Dear Rotarians and Friends,

5:30pm Social: Heather Heckler and Ann Gurera
Connecting Point:  “The 211 Program”
Trolley Junction at Northern Queen Hotel

400 Railroad Avenue, Nevada City, CA 95959 Directions

This Week - PG&E willing ~ The 211 Program

The power may be out Thursday. If it is out in Nevada City at 2:00 p.m. we will unfortunately have to cancel our meeting. It would be almost impossible for John and Karen to host us and tempt us with delectable goodies with no power. Even with flashlights and lanterns it would be a liability to have us take a chance of someone stumbling in the dark. So, since I won’t have a way of notifying you, check to see if Nevada City is powerless at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday and stay home and safe if it is.

To support our community in making connections that enhance the lives of its members.

Serving Nevada County, California, 211 is a rich resource and information hub that connects people with programs & services through a searchable site and a 24/7 call center.  Heather Heckler and Ann Gurera will share the important role the 211 Program of Connecting Point provides for our community.

Ann Guerra was hired as the executive director of Connecting Point (then the Nevada-Sierra Regional IHSS Public Authority) in 2007, which has grown under her leadership to include an expanded home care program, the 211 information and assistance line, an employment services program serving Nevada County’s CalWORKs participants, and the new Volunteer Hub program.

Heather Heckler has dedicated her career to assisting seniors and people with disabilities in living healthy, independent lives. She has worked at Connecting Point since 2010 and was previously the director of the Documenting Disability History project, an oral history project focusing on Nevada County’s disability rights movement. In her current role as the communications manager at Connecting Point,

Thursday December 5 - 'Tis the Season!
Holiday Party at Carla and John Burke's Home

A special part of the Holiday Season is celebrating the connections we share and fond  memories over the years. Nevada City Rotary will once again be celebrating this year's Holiday Party at the wonderful home of Carla and John Burke.

Join us Thursday December 5 ~ with bells on if you like!  Bring your festive spirit along with a guest.  Our Holiday Party is always a very fun filled evening celebrating the season and our friendship through the extended family of Nevada City Rotary.  Social time will begin at 5:30pm followed by a light dinner catered by Antonio.  Cost is $35.

Please RSPV before Thanksgiving by signing up at our Social this Thursday OR by replying to this email or contact Cathy.

We will confirm a headcount with Antonio so no cancelations after Thanksgiving. 

Los Barriles Project 2020 - January 30 - February 3

Our health care project in Los Barriles, Baja Sur, Mexico is shaping up for 2020!

Dates:  Arrive by January 30 and leave February 3 or later  Why so early this year?  We have many activities with fixed dates in March and need to do the final preparation for the March 15 Hungry Games in February.

Airfares:  Lowest rates (as of this week) are on American Airlines and Alaska Air from  Sacramento to Cabo San Lucas. Please purchase your tickets asap!!

Work:  Diagnostic screening of basic medical and dental care needs, mostly for children and seniors

Fun:  Dinners with our host club colleagues from Los Barriles, exploring the area - by off-road vehicles and hiking; shopping, swimming and hanging out, practicing your Spanish.

If you’ve already participated, you know how rewarding this experience is.  If you haven’t, please talk to those of us who have and see if it’s right for you.

We are looking into hotel choices and rates and will announce them shortly.

Hungry Games Planning for 2020 - 4pm Thursday at Trolley Junction

We are planning an even bigger and better Hungry Games for 2020.  The team is meeting at 4pm ahead of each of our Social meetings. Join the fun and comradery of planning our 2020 Hungry Games event with the team.  We will meet ahead of our Club Social on November 21 at Trolley Junction at 4:00pm.

Watch for communications from Michael. If we have no power, he will reschedule the meeting for Friday.

Grass Valley Free 2-day Health Clinic ~ January 11-12, 2020

United Way of Nevada County is hosting  the 2020 Grass Valley Free 2-day Health Clinic along with California CareForce!  Over  a two-day period, about 500 patients per day will receive medical, dental and vision services free of charge.  The biggest need is dental and vision care, as these patients are rarely covered in standard insurance policies, nor are they covered in Medicare. Complete eye exams will be available, including tests for glaucoma.  Patients may receive a prescription that is theirs to keep and is good for two years. Then that patient may pick out a new pair of eyeglass frames, and go home with brand new glasses made on site just for them.  The CareForce can make 250 brand new pairs of glasses each day. 

California CareForce will staff 60 dental chairs to provide patients with cleanings, fillings and extractions. A Panograph machine will take a full set of X-rays for each patient. Some local dental care providers will be donating post-clinic services as well. 

As we learned earlier this Fall, the free 2-day clinic will be held on January 11th and 12th at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. It will take many volunteers to hold the health clinic. We need professional medical volunteers to complete the general medical, dental and vision exams and procedures. We will also require volunteers  to help with setup, prep, food service and other odd jobs during the two days.  If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the e-form by clicking the button below. We will reply within a short time.

Club members are encouraged to sign up to Volunteer individually or create a team and work together.

CLick for downloadable Health Clinic flyer

Last Week:  Gage McKinney - No Depression Here

Author and local historian, Gage McKinney shared a wealth of information about Western Nevada County especially through the 1930's and beyond Depression Era. Cathy stumped us with her related quiz which setup Gage's presentation in an engaging way.

Gage McKinney has written six books about the social, economic and cultural histories of mining settlements, including MacBoyle's Gold and The 1930s: No Depression Here. His subjects include New Almaden and the Northern Mines region of the Sierra, including Nevada, Sierra, Plumas and Placer counties. He chronicled the migration of Cornish folk music to America in his book When Miners Sang.

Nevada City Rotary Board Activities

Stay informed about actions your Nevada City Rotary Board of Directors is taking.  Minutes of Board Meetings and Club Leadership Retreats for the past year along with survey results, Club Bylaws, Nevada City Rotary Foundation 501 (c) 3 status and other documents are available in our "Members Only" section of our NCRotary.org website at  http://ncrotary.org/club/board-actions.  If you need assistance remembering your user ID and password, contact Robin or reply to this newsletter.

Upcoming Events:

November 21 - Social: Heather Heckler from Connecting Point:  “The 211 Program”

November 28 - Thanksgiving DARK - Celebrate with friends and family!

December 5:  Holiday Party. 5:30pm at Carla and John Burke's home

December 12: Lunch Mary Anne Davis--Hospice of the Foothills: 40th Anniversary Update

December 19: Social Christine Murphy, PhD--SeniorWell (Fitness for Seniors) 

December 26: DARK for the Holidays

January 2: Field Trip to the Nevada City Firehouse Museum with our guide, President Cathy

January 9: Lunch: Ethics Talk--Dennis Geare (rescheduled due to earlier outage)

February 13: Lunch Jeannie Wood , CATS (Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra) “The Chinese and the Gold Rush”

March 21; Young Musicians Competition Area 4 Rotary and MIM Music Contest; Day-long, multi-level competitions at Grass Valley United Methodist Church

March 28: Young Musicians Concert 2:00pm Area 4 Rotary and MIM Music Concert by Competition winners, at Grass Valley United Methodist Church

Thank you to John Wilson, Nathan Leishman, and Gayle Denney for planning this year's Music Contest.  John reached out to partner with MIM in order to recruit a larger number of youth musicians.  Click the Young Musicians Competition banner to learn more about the robust Competition and Concert plans for March 2020. If you have young musicians in your life, share this link...

Thank you Nancy Kemp and Christine Newsom for coordinating our programs!

Special Dates

Club Leadership