TODAY
RACHAEL GUSTUSON, the new editor of the Redlands Community News will speak about her background in newspaper and her vision for the paper moving forward. Her roots are from Beaumont and her reporter instincts were founded at the Yucaipa News Mirror. She progressed to lead reporter and ultimately editor. Under the paper’s ownership change, RACHAEL was retained as editor for the News Mirror and was also promoted to the job as editor of the Redlands Community News. Let’s get to know her! Bring your questions and let’s be sure to give RACHAEL a warm, hearty Rotary welcome.
LAST WEEK
DIANE SHIMOTA, adult literacy coordinator for the Redlands adult literacy program and RENEE KENNEDY, assistant coordinator, gave us an excellent program on adult and family literacy. The mission is to provide Free professional and confidential tutoring in reading and writing to help learners in the Redlands community reach their literacy goals. All tutors are volunteers. The learner comes to the program for a variety of reasons. Some desire to make a change to read to their children. Some find motivation when their child starts to read in school. Maybe their child is doing poorly in school, or issues crop up at work and they chose to make a change. California literacy programs exist at 633 sites in 104 libraries. Some interesting statistics and notes:
- 28% of California adults, 8.5 million, read at or below 2nd grade level.
- Lack of literacy is linked to poor health, low wages, and incarceration.
- Every dollar invested in adult literacy programs yields $7 in return.
- Adult literacy in Redlands, 20% lack high school diploma or equivalent
A brilliant success story is that of CRYSTAL MORENO. She had a dream to become a math teacher for special needs children. With the help of the literacy program, CRYSTAL passed her English class, graduated from Valley Community College, then graduated from CSUSB, and is now enrolled in a Master’s program. Congratulations to the commitment and team work to help successes and dreams to thrive.
NEXT WEEK
Don’t miss it! Always informative and filled with important updates from Redlands Police Chief RACHEL TOLBER will be the order of the day.
MEETING MUSINGS
I hear our song maestro, BRIAN COCKERILL, has missed his calling!! His rendition of “Cheese Burger in Paradise” was first rate. Oh the lyrics and the “wonderful dreams” of a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat. Sounds like a lunch fit for a Rotarian! President THOMAS lowered his, Happy Dollars to $20 and still couldn’t get any new takers. WOLFGANG HALL gave $20 for his son. Our speaker DIANE SHIMOTA gave $20 because she believes in Rotary. Is she a possible new member waiting to be asked? The big dollars came from past-President TINCHER, $100 for his picture of being a Chamber member for 5 years, which he couldn’t remember why the picture was taken, and another $100 for a travel permit for an upcoming cruise. What other Rotarians may be on that cruise?
Congratulations to our new YMCA CEO, BRANDI COLLATO, for being our first new Rotary member to be inducted this year. She brings our average age way down!!
Let’s welcome our student reps back this week! We missed them last week due to school being canceled because of the smoke from our local fires. We sure would not want our students to exert themselves sitting in Air-Conditioned classrooms. Haha. Everybody’s gone soft nowadays. Most of us do not remember having air conditioning in classrooms… ever.
Get Your Early Bird Tickets! District 5330 Foundation Dinner – You won’t want to miss this evening of enchantment and philanthropy. Saturday, November 2 at March Field Air Museum. This evening is not just a celebration; it’s a tribute to the spirit of giving that defines The Rotary Foundation. Expect an evening filled with inspiring speeches, captivating entertainment by the Killer Dueling Pianos, and an atmosphere of magic and heroism. See CAL BOOTHBY.
In October we will be starting a weekly 50 / 50 card game with all proceeds going to the Foundation. It will be an ongoing card game weekly until a speaker draws the Joker card out of the shuffled deck. Tickets will be $1 for one ticket, $5 for 7 tickets, and $20 for 30 Tickets.
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
Who knew that becoming the Rotary President meant becoming a pro at balancing Rotary commitments, work, family life, and the occasional search for five minutes to shoot some photos. I’m starting to think I may need another Rotary wheel just to keep things going and spinning! If anyone has tips on cloning yourself, let me know! But in all seriousness, this has been an amazing, incredible journey so far, both being inspiring and chaotic in the best way. I couldn’t do it without all of you keeping things running smoothly, even when I’m convinced there’s a meeting I forgot about. Thanks for the reminder that it was time to start the speakers and stick to the timeline. Wonder how everything will go once the students start coming and mixing in the birthday quiz. Let’s keep that Rotary wheel turning, and who knows, maybe we’ll find time to squeeze in a nap!
Editor – Lynn Whitmer – Edition No.10 – September 19, 2024