Escondido Sunrise Rotary; Meeting to Serve our Community via Zoom; and “Escondido Creek Conservancy and the Park within the Park”…May 13, 2021
As we all try to conduct our professional pursuits in new ways, it’s appropriate to remind ourselves of who we are as a Serving Organization… Our accomplishments, our fellowship and the reminder of our many successes is valuable as we await the time we can gather together again…
President Chris opened the meeting… But, without his Presidential Bell…
So, Past President Jack Anderson “rang in” the start of the meeting with a school bell belonging to his bride, Judi…
Although the Presidential Bell is still missing, President Chris has searched far and wide for the missing brass carillon…
Even as far as Tampa Florida where his detective efforts led to a missing bell that is 116 years old… Sadly, that was not a path to finding the Escondido Sunrise ‘ding dong’ symbol of Presidential leadership..
But, wait a minute, Rotary Friends…
The President’s bell has been returned… Past President George Beitner rescued the prized bell… And with that heroic act, was allowed to share some riddles with Club members… They were memorable!!
President Chris is holding the brass gem, and swears it will not leave his side until he turns it over to President Richard Agnew…
Poor Susie, replaced by the Rotary Bell as Chris’ nearest and dearest keepsake…
And, with our Presidential Bell finally returned… We had a service and fun-filled great Sunrise Rotary Zoom meeting…
President Elect Richard Agnew led our salute to our Nation’s Flag…
An invocation was offered by Past President, Kelly Mayberry…
Guests and Visitors:
None this week…
Now, some Sunrise Rotary member milestones…
Birthdays:
May 16: Past President Kelly Mayberry
16: Bob Witte
19: Floyd Farley
Anniversaries:
May 19: Brad and Kristine Allaband… Congratulations!
Rotary Anniversaries:
Bob Portillo; May 12, 2016
Past President, Alan Miller; May 15, 1997
Past President, Scott Putnicki; May 15, 1997
Glad to be serving with the three of you for 53 years of combined Sunrise Rotary Service to the community!
Rotarians Having Fun and Serving…
All kinds of fun and service these two weeks… Pictures are worth a thousand words…
Rotarian of the Month Award Presented…
Past President, Jack Anderson was presented his Rotarian of the Month Award for May… He and President Chris completed a meeting ‘make up’ at Cocina del Charro… Seems the bar is a convivial place for a Sunrise Rotary meeting…
Catchin’ Some Trout in the Sierras…
Past President, George Beitner enjoyed a breezy day at Walker Lake… If he had longer arms, the fish would appear much larger… Nice catch George!!
Sunrise Rotarians Serving, and Announcements:
Mark you Calendars…
Note some service opportunities coming up…
Support for Neighborhood Health Vaccination Clinics…
President Elect-Elect, Tina Pope reported on the continuing need for volunteer support throughout May and June at Vaccine Clinics conducted by Neighborhood Health. An email was sent to all members with available dates…
District Governor Dinner on June 28...
President Chris and President Elect, Richard will attend and rake in the Sunrise Rotary Awards...
High Fives:
Dinner Out…
Past President, Brian Murphy crawled out of his Irish Covid Cocoon and treated his bride, Nancy to dinner at Cocina del Charro… The report says “Great Margaritas”!!…
A Rotary Keepsake…
Past President, Mark Hoekstra displayed a keepsake he received from the office of Ted Gildred… Ted had served as Ambassador to Argentina, and the Argentinian Consul presented this Rotary Platter to Ted. Mark had seen it in Ted’s office and admired it…
Mark will proudly display it in his ‘Man Cave’…
Program:
Escondido Creek Conservancy Executive Director, Ann Van Leer, Speaking About Grape Day Park and the Plan to Created a River Oriented Recreation Area; or, ‘A Park within the Park’…
Past President, Dave Herbert, introduced Ann. He elaborated on her background in a number of settings working with conservation efforts and reclaiming areas for recreation and community use.
Ann Van Leer, speaking to Sunrise Rotarians…
Ann spoke about the Escondido Creek Conservancy, and its mission and goals as a local conservation group.
She spoke about grants that have been obtained to plan for the ‘restoration’ of Escondido Creek, through Grape Day Park, to enhance its value for open space, community enjoyment and economic growth in the downtown area.
The planning that has begun, is preliminary and will prepare the project for a through environmental assessment. Within the planning process, in addition to land use, there is an economic assessment recognizing the cost of the project along with potential revenue from the economic resurgence that can come about in the immediate area because of the project.
Ann showed graphic plans of the manner in which flood waters, currently controlled within the concrete channel, will be safely managed within the open space area of the park. Storm drain collection and management with underground tanks that catches and gradually releases storm water fulfill the engineering requirements of a plan to ‘re-naturalize’ the creek.
Ann displayed similar projects in other communities around the country that have improved on water flow issues within urban creeks, resulting in new uses that draw people and generate revenue through commercial enterprises that become part of the river area.
Ann discussed some of the preliminary economic development issues that might take place, including upgrades to the Civic Center Plaza shopping area (west of the park across Escondido Blvd.)…
One of the major challenges will be to replace the parking currently used by California Center for the Arts; an area that will become urban open space. Preliminary plans show parking structures downtown, sought of West Valley Parkway, and joint use of the parking at the Civic Center Plaza, considering that much of the CCAE parking demand is after peak parking needs for shoppers at the Plaza.
Next Week’s Meeting:
Claudine Van Gonna from the San Diego Blood Bank will speak to us…
Thanks for Attending Today’s Meeting…
Support for our Escondido Community …
Our great community and the success of its businesses is all of our responsibilities… Support the businesses that are doing all they can to survive during this challenging time… Take out some chow… Be ready to support them when the economy begins working again…
The ‘Giving Arch’ on Grand Avenue and Centre City Parkway reminds us that Escondido is a caring, giving community…
To all; be safe and be well…. God Bless those men and women that carry the load at our medical facilities, and God Bless the first responders… May our governmental leaders be wise, thoughtful and smart as this pandemic is overtaken by our hard work and collective support…
Online Meetings:
Technical Support for Online Meetings:
Our on-line meetings continue to be technically managed by President Elect Richard Agnew… Thanks for that Richard… And, Richard is prepared to support all of our attempts at joining the on-line meetings… Look for his email with details and links to log on to the upcoming Zoom meetings…
Watch for emails defining the next online meeting. The system works fine, dependent upon your technical support available through your PC or laptop…
SEE YOU SOON… ON LINE OR IN PERSON….. Next meeting; Thursday May 20; 7:30 AM… Check President Chris’ or President Elect, Richard Agnew’s email for the Zoom Link…
