This was different.  It was a joint meeting of the local clubs hosted by the Rotary Club of Chico-Noon.  They invited the Rotary Club of Chico-Sunrise, the Rotary Club of Paradise Club and the Rotary Club of Durham.

So, President Glenn got to enjoy himself and not conduct a meeting.

Here he is with Pam Gray of the Paradise Club..

President Bob talked about attending the District Conference on April 26-28 in Sacramento. 

Introduction of Visitors 

President Bob introduced Assistant District Governor for Area 4, Geralyn Sheridan from Chico Sunrise.  He also introduced District Governor, Clair Roberts.

He then asked the members of each of the four clubs to stand up, each club separately.  Following that he asked any guests to stand up.

The next meeting will be on April 23^rd.  Steve Plume will present the program at the BCCC.

Then on April 30^th, we will have a club social at Marigold Marketplace in Durham.  It is located at 2500 Durham-Dayton Hwy #8, Durham, CA 95938

We will hear from Kelly, the owner, about her business model and what she's brought to the community. We will have beer & wine available for purchase, and dinner will be provided from a host of her local vendors.  An invitation and RSVP info will be coming out soon.

Note that you need to respond to Diana, before April 22^nd, whether you are coming and if you are bringing a guest.  He email is: dselland@sweeney-sellandins.com

Tonight’s Meeting Program

President Bob Bracewell introduced Jean Irwin-Hatfield, who was the program for the night.  She teaches the deaf to speak.

The following is a bio of her taken from the Far West Pets.org web page which basically covers a lot of what she talked about (better than I could) in her teaching the deaf to speak and a Rotary Scholarship to study in England to learn how it was being done there, where they were having more success.

 
“Jean Irwin was a teacher of the Deaf for 7 years in Reno , Nevada . Her students were on the path to achieve the typical 4th grade level in reading upon graduation from high school. Then she heard about some children in England who were doing much better than that and made a comment at a party, “I wonder what they’re doing in England that we’re not doing here?” This question was heard by a Rotarian. He suggested that if she really wanted an answer to she should contact Rotary about their Foundation Scholar program which provided scholarships to study overseas and told her how . That was in 1989. She did apply, but didn’t make the cut and so remained ignorant of those techniques.

Of course she didn’t or she would not be speaking to you today! Jean received sponsorship from the Rotary Club of Sparks and went to Nottingham University to learn how to best foster reading in children who can’t exactly “sound words out” . When she returned and used these reading methods her students ended up graduating at double the years of the national levels. Many of these students could, and have graduated from college- something only 5% of the profoundly deaf can do.

The Rotary Scholarship Jean received has enabled her not just to teach other teachers about what she learned, but to use it for second language learners. She has “added on” to Rotary grant projects internationally and lectures to teachers on these reading methods to get more bang out of those foundation bucks. Jean became a “real boy” and joined Rotary in 2003 as a charter member of Reno Centennial Sunset. After her marriage to Dave Hatfield in 2010 she moved to California and joined the Folsom Rotary club.”

 

She has done this in Brazil and is or will shortly be doing it in Kenya.

Membership

Bring guests who you think you can interest in becoming a member.  Your dinner and your guest’s dinner will be paid for by the Club.  Also, bring a guest to one of our occasional social gatherings.

Go to the following Rotary International web site for information on membership development:  https://my.rotary.org/en/learning-reference/learn-topic/membership .  From this website there is access to membership development and other related information.

The Rotary Foundation Donations

You can make a difference in this world by helping people in need. Your gift can do some great things,from supplying filters that clean people’s drinking water to empowering local entrepreneurs to grow through business development training.

The Rotary Foundation will use your gift to fund the life-changing work of Rotary memberswho provide sustainable solutions to their communities’ most pressing needs. But we need help from people like you who will take action and give the gift of Rotary to make these projects possible.

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.

If you have any questions ask Steve Heithecker.

It is possible to learn more about The Rotary Foundation on the Rotary web site. 

Your gift can be made online or by sending Jessica Thorpe a check made out to The Rotary Foundationto Durham Rotary, P.O. Box 383, Durham, California 95958.

________________________________________________________________

From District 5160

Field of Rotary Dreams 2023-24 District Conference – April 26-28, Sacramento

RI Convention Social – May 26, Singapore

District 5160 Awards & Installation – June 13, Davis

World Peace Conference – January 24-26, 2025, Rohnert Park (Sonoma Wine Country)

_______________________________________________________________ri

From Rotary International

Rotary projects around the globe

April 2024

By Brad Webber

United States

OysterFest has been a calendar highlight of the Pacific Northwest’s fishing industry for more than four decades. The two-day festival is hosted by the Rotary Club of Shelton Skookum, Washington. Last year’s event, held in October, attracted 13,000 seafood enthusiasts and raised $170,000 for community organizations. Seasoned seafarers and landlubbers alike got in some serious shelling, as the victor in a speed-shucking competition opened 24 oysters in 73 seconds. The champion in the half-shell — a separate challenge that also accounts for presentation, with penalties for errant cuts — clocked in at an adjusted time of 2 minutes and 10 seconds. “It is quite an event with the crowd cheering on their favorite to win,” says Laurie Brown, the club’s president-nominee. “Anyone can sign up, but most of the shuckers come from the various shellfish farms or restaurants.”

Suriname

Passing rates on secondary school entrance exams that have dipped as low as 50 percent have vexed officials in Suriname. The Rotary Club of Paramaribo Residence, whose members include several teachers or retired educators, is aiming to improve those results and reduce dropout rates. In October, the club instituted a mathematics training project for around two dozen teachers at schools serving older children. The program includes courses on topics such as set theory, equations, functions, plane geometry, and trigonometry. “You have to use mathematics at every level of your life, and statistics show that in Suriname kids have low grades” in the subject, says club member Yvonne Mohabir. Aretired school dean and Rotarian, Ewald Levens, leads the sessions, which are funded with the support of the Dutch Association of Mathematics Teachers.

Macao

The Rotary Club of Macau’s meeting place — one of the world’s most profitable casinos — has turned out to be an ace in the hole for the club. Sands China, the operator of The Venetian Macao, sponsors the club’s signature project, a Christmas party for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It supports the gala that is the club’s primary fundraiser. And in December, Sands employees were among about 200 volunteers involved in a club effort to assemble 27,000 hygiene kits destined for the Philippines. The packages were provided to an organization that collects bath items from hospitality companies to be recycled and redistributed. Club President João Francisco Pinto says the club’s projects align with Sands’ philanthropic endeavors.

Nigeria

Nigeria has one of the world’s highest breast cancer mortality rates, a statistic that has not gone unnoticed by the Rotary Club of Ikoyi. “With an incredibly scary rise of the incidence of breast cancer in Nigeria, the club became saddled with the huge responsibility of combating this scourge with every resource available,” says club member Winifred Ebiye Imbasi. The club partnered with the Sarah Ayoka Oduwaiye Foundation to conduct free breast cancer screenings for more than 500 women at Lagos Island General Hospital in July 2023 and for 400 women in the neighborhood of Obalende in December. In January, the club held a Jazz Nite concert and awards ceremony at the Alliance Française theater to raise awareness.

Australia

A stroll inspired Rod Morrison to suggest that his Rotary club in southeast Australia offer public tours of a structure that has long loomed beside the Barwon River: the 1878 Fyansford Paper Mill. Though listed by Australia as a heritage site, the mill and its legacy hadn’t received their due, says Morrison, a member of the Rotary Club of Highton. Rotary members pored over old photos and drawings to assemble displays for the75-minute guided tours, which began in 2022. The mill made paper out of rags, ship sails, frayed rope, military uniforms, reeds, and other old fabrics untilit closed in 1923. “It was one of Australia’s first recyclers,” Morrison says. During World War II the plant served as a secret sea mine facility for the Royal Australian Navy. The heritage tours have already generated more than US$12,000 for community projects, along with enthusiasm for history.

This story originally appeared in the April 2024 issue of Rotary magazine.