Our guests today included today’s
MORAGA
ROTARY
NEWSLETTER
March 30, 2021
_________________________________
Next Meeting: Tuesday, April
6th at Noon
Program: The Mayor and Vice
Mayor of Moraga
Greeter: John Erickson
____________________________
To participate next week:
Zoom connection information for next week’s
meeting will be distributed early next week.
Upcoming Speakers:
- April 20 – Albert Garcia, Moraga
Library
~~Thirty-eventh Meeting of
’20/’21
President Brian South rang the
Moraga Rotary bell to open the meeting
and today’s greeter, Herb Wehmeyer
told us, “Ships don’t sink because of the
water around them. They sink because
of the water inside. Cares are like water
– don’t let them overwhelm you.” Then
Herb read a short prayer and led us in
the Pledge of Allegiance.
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speaker, Callie Somerville; Jack
Cortis and Kim Overaa who joined us
to talk about the Family Harvest Farm
project; Mary Caburi and Lillian
Roodveldt.
~~COMMUNITY~~
President Brian South called on Jack
Cortis to talk about the Family Harvest
Farm. Jack is a master gardener and
board member of John Muir Land Trust
which is the parent organization of the
farm. Jack wanted to demonstrate how
unused land can be made productive
and transitional-aged foster youth, 18 to
24 years, can learn about farming,
nutrition, work and life skills while
nurturing the environment. He and
fellow master gardener, Kim Overaa
gave us a video tour of the project which
occupies 17 acres of land donated by
PG&E in Pittsburg. They have 11
“apprentices” (aged out foster kids)
working the land. An apprenticeship
lasts three full years and the “kids” come
from Pittsburg, Antioch, Concord and
Martinez.
The farm has a greenhouse which is
fully occupied, and fields of peas,
cabbage, cauliflower and a pumpkin
patch. When electricity is available, they
will have daily lunch at the site for the
staff and apprentices from Tuesday thru
Friday. Jack acknowledged donations
from many East Bay Rotary Clubs.
There’s an open house coming up at
the site April 10th from 10 am to noon
with tours of the facility. All are invited.
The site is located on a flat plot of land
off Power Avenue near Highway 4.
Check the website for directions at the
link below:
Family Harvest Farm | John Muir Land Trust
(jmlt.org)
No-till farming minimizes soil disturbance,
which keeps organic material in the soil while
enriching biodiversity and reducing the need
for greenhouse emitting chemical fertilizers.
Photo: Adam Weidenbach
A list of the Farm needs
~~HAPPY BUCKS~~
Gary Irwin gave two High Five $5’s One
because he received his grandfather’s
watch. (His grandfather brought the
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watch from the California gold fields to
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania long ago.) And
because Gary recently got an Eagle
(two strokes under par) on a Par 5. An
Eagle is a rare occurrence.
Evie Michon gave a High Five $5
Happy Bucks to celebrate her niece,
Emily completing her Eagle Scout award
in BSA in Connecticut. (We seem to
have an “Eagle” theme this week.)
Lad Lynch contributed a High Five $5
because “UCLA is still winning, although
that may be coming to an end…”
Debbie Koo gave a High Five $5
because she has electricity after two
weeks.
Evie Michon mentioned that laminating
your vaccination certificate with a heat-
sealing unit will turn them black. She
says, “Use a zip-lock bag or a plastic
cover like you would use for a fishing
license.” Contact Evie for more info if
you would like.
~ANNIVERSARIES & BIRTHDAYS~
…There were no birthdays or
anniversaries this week.
~~TRIPS~~
President Brian wanted to know if
anyone has taken any trips… As we get
vaccinated, we will probably be moving
around the country more:
Rich Render reported that his daughter
and a friend were “home for Christmas”
this past week. Rich and Peg have kept
the Christmas tree up since December.
All are now vaccinated, and it was a fun
time opening presents. Now after 4 ½
months the tree came down. Rich says
they are planning a trip to Maui the last
two weeks of April. Hawaii is very strict
on Covid procedures. In order to travel
you have to show a negative Covid-19
test less than 72 hours before you board
the flight. So you’ve got to find a test site
that can give you the test and get the
results to you in less than 72 hours.
President Brian said the family had
been to San Diego to visit his sister-in-
law for a couple of days. All were
vaccinated. Brian gave $10 in Happy
Bucks for the trip.
~~FINE-FREE HAT~~
The fine-free hat for April was put up for
bid. Dianne Wilson started the bidding
at $25. Gary Irwin immediately jumped
in with $30. Dianne came back in with a
bid of $35 and then Ron Mucovich bid
$40. John Erickson bid of $45 and took
the Hat.
~~ANNOUNCEMENTS~~
President Brian reminded us that we
have our final Dinner With Rotary on
Thursday, April 22nd. The website is up
with a link for reservations at:
Moraga Rotary (moragarotaryfundraiser.com)
Or there is a link on our Moraga Rotary
Club home page. Dinner pickup times
are 5, 5:30, 6 and 6:30 pm. The last day
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to order is April 20. This is a delicious
lasagna dinner from La Finestra
Restaurant in Moraga.
Chef/Owner/Moraga Rotarian – Jeff
Assadi always turns out a delicious and
generous meal. Please be sure to let
your friends know about this opportunity!
Rotary District 5160 is having a Photo
Contest with winners being announced
at the District Conference April 30th
through May 2nd. The deadline for
entries is April 18th. For details, please
see page #8 of this newsletter.
Rich Render has the club lined up with
an eWaste event on Saturday, May 15th.
There will be more details as we get
closer to that date.
MarySue Erickson informed us that
Ann Damaschino had a hip
replacement recently. Ouch! We wish
Ann and hubby, Doug the best. Get well
soon Ann!
Herb Wehmeyer is seeking Greeters for
our zoom meetings in May. The dates
are wide open so please email Herb at
oherbw@att.net to sign up.
Gary Irwin updated the college
basketball bracketology as of
Wednesday, March 31 -
“Here are the scores through the elite 8,
and the possibilities for future points:
1st Ron 58, possible 5 more
2nd Brian 56, possible 11 more
Tied for 3rd Gary 54, possible 16 more
and Angelo 54, possible 11 more
5th John 52, possible 11 more
6th Frank 44, possible 16 more
Final Four games begin Saturday at
2:15 on CBS to determine which two
teams play for the Championship on
Monday evening.”

~~WHAT’S IN THE BOX~~

Is postponed to next week.

~~PROGRAM~~
Debbie Roessler introduced today’s
speaker, Donna Somerville. Donna is a
celebrity with 2 Emmy Award
nominations to her credit. She has
produced reality television shows in
Philadelphia, Minnesota, Boston and
New York. In 1993 she moved to the
West Coast. During maternity leave she
saw something that broke her heart and
decided to do something about it. She
saw a young mother of five moving from
homelessness into an apartment thanks
to a new job. But the family had no
furniture, no beds, no pots and pans, no
table, no chairs, nothing. They were
sleeping on the floor. Donna emailed 20
friends and asked them to help. In four
days, they had enough home making
materials to supply the family.
Donna decided to scale that effort up.
With her new organization called
“Grateful Gatherings” they’ve now
served 52 families and have 7 chapters.
Each chapter serves four families per
year. The Moraga chapter is led by
Rachel Wallen. The organization is
called “Grateful Gathering.”
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They are a 501(c)(3) organization.
Just go to their website – link below:
https://gratefulgatherings.org/
Decide which chapter suits you the best,
gather useful household items which are
working and in good shape; or donate
cash.
Contact the chapter for collection of your
items or to send a check. Grateful
Gatherings is looking for someone who
might want to start a chapter in the San
Jose area. If you should happen to know
someone who wants to spearhead such
a group, please let Donna know. By the
way, the Moraga Chapter lead, Rachel
Wallen’s phone number is 916 765-
8991.
The organization buys new beds and
mattresses for each family member. It is
important to have a good sleeping
situation. Each family they undertake to
furnish has shown to a sponsor
organization” that they have the ability to
make the home work financially and
their intentions are sound.

~~ ENCORE GAME~~
Each week we end the meeting with this
game. The goal is to guess the suit of a
single ace drawn from four aces.
Today’s potential prize was $50. The
member drawn for a chance to win was
Barbara Bruner who guessed the Ace
of Diamonds. And that was the winning
card! Barbara won the $50 prize.
Next week’s prize will again start to build
from $10. You must be present to take
part – so join us next week!

Greeters/Invocators:
• 4/06 – John Erickson
• 4/13 – MarySue Erickson
• 4/20 – Lad Lynch
• 4/27 – Barbara Bruner
• 5/04 – Open
• 5/11 – Open
• 5/18 – Open
• 5/25 - Open

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Moraga Rotary Directors 2020/2021
President Brian South
President Elect Brian South
Past Co-Presidents Evie Michon & Debbie Koo
Executive Secretary Evie Michon
Secretary Jennifer Brophy
Treasurer and Youth Services Chair Rich Render
Club Administrator Debbie Roessler
Foundation Chairman John Erickson
Community Service Chairman Tony Schoemehl
Public Relations Chairman Gary Irwin
Fundraising Chairman Frank May
International Service Chairs Dianne Wilson & Debbie Koo
Membership Chairman Roger Gregory
Director at Large Mary Sue Erickson
Director at Large Linda May
Advisor to the Board John Erickson
Advisor to the Board Jim Campbell
Advisor to the Board Cliff Dochterman
District Governor 5160 Mark Roberts
President, Rotary International Holger Knaack

This month’s Newsletter Editor – The Rajah Gregory

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Don't miss your opportunity to show the good work, service and fun your Rotary club continues to do during this crazy
year!

Photo contest winners will be announced at the upcoming District Conference April 30th-May 2nd.

Please contact Dany Gregory at danygregory1@att.net if you have any questions.

Deadline for entries is April 18th

Say "Cheese!"