Escondido Sunrise Rotary; “PTSD Foundation of America; Caring for our Warriors”…October 3, 2019
President Brian led the meeting…
Past President George Beitner led the pledge to our nation’s flag…
Father Bill Dopp offered an invocation…
Visitors and Guests:
Visiting from the Escondido Club was Bill Smith; Welcome Bill!
A guest of Past President Tony Criss was Skip Nicodemus… Welcome Skip!!
Birthdays:
No Birthdays this week
Anniversaries:
Past President Mike and Cathy O’Malley, 31 years… Congratulations!! Cathy, you are truly a saint!!
Rotary Anniversaries:
Past President Barry Baker, 40 years… Congratulations on your many years of Rotary Service Barry… The question was raised as to what Club Barry was in before Escondido West/Sunrise, since we won’t celebrate our 40th anniversary as a club until February 2020…
Dates to Remember:
October 12: Grape Day 5K Event and Community gathering at Grape Day Park…
THIS SATURDAY IS THE DAY!! BE READY TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY AND HAVE A GREAT TIME!!
October 26: San Felipe Rotary Club; Dedication of new Hospice Center Sponsored by the Rotary Foundation
RB Rotary’s Beer Fest is coming up on Oct 26th at Webb Park: Tickets are available online at www.rbfest.com.
November 23: Tijuana House Build; with Project Mercy, this is a project that really brings a great benefit to a family in one day… The Saturday project will begin with car-pooling from Cocina early in the AM…
January 11: A Saturday Night with the San Diego Gulls; tix are $80 for the on-ice suite… Get your tix from Past President Rich Aeling
Rotarians Having Fun and Rotary Events:
Past President Rich Aeling shared information about upcoming international service projects… In including the Tijuana House Build jointly with the After 5 Rotary Club and a goal of building three houses in a single day…
Past President Rich also spoke about our special needs for club leadership, showing the upcoming Rotary International Convention venues… Hopefully to attract the interest of members that have not served yet as President…
Maybe it will be the 2021 RI Convention in Taipei, Taiwan…
Or, maybe the 2022 RI Convention in the great city of Houston Texas…
Some hints were dropped specifically for fine members like Richard Agnew and Tina Pope…
Escondido Sunrise has not needed for someone to serve twice as President… A wonderful tradition to continue forward…
President Brian also shared a letter of thanks from the San Pasqual Academy for our support for the ‘Shop til you Drop’ program to benefit the aging out foster youth…
Past President Alan Miller shared information about the District 5340 Middle School Leadership Program, ‘LEED’ and the need for some Rotarians to attend the camp and spend one night with the LEED students… See Alan for details on the October 19-20 event…
Past President George Beitner shared the Grape Day 5K donor acknowledgement banner… Giving members the final chance to make corrections or additions…
Hi Fives and Announcements:
Past President Jim Ponder shared a few details of his recent trek to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro… He completed his African trip with a safari and brought an artifact for President Brian…
Grape Day 5K Update:
The big event is this Saturday… Be ready to help in anyway possible to ensure success for this great community effort…
Fundraising total to date is $67,800 plus an additional $15,000 grant… Participants are still needed…
Program:
SGT Major Brian Fogarty, USMC Retired was our guest speaker, talking to us about Post Traumatic Stress so prevalent among our combat veterans… Brian served in a variety of billets in the Marine Corps including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan… Brian represents the PTSD Foundation of America, working with combat veterans in San Diego and Riverside counties.
SGT Major Brian Fogarty addressing Escondido Sunrise members…
Brian spoke about the impact combat has on an individual’s life perspective. The In addition to the possibility of major injuries, there is the impact on one’s psyche and outlook on life. Often though, returning warriors find themselves more and more isolated from the ‘normalcy of life… Even after returning from a combat theater, while still on active duty, he struggled with the transition from combat and began self-medicating with alcohol. Ultimately, the realization that his problem was also impacting his Marines, caused him to make the drastic change and to face his problem…
The PTSD Foundation supports our returning warriors with support groups. These ‘Warrior’ groups enable veterans struggling with PTSD to be able to share with those that understand. One of the significant issues for returning veterans is being able to share their challenges with those who understand what they are experiencing.
ln addition to the ‘Warrior’ groups, services include one-to-one peer counseling and other similar support measures. Camp Hope is located in Houston and provides opportunity for the veterans to spend time away from the challenges of life in a supportive, healing atmosphere…
The PTSD Foundation of America can be supported by donations through the website, PTUSA.org…
SGT Major Brian Fogarty pictured with President Brian Murphy…
Next Week’s Program:
Escondido Education Foundation…
OpportunityDrawing:
Grand Prize: $180… Visiting Rotarian Bill Smith had the lucky chance to draw the Joker… Sorry Bill, no luck; glad you joined us this week, and left the pot for the next lucky Rotarian…
Lunch Money: $27… Past President Tony Criss was awake to hear is ticket called… Way to stay with us Tony…
