It’s been an interesting few months at the club. We have had a flurry of new members and I want to welcome them all in as Rotarians. I look forward to watching all the great things they will be doing going forward.
A few things to mention: The Clergy panel was very successful and powerful and I wanted to thank Anna Sakvarelidze, Ron Supancic and Sandy Rosenholz for working so hard in making this a successful event. Special thanks goes out to Anna’s husband Julian who worked really hard in setting up and breaking down the room. My intent is to continue to grow the event and expand the participation.
Having Henry Oster a Holocaust survivors speak at our club for Holocaust Memorial Day was an honor and it is important that we continue to memorialize that horrific time in the worlds history. (see story and photos below)
As most of you know we are partnering with the Calabasas club this year for our Poker & Casino fundraiser on June 3rd at the Canyon Club in Agoura. We all like to do projects and many of us come to the club for funding of their projects and favorite causes. Needless to say the money does not grow on a Rotary Tree, we need to fund raise. Quite frankly, I have an expectation that every club member do their part in a way that they can. There are multiple ways for club members to help. Buy tickets and attend the event, buy tickets for friends and family, help sell tickets, buy sponsorships, donate auction items and help spread the word. This is the opportunity for each and every club member to be a giver. We are 5 weeks away from the event so let’s get to work! (see information below)
Yours in Rotary service,
Paul
Bringing Peace to Our Community
by Ron Supancic
"Somewhere within us all exists a supreme Self who is eternally at peace."
Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
At the April 17 Peace Committee meeting the Bill Eddy method of high conflict problem solving was revisited. There was discussion of the tactics, techniques, and steps that are necessary in separating people from the problem. It is best to focus on issues, minimizing conflict, stimulating conversation, and provoking solutions that end conflict.
Members of the Peace Committee are encouraged to share incidents, events, and opportunities for using the tools from their Peace Maker Tool Kit. The kit is being developed by the United States Institute of Peace coordination with the United Nations Mediation Support Unit and in collaboration with a number of other mediation institutes and experts. The toolkit will include a series of "best practices" on key aspects of mediation and peacemaking.
During Ramadan, between May 15 and June 15, there will be a dinner with the Muslim community. A Peace March will be held in West Hills on Valley Circle, from St. Bernadine’s Catholic Church to Temple Alia and ending at the mosque in Woodland Hills across the street from El Camino High School. The Peace March Committee will be meet at 6 p.m. on April 30 to discuss the event.
The club has 10 Buddy Benches ordered and three schools are confirmed. Seven additional schools to be confirmed. The process starts with locating decision makers the selected schools and sending a congratulatory letter to them. A meeting is scheduled with the decision-maker, faculty, and student council to talk about any objections or concerns. It is vital that we establish an installation date, which should be an event in which we invite the media so that the community is informed of Buddy Benches and their purpose.
Buddy Bench coordinators included Sheri with Pacific Boys Lodge, Jeff Stern with Reseda Elementary and Serrania Charter, and Ava Teherani with Willow Elementary and Lupin Hill Elementary and A.E. Wright Middle School. Other places being considered are Viewpoint, Fulbright Elementary, Woodland Hills Elementary West Valley Girls and Boys Club and New Directions for Youth.
The club's first Buddy Bench.
Casino Night Volunteers Are Needed
Auction prep - put together auction baskets and other items, make bid sheets, create master list of items for tracking and close out
Auction set up - On the day of the event, set up auction items and bid sheets at the venue
Auction monitoring and close out - Monitor auction tables through out the event, pick up bid sheets at the end of the auction, assist with collection of funds and delivery of auction items to successful bidders
Venue set up - One the day of the event, set up and decorate prior to the start of the event
Check in table - Check in guests and provide instruction/direction on the night of the event
Your name, email address, phone number and the area(s) you are available to help.
Please indicate if you will be able to help on the day of the event. Remember, if you are playing poker or casino games, you need to tell me that so we won't be counting on you to help during those hours.
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
Stories
In Remembrance of the Tragic Events of 9-11 Avideo of the special 9-11 club program captured the essence of what President Paul Gross and event 9-11 eye witness Mark Reiser shared that day.
Their comments was truly a tribute to all who were lost on that horrific day in 2001.
Christina, who shot and edited the video, said, “I was very moved again emotionally, recalling everything that happened that day over 16 years ago. I got to learn more about Louie and Lorraine, and Dennis Mojica, one of Mark's friends. And it led me on a journey that was unexpected.
I know their Spirits still soar here on Earth, next to you and Mark and their family and friends, all of us.
And by you creating this beautiful opportunity to remember them Paul and honor all those innocent lives that were murdered that day and all the first responders that are still here with us, helping us, protecting us, it is a priceless gift you are giving to all who see it.”
“If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
As part of the continuous training, a discussion was presented with regard to specific strategies in dealing with High Conflict Personalities (HCPs). We focused onSeven Keys to High Conflict Problem Solving:
Focus on the outcome.
The issue is always the personality disorder.
Learn to make proper questions with regard to concerns and priorities.
Teach HCPs how to focus and ask questions.
Always avoid criticizing any proposal.
Connect through empathy, attention, and respect.
Always consider their rights as proposals and learn to shift the climate from adversarial to supportive and collaborative.
When funded, the Buddy Bench program will be placing benches at the following places: Reseda Elementary, Woodland Hills Elementary, Serrania Elementary, St. Francis De Sales Elementary in Sherman Oaks, and the Pacific Boys Lodge in Woodland Hills.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, November 21, 2017 at 6 p.m. at Sheri's house.
Holocaust Survivor Henry Oster
At the April 11 meeting Henry Oster told his compelling, inspiring life story, battling prejudice and the politics of fear as a Holocaust survivor. As a young German boy he survived deprivation in the Lodz Ghetto, a life-or-death selection in the Birkenau extermination camp, a firing squad in Auschwitz, being strafed by an Allied fighter, and starvation in Buchenwald. Henry rebuilt his life in America, arriving at 18 with no family, no English, no money and no education. Of 2,011 Jews uprooted from Cologne, Germany in 1941, he is the only survivor. Henry was still working as a world-respected Professor of Optometry on his 89th birthday, helping the world to see.
Michael Turner ► editor ► bearsworth@earthlink.net
P.O. Box 144 ► Woodland Hills, CA 91365 ► (818) 344-5776