May 2025 Ears Newsletter
Members celebrating Birthday’s in May
Becky Kolberg May 2nd
Pat Scott May 23rd
May you two have an amazing time celebrating with family and friends!
APRIL 22nd MEETING WITH JESSE VANZEE RECAP
We had a great conversation with Jesse VanZee, SRVUSD School Board Member, Seat 1, about his work on the School Board to bring common sense back to the Board. Please contact the School Board members with your concerns on the budget, the proposed ethnic studies classes, or anything else here.
MAY 20th MEMBER MEETING WITH SADIE FOSTER - LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
Please join us on Tuesday, May 20th at Black Bear Diner for an informative lunch with our speaker, Sadie Foster, from the Leadership Institute. Sadie worked for 8 years in the Legislature and is preparing a training for our Club Members to meaningfully engage in politics on the Local, State and National levels.
Social time will start at 11:30am and the meeting will begin at 12pm. Please make your reservations here to attend our next member meeting.
SRVWRF 75th ANNIVERSARY PARTY INVITATION
Your 5 time NFRW Diamond Award winning Club is celebrating our Diamond Anniversary this year!! It is with great pleasure that your Board, invites all of you to celebrate our Club’s 75th Anniversary on Saturday, June 14th, 2025, from 5:30-9pm!! The party will be held in Alamo. More information is available here.
We would love your help in organizing this amazing party! Our initial request for help is for donations for our a silent auction and help with decorations. Please email info@srvrwf.com with ways you are able to help.
Please pass on this invitation to fellow Republican’s to celebrate with us!
SRVRWF BOARD HELP
Dear SRVRWF Membership,
Your Board is in need of help in the positions of Secretary and Treasurer. I would like to thank the two amazing members, Paula and Julie, who stepped up last year to fulfill these Board positions, unfortunately they had to step down due to unforeseen developments in their lives. If you have a couple hours a month to assist Kirstin and I, you will be given as much help as needed to succeed in your position. Please reach out to me at president@srvrwf.com, if you would like to discuss this opportunity.
Kind regards,
Erika Coday
SRVRWF President
Causes of Recent CA Wildfires Revisited
There is always a great media focus on how our disastrous wildfires get started and not why they are becoming increasing massive and uncontrollable. CalFire (our state firefighting agency) says, there are on average 2,900 wildfires each year. Almost all are put out so fast you will never hear about them. Many are also put out by local fire districts as well. Fire districts are always improving training & equipment.
What causes the few to become so massive and uncontrollable is requiring very negligent maintenance of wild areas, allowing a great fire load to accumulate. As every year, it will be bone dry during summers and fires can spread very fast. According to our US Forest Service, there were 129,000,000 dead trees standing in CA (Google: 129 million dead trees in CA). Most are pine trees that are bark beetle kills. Over-crowding of forests, aids in rapid fire spread and poor tree health. In droughts, overcrowded forests struggle for the remaining groundwater. Under brush used to be eliminated by controlled burns. Environmentalists have used political pressure and lawsuits to fight burns. They demand things be left “natural.”
The recent LA homes were surrounded by a huge load of brush right up against property lines. This brush develops a sap layer on the branches that is highly flammable when dry. Homeowners were not allowed to clear a defensive zone even though they knew of the great danger.
Mark Fernwood - SRVRWF Member
Cal Fire Article on Dead Trees in California
Many of you may remember that in September of 2023, SRVRWF hosted, C. Michael Hogan, PhD, during which he discussed the State of California’s policies related to water supply and wildfires which have led to adverse outcomes. He stated that with regard to wildfires, California has been derelict in removing known dead wood and underbrush from our forests; these areas have been well mapped but not funded by our legislature, and ignored by our governor. In fact, Newsom has fired 1,000 of our fast responder fire fighters, and not invested in critical aerial fire combat technology. Finally the state has been very lenient to serial arsonists who account for about 30 percent of our wildfires.
CFRW SUMMER BOARD MEETING and CONFERENCE
June 6-7 - Atascadero, CA
They have a great lineup of speakers so far (see attached) - and more to come! There are so many things to do in the beautiful San Luis Obispo area (see attached). Plan to combine your conference attendance with some R&R in the area!
EARLY BIRD PRICING EXPIRES MAY 7th! REGISTER USING LINKS BELOW....
Register for Conference at:
https://www.cognitoforms.com/CFRW1/CFRWSUMMERBOARDOFDIRECTORSMEETINGANDCONFERENCEJUNE2025
Register for Hotel room at CFRW rate at:
https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1740693520817&key=GRP&guestreslink2=true&app=resvlink
Click here to Read full "Call to Conference”: https://mcusercontent.com/5747bc70d125d1ceb4bbc7094/files/eee8874e-6c38-d172-97f7-90016e49346e/FINAL_CALL_2025_SUMMER_CONF_ATASCADERO.pdf
CFRW website: https://cafrw.org
DID YOU FORGET TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP??
THERE’S STILL TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP FOR 2025!
Membership dues are January 1st to December 31st. If you have not yet renewed your membership for 2025 please take time this month to renew via our website or by printing out our 2025 application and mailing it into the PO Box.
Membership dues are as follows:
Associate $35 - Members of another RWF Clubs or men membership
Regular $50 - Full voting rights membership
Golden Poppy $100 - Club sustaining membership
We offer two ways to renew:
1. Online via our website, you may pay via Zelle.
2. Print our membership application and mail your check to SRVRWF, PO Box 1, Danville, CA 94526.
We are excited for our Club’s 75th year and the return of Donald J. Trump to the Oval Office!!
CALENDAR
MAY 2025
May 1st May Day (Lei Day in Hawaii) & National Day of Prayer (1st Thursday in May)
May 3rd Kentucky Derby
May 4th National Star Wars Day - May the 4th be with you all!
May 11th Mather’s Day
May 13th National Apple Pie Day
May 17th Armed Forces Day - Honoring active duty military personnel
May 19th National Devil’s Food Cake Day - Yummy!!
May 20th SRVRWF Member Meeting - Sadie Foster, Leadership Institute
May 26th Memorial Day - We honor those that paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we hold while serving our country; The Viet Nam Veterans of Diablo Valley are again hosting a Memorial Day Ceremony at Oak Hill Park beginning at 10am; The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 75 and local veteran groups will ight the Mount Diablo Beacon at 8pm
May 28th National Hamburger Day
JUNE 2025
June 1st National Ketchup Day
June 6th-7th CFRW Summer Conference - Paso Robles Area - Register here
June 6th D-Day Remembrance
June 7th National Chocolate Ice Cream Day - Yummy!
June 14th SRVRWF 75th Anniversary Celebration - RSVP here; President Trump’s Birthday;
United States Army’s 250th Birthday; Flag Day
June 15th Father’s Day
June 17th National Root Beer Day
June 20th First Day of Summer
June 27th National PTSD Awareness Day - For more information please visit this VA page