standing led us in a moment of silence
MORAGA
ROTARY
NEWSLETTER
January 28, 2020
Next Celebration: February 5, 2020
11:30 – The Fab Five once a year, joint
meeting at the Rossmoor Event Center
Upcoming Programs:
Feb 4 – no meeting
Feb 5 – Joint Fab Five club meeting
Feb11 – Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan
A very nice meeting today at Michael’s
Restaurant. There were 24 in
attendance and that count includes
three guests. Our guests were Nicole
Grier, John Berg and our speaker, Loto
Rickman. Nicole and John work at
Moraga Royale with Loto. For lunch the
restaurant served six gourmet pizzas
with salad and cookies.
Co-President Evie Michon rang the
Moraga Rotary Bell and when we were
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in memory of our dear, recently
departed Moraga Rotarian Al
Simonsen. Evie said there will be a
memorial service in February, but
details are still being formulated. She
then invited club members to tell about
their memories of Al:
• Co-Pres Evie led off with a note
that she fairly recently moved to
Moraga and hasn’t known Al as
long as many other club members.
She said Al always had interesting
questions to ask our presenters.
And he was particularly moved by
the recent Quilt of Valor project
here in the club.
• Lad Lynch said Miramonte and
Campolindo High Schools will
surely miss Al. He was always
there at sporting events.
• Frank May remembered Al’s
minivan pulling up to Rotary Field
Day loaded to the gunnels with all
sorts of field day gear.
• Angelo Costanza recalled that Al
started the Field Day tradition.
• Doug Damaschino told about the
China Wheelchair project. Al went
over to China with a group of
Moraga Rotarians to deliver the
chairs and he was curious about
everything. He was always asking
questions of the local people.
• Gary Irwin remarked on Al’s valor.
Gary said he only saw the inside
of a concrete bunker in Hawaii, but
Al did two aircraft carrier tours to
Vietnam flying A4’s daily on
missions. Al certainly earned his
Quilt of Valor!
Dianne Wilson did the invocation noting
that “Life is about accepting challenges.”
and “There is no limit to what we can
achieve.” Then led us in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
~Happy Bucks & Recognitions~
Co-President Debbie Koo had a
Happy Buck for Rotary Foundation Day.
She said that Cliff was quoted quite
often. Debbie had another Happy Buck
for the start of Chinese New Year. This
is the Year of the Rat. Debbie produced
a huge box of chocolate candies and
passed them through the room.
Debbie Roessler had Happy Bucks for
the start of the new Chinese Exhibit at
the Blackhawk Museum in Danville. She
says come out and see it. You will be
amazed! Debbie also had some Happy
Bucks for this year’s White Elephant
Sale for the Oakland Museum of
California. On the first Saturday they
took in $549,169. See Debbie for Sale
Passes.
Jennifer Brophy had two Happy Bucks
for the Niners! Go Niners!
Co-Pres Evie auctioned the Fine Free
Hat for February. She did say there are
no February birthdays or anniversaries –
so the only reason you might want to bid
is if you are planning a trip out of state.
Gary Irwin started the biding at $5.
Linda May jumped in with a “Oh what
the heck” bid of $10 and that was
enough to win the hat.
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~Announcements~
Frank May said the annual District Day
at the Races event at Golden Gate Field
is set for Saturday, April 18. Tickets are
$41 each and that gets you parking,
entry to the clubhouse and a very nice
lunch. Frank passed a sign-up sheet
around. If you want to attend and
missed the sign-up sheet, let Frank
know.
Frank also noted, Nite at the Races is
coming along well. We have some
sponsors and folks from the community
are signing up. Some of the sign-ups
are folks we haven’t heard from before.
Rich Render said the final count for
next week’s Fab Five Joint Club Meeting
at Rossmoor is going in today. Lunch
cost is $35, and we have 18 signed up
from our club.
Co-Pres Debbie Koo reminded us that
there is a Concord Rotary Valentine’s
Day event on February 14th. The cost is
$75 and includes dinner and dancing.
See the announcement in the final
pages of this newsletter for more details.
Tony Schoemehl announced that our
annual Athletic Field Day will be on May
6th at Joaquin Moraga Intermediate
School. This is the 29th field day event
this club has held. Al Simonsen started
it and Tony suggests we call it the “Al
Simonsen Memorial Field Day.”
Rich Render said the Spring e-Waste
Event will occur in May but the date is
not yet set.
 ~Program~
Dianne Wilson introduced today’s
speaker, Loto Rickman. Loto is
currently Assistant Director of Moraga
Royale. She was born in Samoa and
spent her first 25 years there.
Samoa is a country in the central Pacific
Ocean. Officially it is the “Independent
State of Samoa and until July 4th, 1997
was known as Western Samoa. It
consists of six islands, Savai’i, Upolo,
Manono, Apolima, Fanuatapu, and
Namua. The feeling that you must share
and take care of your family and village
predominates among Samoans.
Loto told of the recent measles epidemic
in Samoa. Measles is a very serious
illness caused by a virus. It produces a
high fever and a characteristic red rash.
Temperatures often reach 104 degrees
and deaths can result. It is a very
infectious disease spread by coughing
and sneezing; and the virus can live for
2 hours in the air. There is an effective
vaccine which can prevent infection, but
many Samoans shun vaccination
because they prefer traditional
medicine. To complicate the situation, in
2018 two children died because a
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medical facility mixed up a vaccine and
accidentally delivered a fatal dose. Fake
news on social media about the dangers
of vaccination exacerbated the problem
so that at the time of the measles
outbreak in 2019 only 31% of the
population was vaccinated against the
disease. Studies show that to be
protected from an outbreak of any
specific disease at least 93% of the
population must be vaccinated.
Because most Samoan homes are
single room buildings - if one child gets
the measles the rest of the family gets it
too. Deaths most often strike those
under 17 years of age. In August 2019
the measles began to spread from a
case at the international air terminal.
Out of 8,000 flights per year, one
infected passenger started the
epidemic.
At the height of the outbreak there were
4,800+ cases and at least 70 deaths. By
this point the government had taken
steps to increase measles vaccinations
and 91% of the population were
vaccinated. Schools and markets were
closed, and young children were
prohibited from travelling between the
islands. Penalties were instituted for
parents of families that were not
vaccinated. Homes with measles cases
were required to display a red flag or
cloth at the front door. A prominent anti-
vacc’er was arrested. The impact of
social media was under investigation.
Medical teams came in from many
countries particularly from Australia,
New Zealand, the UK and Hawaii.
By the time the outbreak was declared
ended 5,700+ had been confirmed as
infected and 83 deaths reported. Of the
83 deaths, all but 7 were under the age
of 15 years. In one family three out of
five children died. Typically, in Samoa
families bury their dead in the front yard
and the mother of these three children
would sleep on their graves to be close
to them and she believed, to comfort
them. It was heartbreaking.
During questions after the presentation
Loto cautioned against believing social
media. Too many people can put
themselves forward as experts when
they are not telling the truth.
She also talked briefly about a typical
home remedy commonly used in Samoa
involving scrapping the stems of the
mango and guava tree, mixing this with
water and drinking it.
Co-Pres Debbie Koo, Loto Rickman - our speaker, and
Co-Pres Evie Michon
~Upcoming Events~
Don’t forget to get your tickets, horses
and donations for Moraga Rotary,
“Nite at the Races” Just go to
www.moragarotary.org to link to
the Everbright site. Call Frank May
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on 925 376-8195 if there are any
questions.
February 5th and March 21st: The
Campolindo High School
Interact Club will be doing
gardening work at the Oakland
Zoo.
February 8th (Saturday) 6:00 to 11:00pm
the 15th Annual Holy Trinity
Orthodox Church Crab Feed &
Dance. Cost $60/person. Tickets
must be purchased in advance.
See reservation form attached.
February 14th Concord Rotary Annual
Dinner-Dance at the Clarion Hotel,
1050 Burnett Ave., Concord. See
attached fliers for details.
February 28th Tahoe City Rotary 4th
Annual Ski Challenge at Northstar,
Lake Tahoe (continental breakfast,
registration, dual giant slalom
tandem courses with individual
and team awards. Ski the day with
fellow Rotarians, apres ski food
(chili, salad & sandwiches, two
drink tickets and awards). See the
website now
www.tahoecityrotary.org for more
info email: mdcgary@gmail.com
March 7 (Saturday): “A Nite at the
Races” annual dinner and event
at the Serbian Trinity Church Hall.
Tickets,donations and horses at
the Moraga Rotary website.
April 18th (Saturday): Rotary Day at the
Races – Golden Gate Fields.
Tickets from Frank May at a cost
 of $41 for parking, club house ~Greeter/Invocator Schedule List ~
entrance and lunch. 1. Feb 11 - Stephanie Dickerson
2. Feb 18 - Brian South
May 16th (Saturday): Moraga Rotary 3. Feb 25 - Angelo Costanza
E-Waste Recycling & Document
Shredding Event – 10 am to
4pm.

MORAGA ROTARY DIRECTORS 2019-2022

Co-Presidents Evie Michon & Debbie Koo
President Elect Brian South
Past President Ron Mucovich
Secretary Jennifer Brophy
Treasurer Rich Render
Club Administrator Debbie Roessler
Foundation Chair John Erickson
Youth & Community Service Chair Tony Schoemehl
Public Relations Chair Gary Irwin
Fundraising Chair Frank May
International Service Chair Dianne Wilson
Membership Chair Brian South
Director at Large Mary Sue Erickson
Director at Large Linda May
Advisor to the Board John Erickson
Advisor to the Board Jim Campbell
Advisor to the Board Cliff Dochterman

District Governor 5160 Tina Akins

President, Rotary International Mark Maloney

Newsletter Editor for January – Roger Gregory

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