We Meet at Noon on Thursday

November 3, 2022

For Those Attending in Person

Buffet Meal

(Zoom Meeting Opens at 11:45)

(Link Sent Thursday Morning)

At

Dave will share his perspective after a few months in this transition role as the leader of UMD.

Chair of the Day Past President Tricia Bunten

 

By Al Makynen

 

President Barb Perrella, Past President John Baumgarten and Past Assistant Governor Al Makynen began our Thursday Noon Rotary Meeting (the place to be!) with the ringing of the bell, the National Anthem, and a Rotary Reflection on the launching of the USS Constitution in October 1797.

 

Cory Collier reported that his daughter, Rachael, recently passed the uniform bar exam and is currently licensed in the state of Massachusetts. Vinod Gupta who led the effort to sell Rotary Rose Coupons thanked President Elect Gary Melander for asking him to “just make 28 phone calls”.  Then a thank you to Patra Sevastiades who advised him that the work would be ten times more than that!  (But who worries about such details once you say yes!)  All of this followed by a shout out to Jon Ohman, David Fulda, Paul Helstrom, Jenna Evans, Rob Hofmann, Barb Perrella, Elizabeth Simonson, and Roxanna Esguerra for their assistance in the completion of a successful and fun coupon project.

 

Vinod Gupta thanked his team of Coupon Sellers

 

President Barb Perrella reminded us the next Rotary Breakfast will be Friday, November 11^th at 8:00 a.m. at the Kitchi Gammi Club.  There is no program.  Registration not required.  Just mark your calendar now and show up for fellowship.  Breakfast is ordered off the menu with costs ranging from $9 - $13.  Come join in the conversation.

 

Members enjoying the October Rotary Breakfast

 

Past President Mike Orman was very proud to introduce an associate attorney from his law firm and a fellow club member Lieutenant Commander, US Navy Reserve, Jeff Wencl.  Being a Foreign Affairs Officer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and having served as a Force Protection Officer during mobilization in Kuwait from April 2019 to November 2020 he is uniquely qualified to talk about the initiatives to protect our military forces in the region as we fought against ISIS during the time of COVID-19.

 

Lt. Commander, US Naval Reserve, Jeff Wencl

 

Our speaker had unique skills that resulted in his involuntary recall to active duty to be embedded into an army unit.  An ironic situation for a navy man!  For his tour of duty, he lived in a ten by twenty-foot shipping container placed inside a compound within a compound out in the desert.  With the onset of COVID all contractors and foreign nationals were removed and the gates locked.  Nothing (supplies) coming in, and nothing (garbage) going out.  All mission activities were disrupted with unintended consequences.  To maintain the mission of providing protection against asymmetric threats to our troops and allies, all processes had to be reviewed and revised. Nothing worked the same during the complete lockdown.  Our enemies continued to harass the base with missile strikes and on one occasion a direct attack using explosives on the concrete perimeter wall.  Fortunately, all attacks were repulsed without casualties.  Through his stories and photographs, we got a glimpse of what is required to stand guard in a foreign land.

 

Central Command Area of Operation

 

Jeff Wencl inside a destroyed refinery