The virtual program was carried on KUAM’s The Link interactive talkshow, which was livestreamed on their Facebook page at 8:30 A.M., ChST, Friday, September 11, 2020.
The event is traditionally held in person at the club’s Peace Memorial located at Puntan Dos Amantes (Two Lovers Point), Tumon, Guam but could not continue in its previous form due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a spirit of unity and remembrance, Rotarians, local and federal officials came together in this virtual presentation and gave us a sense of hope, even in the face of shared grief.
Donation to Sanctuary Community Service Director, Ina Lee successfully received generous donations of much needed supplies on a Wish List provided by Sanctuary. Our club wanted to support the clients, staff and volunteers in these difficult pandemic times. Although the Board appropriated $1,000, Director Ina coordinated for all the items to be donated.
76 Halloween Drive Thru Northern Guam teamed up with 76/Circle K to prepare over 1,000 bags of donated items to be passed out to children dressed up in their costumes. Rotarians helped distribute Halloween Treat Bags at the Dededo, Ypao and Ocean Vista stations.
Happy Thanksgiving Donation to the Kids at the Homeless Shelter Director Ina Lee realized the donations to the Global Dorm Shelter catered primarily to the adults. She organized at the last minute juice boxes and snacks compliments of Palomo Store and Micronesian Brokers for over 50 kids at the shelter.
Operation Christmas Drop 2020 Northern Guam donated $1,000 together with Farmers' Rice Cooperative, 150 sacks of 50-pound Diamond G Calrose Rice valued at $4,000. Additionally, Honorary Rotarian Mayor Savares and her family donated 34 packets of Seeds (Beans, Eggplant, Pak Choy, Onions); Fishing Nets – 8 each; Mosquito Nets – 15 each; Books to read, miscellaneous – approximately 200-plus in 5 medium size boxes. Assistant District Governor Luckie Sakamoto arranged for the cash and supplies donations of the clubs in Guam and Tokyo for an overall support valued close to $7,000. OCD Committee held the first ever Donor's Box Build day. Rotarians and family members helped pack the first 32 boxes which were the first to be dropped off at the islands of Palau.
Sanctuary Christmas 2020 Club's annual tradition continued in spite of the lockdown restrictions imposed by the public health emergency. Treasurer John Ilao and Youth Service Director Tony Paulino led the event and donated two fresh Christmas trees. They organized for Rotarians to donate Christmas decorations and potluck of food for the clients, staff and volunteers to enjoy the spirit of Christmas. Due to the lockdown restrictions, the donations were dropped off at Sanctuary.
On November 12, 2020 Northern Guam celebrated its 45th Charter anniversary.
Very fortunate to have Charter President William "Bill" Thomasson speak to the club members at their Zoom meeting held on Thursday, November 12, 2020.
He wrote this message ahead of time for Rotarians to read of his recollections of the Club start up and its first year of operations.
Greetings to all! The following are some of my memories going back to the Clubs formation and early years. My notice to put this together was quite short so it is not as complete as I would like. It was our founding members that set the tone for this Club and is why it has survived these many years. I am so proud the Club continues today and I played a small part in its formation.
It was the Rotary Club of Guam that spearheaded the formation of our Club. There were several meetings and at the last formation meeting it was decided to hold an election of officers. There was a consensus by members of the formation committee of the Guam Club that the first President should come from the Guam Club. After much discussion this requirement was waived and myself along with Joe T. San Agustin and others were nominated from the floor to choose its directors/officers. Joe was a Senator serving in the Guam Legislature at the time. It was between Joe and I for Club President and we each tried to convince the other to take the job. I lost and was elected President.
That first year was somewhat difficult. None of us really knew much about Rotary and at that time I was serving as President of American Savings and had little time for the Club job. However, it became clear a commitment was needed to keep the Club alive so every week I phoned every member to urge attendance at our meetings. We met at the Tower of Pizza which was owned by Club member Gary Caplan. I believe our major project was a Luau at one of the Tumon Hotels. Later we adopted the Soap Box Derby which was a roaring success and carried through to my second term in office.
We had so many great members in the early years we were quite active with various projects. I wish I had received this request a while back so I could really give careful thought as to all the things we were involved in. Our most active members in the early years were Hank Buffet, Rich Krusee, Fred Sun, Keith Nakamura, Jim Hutcherson and Paul Chang. Hank and Rich are no longer with us but made great contributions to the Club. I know I left out some and I apologize for this. At 81, the memory function is not what it used to be.
I can tell you we made a difference in the community. I do not recall the many areas of involvement we were in but our treasury was solid and we were active. In my first year we talked many times about the Rotary Motto of "Service Above Self" and we lived up to this commitment.
I commend the Club on its 45th Anniversary and wish you every success in the future. On a personal note I lived all together just under 40 years in Asia Pacific. After leaving Guam I lived in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Today I am somewhat retired living in America's oldest city, St. Augustine, Florida. I am a Mason and a Shriner having recently served as its President. Our Club supports its 21 children's hospitals across the nation. I also volunteer at our local Hospice and do Census work for the U.S. Census Bureau. If any of your members should ever come this way give me a call.
One of these days and maybe on your 50th Anniversary I plan to revisit Guam. I loved my time there and the Territory was very good to me in my various businesses.
The Rotary International Convention, scheduled for 12-16 June 2021, in Taipei, Taiwan, will now be a virtual event in response to the ongoing threat of COVID-19.
Zoom Meeting - 16 Dec. 2020 @ 12Noon ChST
