Rotator for 9/23/04.
President Cindy chimed the meeting to order promptly at 12:30. Although she didn’t mention it, the many empty seats at the lunch showed that we had suffered a sudden Vernal Equinox lull in attendance. The spirit of former president Al calls out to remember our 75% attendance goal, and to remind a fellow Rotarian that you’ll seem him or her at lunch.
Sergeant at arms John Hamlin led the Pledge of Allegiance. And September songmeister John Sylvester led us in a peppy version(does Jon do any type?) of “Smile.”
The thought for the day was given by Pat Carroll, who kept it short and to the point: Remember, when all is said and done, its not the years in your life, but the life in your years that counts.
Bob Adams stood in for the traveling Marlene Cowan, and introduced visiting Rotarians, of which we had none (darn that Vernal Equinox). Sam Pesner and Joe Laconte introduced their guests, and Bob Adams then introduced his guest, the guest speaker Larry Rinsky and fellow doctor from Operation Rainbow, John Becker. I was pointed out from the floor that Bob forgot to introduce his other guest, his wife Lois. President Cindy saved Bob from any faux pas (or fine) by noting that at this point, Lois is really an honorary member, not a guest.
Jack Kelly then gave the report on the First Annual Poker Tournament held last Friday nite. A strong turnout produced a $1,500 donation for LAREF. Jack thanked the members of the committee, particularly Irene Preston and Tracy Murray, who did so much on the nite of the event to make the nite flow smoothly. Jack pointed our that Steve Shepherd earned the honor of the first poker player to lose all his money. President Cindy won the Consolation Table, Matt Cabot won Third Place, and guest Bob Kemada won second. Hurdling all the way from the beginners table to the grand championship was Joe “Sandbagger” Corral. Nice hustling Joe! (Did anyone tell Joe that winning a poker tournament is like hitting a hole-in-one, and Joe he owes the rest of the players a drink?)
President Cindy then spontaneously honored Matt Cabot for outstanding journalism, for his in-depth report that Cindy is not a good gambler.
In an attempt to make sure that the finemasters don’t have any hurt feelings from being hustled away from the microphone, President Cindy varied the normal meeting format a bit, to allow Joan Roselle ample time to ring up some fines. Lee Lynch announced that in honor of her birthday, she would join the President’s Club (works out to $2.50 a year for those of you who are counting). Guy Farthing also joined the President’s Club, in honor of his 20 years in Rotary. Joan then focused on fining a few folks who had not yet signed up for Asante (to be held 10/6; see below.) Joan thought she had nabbed Bella Berlly, but Bella had just signed up at the beginning of the meeting. Joan was going to let her off, when Bella announced that she’d contribute $27 in honor of her 27th wedding anniversary, and then remembered that she would double it, because she and her husband had just had a second exchange of vows. Joan then called on Alan Lambert as another non-Asante buyer, only to find out Alan had also signed up earlier in the meeting. Alan put in anyhow. Getting a bit frustrated, Joan was looking for a really big fine and focused on Bill Moisson, another non-buyer. This “inspired” Bill to run over to grab the clipboard and sign up to avoid a fine. Joan zinged him $10 anyhow (too easygoing, right?).
Membership Director Larry Chu than took the Podium to announce that our newest Member is Chris Ellson, sponsored by Joe LaConte. Born in San Francisco, Chris spent a career in the military, before finding that his true calling was making cabinets. Per the protocol, we welcomed Chris with a standing ovation.
Clyde Noel than gave the second installment of his anticipated eleven-part “5 minute talk.” This portion covered the lessons learned in hardship as an eleven-year old in the depression in 1932. In between bank closings and “Hooveralls” Clyde did manage to get to a few ballgames and see the great Jimmy Foxx hit four home runs in one game. His family managed to get by with just the two essential books: The Bible and the Sears Catalogue. This segued (don’t ask me how) into his stint in Cupertino politics and the City of San Jose land grabs. He laments that his advice as an ex mayor is dated. This led to his current Town Crier column on the stock market, which Clyde says is poised to dip below 10,000, so this is a good time to buy quality companies; such as Chevron/Texaco, Exxon and Weyerhaeuser (insert extensive fine print disclaiming investment advise; Rotary is truly innocent and you should consult your own investment adviser etc. etc.)
President Cindy made an important announcement that the club can use some help in a few areas, including help for Sergeant at Arms JOHN Hamblin as well as a correspondence secretary, and someone to help a bit on the 2005 scrapbook.
Lucy Rasmussen announced that this was the last time to sign up for the Cantor Museum Tour to take place on the evening of September 30. The tour is free, and the museum has promised our group a special treat. It was also announced that the club would be providing Flu shots on October 28.
Tracie Murray once again tried to shame the club into buying all the Asante tickets by noting that Sunnyvale Rotary, with half our members, had bought twice as many tickets. (Bill Moison notwithstanding). More importantly Asante will raise lots of money for our Centennial Project; the RotaCare Clinic. Asante is a tremendous event with great varieties of excellent wine and gourmet foods. Last years event was a huge success. Ellen Flanagan then announced that there is will be an auction at Asante, with many unique and wonderful items, including a signed copy of “the Catch” (certainly you need not ask) and a change to stay at the Tomanek’s lovely condo in Hawaii.
Bob Adams than Introduced our guest speaker, Dr. Larry Rinsky of Stanford Hospital and Operation Rainbow, a 100% volunteer medical mission that our club supports. The group send doctors to impoverished areas in South and Central America, to operate on children with severe deformities, such as a club foot or cleft palette. (But 100% volunteer means that the individuals donate both their time and the costs of getting there: the outside support goes mostly for supplies). Dr. Rinsky gave an extensive report on his last trip, along with 28 fellow volunteers, to Nicaragua. The group reviewed over 60 cases in one day, and eventually performed 38 surgeries. Many children still suffer ravages from polio, and there are not just club feet, but also some children who are full quadrupeds.
Green Room, Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco
Friday, October 15, 2004 8:00 PM - Midnight
Web link: http://www.rotary5170.org/ave_int/downloads/coaniquem-fiesta-2004.pdf
Dr. Rinsky noted the huge differences between operations in Nicaragua and the U.S. For example, here we have lights. They had to start operating using just desk lights and flashlights, but he eventually had one of his assistants procure 16 operating lights for the facility. There are many other differenced: much less paperwork (no computers) some petty local corruption to get things moving, and the ever-present “mania” attitude of many officials. However, he was impressed with the dignity and patience of the local population, and the “no whining” approach they take. The most important lesson he learned was to be realistic; the resources and time are limited, so try to get as much done as possible, and avoid biting off too big a project to the detriment of many others.
At the conclusion of the presentation, President Cindy reminded us once again to Celebrate Rotary, and adjourned the meeting at 1:30.