MEETING OF MARCH 13, 2003

By Dick Blanding, Editor

            We were all transported way down to the Old South by Songmaster Alan’s choice of “Swanee, How I love you, etc.”  to start things off this meeting.  Mayor Bob Fenwick gave us several reasons to appreciate 2003, as he harkened back to 1999, which featured Clinton’s impeachment trial, undeclared war in Afghanistan, all the nervousness of preparing for disaster when Y2K finally arrived, and the Elian Gonzales fiasco in Florida.  Suddenly things do look a little brighter these days! 

            Everyone was glad to see old friend and former LARC Rotarian and widely acclaimed thespian Peter Caswell, who dropped by from parts north for our meeting today.  Paul Nyberg paid a healthy fine for the privilege of introducing the folks who have helped him make a success of the Town Crier, as it celebrates its ten year anniversary under Paul’s guidance.  

            Be sure to collect all of your excess elementary school books and bring them to our next meeting.  Lucy Rasmussen will have boxes to collect them in the lobby.  Give her a call with any questions, at 364-2529. 

            Dr. Ben McGann passed around a clipboard to sign up to help with the big move of Rotacare to its new facility down by the YMCA.  Mary pointed out that this is our club’s “hands on” project for the year, so everyone should participate.  Right now we have about half the helpers needed, so pick a time and date and sign up next week.  The dates are Friday afternoon April 11th; Sat. the 12th from 9 a.m. till 1; and Sunday the 13th from 9 a.m. till 1 p.m.  No heavy lifting, just lots of little stuff to move.  If you just can’t make it any of these days, you can still help with some data entry on Sat. March 22nd.  Contact Dr. Ben to help, or sign up next week.  You’ll be glad you did!

             Pres. Mary announced that there is a proposal for LAREF to commit to giving a total of fifty thousand dollars over the next three years to support Rotacare.  Contact her or Sam Pesner for details.

             Joe Corral announced that our club’s current Polio Plus drive has reached $20,735 so far, with 19 of us having given more than $300. 

             The president of Rotaplast, Anita Stengal, gave us some insight into the success of this fine program.  In this year alone they have fifteen medical missions, to serve 1200 kids, donating medical services and care which would be valued at $7,000,000.  She showed a few pictures of kids with severe facial defects which had been corrected with plastic surgery.  The joy of this activity is that with one surgery, they can change the life of a child forever.  You can learn more at www.rotaplast.org. 

            Steve Shepard told of the May 9th annual golf tourney and barbeque.  He provided a big motivation for all the duffers to get out and play, by noting that neither of the winners of the past two years will be playing this year.  Bill and Jerry Moison will be out of town, leaving the field wide open.  Will Dan Dutton finally emerge victorious?  Stay tuned. 

            Our speaker today was David Yarnold, executive editor and senior VP of the Mercury News.  He has held that position since 1999, and is currently responsible for all news coverage and operations of the paper.  He will soon be shifting to new responsibilities at the paper, in his new role as editorial page editor.  He  has received awards for excellence in diversity, and leadership in journalism.   

            Mr. Yarnold told of one incident which was undoubtedly a source of great concern at the time, but now only an amusing anecdote, on reflection.  The paper had reserved 24 open pages, to be filled with all the horror stories as they unfolded upon the advent of the Y2K crisis.  After years of hype, the New Year’s events proved to be much like most other years, so they had to fill 24 pages with reports of parties.   

            He said every day they have two meetings which are open to the public, at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., to create a mix of stories for the front page; call him or email him to attend. 

            He pointed out that as he was speaking at a little after noon, tomorrow’s newspaper was completely blank, and the entire thing has to be produced by eleven the next morning.  It’s like writing a new book every day.

             In response to questions, he said that the copy editors are the folks who write the headlines, after reading the articles.  Also that about five per cent of the news is international news; that there are about 140 reporters in our area; and that the recent addition of a part of the paper called the Guide, was created in order to take advertising business away from papers like the Town Crier-“just kidding, just kidding, Paul.”  He clarified his answer by explaining the Guide was intended to provide a low cost avenue of advertising for small businesses, which can’t afford the higher ad rates of the regular paper.

Programs and Events

March

March 20: Post-Taliban Afghanistan, with Sophia Omar and Doug Franco, Rotarians from Hayward South.  Ms. Omar is a native Afghan with family still in that country.
March 27: Toni Casey, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Small Business Administration, "The President's Economic Stimulus Package - Impact on Small Businesses"

May

May 9:  Golf Tournament, 10:00 AM at Shoreline Golf Links, Mountain View
May 17 and 18:  Rotary Fine Art Show
OTHER ROTARY CLUB MEETING PLACES
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.
THURSDAY
Palo Alto Sunrise: Scott's, Town & Country, Palo Alto, 7:15 a.m.
Yosemite:  The Ahwahnee Hotel, Noon
FRIDAY
Palo Alto University: Sheraton, El Camino, Palo Alto, 7:30 a.m.
Lake Tahoe:  Harvey's Hotel, 12:15 p.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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