Escondido Sunrise Rotary; Meeting to Serve our Community in Person and via Zoom; and “The Drug Enforcement Administration; Fighting a Never-ending Battle”… March 3, 2022
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 seek new opportunities to serve…
We met again in person at the Chamber of Commerce… Great to enjoy the fellowship again and see all your smiling faces…
President Richard leading the meeting face-to-face…
As a Club, we honored our nation with a salute to our Flag led by Past President, Jeff Johnson…
And, an invocation was offered by Past President, Jack Anderson…
Guests and Visitors:
Ken Sharrar of John Paul the Great University was a guest of Past President, John Boyce…
Jack Poppy from the Escondido East Club was with us virtually…
Welcome Ken and Jack!!
Now, some Sunrise Rotary member milestones…
Birthdays:
March 3: Past President, Brian Murphy
3: Future President, Dave Luevanos
4: Past President, Mike O’Malley
Anniversaries:
March 3: Past President, Chris and Susie Miller… 32 Years! Congratulations and many happy years ahead…
Rotary Anniversaries:
March 5: Past President, Constance Larsen; 22 years
Congratulations Constance, It’s been fun serving and fellowshipping with you over the years… Pour yourself a Diet Coke to celebrate!!
Sunrise Rotarians Serving, and Announcements:
Mark you Calendars…
Note some service opportunities coming up…
St. Paddy’s Day Breakfast Meeting… March 17
RSVP to Past President Rich Aeling so the meal count can be firm…Come and enjoy some St. Paddy’s fun…
Erin go Bragh… “Ireland Forever”…
Past President Barry Baker getting us ready for a fun time on St. Paddy’s Day…
San Pasqual Union School Entry Sign to Get a Facelift…
This project will take place over two sessions; February 26 and March 12 are the preliminary planned dates for the work… More details to follow…
The sign came down and is being refurbished… The sign is especially important as it is constructed of wood from the original school house…
Thanks to all who helped with the first phase of work…
Support for Fisher House at Camp Pendleton
Thursday March 17, after our Rotary meeting, will be the delivery project for items supporting Fisher House at Camp Pendleton… More information will follow as to needed items…
Past President, George Beitner shared information about items that are needed and opportunities to be part of the delivery of goods… Items can be brought to a Sunrise Rotary meeting, or dropped at All Star Signs, 1924 W. Mission Road, Escondido…
District Assembly… Learn About the District and Enable us to Gain Matching Grants…
March 19 will be a District Assembly, in person at Liberty Station… All are welcome. Our participation enables Sunrise Rotary to compete for District Matching Grants from the Rotary Foundation…
Local Rotary Events…
Area Rotary Clubs are celebrating…
The Bonsall Rotary is celebrating its 25th Annual “Wine Brews and Blues” event on May 14th
The Route 78 Rotary Club is hosting its 8th Annual Mariachi Festival with Tacos, Tequila and Concert on April 10…
Rotarians Having Fun and Serving…
All kinds of fun and service and fun…
Pictures are worth a thousand words…
Rotary Service and a Blue Badge…
Gerry Fay received his blue badge after fulfilling the service requirements of a ‘Red Badge’ new member… Congratulations Gerry…
Gerry is shown with Membership Chair, Joe Holtz and President Richard…
Dave Herbert Visits a Former Member, Al Algauer…
Past President, Dave Herbert paid a visit to Al Algauer in an assisted living facility in Fallbrook… A special gift was a bottle of Past President, Mike Dunlap’s merlot…
Sunrise Rotarians Enjoying the After Five Rotary Club’s “Great Gatsby” Gala, Honoring Al Owens and His Community Service…
Some Sunrise Rotarians enjoyed the event in costume…
And the ‘twist’ on the Rotary International Motto by the After Five Club
“Service After Self”… Quite a play on words…
A Throwback Photo of Sunrise Rotarians in Mexico…
Past President, Dave Herbert was prospecting through his old photos and found this one of a group of Sunrise Rotarians in Ensenada after serving on the “Project Smile” event… Pictured are Past President, Alan Miller and Lorraine Paige; Past President, Susan Maney; Past President, Jeff and Kathy Johnson and Past President, George and Erin Beitner, and Al Algauer…
Sunrise Rotarians Enjoy Dinner Out and About…
It seems that Tom and Judy Fitzgerald were enjoying dinner out and encountered fellow Rotarians, Past President, Chris and Susie Miller along with Andy and Dana Ommen… Judy was pleased to connect, and commented that she didn’t recognize Andy right away… I guess Andy’s “consistent” attendance might be catching up to him…
Hi-Fives…
Thanks for the Support of John Paul the Great Catholic University for our Successful Grape Day 5K…
Past President, John Boyce presented a contribution from Sunrise Rotary to the University for their active support of our Grape Day 5K Event…
Pictured is Ken Sharrar from the University along with Past President, John Boyce…
President Elect, Tina Pope Attended the President Elect Training Seminar for Southern California…
President Elect, Tina enjoyed a full portion of the “Kool Aid” at the PET Seminar and she is ready to be our next President… Congratulations Tina!!
Pictured are Tina and President Richard, grateful that he has a worthy successor…
Program
Past President, George Beitner introduced Larry Ray Harden, a former Agent for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration… Larry served 24 years with the DEA, including time in country in both Mexico and Colombia…
Larry spoke about his experiences dealing with drug cartels and the criminal activity that is part of the daily activities of these groups; not only trafficking drugs, but murdering law enforcement and the competition…
Larry Harden speaking to Sunrise Rotarians...
Larry’s shared his experiences in Mexico, relating not only to the drug trafficking, but also to criminal theft… Many people lose their lives trying to resist the criminal activity of the drug trade; both from the drugs and the theft and murder that goes along with the cartels normal activity…
Larry also spoke about the issues of dealing directly with the facts of the problems… Clearly there is a fear of the criminal element of the cartels, but also having the best intelligence to combat their trafficking into the states is best pursued with factual data…
Larry shared his experiences teaching about the drug trade to both military and civilian students while assigned in Spain.
Larry shared briefly about books he has written regarding his experiences as a DEA Agent… He shared his frustration with the magnitude of the drug problem, and his prognostication that our battle against the drug trade is likely not going to be a ‘win’ for our country…
Former DEA Agent, Larry Harden is pictured with President Richard…
The Opportunity Drawing…
Temporarily in hiatus while we are in an online meeting mode…
See you in Person or on line on March 10…
Next Week’s Meeting:
Will be in person and on line… We will meet at 7:30 AM at the Greater Escondido Chamber of Commerce, 720 N. Broadway…
Our program will be Chrisanne Moats of the Escondido Arts Partnership…
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 our 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 meetings will begin as a hybrid setting with in-person and on-line opportunities…The meetings will be technically managed by President 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 meeting. The system works fine, dependent upon your technical support available through your PC or laptop…
SEE YOU SOON…… In Person or ONLINE… Next meeting; Thursday, March 10; 7:30 AM… Check President Richard’s email for the Zoom Link…
