Rotagram for Wednesday, May 19,, 2021

President Kaisch rang the bell and welcomed everyone to the Rotary Club of Fullerton this day. I have been reflecting this week on the many breaks in trust in our political and social landscape. The most prominent break being celebrated by the media right now is the war between Israel and Hamas overseas. In our own country, we see the break between Democrats and Republicans – they don’t trust each other. Or how about the breaks between the progressives and conservatives?

Drilling deeper, we see a break in trust between ordinary citizens and the political class. We wonder if the politicians are really working for our mutual welfare, and they call us ‘deplorables’.

Socially we see the break in trust between races. Until recently, I did not know that driving while black was an event that could lead to a police encounter, and sometimes even death. We see a rise in anti-Semitism. The eruption of hate crimes against Asians. All of this is indicative of an increasing lack of trust between folks.

With this lack of trust comes suspicion of others – especially others who do not look like us. A sharp rise in gun sales is the result. We can expect an increase in gun violence because of our lack of trust. And we wonder how we can reverse these trends…

We as Rotarians stand firmly against this deterioration. One of Rotary’s major goals is the promotion of peace. In the years before Covid, we sponsored an international Peace Conference in Ontario, just up the road from us. We identify and financially support Peace Scholars, who struggle with the great question of how to restore trust after it has been ruptured. All of this takes place in the international arena.

And right here, in Fullerton, in our own community, we are each ambassadors of peace. We seek Service Above Self. We actively work to support others in our community. Project Face Shield is one example. This year’s virtual talent contest for the high schools is another. The community-wide track meet. Recognizing high school scholars with the Top 100 awards.

On a more personal level, each of us can try to see the world through the other guy’s eyes. How can we strive to make things ‘beneficial for all concerned when we do not know what the other guy’s concerns are? We can’t, of course. By building goodwill with each other and better friendships, we work to restore, in an incremental way, the trust that is so necessary for our mutual survival and well-being.

Theresa Harvey led us in the pledge and Christian Esteban provided today’s invocation.

Guests today included Ken’s partner, Susan, and Maggie their Wonder Dog. Eddie Carmona from Sharon Quirk-Silva’s office was also a guest.

Club news: This evening, we will be presenting the awards to the Sunny Hills Top 100. Miko Krisvoy confirmed the event will be held tonight at 5 pm at Sunny Hills High School where she and President Kaisch will be handing out goodie bags from our Rotary Club. Dan Ouweleen attended last Saturday’s virtual district conference that included youth training and other programs and hopes that the next year’s conference will be back in person. Leslie McCarthy asked us to be on the lookout look for her email regarding sign-ups for meeting duties during Zoot Velasco’s presidential term next year. There will be a structural change so that each member can volunteer to take over one of the meeting’s duties for an entire month. Please let her know of your interest. Next week, our meeting will be in person at the YMCA. The financial experts in our group will talk about investing in today’s crazy environment. All Interact Club Members are invited to an Interact Beach Cleanup and Barbecue on Saturday, June 5th at 9:00 a.m. in Dana Point. There will be an awesome presentation by the Ocean Institute and a barbecue afterward on June 5 beginning at 9 a.m. The barbecue will include food, drinks, and games. Jim Williams wanted Ken to know that Sally appreciated being recognized last week for her work behind the scenes but asked that we also recognize the efforts of Judy Atwell and Miko Krisvoy.

Club members that deserve special recognition for Service Above Self: Today I want to recognize a fellow Rotarian who hates to be recognized, but she is so cute when she is embarrassed. Miko Krisvoy has for years shepherded our Top 100 banquets. She sets it up with the schools, she gets the volunteers she needs from the club, and she admonished your president a few weeks ago, saying: “You are going to be there, right? And you will say some things that recognize the parents too, because of all their hard work with their kids.” So what could I do, I showed up. Miko exemplifies Service Above Self! Thank you Miko!

Our recognition masters for today always has a pleasant smile and kind words for those she meets. But understand, she is a financial planner. She plots and schemes every day how to get your money. So, as our Finemaster today, she is well prepared to extract the maximum from each of you! Hang on to your wallets, folks, I give you your Finemaster for the day, Dawn Bowman. Dawn recognized Randy McFarland and Carl Camp for their birthday’s this week. Joe Lins self-fined in recognition of his son’s graduation from medical school; Mike Cochran self-fined $50 for he and Gail’s 45th wedding anniversary; Ken Kaisch self-find for $10 in recognition of his 10-year union with his partner, Susan; Faisal Qazi self-fined $10 in recognition of his Laker tickets for tonight’s game, which he and his son will be attending; Sueling Chen self-fined on behalf of her students who will be graduating next week and for all of their efforts having to be schooled during COVID; and Dawn paid Dan Ouweleen fine as he was able to answer a Rotary International trivia question.

For our program today, we were honored to have our Assemblywoman, Sharon Quirk-Silva speak. Sharon brought us up to date on the many projects she has been working on over her nearly 7 years as an Assemblywoman representing areas of Fullerton, Buena Park, La Palma, Cypress, and Anaheim. Working with her various committees they were instrumental in getting our theme parks opened earlier than expected. Our local theme parks employ over 20 thousand workers and bring tourist dollars to many local restaurants, hotels, conventions. She continues to work on behalf of our music and theater centers, charity events, and water parks so that they can be back up and running as well. She also continues to work on the homeless situation to include working with the Illumination Foundation of Anaheim that provides housing and recuperative care for those with addictions and mental health issues. Housing continues to be an issue in O.C. where it is very difficult for young families to afford homes due to the housing shortage and cost of lumber. She is working on a program to clear California’s forests with the hopes that the California lumber industry can increase the supply of lumber locally. Currently, California is importing most of the lumber from neighboring states. Bring Sacramento Home is a program that brings our tax dollars back to her district. The Boys and Girls Club and the Hunts Library were recent recipients of grants and she continues to advocate for her share of the funds for her district.

President Kaisch thanked our speaker and brought the meeting to a close. I have several quotes to close our meeting today: “The glue that holds all relationships together -including the relationship between the leader and the led, is trust, and trust is based on integrity. Canadian motivational speaker, Brian Tracey; “Every kind of peaceful cooperation among men is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondarily on institutions such as courts of justice and police. Albert Einstein: Trust your heart if the seas catch fire, live by love though the stars walk backward. e. e. Cummings. With that, my friends, “Go out and be good people and great Rotarians!” The meeting is adjourned.