Do you remember what “SOC” stands for? If you go back to Our Community #1, you’ll see that it means – “Sense of Community.” Here’s an update to that new theme.
On Sunday, there was another “SOC Indicator” event held at the Sheraton Hotel. The Petaluma Educational Foundation (PEF) awarded scholarships worth a total of $196,725 to 227 graduating seniors. Since 1983, PEF has presented scholarships totaling $900,705 and over $1,000,000 in grants to classroom teachers. Now that’s a real indicator of Petaluma’s Sense of Community.
Each recipient was able to state his/her name and tell where they were planning to continue their post-high school education. All Petaluma area high schools were represented. This annual event demonstrated the generosity of individual citizens, families, and organizations alike. These young people will be the community leaders of tomorrow. The Foundation manages 40 Scholarship Programs for donors. What better SOC Indicator can you use to help measure Our Petaluma’s true spirit?
Speaking about high school students, an item in Sunday’s newspapers caught my eye; Chris Smith’s column in the Press Democrat. The community, however, is Sebastopol, where 70 Analy HighSchool sophomores plan to visit 350 homes in Sebastopol and ask residents if they have made preparations for the next big quake. After they gather the data they’ll wait a month and return to see if they’ve taken any earthquake precautions. It will be an interesting study to watch. Stay tuned for their findings.
In the meantime, however, Our Community will have completed one 10 week, 30 hour, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training course, and started a second one. Any interested citizen in the Greater Petaluma Area is invited to attend a public CERT Information Meeting, this Thursday, May 11th, from 7-8 p.m., at the Petaluma Senior Center (211 Novak Drive) in order to find out what the course will cover. The group will then decide the class schedule. There is no charge. The course is organized and offered by community volunteers, free of charge. Isn’t this another SOL Indicator? How lucky can a community get? Stay tuned to this initiative too.
On Our Radar Screen: Have I told you what the first thing is that I do each morning, after I waddle out in my bathrobe and bunny-rabbit slippers, and pick up the newspapers?
Tune in tomorrow.