Rotarian Connie Shakalis published a story in Sunday’s Herald-Times about 2018-19 Global Grant Scholar Aubrey Seader, and the connections she has made through Rotary with ripples around the world. From the Mercy Ships program through the power of the arts and its ability to build connection and empathy through storytelling, Aubrey has built connections that improve lives and amplify voices in many unique ways with the help of Rotary, the Global Grant Scholar program, and all of the degrees in between.
Speaking of degrees of separation, a Bloomington Rotary connection was hidden in national news. JT Warring brought to our attention that the heroic LA County Fire Captain Jeanie Barrett, lead rescuer of famous golf pro Tiger Woods from his horrific vehicle accident, is none other than the daughter of Jim Barrett, granddaughter of the late Fred Barrett, and great-granddaughter of the equally late James Matthews. Her great-grandfather James was the co-founding Sergeant-at-Arms of the Bloomington Rotary Club in 1918, and her grandfather Fred served as president of our club in 1964-65.
Jim Sims’ daughter, Camisha Rachelle Sims, passed away on February 24. Camisha, or “MeMe” to her family, was a faithful member of the Lighthouse Community Church. She worked for Bloomington Hospital for more than 30 years, beginning her tenure there at age 15, working in food service. She worked as a circulating nurse in perioperative services and as a patient advocate. For the past 20 years, Camisha worked as an Operating Room Charge Nurse, where she coordinated surgical procedures, facilitated the daily flow of the operating rooms, and maintained communication with operating room physicians. Camisha held the Certified Perioperative Nurse Certification (CNOR), a mark of distinction, demonstrating her commitment to upholding the highest standards in patient care and safety. She was part of the hospital’s Emerging Leaders Program and was trained in Lean Bronze Six Sigma, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Health Care Provider CPR. Camisha also loved to garden. Starting in the spring, you could find her out in her yard tending to her flowers and plants. Funeral services will be limited to family members and a few close family friends; however, the service will be streamed live on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/lighthousecommunitychurchbloomingtonindiana. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the Camisha R. Sims Memorial Nursing Scholarship Fund with the Community Foundation of Bloomington/Monroe County. Contributions can be made online at https://www.cfbmc.org/donate-now/ or by check to the Community Foundation of Bloomington Monroe County, 100 South College Avenue, Suite 240, Bloomington, IN 47404, indicating the Camisha R. Sims Memorial Nursing Scholarship Fund on the memo line. Online condolences may be given at www.DayDeremiahFrye.com.
Highlights from the Rotary Friends of the Foundation event on Friday, February 26, included recognition for Mike Baker as the district’s newest Major Donor, Lance Eberle as one of our district's 10 newest Paul Harris Society members, and Bloomington Sunrise Rotary as the 2018-19 runner-up in the district in per capita Foundation giving at $267.25 per member. Our club was one of three in the district to receive the Gold Level Presidential Citation for the 2019-20 year. Important announcement: Members will receive a dollar-for-dollar match in points on all gifts to the Foundation before June 1. If you’re interested in earning a Paul Harris Fellow pin, contact Ashley Wesley, Mike Baker or Phil Eskew for details.
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Connie Shakalis introduced Jim Poyser, executive director of Earth Charter Indiana, who spoke on “Signs of Climate Progress in Indiana.” Earth Charter’s mission is to advocate for climate action, through youth-led initiatives. Forty cities and counties in Indiana are engaged in one or more of the three steps:
- Greenhouse gas inventory
- Climate action planning
- Climate recovery actions, including resolutions by city and county elected officials, ordinances to reduce emissions, and others
Poyser shared several examples of initiatives. Carmel and Indianapolis City Councils have approved climate emergency resolutions. Muncie, Richmond, Terre Haute, and Zionsville are scheduled to adopt resolutions in April.
In northwest Indiana, 14 cities and three counties are engaged in conducting greenhouse gas inventories. This effort will be the largest to date in the state.
Schools are involved in many different initiatives. For example:
- Through the Thriving Schools Challenge, 20 schools are participating through grants of up to $5,000 for climate actions, such as zero-waste cafeterias, LED conversions, or school gardens. Teachers can receive $1,000 for their personal actions.
- Earth Charter has created Climate Literacy Toolkits, available at teachclimate.org.
- West Lafayette recently launched “Climate Kidz,” a program teaching climate resilience.
During the pandemic, Poyser feels students have more “bandwidth.” They are sleeping later, which is developmentally appropriate, and they don’t have as many extracurricular commitments. He shared several examples of student-led actions:
- Young people have deepened their knowledge of climate change and learned skills for organizing local climate recovery actions at Climate Camps at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis.
- In Fort Wayne, students are working with local firefighters, after they discovered that no first responders were trained to respond to emergencies caused (or exacerbated) by destabilizing climate conditions.
- In Terre Haute, EARTHLings (Environmental Activists for a Resilient Terre Haute) are carrying out the state’s first “Fridays for the Future” demonstrations, getting newspaper and TV coverage. They have held four meetings with the school superintendent demanding an environmental literacy curriculum.
Poyser invited Rotarians to participate in the March 13 screening of “I Am Greta” at www.earthcharterindiana.org/eci-anniversary, or in the climate strike rally at the Indiana Statehouse on March 19.
Members asked important questions:
Q: How do you respond to those who say “It’s too late. You’ve wrecked the climate.”
A: No one says that to kids. I have seen the hearts of conservatives melt in the face of kids beseeching them to do something. On the other hand, we have to tell them the truth: “It doesn’t look too good right now, but we have to try.”
Q: I’d like more details about how you facilitate local initiatives.
A: We have hired part-time resiliency coordinators to work with young people in nine communities. They identify key leaders among the young people, invite them to Climate Camps, and help them build community.
Q: How is Earth Charter Indiana funded?
A: Three funders have been key: McKinney Family Foundation, Ann Stack, and Charlie Sutphin – plus grants from energy foundations, and a membership program. The Herb Simon Family Foundation is underwriting the resiliency coordinator program.
Q: What has the re-focus on “resilience” done?
A: Earth Charter is trying to unlock capacity in communities across Indiana. The greenhouse gas inventory gets people interested and involved. Mitigation and adaptation are not oppositional but are both important to “getting through.”
Q: How are your efforts connected with interest in the outdoor world/nature?
A: The connection is principally through school garden projects and Climate Camps, where young people are involved in water quality testing while having fun in the creek. Many other organizations focus on the natural connection.
In honor of Jim’s presentation, the club will be making a donation to Beacon Inc, our quarterly speaker recognition recipient.
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Our March 2 Weekly Gathering
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President Ashley Wesley welcomed members and guests to Bloomington Rotary Club’s weekly Celebration of Service. She thanked producers Natalie Blais, Michael Shermis, Sally Gaskill and Earon Davis.
President-elect Sally Gaskill offered a reflection on the beginning of baseball season. As a girl, living on a farm in Kansas in the 1960s, she listened to games on the radio. She still loves the sounds, look, statistics of the game and the long, long grind of the season. She shared an appropriate Bart Giamatti quote:
“[Baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.”
Judy Schroeder introduced two guests, Allan Edmonds and Tim Londergan. Also visiting were Brian Boyd and Carolyn Frey, Sunrise Rotary.
Birthdays included Raj Haddawi, March 3, and Bob Zaltsberg, March 6.
John Hobson celebrated 36 years as a member.
Dave Meyer welcomed returning member John Zody.
Members contributed Happy Dollars in honor of the busy Boys & Girls Club playground we helped fund, the new “See Her Run” exhibit at the Monroe History Center, successful COVID vaccinations, and more.
Reporter: Sara Laughlin
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