MEETING OF MAY 10, 2001 By Mary Prochnow
DICK BLANDING led us in the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, while PAT FARRELL shared a thought for the day reminding us of the value of "getting along". Songmeister extraordinaire JOHN SYLVESTER led the BOYS AND GIRLS CHOIR OF THE LOS ALTOS ROTARY CLUB in an inspiring rendition of AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL. Choir members were BOB ADAMS, SETH MANNING, CINDY LUEDTKE, RICK GLAZE, MARGE GRATIOT, MIKE SCHNEIDER, CRES MCFALL and ALAN LAMBERT.
SAM HARDING (pinch-hitting for FIROOZ GHAFFARI, who was replacing a stolen car phone) introduced Rotarians and guests. The Rotarian who had come the furthest was a physician from Hungary, active in Rotary there and whose son had been an exchange student with us. The physician brought gifts of a book and videotape on Hungary.
DR. PETER JOSS, a Rotarian from Spokane and brother of "friend of the club" BOB JOSS, came to present BOB with a PAUL HARRIS FELLOW in honor of an upcoming birthday. This appears to be a Joss family tradition and a wonderful one at that. It was, of course, a delight to see former club member BETTY JOSS, as well.
SETH MANNING presented a PAUL HARRIS FELLOW to an ebullient MIKE SCHNEIDER.
JACK HIGGINS asked for help for ROTOCARE. June 2 from 4 to 8 helpers are needed to sort perfectly usable medicinal samples donated to ROTOCARE..Contact Jack (he is a very active incoming member, if you haven't met him yet, do that next meeting).
Tickets are available for BRUCE BABBITT's talk at Flint Center and his reception on June 15th.THE ART SHOW IS COMING SOON! Volunteers are still needed, especially for set-up and take down…. contact SHELLEY POTVIN, if you have not already volunteered. WE NEED YOU!
Don't Forget the DISTRICT ASSEMBLY, Thursday May 17, 2001.DEREGULATION AND YOU
It is always a pleasure when one of our members transforms into the speaker for the day and we see them in their professional capacity. Today's speaker was GEORGE ESTILL. GEORGE has been a member of our Club since 1979. He is owner of ESTILL TRAVEL at VILLAGE COURT and has been a spokesperson for his industry for twenty years. George has represented his industry in negotiations with airline presidents, cruise line directors and more. He began a consortium of Travel Agencies in the Western United States, which now has the most buying power of any group of agencies.
Deregulation came about in 1978 with the influence of American Airlines and United helping it along. More than 200 airlines have merged or gone out of business since deregulation.
One of travelers' many current complaints stem from something called "yield management". George described this as "the fine art of determining how many people won't show up." We call it "overbooking" and it is the bane of the traveler.
The industry is fraught with disgruntled employees since deregulation and four strikes have been anticipated for 2001. Northwest has settled and Delta is expected to soon but American and United may still strike.
AIR RAGE is also a relatively new woe with people angry and frustrated over rotten airline service. Airport taxes have increased as have fares.Good news includes the fact that the travel industry must now be licensed in order to accept prospective travelers' monies, and trust accounts are required.
GEORGE generously shared his broad range of knowledge of the travel business and we thank him.
President's Message "America" never sounded sweeter than today, from our Los Altos Rotary Straw Hat Chorus, led by John Sylvester, with Bruce Cann on the 88s. Thank you all.
A new volunteer, with email, is needed to do a simple but important task, beginning now, through the coming Rotary year. There are about 20 people on our Rotator mailing list who don't have email. Most are members, and some are widows of past members whom we treasure as close friends with our Los Altos Rotary Club. Each week when the Rotator is published online, we need someone to print the right number of copies and promptly mail it to those on the list. Rotary will pay all costs, we just need someone's time. Firooz has been doing this, and now, as President, will need to pass it on. We are also happy to have a spouse who might consider doing this. Please give me a call, or an email, and I will be happy to help you get started.
The District 5170 Assembly will be on Thursday, May 17 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the DoubleTree Hotel in San Jose. This is an important training session which gives members a better understanding of the breadth of Rotary activities in the District and beyond. Those who are attending from our club are Presdient elect Firooz Ghaffari, President elect-elect Mary Prochnow, Clyde Noel, Mary Marley, Alex Ng, Mike Schneider, Pat Millar, Roland Payne, Victoria Emmons, Marge Bruno, Dick Henning, and Roy Lave. You may still contact Firooz if you would like to attend. The Club will pay for your dinner.
Past President Dude Angius has accepted an invitation from RI President elect Rick King to serve as a Member-at-Large for the Community Services Programs Task Force during the 2001-2002 year. Congratulations, Dude! We are very proud of you and look forward to hearing about the work of this group.
7500 Rotary California license plate orders need to be in by June 30, 2001, in order to take effect. I have written information, or it is available on the District 5170 website at www.rotary5170.org
See you Thursday,
GinnyPrograms
May
May 17 – Chuck Bull, RI Faces the Population Dilemma
May 19-20 - 26th Annual Rotary Fine Art in the Park
May 24 - Elizabeth Barkley on "The Music of Multicultural America"
May 31 – LARC Scholarship Awards DayJune
June 7 – Art Show Appreciation Day
June 10 - Rotary Family Picnic, 12:30 - 3:30 Serra Park, Sunnyvale
June 14 - LAREF Annual Meeting
June 15 - Bruce Babbitt Celebrity Forum Talk, 8 p.m. and Rotary Reception, 9:30 p.m.
June 21 – Bob Hoffman, Cleaned up Mt. Everest
June 28 – Ginny's Kick-out, part 1
June 29 - LARC Kick-out, Dinner/Dance, Fremont Hills Country Club"Information in this newsletter is intended for the exclusive use of the members of the Rotary Club of Los Altos to facilitate the work of the club and to promote club fellowship. It is not to be used for any commercial or outside, unrelated, non-profit purposes. No publication of material in this newsletter should occur without the express permission of the club President or the Editor of the Rotator."
Copyright 2001 The Los Altos Rotary Club
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