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The FOGHORN
ROTARY CLUB OF HALF MOON BAY
August 19 , 2017
Annual Joint Meeting with Pacifica
Article and Photos by Ginger Minoletti
We had a beautiful day for our joint meeting in Pacifica – Rockaway Beach – Saturday August 19th. Sun was out as were the Shelter Box tent and kit. Pacifica President Jim Renfro opened the meeting at 12:15 with a salute to the flag on Patrick Hall’s t-shirt. A HMB crew led by Pres Warren Barmore with his daughter, and was joined by Mitone, Phil, Mia, Ayla, Paolo and Paul Wrubel. Larkin, John were with Louise from France, and Dave and Marla brought Rafa from Valencia, Spain. Paul, Ginger, Kevin and Debbie joined Linda Crose-Andersen. Lively Pacifica Rotarians –Bob and Laura Jacobsen, Steve and Colleen Wright were also in the mix. And many other long-time Pacifica Rotarians – with their YE student and an outbound student from Pacifica.
Mitone gave her story of the Shelter Box. During a 2013 visit to the Philippines shortly after a typhoon she saw that within 2 weeks shelter boxes had arrived on a remote island and was so impressed. The majority of funding for these come from Rotary clubs around the world. They are shipped to a country where disaster has hit and they rely on deployment teams of Rotarians and others to make sure the go beyond where CNN is reporting the disaster (those areas will get help) but to the outlying areas that no one sees on the news. The deployment teams are there to pay duty and taxes on the SB at the port otherwise goods shipped can end up in warehouses where they rot awaiting approval. Also, SB has a 4* rating on charity navigator – like Rotary. Mitone explained that response team members go through rigorous training before they are deployed. 1. Training for 4 days in the middle of NW Texas and then 2. 9 days in Cornwall where a simulated disaster is staged. They are trained in the customs of different countries, conflict resolution, and negotiation. Payment of bribes is not allowed. After passing the training, the trainees can sign up on a calendar for future deployments.
Today, the teams are shipping more Shelter Kits than boxes because in some countries (Haiti) the Boxes proved so effective tent cities popped up instead of rebuilding damaged homes and structures.
Shelter boxes cost from $500 to $1000 fully outfitted, and the kits are $200 - $300.
Mitone has not yet been deployed, and Steve Wright said she couldn’t sign up for anything until after the next District Conference!
COMING EVENTS AND SPEAKERS
AUGUST
August 24 Club Assembly: District 5150 Membership Chair, Melissa Prandi
August 31 Rotarian Shop Talk: Ginger Minoletti