President Cheri called the meeting to order and asked Past-President Marilyn Orr to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

She then had Chris Ramirez come to the podium to read the Rotary Four-Way Test.  He then noted how those principals had guided his life as the oldest of four siblings as he tried to impart values to the younger three.

 

Guests:  

Reed Thompson joined us for his third visit.  Andrew Comstock was the guest of Emily Matthews and another prospective new member.  Pierre Bouquet introduced his friend and frequent guest, John Manning.

 

Rotary Business:

President Cheri recapped the previous meeting which was held at BHS and hosted by the Italian Exchange Program.  She then passed around the award our club was given for our long-standing support of the school and the exchange program.

 

She then asked Phil Siegle to come forward and exchange his round badge for his official square badge.

 

Mike Heffernan then stepped to the microphone and told us about the new upcoming fundraiser.  The Taste of New Orleans 94010 will be held on Sunday, April 26^th at the Hillsborough Racquet Club.  It will prove to be a very fun event.  You can sign-up on our website, www.burlingamerotary.org  or https://tasteofneworleans94010.com/.  Everyone is encouraged to bring guests.  Mike gave a shout-out to Bob Doerr who organized the Burlingame Bistro, our former fundraising event for a number of years.

 

Speaker: 

Buffy Martin Tarbox, communication manager, gave the group a very thorough overview of the Peninsula Humane Society. The organization was founded in 1950 by a group of concerned citizens.  In 1952 they opened their original shelter at Coyote Point.  This structure is finally being rebuilt and will be completed in March.  This facility is the in-take center for all animals.  The staff conducts assessments.  They also provide spay and neuter services, as well.  The second location is the Tom and Annette Lantos Center for Compassion on Rollins Road in Burlingame.  This is the adoption center for all animals, dogs, cats and a variety of other critters.  The third location is the Pick of the Litter Thrift Shop off Broadway.

 

PHS/SPCA is an open admission shelter, not only accepting many pet animals who might be refused at other shelters, but also taking care of injured and orphaned native wildlife from San Francisco through San Mateo and the northern half of Santa Clara County. They do NOT euthanize animals due to space constraints.  They will care for an animal until it is adopted even if it takes years.  In 2019 3,032 animals were adopted from this humane society.

 

In addition to pet adoption services the organization runs Animal Control Rescue to pick up stray or injured animals.  They also employ their own Humane Investigators who have the authority to remove abused animals and arrest the abusers.  Other services include microchipping, licensing, spay and neutering. PHS/SPCA has a state-of-the-art mobile spay/neuter clinic and takes this “surgery suite on wheels” to targeted neighborhoods on the Peninsula offering free spay/neuter surgeries.

 

PHS/SPCA has some other unique programs.  They run the TAILS program (Transitioning Animals Into Loving Situations) in partnership with the Sheriff’s Department. Shelter dogs with limited adoption potential are given round-the-clock care and attention from minimum-security inmates while the inmates are given an avenue for developing skills and making their time more meaningful. Outside of class run by PHS, dogs live with the inmates who reinforce class lessons and are responsible for the dogs’ exercise, socialization, grooming and housetraining.

 

There are many other services provided.  Information can be found at https://phs-spca.org/

 

Closing:

 

President Cheri presented Buffy with a certificate of appreciation noting that we would be providing 5 polio vaccinations as part of Rotary’s effort to eradicate the disease.

 

Next week’s speaker is Kent Putnam who will take about the auto business in Burlingame.