RECSDG
Zoom; July 8, 2020; 6:11pm
Present: Carmen Diaz, Claudia Torres, Janet Mikelson, Benjamin Kettor, Marian Pavlovich Sargeant, Amy Vegter, Maureen Duncan
Meeting began with brief recaps of proposed Guatemala and Ecuador District Grants. Maureen and Marian had a call earlier in the week with Jessica from CEFAS in Ecuador, and she gave a recap of our discussion. In short, medical emergency supplies are needed to help the indigenous communities of Morona Santiago and the grant will help assist with this. Guatemala grant is set to help a cohort of students that need the assistance more than ever as well. Maureen will provide a written report for all of the club to review and we will finalize on the amounts for each respective grant.
Amy presented an overview of our current finances and indicated that she will be sending a report for all of us to review- good news is that all of our accounting is on track, and we will have a better idea of where funds are and have been spent. The group agreed that as we allocate funds to new potential projects the need for fundraisers is ever more important, and we will need to work together to bring this plan into action.
Claudia gave the group a nice summary of her experience as a virtual attendee of the RI Conference. She highlighted that she participated in fellowship group discussions and discovered that RI facilitates fellowships in many different areas. One of her focus group discussions led her in making a close connection to a Rotarian that manages the Rose Parade. She received a warm invite and encouraged the club to look at potential fellowship opportunities. She also presented the club a quick presentation of ideas on where to place our club Peace Pole. The powerpoint showcased 4 different areas (2 in Tijuana; 2 in San Diego) she will do more research and investigate logistics/requirements for each to see where we will place the pole. Great plan is in the works!
Past President, Carmen, gave a quick update on the status of Fernando’s membership. She indicated that he will no longer continue his membership due to current circumstances. She also reminded us of a few birthdays, Janet, Ben, Maxie, Amy, David B. (June and July babies- HAPPY Belated BIRTHDAYS!)
Janet, shared with us that she checked references for our newest candidate. All were positive and we are all happy to have him participate at our next meeting and meet him. She will reach out to him to remind him of our upcoming meeting in 2 weeks time.
Ben mentioned the importance of recognition and noted the example of our most current project in Honduras. Not only did he emphasize the importance of spreading awareness of these great projects to our local rotarians, but also to global communities, especially those impacted. We mentioned the idea of plaques, and visible recognition of RI and our club. This also brought up the idea of putting together a short video to share with new members, illustrating all of our involvements up untill now. Marian will work on putting together a short video.
NEXT MEETING JULY 22nd at 6pm via Zoom: Meeting ID- ucsdphd and code 8586179998
