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David Watson, Editor |
September 4th, 2009
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September is New Generations Month
Upcoming Programs and Events
Presented by Program Chairman, Leland Hammerschmitt and his crew.
September 11th-Laura Whitney-Ojai Foundation/Get Acquainted Talk
September 18th-Al West and Dave Brubaker-Craft Talks
September 25th-Dr. Laura Danly-Curator Griffith Observatory
In the Beginning....
President Scott Smith welcomed the assembled group and Scott Eicher led the club in the pledge and Dave Neville recited the Four-Way Test. Then President Scott gave his weekly
REFLECTIONS ON THE 4 WAY TEST as follows:
Goodwill and Friendship. It rolls off the tongue pretty easily our number 3 test. Friendship seems pretty straightforward. We have friends, we like friends, we're nice to our friends.
Goodwill, however, deserves a little more exploration…so here's president smithy's reflection for the week.
In our businesses, our homes, and our personal lives, we have “stuff”. Accountants call them assets. Physical assets are easy to understand. Houses, cars, money, jewelry…they all have value.
It is now an accepted practice, in accounting and obvious to our common sense…that there is something called “human capital”. You can't put your hand on your education and acquired wisdom, but no one argues that there is a value here…and sure enough, accountants can put a price tag on human capital.
Goodwill, however, is a description of a different kind of asset. There is a social science field of study that explores “Social Capital.” Knowledge here is now used in business, economics, organization behavior, political science, and even public health. Social Capital refers to connections within and between networks of people. It is clear that these connections have value.
Just as physical capital, such as a pair of pliers or a college education (human capital) can increase individual productivity, social contact can increase the productivity of both individuals AND groups.
What's different about social capital…or goodwill…is that, unlike the pliers, its value increases with use…and depreciates if it is not used. Think for a second about the middle-class, educated serial killers that have plagued society in our lifetimes. “He was quiet”. “He kept to himself”.
Why do you think that internet blogging, social networking, and email have created many multi-billion dollar companies in the last decade? Why do these companies provide trillions of gigabytes of FREE supercomputer time to us on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter? Are you starting to see that some pretty smart business people see that our social interactions have value?
Closer to home, is there a value on your relationship with your pet? What would that value become if she didn't wag her tail, or jump up when you came in the door? You can now clone her for $300,000…and you have to get in line for them to take your check.
When we make a 4-way test ethical decision to build goodwill and friendship, we create connectedness within our circle of influence…the people who are important to us. And over time, and with practice, this social capital builds and builds, makes our lives richer and richer, and we, as members of a Super Bowl team, are much more valuable together than alone.
Think about how Rotary fellowship builds goodwill as we share this time together today.
We then ambled over to the buffet line.
Thanks to Greeters Scott Eicher and Dave Neville and Dave Watson on roving mic.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
We had no visiting Rotarians that would acknowledge themselves, but two guests that did:
Jeff Loebl guest of Nic Frank and Libby Bradley one of our recent scholarship winners. The other guest was really our Program so I didn't count John Johnston as a real guest.
Announcements. . .
Taste of Ojai is just around the corner, Saturday September 19 th . Get tickets from Scott Eicher among others.
Berkley Baker and Dewayne Boccali both received a Paul Harris pin from the club!!
President Scott showed the club the Purcell container that we can wash our hands with to help prevent the spread of H1N1 Flu. Marty Pops and Carl Gross will give a mini program on this next week. So shake hands and wash!
The Fish or Cut Bait Committee is looking at October dates. The water is warming and Roger Phelps is ready to go. So see Roger.
The Membership committee has presented to the board some written guidelines for Rotarian attendance, dues-paying, and membership classification. We have always had “semi-formal” practices for these sometimes touchy subjects. Watch the bulletin board in upcoming weeks to see the work that the committee has done…the goal here is to have some clear-cut understanding, especially for new members, so that should the time come for any of us to get a gentle reminder, it will be seen as fair to all concerned.
It's fire time in Southern Cal. Station Fire, 148,000 acres, moving east into areas with no recorded fire history. It is now a homicide investigation. Definitely NOT good will building here. The most important thing you can do is to prepare yourselves mentally for the fire that will come here…practice evacuation, property protection, communication with your family and friends…if you do it in your head NOW, it'll be much easier when the time comes. And don't forget to lend a hand to others who have been fire-affected.
Health Seminar Saturday September 12, 2009 at Soule Park Banquet Room 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Rejuvenating you Vision Presented by John Davidson, M.D.. Cataract surgery has evolved into a brief, painless, sight-restoring procedure with many patient-preferred vision options. Come find out what can be done to improve your vision. Hear about today's lens options that can reduce your need for glasses after cataract surgery.
Sunday September 13 th at Lake Casitas socialize with the West club. Boat rides and more. $10/person. See Andi Bloom for more information.
From Leslie Clark: Dear Friends in Rotary, On Sept. 2 a flash flood ravaged Agadez leaving 7,000 families homeless and without food or shelter. Ten are confirmed dead but many are missing. I am here as you all know trying to open our clinic and the rains have disrupted everything. I, like most of Agadez have been in shock for two days and now I have no choice but to mobilize. The Rotary Club of Agadez is ready to manage assistance if we can get it. I visited the town with Sidi, Boucha our present president and a group of ministers who flew in from Niamey this morning and it is unclear what, if anything they can do.
I also would like everyone to send this link to all club members and friends who might be interested in helping here. The Red Cross was there, but in the region does not have a reputation for being efficient. I hope we can do something. I am leaving tomorrow for the bush to install the clinic, but will only be there 2-3 days and will be in touch at this address with my satellite modem. I am in Agadez now so was able to crate the donation pate. Any donations to the foundation will be emailed to me and base on this I can get credit immediately from the bank here to give to the Agadez Club to distribute food before people starve. We need help. Please pass this link on:
http://www.nomadfoundation.org/agadezfloods.html
To access Leslie's Blog go to: http://nomadfoundation.blogspot.com/ and follow her experiences in Niger.
(As of Friday evening the club had donated over $1600.00)
Fining
Catherine Lee was the fine master for the day: She got confessions from Al West (55th wedding anniversary) and Laura Whitney for announcing Peace Day on September 19th . The following were fined into submission: Robin Bernhoft, Mark Cohen, Peter Haggerty (our thoughts and prayers go out to Peter at this time!), Larry Beckett, and Dana Huffman .
The Program
Lerie Bjornstedt introduced our speaker Johnny Johnston former CEO of Ventura Co.
Johnny was glad to be here, even though today was a slow Rotary day and next week was an exciting program. Johnny came to Ojai and Ventura over 40 years ago after working in Los Angeles. His timing in becoming Ventura's CEO was impeccable and he was able to bring us back from the edge. Due to his efforts and enlisting the help of most, if not all of the county leaders was able to get our credit rating back and reform the pension packages. Listening to him, it was hard to think of him as the devil or some of the other terms used to describe him during those choppy waters of county politics. It seems we could use more Johnny Johnstons in public life.
Coming Up Next Week...
New member, Laura Whitney, will give a "get acquainted" talk and tell us about The Ojai Foundation.
Final Thoughts
The Meeting was closed with Pres. Scott's comment:
“…think this week about your connections to those around you…how nurturing these connections builds goodwill…social capital..that makes all of our lives richer. And don't forget to pet your dog tonight”.
