Steve Bender, President Joan, DGND Tony Villanueva, and Alan Lapolice reinforce Rotary's commitment to environmental sustainability by holding up marble-sized replicas of the Earth. President Joan also is holding a pound of coffee which will be given to future 2.0 Rotary Reef donors.
a glimpse of our rotary reef
Steve Bender visited San Mateo Rotary on January 16th to share progress on the Rotary Reef Project in Panama's Bocas del Toro. Confronted by the disappearance of sea coral, Bender and the Rotary Club of Newport Beach developed a project of "seeding" coral on artificial 6' diameter cement Rotary Wheels.
The Rotary Club of San Mateo donated funds for a Rotary Reef several years ago, and Bender showed a video of our reef now placed in the bottom of the Caribbean. Click on the link below to see Bender's presentation, including the glimpse of our reef.
The service work in Bocas del Toro includes not only restoring coral reefs, but also planting trees to provide shelter and food for macaws, working with local fisherman to avoid overfishing, and providing dental services, especially for children.
Bender invited San Mateo Rotarians to visit the Bocas del Toro site on a special Rotary expedition coming up in May. Stay tuned for details.
As Inauguration Day approaches, DGND Tony shared fascinating facts and events from past Inaugurations. Did you know only one woman, Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes, has administered the Oath of Office? Was Andrew Johnson so inebriated he slurred his way through the Oath? Tickets to the first Inaugural Ball in honor of James Madison cost $4/person. Do you know what tickets will cost to Monday evening's Inaugural Balls? You can find the answers by clicking on the link below.
Tony also shared a Red, White & Blue joke: One Boy Scout asked another Scout: "What's red, white & blue all over?" The other Scout replied, "Our flag, of course." "Nope,"responded the quizzing Scout. "Its a sad candy cane!"
Bernie Mellott announced she will soon be making a new volunteer list for assisting with Samaritan House dinner service. If you don't want to do this anymore, please let her know so she can remove you from the list. Thank you.
Steve Bender announced the launch of Rotary Reefs 2.0. Because so much has been learned from the initial installation of Rotary Reefs, the team is ready to begin a new approach and link together smaller Rotary wheels into a network (pictured above). This provides more shelter and protection for fish and other sea creatures who are part of the coral ecosystem.
