rotary International

 

As we stand at the threshold of the third decade of the 21st century, imagine where we’re headed

Illustration by Aubrey Pohl

In 1915, writing in Rotary magazine, Paul Harris remarked: “What Rotary will be 100 years hence, none living can imagine.”

More than a century later, there’s no need to imagine: Rotary has thrived. As we stand at the threshold of the third decade of the 21st century, we are imagining where we’re headed — and what to expect when we get there.

(This article in the News and Features section of Rotary International’s web page is a led in to five separate but related articles.  The first one on “Philanthropy” is presented below.  I intend to present the other 4 in subsequent weeks of the Rowel.  They are “Water”, “Environmentalism”, Leadership” and “Migration”.)

 

PHILANTHROPY

The future of philanthropy means focusing on future generations

Philanthropy can have the biggest impact on the lives of a group whose suffering we don’t see: upcoming generations

by William MacAskill

About 10 years ago, I helped launch a social movement called effective altruism. In time it led me to what I am convinced is the future of philanthropy.

Let me explain. Effective altruism uses evidence and reason to determine how we can do the most good with our limited resources. When the movement began, the focus was on widening our moral circle of those we consider to be worthy of altruistic concern to include people living in extreme poverty. That widening moral circle is only the latest phase of a historical trend that began millennia ago.

I believe whatever money I have belongs to society. I am just a custodian for a short while. I didn’t bring it with me, nor can I take it with me.

Ravishankar Dakoju | Rotary Club of Bangalore, India
“Thinking — and Giving — Big,” March 2019

We started out caring only about the family unit or the tribe, but over time the circle widened to give equal moral weight to people of different genders, races, religions, sexual orientations, and nationalities. Now the circle has grown to embrace the abjectly impoverished. Although those of us who live in developed countries may not see their suffering with our own eyes, that does not permit us to ignore them. All humans are equally deserving of our moral concern, regardless of where they live. Consider this: The World Health Organization estimates that around 1.5 million people die every year from preventable diseases. Yet only about $2,300 can prevent a child under age five from dying from one of them — malaria — through the seasonal dispensation of antimalarial medicine.

More recently, however, I have come to realize that, even as we consider everyone alive today as being of equal worth, the circle has still not reached its maximum breadth. Yes, there are significant ways we can do an enormous amount of good to help the global poor. But lately I have been convinced that the future of philanthropy — and the place where we can have the biggest impact — demands that we focus on improving the lives of another group of people whose suffering we do not see. A group that is separated from us not by space, but by time: future generations.

The lack of representation of future generations is an example of market and democratic failure. People who do not yet exist cannot trade or bargain with us, and so they have no influence over the decisions of consumers or companies. And they are utterly politically disenfranchised: They cannot lobby governments, and they don’t have a vote. It’s left to philanthropy to fill the gap.

This is so important because there are so many people yet to come. Mammalian species can survive millions of years before extinction; anatomically modern Homo sapiens has been on the planet for about 200,000 years. If we equate the length of our potential existence as a species to the length of an individual’s life, humans are in early childhood and have nearly an entire lifetime ahead of them. And humans are by no means a typical mammalian species. It’s entirely possible that we might survive much longer: Scientists predict that the earth will be habitable for the next 500 million years; if we were able to take to the stars, the species’ opportunity to survive would be astronomically larger again. So we humans have a vast future ahead — that is, if nothing goes wrong.

Looking forward: The Future of Peace

Given all the changes of the past year— in Rotary, in the United States, and in the world — a conversation about the future of peace is more timely than ever. One thing is certain: Conflict and change, two constants, will occur. The question is, will we use those conflicts as a catalyst for constructive change? As they consider their answer to that question, Rotary and Rotarians must choose to have a significant and lasting impact on peace “across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”

To that end, we must work on some novel thinking and approaches to peacebuilding based on Rotary’s vision statement and action plan, always keeping in mind our principles and our areas of service and focus. One goal must be to build trust, transparency, and teamwork in our efforts. We should also establish a mindset where we make peacebuilding a daily habit that includes leading by example. And we must always keep our eyes on what I call the four P’s of Positive Peace: people, purpose, policy, and power.

Since the status quo is not working, I expect the need and drive for social justice and equity will inevitably lead to change, in ways that I hope are beneficial to all. As those changes occur, Rotary and Rotarians can make a difference in many ways, if they choose. We must ask ourselves: Will we have the courage and will to make the necessary commitment to Positive Peace?

I envision a time when, in people’s minds, the name of Rotary is equated with peacebuilding and conflict transformation. Peace is a human right, and I am optimistic about a future when the citizens of the world will live in safety, have the opportunity to prosper, and enjoy the quality of life we all deserve.

A member of the Rotary E-Club of World Peace, District 5330, Dennis Wong is a co-founder of the Rotary Action Group for Peace.

But there are, unfortunately, many ways things could go wrong. Nuclear power, geoengineering, synthetic biology, and artificial intelligence all pose a challenge. How can we harness their benefits without risking potentially catastrophic events? With the emergence of more and more powerful technology, the risk of the extinction of the human race, or the irrecoverable collapse of civilization, has become a distinct reality. And risks that grave, even when extremely unlikely, must be taken extremely seriously.

Many philanthropists have been convinced, therefore, that when we try to do good, we should primarily be concerned with the very long-term consequences of our actions: over centuries, millennia, or perhaps even millions of years. The Open Philanthropy Project, funded by Cari Tuna and her husband, Dustin Moskovitz (a co-founder of Asana and Facebook), names “biosecurity and pandemic preparedness” and “potential risks from advanced artificial intelligence” among its areas of focus. Tesla’s Elon Musk and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman are supporting initiatives to ensure that AI is beneficial to humanity. Jeff Skoll, a Canadian internet entrepreneur, created the Skoll Global Threats Fund to tackle existential threats to humanity. As a symbol of this long-term concern, Jeff Bezos is funding a clock that will keep time for 10,000 years, chiming once every millennium. All these are examples, in different ways, of donors trying to benefit future generations.

Although this new wave of philanthropy is still in its infancy, I see that concern for future generations on the upswing. And if history is any indication, our circle of moral concern will only continue to expand.

An associate professor in philosophy and a research fellow at the Global Priorities Institute at the University of Oxford, William MacAskill is the author of Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Help Others, Do Work That Matters, and Make Smarter Choices About Giving Back. He is a co-founder and president of the Centre for Effective Altruism.