Page 7 - Mid Valley Times 5-20-21 E-edition

Thursday, May 20, 2021
Annual Reedley Rotary dinner held at Wakehouse
The View From Here
If there is one thing I hate about summer evenings, it’s the mos-
quitoes. They al-
ways seem tofindmeattheendofan evening. If I haven’t sprayed myself with repellent, I end up with multiple bites on my arms and legs.
So, on the evening of May 15, I made sure to pack enough OFF Mosquito Spray for when I attended the an- nual Reedley Rotary auction and dinner held on the lawn of the Wakehouse.
The night was a bit cooler than expected so thankfully for me there weren’t too ma- ny mosquitoes out. And, for the first time in a long time, (a year to be exact) things seem to be returning to nor- mal. During the event every- one looked happy, calm, and just glad to be back celebrat- ing amongst friends.
I had the chance to speak to Steve Just. He is the pres- ident of the Reedley Rotary Club. Steve told me they are happy with how local Rotar- ians improvised during the lock down.
Instead of having their normal weekly meetings, they decided to take them online. Each Thursday they’d broadcast their Rota- ry meetings on Facebook. I’d check into the online meet- ings every now and then.
They were a lot of fun to watch. Great job, Steve and Rotary members for im- provising and keeping the weekly meetings going.
Signs of "normalcy" were also present in Kingsburg. On May 16, I was sent pho- tos from Danny Jimenez. Reedley High and Reedley Middle College High School students posed for photos before their prom and after the Kingsburg Swedish Fes- tival Parade.
I can't help but think back to last year. When the graduating seniors of 2020 were left with little to no op- tions for prom and gradua- tion. As much as everyone tried, there was just a sense of COVID-19 coming in and robbing us of so much. Which, in many ways it did. I am glad that the worst of it is over and things are finally looking up.
With that said, we'd also like to extend a huge con- gratulations to this year's graduating seniors. From my understanding, most schools will have a limited capacity graduation cer- emony.
This includes Fresno City College. My daughter is graduating from Fresno City with her associates de- gree. She is excited about the achievement and I’m so proud of her and all of this year's graduating students.
By Juanita Adame
MId Valley Publishing
The evening of May 15 was cool and breezy as the Reed- ley Rotarians celebrated their 38th annual auction and dinner at the Wakehouse in Reedley.
“This is our major fundrais- er,” said Steve Just, Reedley Rotary president. “And with it we fund all of the scholarships that we give to students, as well as a lot of the community events that we sponsor.”
Just said last year there was no live dinner due to CO- VID-19, but they are glad to have a sense of normalcy re- turning.
“COVID-19 came in and usually our auction is at the end of March,” he said. “About two weeks before we thought we could make it but ten days prior to the event the state shut everything down and we were done,”
“I think there is enough se- curity with what we have in regards to vaccines,” he con- tinued. “And the number of people who were concerned are probably not as concerned anymore.”
Just said that when the pan- demic hit and the lock down order was issued, they decided to take their Rotary meetings online.
Juanita Adame
Juanita Adame / Mid Valley Times
Juanita Rodriguez Ferguson, a bartender with the Wakehouse Bar and Grill, served drinks to local Rotarians during the groups annual dinner and auction events on May 15.
“In some of the ways that we conducted ourselves as a club, we went online,” he said. “We could have continued and stick it to the man, but we decided to go online because sometimes you do things to be an example to the community in good times and in bad.”
Rotary is an international club that sponsors a variety of events and supports a number of causes. There are chapters throughout the world.
“Service above self, that’s what our motto is,” he said. “Service above self and we sponsor events as a local club locally, we sponsor events
district wide, and then we do things internationally as well. As Rotarians we are also try- ing to wipe polio off the plan- et.”
With COVID-19 numbers on the decline and with the state easing restrictions, Just said the Reedley Rotary club has resumed back to having their live meetings.
The meetings are held at the Reedley Community Cen- ter. For more information on Reedley Rotary, visit reedley- rotary.com.
A customized glitter tumbler with the Reedley High School Pirate logo was among the items up for bid during the event.
Sanger High celebrates academic achievements
Dinuba Woman's Club looks forward to summer events
Photo Courtesy / Dinuba Woman's Club
The Dinuba Woman's Club wrapped up another year of fundrais- ing events. "We will be having summer social gatherings," the group announced "and you are welcome to join in on the fun!."
Photo of the week
Photo Contributed
Sanger High School celebrated nearly 100 seniors during their aca- demic awards ceremony on May 17.
Mid Valley Times
A ceremony recognizing Sanger High School’s academ- ic seniors was held on May 17.
Close to 100 students reached the goal of graduat- ing with a grade point aver- age of 4.0 or higher.
“We are very proud of these young men and women,
and we wish them the best of luck as they venture on to college,” the school said in a statement.
The school will be having a socially distanced graduation ceremonies on June 11 at Tom Flores Stadium.
Students began picking up their caps and gowns on May 14.
Contributed
Thisphotoof thePicazofamilyattheBlossomTrailwassentinby AryanaPicazo. Haveaphotoyou'dlikefeatured? Emailjuanita@ midvalleypublishing.com.