TODAY
THE RUSD FACILITIES OFFICE AND HOW WE
IMPACT OUR COMMUNITY
Ooops, your rookie Spoke editor messed up and introduced the wrong program for this week in last week’s Spoke. My apologies to KEN MORSE who should have been advertised last week! KEN MORSE currently serves as the Coordinator for Operations & Facilities Planning for the RUSD which he has held for the past 8 years. His career with RUSD has spanned 27 years during which has also included the roles of coach (21 years), teacher (19 years) and Athletic Director (8 years).
LAST WEEK
LYNNE PATALANO, spoke about her work with “Results” that was formed in the 1980s from “the hunger project” and seeks to use their voices to influence political decisions that will bring an end to poverty. The late JERRY LEWIS advised LYNNE not to “despair about politics but to work with it to find solutions.” Over the last decade, she has traveled to Washington D.C. 28 times and participated in about 224 meetings! During her remarks, she also complimented Rotary saying that “the work Rotary does is right on target to bring an end to poverty”.
NEXT WEEK
HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA
WEN CHEN was born in China at the end of the Great Cultural Revolution (Revolution) initiated by Mao Zedong to preserve Chinese communism by purging capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. The Revolution was characterized by violence and chaos across Chinese society with death estimates as high as two million.
Despite being discouraged from seeking education, WEN won a national prize at a science competition at the age of 16 and then attended a top university. She came to the U.S. in 1994 and received her Ph.D. in Biology from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Because of her personal experience in China, she decided to become a voice for the voiceless. She has worked for Caltech since 2000 conducting scientific outreach by speaking at conferences and seminars at universities. Since 2012, she has also given hundreds of presentations to community organizations.
She is an active member of Amnesty International, focusing on human rights in China, and serves as a board member and community liaison for Caltech Women in Biology and Biological Engineering. More information is available on her blog: https://wenchenview.blogspot.com/
OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE
The RUSD Scholarship Season is upon us. This year we will be awarding $112,000 to our graduating seniors! We begin the process with a computer review of applications during the week of Feb 12th. This process yields the students who will be interviewed in-person. You can do this review at home in your woollies. We then conduct in-person interviews on Friday, February 23 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Both of these opportunities are interesting and fulfilling work! Typically, three (3) Rotarians are needed for the computer review and five (5) for the in-person interviews. Email or text CHRIS WALKER, Scholarship Chair, at christopher_walker@redlands.edu or 909 240-4847 if interested and available.
SUPPORT RUSD SCHOLARSHIPS AND ENJOY A
NIGHT OUT!
Get your tickets to the upcoming Diamond Heist and invite your friends! Maybe you will be the one to solve the crime! Dress to impress and enjoy this interactive dining experience. January 27, 2024, 5:30 PM, Fox Theater. Tickets available on our website, https://www.redlandsrotary.org/diamondheist-dinner/
MICHIGAN WINS THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
On Monday, Michigan went undefeated for the season and dominated the college football championship game. Michigan is the winningest program in the history of college football and the first to reach 1,000 wins since their first season in 1879. They have now won the national championship ten times, their last win was in 1997.
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
Good afternoon! Happy January 11th, also known as “Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day.” We’re just over two weeks from our Diamond Heist fundraiser on the 27th, so make sure to buy your tickets! A big thank you to the event committee for working to make our first fundraiser of the year a success, and to BRIAN AHLERS who donated a beautiful set of diamond earrings to the event- they’re stunners! A lucky attendee of the event will win them, so there’s another incentive to come join us. Signing off, in morse code, -.-. …. .-. .. …
Editor – Bob Tincher & John Mills – Edition No. 27, January 11, 2024