PRESIDENT'S CORNER
March is Scholarship Month. Rotary International has done a lot to encourage world peace through its Peace Scholars and Ambassadorial Scholars and is now the largest, private scholarship program in the world. Let's do our part by advising local high school seniors of LARC's Community Service Scholarships; $16,000 will be awarded this spring, and applications are due March 15.
The March Lunch Bunch is off to a roaring start with great new prizes donated by Dick Henning--two Celebrity Forum reserved seats for the 2006-07 season. Many Hundred Percenters are in the running for attendance prizes this month.

Let's welcome our President Elect Sam back from his inspirational PETS training last weekend and look forward to training for all at the District Assembly March 30 & April 1. Be sure to also save the dates April 28-30 to celebrate together at the District Conference.

-President Marlene

DON’T BE A R.I.N.O. (see below)*

The meeting was begun, as usual, with the pledge and an uplifting song led by JOHN SYLVESTER.    

LEM SUMMEY gave us the Thought for the Day, but being a few minutes late, this writer was not able to gather it in, sorry.

Our greeters today were DENNIS POTTER, DON WITT, and JOHN HAMBLIN. Being a few minutes late,  I wasn’t greeted either.

SAM PESNER introduced our guests and visiting Rotarians with his usual flair.

After our few minutes of fun, frolic, and fellowship, we jumped right in to announcements;

Pres. Elect SAM PESNER is spending this rainy weekend at his PETS indoctrination course.  He will learn how to be the president of our club here.  Good luck, SAM.

SANDY WHIPPLE gave us the latest on PNG or, for new members, Partners for a New Generations. We have about 35 tutors and they tutor 120 students.  Mentoring, however, is a different story.  Mentoring is a sustained relationship between a young person and an adult in which the adult provides support, guidance and assistance.  We have several of our members as mentors: BOB ADAMS, BOO BUE, PAT FARRELL, MARY MARLEY AND KENDRA GJERSETH to name a few.  Thank you! 

This service comes with a price tag of $1000 per student.  We have received funds from our own club, the Mountain View Rotary Club, The Packard Foundation, and The Community Foundation.  These funds, however, will run out this June.  PNG needs about $60,000 to keep this program in place for the next school year.  We could use individual contributions, or contributions from your own charitable foundations or whatever else you could come up with.  Please contact SANDY by mail, phone or e-mail if you think you can help or would like more information.  [Webmaster's note:  The complete text of Sandy's comments are on our web.  Take a look at her comments.]

PRES. MARLENE is very interested in our attendance.  Last week’s attendance was 64.5%.  Paltry!  The March Lunch Bunch is starting now and the idea is to have 100% attendance this month. The prizes for the winners will be a drawing for 3 free lunches AND 2 seats at next year’s Celebrity Forum donated by DICK HENNING.  That will probably be part of a drawing also, but this is worth $700.

DON’T BE A R.I.N.O. (Rotarian in Name Only)*   Show up an participate.

Two Dates to Remember:  District Assembly, March 30 and April 1, and

District Conference, April 28-30.  There will be a cabaret show at the annual dinner at conference preceded, of course, by free Hospitality Rooms.  This will be a comedy and song extraordinaire and should not be missed.  Reservations will sell out soon, get yours on line.

The GSE team from Japan will arrive soon.  We need host homes for 5 team members April 15-20.  A Reception will be hosted by DICK BLANDING on Easter Sunday, April 16.  If you’d like to be invited, please ask DICK OR MARLENE.

We still need volunteers to drive FIROOZ to his medical appointments.  Please contact MARLENE if you can help.              FIROOZ will be very grateful.

Membership Chair, LARRY CHU, gave a blue badge to BO Kearns.  His sponsor is STEVE YARBROUGH.  Bo has jumped right in and is currently on the WCS committee, co-chair of the WCS investment committee, volunteers at RotaCare and Alpha Omega.  Way to go, Bo!

LEE LYNCH was given a well deserved Service Above Self award by Pres. MARLENE.  Well done, LEE.

KIM COPHER gave us her 5 minute talk.  She was born in nearby Clayton and hung out in Walnut Creek.  While at college in Chico, she got bit by the philanthropy bug.  She helped her friend, 85 year old Dorothy, almost daily while there. She originally went into software technology sales, became a dive master, parachutist, and landed in real estate in Mt. View/Los Altos.  She married Ross 3 years ago atop Whistler Mountain in Canada and went back for her 3rd anniversary. 

At the conclusion, in line with the Winter Olympics, she gave gold medals to SHELLY POTVIN for her help in mentoring her, SAM PESNER, for helping her with the elder care program which we will see soon (not soon enough for some of us) and GIGI CARTER, for her involvement in the Red Badge Auction.  Her own gold medal was for her unusually strong skill: Take Out.

There were no fines today.  Therefore next week will be brutal. Be prepared.

Our speaker was introduced by DICK HENNING, a GSE traveler himself in 1964.  He graciously introduced HANK ABBOTT,  who told his story of being a GSE member in the 2005 trip to Japan.  Right out of the chute the 6’5” man told us a hilarious story about his first visit to the loo in the Japanese home of one of his sponsors.  It seems the toilet was controlled by the newest technology.  There was no flusher, but buttons on the wall were many.  None of the instructions, however, was written in English.  So, HANK got a bidet shower.