This is a good story. Really it is!
The Jan. 13 meeting kicked off right on time at 1230, although some of the members attending were still without power due to the windstorm on Tuesday night. President Teresa Nye was among those without power, but could Zoom in on her phone thanks to her son having a separate battery pack to charge her phone.
Guests included Past President Dee Ebsen, as well as the day’s guest speakers Nhu Nguyen and Lillian Zhu.
Announcements:
Secretary Tom McClellan announced that the election of new officers and directors for the coming Rotary year had been certified by email, with a sufficient majority of members voting unanimously for the proposed slate. Becky Newton is now the vice president for this year, and will become president-elect on July 1. Jim Hairston has taken over as the public image director to serve out the remainder of this Rotary year (David Hall’s remaining term). We will still need to identify a member to serve as vice president starting on July 1, and also a new public image director.
Joyce Loveday is stepping down from the board of the Lakewood Community Foundation, which is a charity set up by our club and the Lakewood Rotary Club to address critical needs in Lakewood and to serve Lakewood residents more directly. The board consists of 3 members from each of the two Rotary clubs, plus 3 additional at-large community members. So our club needs a member to serve in Joyce’s place. Our club’s 2 other board members are Bill Harrison and Sydna Koontz. You can learn more about that organization and its mission at https://lakewoodfoundation.org/. If you would be willing to help serve this great organization, please contact Sydna at sydnak4646@aol.com.
Joyce Oubre discussed our club’s fundraising plans, saying that she has gotten some good ideas for virtual fundraising events from other organizations. She will be holding a meeting of the fundraising committee on Jan. 26 at 2PM, and then the committee will be meeting weekly after then until it has something to propose to the board. Joyce welcomes Rotarians who might like to serve on that committee. Contact her at pazonjoyce@yahoo.com.
Future Programs
Jan. 20 Heather Hinds and James Venturini, of the Lakewood Playhouse
Jan. 27 Bob Zawilski, Lakewood Rotary's "Little Free Pantries"
Feb. 3 Ryan Tomasich, The Boeing Company's Covid Response
Fun And Fines
Ed Trobaugh was in attendance, and noted that Joyce and Ron Oubre had celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary. And Randy Black has just made a generous donation to the Rotary Foundation, in honor of some unspecified and unrevealed crime.
Jim Hairston offered up a confession that both of his daughters are now gainfully employed in information technology jobs. Teresa Nye confessed to having traveled to Arizona for 3 days to watch her son play lacrosse.
This Week’s Program
Lillian Zhu and Nhu Nguyen are students at UW, and are the school’s co-leads for Telehealth Access For Seniors. The program started in March 2020 at college campuses in Connecticut and Florida, and has now expanded quickly to other colleges across 26 states. The organization exists to provide devices and instructions to seniors so that they can access their medical care while still remaining isolated.
80% of older adults have at least 1 chronic disease, so maintaining access to medical care is important. The patients who received these devices can also use them to connect with family and friends.
The organization is all volunteer-run, with no paid staff. They gather used phones, tablets, and laptops, which are then refurbished and reset to factory settings. The students print out guides (with translations) on how to set up and use the devices. They also provide telephone technical support 7 days a week.
Nationwide, these student groups have acquired and distributed 3200 devices, raised $180,000, and supported 105 clinics and hospitals across 26 states. At the UW chapter, they have 30 college and high school volunteers. They have donated 194 devices, but have requests for 126 more. They plan to expand beyond seniors to help other needy low-income patients. And they are working to expand WiFi access points.
Their web site is www.telehealthforseniors.org.
Late Announcements:
The Emergency Food Network is looking for drivers who can help with food deliveries. Sign up at https://efoodnet.org/get-involved/.
St. Clare Hospital is now scheduling Covid vaccine appointments for those who are 65 or older. Get information at https://www.chifranciscan.org/patients-and-visitors/covid-19/vaccine-information.
And Finally…
This sounds like good advice.
