Rotagram for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

President Ken welcomed all to the Rotary Club of Fullerton”.

Ken’s opening commentary: Well, what a week this has been. The good and the bad of it is just stupendous! The bad news first. Over 16.6 million cases of Covid have now been reported in the U.S., with over 300,000 deaths. These numbers start to get overwhelming for me, so to give you some sense of proportion, there were about 300,000 U.S. combat deaths in WWII.

And on the bright side–the good news–we hear that the Covid vaccine is approved for use and the roll-out has started. It will be some time yet before enough of us are vaccinated, but this is a very bright light on our horizon. And it is important to note that our Covid problems are not behind us. When the polio vaccines were rolled out, there were serious problems with supply. There just were not enough doses to go around. There was one batch that was contaminated, and people died, which put a serious kink in the roll-out.

My sense is that we need to be patient and look for opportunities to help in whatever way we can. We have such an opportunity coming up shortly and Dan Ouweleen will talk more about this later in the meeting.

Patriotic moment: Theresa Harvey led us in the pledge of allegiance.

Invocation was led by Randy McFarland

Our guest in the meeting was Alex Lopez, a guest of Susan Ouweleen. Alex is a Rotarian with another club and due to a move is considering transferring to our club.

Club news

1. Mike Cochran (Via Susan Ouweleen) reported the results of our election: our President elect for the year 2022-23 is Joe Lins. The board members elected for the upcoming year are Bailey Kline, Dan Stewart, Joyce Capelle, Susan Ouweleen, and Leslie McCarthy. Congrats to all and to our club for this fine set of leaders.

2. Monica Fernandez coordinated our Diaper Dump–gathering diapers for financially strapped parents who can no longer afford them. In addition to the diapers which were purchased and dropped, our members gave an additional $597 to purchase additional diapers.

3. This month Rotary focuses on Disease Prevention. Two points to make here. First, please consider, in your year-end giving, a gift to Rotary to finish the job and stamp our polio for the rest of humanity’s stay on earth. In addition, we want to encourage you to consider our local charities as you think about your year-end giving. This year the needs are extraordinary, so be as generous as you can. Many great programs need your help this year.

4. Second, Dan Ouweleen has found a hands-on opportunity for us in the fight of the virus. Dan reported that St Jude has a need for an additional 3,000 face masks immediately. Dan is setting up a plan to produce the masks. The suppliers have been identified and started. The club foundation donated $1500 and St Jude will pay the rest. Dan will need volunteers for 1 to 2 days of work within the next several days, perhaps this weekend.

5. Rotary Youth Protection program. You have received a link to do this online. It takes 15-45 minutes, and if you are going to be involved in the Track Meet or Fullerton’s Schools Got Talent, you need to complete this program.

Club members that deserve special recognition for Service Above Self:

Joe Lins for bringing us this great opportunity to make more face shields, and Dan Ouweleen for putting this project together.

And Farrell Hirsch, for bringing us our program today.

Fine master: Zoot Velasco recognized Bob and Doris Muschek for 22 years of marriage; Jim Vandenberg and Jay Kramer, for Rotary anniversaries, Ferrell’s wife and mother-in-law for their birthdays on the same day; Phil Silverman for his birthday; and Dan Kiernan’s wife Ann for her birthday. Zoot also asked that those who could please donate $5 to 10 dollars to assist in the diaper dump program and the mask project. A number of members did it. Zoot then closed his session with a clever poem, written as an adaptation of the great and popular poem, ‘The Night Before Christmas’ , but featuring Rotary members and our preparations for Christmas and in support of our community with face masks and diapers. Each of you should request a copy of the poem from Zoot.

Farrell Hirsch introduced our speaker. Wade Major is a film critic for KPCC's Airtalk, Editor in Chief of Cinegods.com, and a member of the prestigious Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Wade Major gave a interesting talk on the task of a film critic. I am unable to give him his due credit in summarizing his talk. However, he did discuss his background, growing up in a family with a focus on films, working early in the film industry, studying film making and working as a film producer. He drifted into being a film critic and has been a professional for several years, with 14 years on KPCC’s film review program on Fridays. He offered 3 rules he adopted in reviewing films: a, never speak in first person; b, always try to orient the comments to the audience; and c, never reveal the plot beyond the first act. He then defined 3 maximums that must be in a good film: a, it must be true to the material; b, it must be true to the audience; and c, it must be true to the film maker (i.e. not just for money but true to the makers vision or beliefs). He also commented on the changes due to the covid crises. Today people are not going to the movie houses, and some producers are releasing directly to the networks. This is a big disruption, and may get corrected when we can open the theaters, but it will have a long term affect.

Ken’s closing quotes today come from several people on the internet:

“True friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.”-George Washington

Friendship that flows from the heart cannot be frozen by adversity, as the water that flows from the spring cannot congeal in winter.”-James Fenimore Cooper

“In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.”-Lee Iacocca.

Ken closed the meeting with our charge: “Go out and be good people and great Rotarians!”