Meeting was called to order by club president Jim Ripley, “fun fact. Did you know that the majority of archaeologists are women? It’s due to their natural ability to dig up the past.” This joke was all in good fun and reminded everyone in attendance that he receives all kinds of input from fellow members to include jokes. He shared some of the jokes that he’s been getting from fellow Rotarians. “Please do not shoot the messenger,” he warned. “I too was once a male trapped in a female body. But then my mother gave birth.” This joke received a good response. “When I lost the fingers on my right hand in a freak accident, I asked the doctor if I would still be able to write with it. He said, ‘probably, but I wouldn’t count on it.’”

Update on the CIA awards, we are closer to our goal of $20,000 currently sitting on $15,700. “So, we get the extra 10 grand from the Orange County General Foundation.”

For our Commencements Ceremonies, Terri Grassi gave us our Invocation leading us in prayer. “May today, there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born in faith. May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let his presence settle into your bones and allow your soul to freedom and sing and praise and love. Amen!”

Dr. Thad Sandford gave us our Patriotic Moment. He reminded us of the atrocities going on in the Gaza Strip, and that now is a good time to remember and reflect on the difference between the countries and what they stand for. “Some people forget what makes the United States unique. It is unique among the nations because it is founded on the idea and not due to a dictatorship, not due to a religion. But rather because we establish fundamental principles by which people live.” Dr. Sandford led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Today’s announcement, Frank Kawase shared with the club that his wife had cancer of the pancreas recently, and fortunately the doctors were able to remove half of her pancreas. She is currently in recovery, “it’s a very long recovery process. But with your thoughts and prayers, she will be alright. She has great support.” He also shared that his son had a baby girl, so that makes him a great grandfather. Congratulations are in order to Frank Kawase!

Dan Ouweleen shared that he is on this year’s Rose Parade committee. He will be sending out an email with all the information. “If you are interested in being a decorator or you know someone that’s 14 years or older that wants to decorate the float. This is a great opportunity and a great experience.” Last year’s float won first place, and anyone interested in participating, please email Dan with all your questions.

Matt Howells went up and thanked everyone involved with Tara’s Chance from the Fullerton Rotary Club. Tara’s Chance means a lot to Matt, and it meant a lot to him for all the generous donations from club members. “I’ve been really honored to build so many friendships with all you guys over the last few years.”

Today’s guests include, Angel Mendez, guest of President Ripley. Angel joined his firm back in June and is on the Certified Financial Planning track and is a graduate from Cal State Fullerton. Kate Gregory, guest of President Ripley. Nancy Wimer, guest and wife of Warren Wimer. Dave Little, guest of Travis McShane.

Our Program at Hand was introduced by President Ripley, “she’s been a great resource for us in our firm. Without any further ado, please welcome Dr. Mira Farka.” Dr. Farka is a professor of Economics and Co-Director for the Woods Center for Economic Analysis and Forecasting at CSUF. She is a sought-after keynote speaker and is frequently invited to discuss economic and financial issues by various business, government, and educational organizations. Dr. Farka holds a B.A. in economics from Fresno State and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University. Prior to joining Cal State Fullerton, she worked as a senior economist for Deutsche Bank. She was listed as one of OC’s 500 most influential people in 2022. Her presentation was an outlook about where she sees the economy going over the next year or so.

Dr. Farka thanked everyone for having her. “Here is the big question: where is that promised recession?” She is referring to the recession that was promised a year and a half ago by the economist from the Wall Street Journal, “more than 60% predicted that were going to have a recession for over a year now, right?” She calls this great news but the fact that the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, the worry is that we may fall into a recession. She compared interests’ rates from the last 40 years and noticed the last interest rate decrease was in 2003 but now with the economy the way it is, the GP has gone up by 2.3% since March of last year, and that has added 5.8 million jobs to the economy. “The demographic growth and unemployment rate has gone up very little, only 3.8 %.” She calls all of this very good news, because this brings hopes that perhaps the economy may be able to avoid a recession and bring us out of inflation without killing the growth. If we do go into recession, she calls it a normal garden variety type of recession, nothing super crazy. “I call us kind of reluctantly bearish. Reluctant because we hope we’re wrong and it’s a high possibility and we will still be wrong and bearish because again, it will be hard for the economy to avoid a recession again. It’s not imminent.” Looking through all of the data available, economist found that government support has kept the economy resilient. Support like the Cares Acts, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Chips Act have added a total of $2.5 trillion over the last year and a half, “the problem is that that’s not real sustainable growth.” She also talked about the US labor force saying labor demand is still high, but the labor supply has kind of tapped out in a way. Labor wages will normalize over the next year and a half, which means that it will put more pressure on inflation. Over the next year, she predicts that the recession may come towards the end of next year, considering everything falls into place. She wrapped up her presentation by taking questions from the audience.

President Ripley thanked Professor Farka for her presentation, and presented her with a certificate in her name to Working Dogs 4 Warriors, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping our Nation’s Warriors by training and donating service dogs to Veterans and First Responders.

Last thing on the agenda was the 50/50 drawing. Lucky ticket number 4396 wins the money. Next week’s program will have Tim Shaw, Chair of the Board of the OC Board of Education. So, invite a friend, please hit that like button and subscribe. With that, I call this meeting adjourned.”