Northern California Gateway Rotary Club meets online instead of at weekly sit-down meetings

Rotary International District 5160 Governor Jon Dwyer visited Northern California Gateway Rotary’s Charter reception at the Elks Lodge in Pittsburg, Wednesday March 6, to personally welcome the 25 diverse members of the area’s newest and most novel Rotary Club.

The club’s composition is extraordinary, 12 women and 13 men, with an average age of 42 years, one a former President of a Rotary youth group. The objective of the club is to connect committed, community minded volunteers in the pursuit of service through friendship without the traditional meeting constraints of the past, thus the name Northern California Gateway.

Victor Georgiou, of the Danville Rotary Club, was the Governor’s Representative tasked with guiding new members through the Charter process, over recent years. Joyce Chiu, a former Danville Rotarian, was also active from the beginning. While there are 71 other clubs in the district with over 3,500 members, population growth has outpaced Rotary’s growth, in part because of the culture shift away from the weekly sit-down-meal meeting.

The new club concept embraces engagement over meeting attendance, retaining the network of community-minded friends’ approach that is the core of Rotary. Participation in projects is a large part of attendance. Members may also attend meetings online.

But don’t get the new members wrong: As flexible as the club may be in terms of presence, the focus on joint implementation of social projects is paramount.

Like all new ideas, there was some early resistance to change. That has largely gone away as other clubs are coming to view the new club as an asset to their efforts Northern California Gateway Rotary received its official charter in December 2018. District Governor Jon Dwyer, and his wife Bonnie, congratulated each member of the new club. DG Dwyer also emphasized the club’s status as a role model:

“Rotary club of Northern California Gateway stands for a new generation of Rotary clubs – the kind of clubs I consider necessary so that Rotary can continue to grow,” he said.

In his thanks to Gateway Rotary, new club president Daniel Lopez clarified the future path of the club.

“Together we will interpret the Rotary idea in new ways, design and start new projects and make new friends,” he said. “In this process, we will be guided by our Rotary values and the idea that is expressed in our club name.”

“We all had a great entertaining and humorous evening with good conversations among friends and families,” Lopez continued. “After all the words of praise, it is time now to grow together as a club, to get the first projects off the ground, to get active in the region, and to contribute to the development of the Rotary family – both internally and externally. All in the spirit of the club name: Rotary Club of Northern California Gateway.”

To learn more visit http://gatewayrotary5160.org.

Eat, Drink & Love for Special Olympics Northern California. Antioch Police Department will serve as celebrity host and wait staff to raise funds for Special Olympics athletes. Tips received will go directly to Special Olympics Northern California. Join us and APD for this amazing cause on Tuesday, March 19 from 5-8 p.m. at Smith’s Landing Seafood Grill at 1 Marina Plaza in Antioch.

The Antioch Police Department holds the title of having one of the largest K9 units in the far East Bay. And as much esteem as the hard-working animals hold in the eyes of APD and their handlers, the K9 unit is often underfunded, which puts added stress on the K9s, their handlers and the Antioch Police Department at large.

What Is So Special About a K9 Unit?

Police dogs are believed to be able to do the work of several police officers.  K9 Officers are used to locate and subdue suspects, find missing people or objects, or detect illicit substances, such as drugs or explosive devices.  Dog teams are also able to search an area 50 times faster than a human and can detect a smell up to 500,000 times better, with certainty, than a human can.  Canines that are integrated into a police force are known for being incredibly hard-working, have a desire to cooperate and please their handlers, and have exceptional tenacity when it comes to fighting a criminal, working in detection or on a search and rescue mission.  Law enforcement professionals know that police canines can assist police departments in ways that no other tool can.  There is no doubt that a K9 unit is imperative to the success of most police departments.  This holds to be true for the Antioch Police Department

Why Are Costs High?

As much as police canine units bring value to active police departments, the cost of acquisition and on-going training for both the canines and their handlers can be expensive.   The average cost of a dog is $12,000. Like many police agencies, APD struggles when it comes to budgeting for a new dog. APD is able to budget the costs of care, training and transportation of each of their canines, but acquisition costs can be prohibitive.   During each canines’ 6-8-year career, their handlers manage many of the costs associated with care, including veterinarian visits, food costs and transportation, when the dog is not working.  However, those costs are handled by the police department when each dog is on active duty.

How Can We Help?

Last year, APD was able to add another canine to their K9 Department thanks to the fundraising efforts of a committed Antioch community member.  This year, the department is facing the pending retirement of another dog, meaning the efforts to fundraise for another canine has increased. This time around, the APD K9 Unit has designed a T-shirt as a part of a continuing fundraising effort for the K9 program.  The current design was created by the department’s six current handlers who are assigned the city patrol.  Each K9 partner’s name is incorporated into the design on the back of the shirts and sweatshirts. Although these shirts were originally designed to be sold only in-house, the interest from the community has been large.  Now the shirts have been made available to the public.  Each black shirt is available in a traditional cotton crewneck, a cotton pullover hooded sweatshirt, or a woman’s style V-neck.  There are also youth and tall sizes available.

Prices are as follows:

-Youth sizes S-XL = $15

– Men’s and Women’s styles and sizes S-XL = $20 (in both cotton or dry fit)

– Cotton hooded sweatshirts S-XL = $40

– For XXL or larger or tall sizes = $25 for shirts or $45 for sweatshirts

To order, complete the attached order form, and return, with payment to:

Antioch Police Department

300 L. St.

Antioch, CA 94509

Attn: Corporal Steve McElroy

Please make checks payable to APOA K9 Fund, or should you choose to use Venmo for payment, we are listed as “APDK9.” Please provide all of your contact information in the notes portion of Venmo if this is your method of payment, as well as submitting your form to the above address. If the order form submission is more convenient to email, it should be submitted to smcelroy@ci.antioch.ca.us

All proceeds from these shirts go directly to the APD K9 unit. The proceeds will be used for a variety of things from training, to equipment, to ultimately purchasing new dogs when the need arises.

From Antioch Police Department

Our 96th Neighborhood Cleanup will be held on March 2, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. We will be cleaning the neighborhoods around Fremont Elementary School at 1413 F Street. (See map area below). Our cleanup events are a great way to show your civic pride, help your community, and make a difference in these neighborhoods.

Please consider joining our VIPS, police department staff, and community volunteers on March 2nd and be part of the change you want to see in our city. We hope to see you there!

Check back soon for the rescheduled date.