MEETING OF AUGUST 5, 2004
By Steve Yarbrough
Editor: Dick Blanding
Past President Steve Anderson, standing in for President Cindy who seems to have taken semi-permanent refuge in hr home state of Wisconsin, asked Past President Al Traficanti to open the meeting with the pledge. Songmaster Seth Manning led us in a rendition of “Hear of My Heart” that was clearly beyond our collaborative ability.
Dick Henning’s thought for the day, paraphrased, was “Be Careful,” your thoughts might become actions.
President-elect Marlene Cowan introduced visiting Rotarians and Rotarians with guests. She advised that next week we will hear fro the president of the Alzheimer’s association on memory loss. The following week, she reminded us, the meeting will be held at Foothill College and each of us must know how to get online with our Rotary password. (I got mine by conveniently sitting next to Secretary John Cardoza.)
Red Badger Dennis Potter presented his five-minute talk. Dennis was born to peripatetic parents in Tripoli, Libya in 1955. His father was a 20-year U.S. Army veteran and then
spent another 10 years with State Department. Dennis traveled the world with his folks and is now happy to be settled down in Los Altos. He is energized with Rotary and looks forward to each weeks’ meeting and fellowship. Among his travels, include stints in Ethiopia, England, France, and several U.S. states. Upon his eventual return to the U.S. for good, Dennis got a job exploring for uranium in the Rocky Mountains. Soon, however, he landed in Southern California and got a start in the low voltage business. That was 28 years ago and he’s been involved with that business ever since, now owning his own company in Santa Clara County.
Past President Firooz Ghaffari presented the Rotary moment: A tribute to Dude Angius, whose work on the Rotary Aids Project demonstrates the three C’s of Rotary: Conviction, Courage and Compassion.
Joe Corral donated cool hard cash for 49er-Raider tickets auctioned off by acting-president Steve.
Recognition Mistress Baidra Murphy obtained several fine contributions for anniversaries and sundry other notable events from Ginny Lear, Pat Farrell, Louis Borel, Firooz, Billy Russell, Matt Cabot, Bogie, John Sylvester, Mike Schneider, Dick Henning and Steve Anderson.
Past President Marge Bruno introduced speaker Firoozeh Dumas, author of the new book, “Funny in Farsi.” Ms. Dumas presented a witty talk about her life growing up as
an Iranian immigrant in America. She first came to the United States with her father in 1972 as a young girl.
Her book is a compilation of 25 stories of her childhood and family. She said as a child growing up in Southern California she was often asked by her playmates where Iran was in the world. She finally tired of explaining and advised that Iran is where the Persian cats come from. This apparently satisfied her inquisitors.
Having never written before, Ms. Dumas joined a writers’ group. It was there she got the courage to begin her writing. She wrote 70 pages of what would later become her book and shared it with her friends and family. After some encouragement, she decided to find an agent to help her get published. Eventually, she succeeded and has since been writing a second book, doing articles for the LA Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, commentary for National Public Radio and other activities including speaking.
Ms. Dumas, has a wonderful sense of humor and kept her Rotary audience interested and amused for her entire talk. She answered many questions and advised that her book is being translated into Farsi for publication in Iran, where it has received a warm welcome as “the best selling book in America.”
Webmaster’s Notes: Although we often refer to our club accounting software as “Clubmate,” that name has been retired by Rotary International, which now calls it either RI-CAS or RI-DAS, depending where it is being used. RI-CAS stands for Rotary International Club Administration Software, and RI-DAS stands for Rotary International District Administration Software. When you go to the “member services” link on our home page and click through to the RI-CAS page, you will not find any reference to Clubmate there, but don’t worry, because it’s the same software as it used to be. To get your RI-CAS password from John Cardoza, click here: john431@earthlink.net
Programs and Events
Note: Meetings of the board of directors are held at the Bank of Los Altos Community Room, 369 S. San Antonio Road.
Meetings of the LAREF board are held at the Masonic Lodge, 146 Main Street.
August
August 11 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.
August 12 - Elizabeth Edgerly, Ph.D. - Memory Loss/Alzheimer's Association
August 14 - Rotary at the A's game
August 19 - Steve Gruber, Rotary on the Web, at Foothill College’s Krause Center for Innovation (not at Garden House)
August 26 - Ron Sekkel, District Governor’s Visit
September
Sept. 2 - Richard Walker, Doing Business in China
Sept. 2 - LAREF board, 5:15 p.m.
Sept. 8 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.Sept. 9 - Don Johnson - Hometown Security Update and patriotic songs by the Peninsulaires Quartet
Sept. 16 - Mary Alice Rathbun, RotaPlast
Sept. 17 - Poker Night
Sept. 23 - Larry Rinsky, Operation Rainbow
Sept. 30 - Cantor Museum Tour
Sept. 30 - David Sloss, West Bay Opera in our Community
October
Oct. 6 - A Sante (Benefit for Mountain View Rotacare)
Oct. 7 - LAREF board, 5:15 p.m.
Oct. 13 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.Oct. 21 - Avenue of Service
Oct. 29 - Friday Night Fellowship
November
Nov. 4 - LAREF board, 5:15 p.m.
Nov. 10 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.
Nov. 28 - Festival of Lights Parade and Party
December
Dec. 2 - LAREF board, 5:15 p.m.
Dec. 8 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.
Dec. 15 - Holiday Party
January
Jan. 6 - LAREF board, 5:15 p.m.
Jan. 12 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.
Jan. 14 - Friday Night Fellowship
February
Feb. 3 - LAREF board, 5:15 p.m.
Feb. 9 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.
Feb. 17 - Four Way Test Presentation (speech contest meeting)
Feb. 23 - Centennial anniversary of the founding of Rotary
March
Mar. 3 - LAREF board, 5:15 p.m.
Mar. 4 - Cioppino Feed
Mar. 9 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.
Mar. 18 - Friday Night Fellowship
April
Apr. 7 - LAREF board, 5:15 p.m.
Apr. 13 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.
Apr. 13 - Dinner at Chef Chu's
Apr. 29 - Golf Tourney
May
May 5 - LAREF board, 5:15 p.m.
May 11 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.
May 14 and 15: Rotary Fine Art Show, Lincoln Park
May 19 - District Golf Tourney
May 20-22 - District Conference
June
June 2 - LAREF board, 5:15 p.m.
June 8 - Board of Directors, 7:30 a.m.
June 18 - 22 - Rotary International Convention in Chicago
July
July 1 - Kick-Out 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: China Shuttle, 22382 Homestead Road, Cupertino, 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 2004 The Los Altos Rotary Club