MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 19, 2002

By: Cindy Luedtke
Webmaster - Steve Gruber

For Openers
ALAN LAMBERT led the group in an entertaining version of "Smile."

JACK HIGGINS made note of a picture of our own Dude Angius on page 28 of the Rotarian Magazine. In his eloquent message, Jack related the Serenity Prayer to the real life experiences of our own little club in Los Altos. Serenity, courage and wisdom within a small group of people have made a significant impact in the world through the work of the Rotary Aids Project, and for that we should be proud. The serenity prayer goes like this; God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the Courage to change the things we can, and the Wisdom to know the difference.

Have a great time at an old-fashioned family Picnic
JOANNA MEDIN announced the Rotary Club's annual Fall Picnic will be held on Sunday, October 6, at Heritage Oaks Park (Miramonte and Portland Avenue) from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM. Bring your friends and family and spend a relaxed afternoon with fellow Rotarians. Bring a dish to share and dress comfortably. Soft drinks, burgers and hotdogs will be provided. No one will make you play, but there will be volleyball and badminton, if you like. There is a cost of $5.00 for children and $10.00 for adults. Make checks payable to LARC and make your reservations by September 27. Call or e-mail Joanna if you have questions.

Save the Date!
According to DICK HENNING, its never too soon to think about attending the District Conference at the Santa Clara Marriott to be held on April 25, 26, and 27. The annual golf tournament will be held on Thursday, April 24. Mark it down and be there.

A well-deserved pat on the back
JOAN ROSELLE made special mention of some special Rotarians who took time out of their Saturday evening to provide meals for the Alpha Omega shelter. They were; SAM PESNER, JANUARY REED, and ALAN LAMBERT.

Another opportunity to learn more about Rotary
President MARY announced there is still time to join other Los Altos Rotary members in attending the Annual Avenue of Service Barbecue in Hayward on Thursday, September 26. Just let her know and she'll give you the particulars on the carpool.

Who needs a finemaster when there are "True Confessions"?
In spite of the absence of a REAL finemaster, PRESIDENT MARY PROCHNOW was undaunted by the task before her and may have made record profits from her relentless badgering for "confessions" from the group. People who gave in to the pressure included: JACK HEIDMILLER who became a grandparent of Connie, daughter of Scott, just born on Tuesday in Santiago, Chile, LEE LYNCH for five family birthdays, all in September including hers, MARGE BRUNO, though reluctant, gave in due to her prominent placement in this week's Crier. Then there was BILLY RUSSELL who came out of the clouds after a great week last week and got himself a PT Cruiser. JACK HIGGINS joined the fray and paid dearly for his 4-year anniversary.

Confessions continued as if out of the woodwork: CRES MCFALL took the opportunity to brag about his daughter's synchronized swimming team becoming the bronze medal winner at the Zurich World Cup. SAM PESNER decided to pony up for his 24 wedding anniversary before someone told on him. They were dropping like flies! DAN ARRA, CLYDE NOEL. And, as if that wasn't enough, STEVE YARBROUGH "fessed up" to 10 years of Living in Sin and paid the "whole enchilada" to be in the President's club for that one. This left a perfect opportunity for MARGE GRATIOT to underpay for her 38th wedding anniversary since living in sin should be more costly. MEG SOLERA was not to be left out after having her son Josh featured in the paper for his boy scout scholarship. HERB MARSHALL welcomed himself back after selling a business, and returning from visiting New York, Italy, and Spain, but then, only after some serious boarding took place. DAN O'DONNEL turned in KELLY HUDSON for getting a good review for her performance in the "Laramie Project" at a theater near you. BOB ADAMS couldn't resist announcing the Cal Bears were ranked 23rd in the Nation, and thought it prudent to join the President's Club now while it (the ranking, that is) lasts. And MIKE MENKE, who is living proof that chiropractic care will keep you young, paid up for his 29th? birthday again. Happy Birthday ,Mike.

Bring warm clothing
Over the next few weeks until October 10, MATT CABOT will be collecting warm clothing and shoes in the parking lot outside of the meeting each week. The collection will go to the Afghan refugees.

All about Dan
DAN ARRA gave his five-minute talk. He travels the least distance to Rotary. Just up the driveway from Garden House, as a matter of fact. He is married to Patti, his wife of 11 years and has four children, ages 2, 5, 7, and 9. He is one of five children, born and raised in Chicago and nearby Naperville. When he was in high school the family moved to Glendora in Southern California where he and his brothers founded the Arra Brothers Gardening Service. It was the gardening service that helped get him and his brothers through school. Dan graduated from USC with a degree in Electrical Engineering. When he worked on an F14 radar project after graduating, he realized being a Marine fighter pilot was more to his liking and went to Marine training school. This was a springboard into his next engineering gig as a systems engineer. He later worked for Novell and joined forces with his brothers to form a software consulting firm. He later sold the company and now has a new company, Gatespeed Broadband, a wireless provider.

That's it. Don't throw ANYTHING out!
TRACEY MURRAY introduced our guest speaker, Judy Johnson. Judy is a professional in custom antique and estate assessment and liquidation. She helps people find unexpected treasures and sells them. She often finds the real treasures are not ever usually where she is led. Rather, they are in the "Oh, by the way" corner of the closets and garages.

Judy advises that you should probably hold on to the following things, at least until further notice: Carpenters rulers, old fishing lures, boy scout sashes (Not girl scouts. At least not yet), Popular collectibles include hot wheel cars, "made in Japan" toys, pedal cars, models, fabrics and clothes in good condition from 1945 through 1970. In the kitchen, look for nesting bowls, Pyrex and California pottery. Old patterns, aprons, sheet music, old children's books, Halloween items and Hawaii souvenirs made prior to 1960.

Forget about silver plate items, cut glass, collector plates and pewter, unless its really old. There are still too many 45's and 78 records around to make them interesting.

With any collectible, condition is vital. E-Bay has had a tremendous impact to collectors. The ease of availability has driven the prices of collectibles down.

So, if your thinking about down-sizing and you want help sort out "the good stuff" from the rest, email Judy@UnexpectedTreasures.net

Help Wanted!
Partners for New Generations has been able to obtain a grant from the Packard Foundation that will allow us to expand our mentoring program to Los Altos and Mountain View High Schools. It is now imperative that we ensure the success of this worth-while program. Partners is searching for adult volunteers to become mentors for the coming semester. The training program for Los Altos and Mountain View High Schools will begin after the winter holiday break in January 2003. We need you! Please contact Partners at 650-949-0828 Ext. # 4 or e-mail to partners@losaltosrotary.org

Programs and Events

September
September 26 - Humberto Mayorga: Rotary District 5170 GSE Scholar
October
October 3 - Wendy Enloe: U.S. Secret Service Agent, "Identity Theft: What is it. How can it be prevented?"
October 6 - Rotary picnic - Heritage Oaks Park 12:30 - 3:30
October 10 - Anne Cribbs: CEO - Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC), "Selecting Host Cities for the Olympics"
October 17 - Gloria Hom, "Proposition Preview" for the Nov. 5 election
October 24 - Dr. Zimbelman: Smithsonian Scholar, "Voices of Discovery" Exploration of the Solar System.
October 31 - Rosalind Bivings: President: Fore Women Golfers, "Real Men Golf With Women"

NEARBY ROTARY CLUB MEETING PLACES
TUESDAY
Los Altos Sunset: The Echo Restaurant, Los Altos, 7:15 p.m.
Mountain View: Adobe House, Moffett & Central, Mountain View, 12:15 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Menlo Park: Menlo Park Recreation Center, Menlo Park, noon.
Woodside/Portola: Woodside Village Church, Woodside, 7:30 a.m. THURSDAY
Los Altos: Garden House, Shoup Park, Los Altos, 12:15 p.m.
Palo Alto Sunrise: Scott's, Town & Country, Palo Alto, 7:15 a.m.
FRIDAY
Palo Alto University: Sheraton, El Camino, Palo Alto, 7:30 a.m.

"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 2002 The Los Altos Rotary Club

Home

Art Show

Partners for New Generations

Contact Us

Links