This Week's Program: 
10/26:  • Partners in Service:  Gonzalo Duran from El Salvador
 

Upcoming Events:

Website search:

President SAM PESNER chimed the bell and started the meeting at 12:18 p.m.  All of the arriving Rotarians had been greeted by MARGE BRUNO and ALLART LIGTENBERG.  SANDY BOZICH led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance.  CRES McFALL was called on to lead us in song, but he was apparently still tied up in rehearsals somewhere else, so we went songless.  KELLY HUDSON was on for the Thought for the Day; but lo and behold, KELLY was away also. However, she covered the Thought by e-mail to SAM.  KELLY’s thoughts focused on Art; more folks went to opera than to baseball games, and history remembers kings for things they destroy, but history remembers artists for things they create.

The warm weather seemed to be keeping attendance a bit lower than usual.  Future President JOHN MOSS introduced visiting Rotarians from Los Gatos and other points.  We had only one guest; JOHN HAMBLIN introduced a guest of the Club, Scott Fleming.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 
TRACIE MURRAY stepped up to remind us again about A Santé, our annual fine wine and fine food fundraiser set for November 9th.  This is the main fundraiser for Mountain View RotaCare, the free clinic our local clubs support at El Camino Hospital.  The evening will include a silent and regular auction, and everyone is invited to contribute auction items.  TRACIE reminded us that we are lagging behind some other clubs in our signups, and it’s time to start moving.

Speaking of TRACIE, she also reminded us that next Wednesday 10/25  is the LAST day for LAREF Grant Applications. 

The grant application form and requirements are located on our web site.  A letter to all of the previous recipients was sent out a few weeks ago, but just in case members have a favorite charity that may need a grant, Rotarians may want to make sure they submit a grant application.

President SAM mentioned that several club members (SAM, CINDY LUEDTKE, KAILAS CHIDAMBARAM, and BRUCE CANN had attended the annual fundraiser for the COANIQUEM Burn Center in Chile.  Our club raised $1,200, which will provide a full year of support for two children at the burn center.  SAM presented to the Club, the pictures and the history of the two burn victims we will be supporting this year.  Pictures were in last week's 10/12/06 Rotator. 

SAM reminded all that the Progressive Dinner was coming up this Saturday, October 21.  Many thanks go to STEVE GRUBER for heading up the organization of this event. 

As this Rotator is published on the Monday following the event, it can be said with certainty it was a success.  Here is a letter of thanks from STEVE:

Many thanks to all of you who helped with the progressive dinner on Saturday night.  This is an event that depends on the help of a lot of Rotarians and their spouses or significant others.  I would like the thank these 12 Rotarians for providing their homes (or bank) for various stops during the dinner:

Appetizer course:  JOHN HAMBLIN and CINDY LUEDTKE, First Republic Bank.

Main course:  COETA CHAMBERS, ROY JONES, MARLIS MCALLISTER, KATIE NUTTER, JANE REED, GARY ROSS, MEG SOLERA, and AL TRAFICANTI.

Dessert course:  JEAN HOLLANDS and MONA ARMISTEAD.

Also, due to a series of mistakes by the crab supplier, we received 100 pounds of crab that was uncracked.  A cracking committee was hastily convened on Saturday afternoon and cracked all of the crab in less than hour.  Participants emerged from the cracking party covered with crab – on their clothes, in their hair, coating their glasses. Many thanks to those who took part:  SAM PESNER, LOU PESNER, JOHN MOSS, KATIE NUTTER and DICK HASENPFLUG.  This was a committee that was everything it was cracked up to be.
 
          Steve Gruber

SAM also mentioned that several club members were attending the District’s Avenues of Service Conference later on in the day (Thursday). 

GINNY LEAR  reported on her recent visit to the Windsor Colorado Rotary Club, where, not surprisingly, she met yet another Rotarian who knew DUDE ANGIUS.  GINNY also mentioned that she, along with a few other members of our District, will be heading off to Ghana at the end of October, as part of the Rotary program for polio immunization.

DICK HASENPFLUG announced that the club’s audit committee is looking for a few more members.  This is a chance to “look under the hood” of the operations of the Club, the Art Show, and LAREF.  DICK also mentioned that the Los Altos School District finance committee is looking for a member of our club to join it.

JACK HIGGINS announced that Flu Shots will be available at our meeting in two weeks (November 2).  Those who are interested should come early, at 11:30, to start the shots.  A donation of $25 is suggested for those getting shots.

MARLENE COWAN announced that the Rotary District 5170  is initiating a new fellowship; the Rotary Singles Fellowship, for those Rotarians who find themselves single and looking for events.  It is NOT a dating service, but an opportunity to meet friends and share accommodations at Rotary events.  The first event is an Area 10 event; a matinee performance by the Stanford Savoyards to be followed by a dinner at the Lucy Stern Center on November 19^th.   All Area 10 Club members are urged to attend as well.  Not just for singles.

FINES
JOHN McALISTER stepped up as this week’s finemeister.  SAM apparently made the mistake of telling JOHN that he had a lot of time, so he began with a story.  As the story meandered, the hostile crowd, always eager to provide more contributions to the club, demanded that JOHN stop the story and start the fines.  So JOHN started an easy game of having the club members announce their high school and the year they graduated. 

His first victim was HERB MARSHALL, who reached back into the dim recesses of his memory to finally recall that he graduated way back in 1995 from Los Altos High, and put in $20.  This makes HERB about 29.  DAN DUTTON has ties older than that.  Next ,JOHN focused on KURT HUEG as a previously un-fined member.  JOHN was working from an old list, because KURT had joined the pool-boy club just the week before.  Nevertheless, KURT admitted that he had gone to high school, and added another $20.  GEORGE DAI also admitted to graduating from high school, and added $20. 

JOHN discovered that KAILAS CHIDAMBARAM was on the fine list for a paltry $2.  KAILAS mentioned that he went to school in another era, when those at the English Public (private) schools wore a suit, tie and a boater hat.  KAILAS added $98 to become a poobah (poobah, poobahs, poobaht; for those conjugating in Latin), then added another $100 for Rotary International, in thanks for the Club’s support of the COANIQUEM Burn Center.   I know, verbs are conjugated and nouns are declined. So don't write me. 

BUD OLIVER acknowledged graduating in 1949 in Michigan, and DON WITT told us he graduated in 1967 from Hillside High in Illinois.  Each coughed up $20.

THE WEEKLY PROGRAM; THREE “10 Minute” Talks
JOHN MOSS announced that we were once again featuring a program of thee 10-minute talks from club members

First up was red-badger JIM GRIFFITH, Regional Sales Manager at Heritage Bank of Commerce.  JIM mentioned his involvement with Rotary dating back to his Interact membership in high school in Florida, where he was born and raised. 

He was a world-class swimmer in high school and college.  As a high school All-American, he went to University of Florida on a scholarship, but then transferred to USC where his team won the national championship and sent several members to the Olympics.  He lives in San Francisco with his wife and eleven-year old daughter.  He is actively involved in other community groups, including the Guardsmen (supporting sending kids to camps) and the Columbia Park Boys and Girls Clubs.  Although he does not play golf, he is on the Board of the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Next was JAN MINERS, another red-badger, who detailed the kaleidoscope of her life.  The main items are her family, education and career.  She was born in Los Angeles, and remembers the air raid sirens in World War 2.  Her brother was handicapped, but her family took in three foster siblings.  They traveled a good deal, including a trip across the country on Route 66. 

She became close friends with a Mrs. Van Ness, who had fled Germany under Hitler.  She gave JAN a great love of learning and inspired her brother to achieve two master’s degrees.  JAN kept her promise to Mrs. Van Ness, and achieved three master’s degrees.  JAN’s careers include teaching, real estate and banking.  She also traveled a great deal when she was an auditor for FMC, United Technologies, and other defense contractors.  Her travels led her to meet the King of Norway, and to be at the opening day of Disneyland.  She has met Fidel Castro and Madame Diem in Vietnam. 

The final speaker was old-timer, to LARC, at least,   DENNIS YOUNG, currently serving as President of LAREF.  DENNIS has been married for 41 years to his wife Roberta, and they have two adult sons, who looked at their CPA father and lawyer mom, and decided to both become lawyers.  Dennis now has four grandchildren, two from each son (and when he got them mixed up, MARY PROCHNOW gave him a little coaching from the floor). 

DENNIS mentioned his long history of work with LAREF and the Los Altos Community Foundation.  His longest job may be as Santa Claus in the annual Festival of Lights Parade.  DENNIS was born in San Diego.  Later his family moved to La Jolla where he grew up and graduated from high school.  He followed his girl friend to USF, but she promptly dumped him.  Lucky for him.   He met Roberta there shortly thereafter.  He studied at Wharton and at Santa Clara University.  He spent time teaching at Cal State Hayward and Santa Clara University. 

In 1977, he started his own CPA firm in San Carlos, which evolved into Young, Craig & Company, which moved to Los Altos in 1980.  Through an acquisition by American Express and recent sale of a division, the practice is now part of RSM McGladrey, the fifth largest CPA firm in the country.  DENNIS made a plug for his firm, which just happens to be the perfect size for every Rotarian and their businesses (amazing).

President SAM finally gave Dennis the hook, and the meeting ended at 1:30.  Sam could not resist telling yet another joke.  But darn.  I missed it.

Copyright © 2006 Los Altos Rotary Club. All rights reserved.