MEETING OF AUGUST 28, 2003 Rotator Writer: Cindy Luedtke
Editor: Dick Blanding
For Starters
KELLY HUDSON led the group in “Take me out to the Ballgame”VICTORIA EMMONS gave some quotable words of wisdom from past leaders such as Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. She ended by making note that today was the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Sweet Rewards
President Al gave special recognition to the rugged and brave group of Rotarians who gave of their time over the past weekend to make cotton candy at the City Picnic. The group, led by GINNY LEAR also included MATT CABOT, MARGE BRUNO, SHELLY POTVIN and her husband, MICHAEL SUTTON, and GEORGE DAI. Thank you for representing Los Altos Rotary for all of us that day.
Announcements
President Al went on to ask that we reserve October 16th on our calendars. That evening will be the Avenues of Service District Meeting. This is a great opportunity to attend a District function and learn more about Rotary, its specific areas of service, and gather ideas on what other clubs might be doing. Contact Al if you are interested in attending.
Beginning September 2nd the City of Los Altos will be doing some construction work at Shoup Park, specifically on the playground. We have been advised that the parking lots near the park will remain open during construction.
BOB ADAMS announced that there was a mentoring training session to be held at the end of the day. If you missed the training session, it is not too late to volunteer as a mentor, however, and more mentors are needed. Another training session will be offered in early 2004.
JOHN CARDOZA has been instrumental in streamlining the process of expediting new membership applications. He has put both the Sponsor and New Membership application forms on a Word file. So if you would like to complete an application, you can get a copy of the form by calling or e-mailing John Cardoza. He will then e-mail to you the new word file. By having the applications in electronic form, it will make it easier for sponsors and new member applicants to fill out the forms on their own computers and simply e-mail it in to John. John will then see that they are distributed to the Board members for their review and approval for consideration for membership.
DAVID DYE announced that greeters are needed. Greeting is not a task that is limited to red badgers. Please contact David and pitch in a week. Besides, we’d love to see your smiling face when we arrive each Thursday.
IRENE PRESTON announced she is passing around the latest schedule for meal delivery to the Rotacare clinic. If everyone takes one turn at delivering a meal, we will accomplish this simple task for the whole year. You will be able to see the clinic in operation and see for yourself how busy the volunteers are. This simple task is our way of thanking the Rotacare volunteers who deserve to have a free meal delivered to them for their unselfish dedication. So, remember to sign up.
JACK HEIDMILLER made one last appeal to those of us who may have a laptop computer that’s no longer needed. His son will take it back to his home in Chile where it will be put to good constructive use by people who would not otherwise be able to afford one.
SAM PESNER could use some help with providing a meal on Thursday, November 11th to the Alpha Omega Shelter. Please contact him directly if you can help.
Statistics never Lie
Before announcing our newest member to Rotary, STEVE YARBROUGH did his best to illustrate that attendance in our club could easily improve. He pointed out that 40 of our 155 members attend less than 50% or less of weekly meetings. How can we improve our attendance?
There’s a new Red Badger in our midst
MELINI ALLES was given her red badge today, by sponsor, FIROOZ GHAFFARI. Melini is a veteran volunteer at national and international levels. She has been instrumental in the founding of no less than four hi-tech companies. Welcome to Los Altos Rotary, Melini.
Paul Harris three times over
WYATT ALLEN spoke about ambassadorial scholarships made possible by the Rotary Foundation. He then awarded DAN DUTTON and VICTORIA EMMONS the Paul Harris plus two sapphires pin. Congratulations to Dan and Victoria.
SINE’S FINES
Then it was time for the infamous JOHN SINES, who cleanly paid $150.00 so he could guiltlessly gloat about his famous 15-year old son, Charlie, who appeared in the sports section this week. For those of you who missed it, Charlie won the Fred Merrick San Jose Junior golf tournament earlier this month with a two-round score of 140.
With the same boldness, he swiftly fined MALINI ALLES, who just barely got to sit down after receiving her red badge. He disguised this affront as a “brauso”, (a hug in Spanish), for doing such good work in the area of AIDS prevention and research.
Since it is the first week of school for Los Altos, John charged $40.00 to have the following people remember their most influential teachers; DICK BLANDING who felt his mother was the most influential teacher in his life, JOHN “BOGEY” BOGART, who learned to be on time and paid $100.00 because he was so proud of that fact, MATT CABOT who has three teachers in his own family alone, but wisely chose his wife as most influential, DAN DUTTON who paid $1.00 for each whack on the back of his hands he received from Sister Thomas, HUGH RIDDELL who remembered his Vice Principal with the size 13 shoe-on-a-stick and decided that job was for him, DAVID DYE who learned about critical thinking, questioning authority, and the meaning of life from his most influential teacher, and finally, JACK HEIDMILLER, who had great memories of Father Wang, paid his $40.00. To tie it all up, DENNIS YOUNG paid a hefty fine for leaving town and having GINNY LEAR pick up the pieces with the cotton candy operation.
Hoorah for Syrah
President Al was happy to see the progress made on the fines today. He announced that the bottling of the presidential wine took place last weekend. All Presidential Club members with paid fines of $100 or more will be entitled to one bottle of this exceptional wine to be opened in the Centennial Year 2005. You won’t want to miss this party, folks.
Today's Speaker
Martha Kanter, Chancellor of Foothill-DeAnza District was today’s guest speaker. She became Chancellor on July 1, 2003. Martha continues to move forward on Foothill-DeAnza’s tradition of “Building Community Excellence”. She spoke of the challenges faced by the District, facing tremendous demand from the community it serves and at the same time having funding decrease with expenses that continue to rise. Of the $200MM budget, $150MM is funded through the State and $50MM is funded through Foothill-DeAnza’s self-supporting programs and grants. In comparison to other colleges, Foothill-DeAnza is grossly under-funded. Martha works with those influential with the State and others to advocate equitable funding for her schools.
As a result of the passage of Measure E by the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, Dr. Kanter and her team are leading the complete renovation of college facilities that are more than 40 years old, and building new science, arts, and student centers at Foothill and De Anza Colleges. One of the new facilities is Foothill’s Krause Center for Innovation, dedicated to teacher education. The other is the Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies, a sustainable “green building” that is being designed to exceed the state’s energy efficiency standards by 50% or more when built.
Dr. Kanter concluded her presentation by answering several questions from the group, mostly about finance. Foothill-DeAnza College continues to be the best bargain in town for quality education. Non-residents, who make up 5% of the student population, pay a full rate of $121.00 per unit. Recently, the District has had to deny access to students because of a State-imposed cap. Martha feels strongly that the local boards should be given more control of funding in order to improve the schools’ financial situation.
LAREF Contributions Committee is looking for Volunteers
Mary Marley, Chairperson of the LAREF Contributions Committee this year is looking for members of the club, who represent a broad range of interests, to join the Contributions Committee. The role of the committee is to review are requests for donations from charities in the local area, and recommend which ones LAREF will support and how much support we will give to an organization. The committee will meet just a few times per year, but the meetings will be several hours each. At these meetings we will review the grant applications and make our recommendations to LAREF. If you would like to be directly involved in helping to make these important giving decisions, please contact Mary Marley at 650-941-1111 ext 461 or mmarley@apr.com
Programs and Events
September
Sept. 4: John Hennessey, President of Stanford University
Sept. 11: Cindy Wilber, Stanford University- Proyecto Itzaes
Sept. 18: Terry Kieble, President of Wildlife Rescue
Sept. 19: Fellowship Night
Sept. 25: To be announced
Sept. 27: Wine Tasting Tour at Byington WineryOctober
October 2: Jim Mealey- Rotary Foundation
October 9: Jennifer Kuiper- Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
October 16: To be Announced
October 23: Roy Lave-Candidate Forum
Oct. 24: Fellowship NightNovember
Nov. 21: Fellowship Night
DecemberDec. 17: Holiday Party, Jesuit Retreat House
JanuaryJan. 16: Fellowship Night
Jan. 31: Progressive DinnerFebruary
Feb. 20: Fellowship Night
Feb. 27: Cioppino Feed, Garden House
March
March 26: Fellowship Night
April
April 7: Celebrate Spring at Chef Chu's
May
May 7: Golf Tournament
May 21: Fellowship NightJune
June 25: Kickout Dinner
OTHER ROTARY CLUB MEETING PLACES
On-line Meeting: www.rotaryeclubone.org
MONDAY
Palo Alto: Rickey's Hyatt House, 12:15 p.m.
TUESDAY
Los Altos Sunset: The Echo Restaurant, Los Altos, 7:15 p.m.
Sunnyvale: Ramada Inn, 12:15 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.
Sunnyvale Sunrise: Wild Woodys Grill, Sunken Gardens Golf Course, 7 a.m.
Cupertino: Quinlan Community Center, 12:15 p.m.
East Palo Alto Bayshore: Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, 2031 Pulgas Avenue, East Palo Alto, 12:15 p.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 2003 The Los Altos Rotary Club
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