Speaker:  Peter Waanders introduced our speaker, Lee Bycel.  Lee is the rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom in Napa,  a Senior Moderator at the Aspen Institute and a professor at the University of San Francisco. His class on "Holocaust and Genocide" always fills and generates a wait-list. is  He has devoted his life to a variety of social justice issues as a teacher, humanitarian and community leader. 

 

The crux of our collective problem, according to Lee, is that we have lost the art of conversation; the advance of technology has lowered our experience as human beings. We need to have a safe way to discuss, listen to many sides of the issues, and have a real conversation with Muslims, for example. We need to discuss and compare today’s refugee crisis with the situation in Europe in the ‘30s and ‘40s. "Everyone on Earth wants the same things: a better life, a chance for love and well being."

 

Guests: Bettina Slusar (Todd Shaver) Greg Poschman (Peter Waanders). We also had a record number of future Rotarians at this meeting: Jacob Barrow (Justin Barrow), Kai Waanders (Peter Waanders), Gavin Smith (Robin Smith).

 

 

Steve Wickes recounted how he started our Weekly Newsletter exactly one year ago, because he missed the meeting where Piper Foster announced she was moving to Alaska. Steve credited the success of the newsletter to having rotating editors-of-the-month. Last year's editors included: Roger Nicholson, Sam Johnston, Dan Johns, Ashton Hewitt, Todd Shaver, Jeanette Darnauer, and Christina King.  To continue the newsletter for another year, we NEED more editors. If you have not served yet, this means YOU. 

 

 

October and November are bring-a-guest-for-free months at Rotary!
 
October 27: Lindsay Lofaro, Executive Director, The Buddy Program
November 3: Patti Cummings, Executive Director, Court Apppointed Special Advocates
November 10:​ Kathy Hegberg, Founder of FocusedKids

November 17: Gabrielle Greeves, Excutive Director, WindWalkers Equine Assisted Learning and Therapy Center 

 

October 27 - immediately after the regular Rotary Club breakfast.

 

November 24: Thanksgiving Day

December 15: Rotary Holiday Party this week. Date TBA.

December 22: Not sure why this meeting is cancelled.

December 29: Not sure why this meeting is cancelled.

 

 

Happy Bucks runneth over:
Sam Johnston, happy that Christina King forced her to see the early morning snow-globe that is Aspen.
Jim DeFrancia, happy to retrace a road trip from 50 years ago; happy to repay a 50 year-old debt!
Shaun Hathaway, happy to have 84(!!) teams here for Aspen Junior hockey's Fall Face-off and happy to have Finnish coach (Kalle Valiaho) here for season. Coach Valiaho will be our speaker on December 8!
Robin Smith, happy to have son Gavin at Rotary.
Norm Bacheldor, happy to be going on a pheasant hunt (we will get the pheasant’s side of it next week).
Craig Melville, CU Buffs are doing well.
Peter Waanders, happy (is that really the right word?) to be running the NYC marathon and happy there will be no more debates.
Justin Barrow, happy to have a 4 day weekend with his son, Jacob.
Mike Kosdrosky, happy to have shot an Elk in Capitol Creek (we will try and get the ungulate’s side of the story for next week) and happy the Indians are in the World Series.
Scott Russell was happy the Cubs have the chance to play in the series, too, though he didn’t actually pay the dollar to be an official happy buck, we hope that doesn’t affect their chances.
Todd Shaver was happy ($2 worth) because he was making Jon Kelly nervous about the meeting running late; Todd attempted joke about Bob Dylan that no one understood, and Todd was pleased that Steve Wickes' upcoming seminar at the Aspen Institute is sold out. 

 

 

Peter Waanders' advice to the club: "Don't make eye contact with Sergeant-at-arms Jon Kelly, or you will end up being next week's Member Bio!"

 

Peter's family history spans 5 decades in Grand Haven, Michigan. Normal childhood, youngest of 6 kids, family emigrated in 1880s, all blonde-haired, blue-eyed Dutch conservatives. "1950’s life in the 1970’s." Very conservative community, though Mom was a free thinker. "As a Dutch Calvinists we had a social obligation to help others."  It was one big family, everyone the same. Then his family moved to Indiana, home to "heathen Catholics" and other bad influences, e.g. Boy Scouts ( Hippie boy scout!!)

 

Peter holds a Bachelors of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of Arts from the University of London.  He worked for Bloomberg for a short time, then bought and sold 5 bookstores, moved to Aspen, got married to Jen Causing. Peter now has his "dream job" at the Aspen Institute (Director of the Society of Fellows).

 

 

Maurice Emmer, Chair of the Youth Exchange Committee, was conspicuous by his absence.