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1/25/07 - Jim Bronson -- Kara Grief Support
 

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President's Note
We are halfway through our Rotary year. As part of the club assembly process that we will complete in January, I'm asking the membership to take the time to complete the Member Satisfaction Survey. You may access it by clicking here for the pdf version and then print it out.  Fill it out and bring it to next week's meeting, where there will be open mike time to discuss your priorities for your Rotary Club. Thanks, Poobah Sam

Also, please look at the following letter I received.  I hope it speaks to your skills:

This was a very interesting Los Altos Rotary Club meeting that included suspect humor by the president of the club, and pathos in life that kept the members listening and sitting on the edge of their chairs. When the meeting was over members left the building with advice from the guest speaker to:    

            PLAN your exit if you are going to die tomorrow – but
            LIVE as if you are going to live forever.

Walking in the Garden House on a balmy day after the unusual cold freezing weather and then greeted by those pleasant faces of VAL CARPENTER, LOUIS BORELL, and HUGH RIDDELL helped start the middle of the day right for us.

After a short explanation of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream,” by TRACIE MURRAY, she compared the plight of King’s message to Rotarian philosophy.

To get the members moving, MICHAEL STADLEN pulled a song from “The King and I” when Anna sang “Getting to Know You”.  It’s an Oscar Hammerstein II classic from 1956, and a showstopper the way the club members sang today.

President-elect JOHN MOSS asked for visiting Rotarians, of which there was one, and then the following Rotarians stood up and announced they had guests: MARY PROCHNOW, STEVE YARBROUGH, MARY MARLEY, PHIL ROSE, and STEVE SHEPHERD.

Dr. SAM PESNER then introduced Karesha McGee as an outgoing GSE scholar heading to Argentina. The Group Study Exchange program provides an exchange opportunity for young non-Rotarians.  Speaking in the Latino language, Karesha explained how happy she will be to represent the Los Altos Rotary Club in Argentina.

An unknown kibitzer from left field questioned the title of “Doctor” in front of PESNER’S name and he immediately answered in a humoresque approach.

A 97-year-old hooker advertised in the yellow pages – It’s the oldest trick in the book. AND

A new editor for Playboy provided an edition for married men. The centerfold was the same every month.

On a serious side, the president announced there would be a survey on Rotary Club customs that will arrive on member’s websites. Cut and print out the survey, fill it out and bring to the next meeting.

The president also announced three Board of Director’s terms will be expiring and the nominating committee submitted six names to be voted to replace the three departing directors. The election will be February 8, and the candidates are: 

COETA CHAMBERS	KENDRA GJERSETH	JACK KELLY,
JOHN McDONNELL	HUGH RIDDELL	DAVE SMITH

As club members lined up to the podium for messages, KATIE NUTTER, our new director of the Fine Art in the Park Show, said she is looking for new marketing volunteers.  She has other positions available and if you volunteer now, you might not have to dispense hot dogs during the show.
    Her message which will be a regular feature to our Rotator:

 2007 “Fine Art in the Park” Update
 

·         As of Thursday, January 18, there are 91 days remaining until our 2007 “Fine Art in the Park” Show.  But then again, who’s counting?

·         Our goal this year is to grow top-line revenue by 10 percent.  This is a real stretch, because our average revenue in past years has been around 2.5 percent.  We need more funds to finance service projects here and abroad.

·         Marketing is the name of the game this year, and we’re looking for people to step up to two new marketing roles.  The first would identify ways to reach art patrons/buyers – identifying the communications channels to reach them.  The second new role would figure out how to leverage the communications channels of all the organizations that receive grants from LAREF.  If you want to help, contact katienutter@yahoo.com.

·         JOHN HAMBLIN would like someone to help him with sponsorships.  This year, the LARC board of directors has endorsed the idea of soliciting outside of the club. Want to help?  Contact John at john@hamblinarch.com or 650-917-1000.

TOM LISTON is looking for poker players to enter a tournament with the Mountain View Rotary Club. No date is set for the tournament, but better start to shuffle the cards now and look like a pro.

KATHRYN BERRY is looking for help to prepare Los Altos Rotary Club Scholarships awarded each year to local high school and junior high levels.  An annual event, get in touch with Kathy by February 1^st.  In fact, there will be an organizing meeting on Thursday, February 1^st at the Garden House before our regular club meeting 11:30  This event needs our attention so please join Kathy at 11:30.

MONA ARMISTEAD announced the program “From High School to College,” will be held Feb. 6 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at he Youth Center next to the police station. The event will have several good speakers including Martha Kanter, Michael Kirst, and Barry Groves, all local educators.

JACK HEIDMILLER announced that the Sister City Annual dinner and award program was that very night.  Los Altos has three sister cities as designated by the sister cities program. They are; Bendigo, Australia, Syktyvkar, Russia and Shilin, Taiwan.

In case you missed it, PPJANE REED sent out an email regarding her upcoming trip to Mexico.  As a reminder, please look at her wishlist.  Look at the list and give her a call telling her how you can help.  See the wish list here

RICK GLAZE, the manager of numerous investments was the fine master and asked numerous questions concerning the stock market. Correct answers were gifts only amounting to $10, but wrong answers required a $20 fine.

DENNIS YOUNG announced he had a 41st wedding anniversary and joined the President’s Club. Fines were paid by; JOHN McDONALD - $10; VAL CARPENTER - $20; MIKE SPENCE- $10; HUGH RIDDELL - $20; WYATT ALLEN - $10; JACK HEIDMILLER - $20; LOUIS BOREL- $10 and DAVID SMITH $10.

JOHN MOSS introduced the speaker Jeanne K. Smith, author of numerous articles on getting your affairs in order.

Basically Smith said in a sequence: You own stuff. You will die. And then someone else will get that stuff. However there is a long process in between. Seventy percent of the people do not have their affairs in order and the other 30 percent haven’t looked at them lately.

“When was the last time you discussed with your family what you want done when you die?” Smith asked. “My job is to help get your affairs together.”

She helps individuals and families prepare for life changes – from clutter control and time management to getting your affairs in order. Smith pioneered the field of Estate Organization and assists the trustee/executor with the estate administration, including the physical estate. She also facilitates client moves, with a special focus on seniors and their adult children.

Smith knows firsthand the value of being organized – not just in day to day, but also in having one’s life affairs in order. Smith’s first husband, Dave Kline, was meticulous about preparedness. In 1976, prior to his scheduled appointment for a hernia operation, Kline prepared for the prospect that he could die from the operation.  He pulled Jeanne aside to go over his estate, veterans and social security benefits, cremation plans and other affairs.  He even had their taxes prepared and told her that he wanted her to remarry.

In a bizarre twist of fate, Kline was killed that same day, not by the operation, but by a drunk driver on the way home from delivering his tax papers. Smith remarried three years later.

In her line of professional work, the biggest problem with estates is clutter. The National Association of Professional Organizers currently boasts 3,900 members, who, for an hourly fee, help their pack rat clients stack their CD collections, shred old bank statements, toss broken flashlights, and clean all the dead batteries, twist ties, and soy sauce packets out of their junk drawers. Failing that, the clutter-prone can join 12-step support groups such as Clutterers Anonymous or Messies Anonymous.

For older people, the challenges of keeping clutter at bay take on a specific dimension. It’s a delicate role. “We are invited into the most intimate parts of their lives, especially if there’s a clutter issue,” Smith says. Sometimes she’s hired by adult children to take over or jump-start a stalled decluttering initiative, and her arrival signals something of a gentle ultimatum: “If you don’t go through your stuff, I will.”

For individuals who are horrified to leave such a mess behind for their children but are unable to tackle the problem alone, the situation may be laced with denial and shame. 

“Since the death rate of individuals is 100 percent,” Smith concluded with, “When was the last time you reviewed your documents?”