This Week's Program: 
No meeting this Thursday - Happy Thanksgiving
 

Upcoming Events:
  November 30th: 
   • 12:30 - 1:00 Dude Angius
                      RAP Report
   • 1:00-1:30 Ken Graham
                    El Camino Hospital
                    Looking Ahead

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WELCOME
After a solemn flag salute lead by BAIDRA PROCHNOW MURPHY, Song Leader RICK GLAZE tickled our memories to find the words to “Ain’t She Sweet”.   Most of us were old enough to actually remember them.  PAUL NYBERG’s Thought for the Day was a creative version of “wouldn’t it be sweet “ (to live life in reverse). The theme was that each stage of life in reverse would be more pleasant than the preceding one. If you died first, then you would feel better and better each day. Your last nine months would be spent floating in a warm spa with your living quarters growing larger every day.   And your final wonderful moment would be  - well, you can imagine. Or if not, ask somebody who attended the meeting.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:
Tis the season - to be grateful for all we have, and to make room in our busy lives to share our time, talent and treasure with those who are less fortunate than we. We heard from Tom Myers, Executive Director of Community Services Agency who described CSA's mission, "To promote independence and self-sufficiency through direct service, advocacy and referral to residents of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills who have economic, physical or social needs." At our next meeting, LARC Director of Community Service Cindy Wemyss will have materials from CSA available for us, so that we can take action as members of Rotary International and our community to do what Rotarians do best - to make a positive impact on the lives of our neighbors, to make this world a better place. One act of kindness at a time.

INTRODUCTIONS
The single visiting Rotarian today was Ken Graham (Hospital Administration). Other visitors included JEAN HOLLANDS’ guest Karen Rudolph (past owner of Rudolph & Sletten), ROLAND PAYNE’S guest John Day, Past President of CSA, STEVE YARBROUGH’s son-in-law Scott Fleming, and SETH MANNING’s friend Marty.

Thanks to our smiling Greeters today: KATHY BERRY, SANDY BOZICH, and STEVE FICK.

ANNOUNCEMENTS APLENTY
PRES SAM announced that Stanford fan DUDE ANGIUS had generously donated four tickets to Stanford’s Saturday football game to LARC members.

He also reminded us to sign up for the dinner with the RI President at the San Jose Fairmont Hotel.

BOB ADAMS encouraged us to consider contributing to the Town Crier Holiday Fund which raised $151K last year for socially supportive non-profit groups. The Crier will be recognized with a 2006 award by the Silicon Valley Association of Fundraising Professionals. This year the Crier’s fund will also contribute to the RotaCare Free Clinic and Partners for New Generations.

The RAP (Rotary AIDS Project) meeting will take place at 5:30 in Mary Prochnow’s office tonight.  RAP meetings generally are held the 2nd Thursday of the month.

The Health Committee met today with JACK HIGGINS.

MARLENE COWAN passed a clip-board to sign up for the Community Volunteer Awards Luncheon on Dec. 1 in the Los Altos Youth Center where we will celebrate the surprise announcement of our two LARC volunteer awardees.

SAM HARDING reminded us of our club’s 100% participation goal to The Rotary Foundation with a minimum donation of at least $20. Our greater goal is to collect $200 from each of many Double Sustainers. Not only does your contribution benefit our club’s programs and recipients around the world, but your ticket stubs also go into the Dec. 6 drawing for a Hawaiian vacation or a trip to the Uniendo America Project Faire in El Salvador.

DON WITT reminds us to help kick-off the Festival of Lights parade with cocktails/dinner at 5:30 in the Main Street Café followed by a forecasted sighting of our goose and Young Santa Claus (pun intended).

HOLIDAY PARTY
Only 94 tickets remain for the Holiday Party on Dec. 19.  That may seem like a lot, but only a week ago there were 150 tickets still available.  In other words, your opportunity to be part of one of the longest-running holiday celebrations in Los Altos is running out.  How can you avoid missing the 57th Annual Rotary Holiday Party?  Just put a check in the mail ($45 per person, payable to LARC) and mail it to Steve Gruber, 5050 El Camino Real, Suite 111, Los Altos, CA 94022.  And remember.  Kendra is going to invent a special holiday drink just for this party!

ART SHOW UPDATE
Art Show Director, KATIE NUTTER posed the question, “How can LARC do more good in the world?” and suggested that we try to grow revenues earned in the May 2007 Art Show. Her unbalanced scales sign announced that too few people were assigned to “initiatives that could stimulate attendance and purchases” at the show. The Help Wanted list submitted by Katie includes new jobs, some of which could be done before the show:

Customer advocate – This position is aimed at ensuring that our paying customers are as delighted with their experience as our artists.  Possible areas of focus:  parking, customer welcomes (possibly in conjunction with a wine-tasting booth), and a survey of show attendees.

E-marketing – This position will devise and execute strategies to use electronic media to publicize the show.  Matt Cabot will continue to head up our website, which artists and customers come to.  We’re looking for ways to use e-mail, e-communities of interest, etc., to get the word out.

Art-patron marketing – This position will devise and execute a strategy to reach the art lovers/patrons who are our target customers.

Rotary Club-marketing – This position will devise and execute a strategy to promote the show to other clubs, the district newsletter, etc.

Grant-recipient marketing – This position will devise and execute a strategy to encourage organizations that have received LARC grants to help publicize the show – e.g., put it in their newsletters, etc.

Gift-certificate marketing – This position will devise and execute a strategy to publicize the availability of gift certificates for the show, which would enable us to go after Mother’s Day gift givers, etc.

Date night in Los Altos – This position would devise and execute a strategy aimed at getting people to see the show as the perfect Saturday night date.

Interested? Contact Katie Nutter (650) 270-6261 or katienutter@yahoo.com

POLIO PLUS
GINNY LEAR reported on her great experiences among the volunteers for Rotary’s Polio Plus project in Ghana, with 97 Americans including 30 from the Bay Area. She presented Past President BOO BUE with a Rotary travel bag in recognition of his successful Presidential effort 20 years ago to raise $100K for Polio Plus. GINNY sported a beautiful kinte cloth scarf as she described how Rotary had helped to make Ghana polio-free. The four remaining countries where polio is still found include Nigeria (where 70% of the world’s polio cases are reported), India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The Accra club of professionals generously hosted 12 individuals including GINNY and King.

 She learned that Ghanian babies are named for the day of their birth, so now we know by his name that Kofi Annan was born on a Friday (Kofi). We also learned that the Ghanian currency is called the ceedee and the exchange rate is 10,000 ceedees / $1 USD.

FINING FUN
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, Finemaster MARGE BRUNO wanted to learn why we were thankful (and willing to pay for it!) We’re all thankful to be Rotarians, so those who forgot to wear a Rotary pin today to show their appreciation for membership owed $5. LEN MCBIRNEY explained that his pin was being used to hold his trousers together, which we members were very glad to learn!

DICK BLANDING was thankful that GARY ROSS had built the bench work for his train exhibit at the History Museum, and he absolutely gushed over the 100^th Anniversary Lionel Train alarm clock that GARY had given him. KAREN FOX was thankful that she is contracted to write the third edition of “The Bible” of marketing entitled “Strategic Marketing for Educational Institutions”. HINDA SMITH was extremely thankful and willing to join the President’s Club. JEAN HOLLANDS was thankful for her daughter’s recovery from cancer and for special friends in the club. WILL CORKERN was willing to join the PooBah Club just for the many humorous comments. MARTY SPANGLER was thankful for his trip to Morocco and beyond and for the arrival of his fourteenth grandchild.   MARLENE COWAN was grateful for the sale of her San Jose home. CINDY WEMYSS was so grateful for family, health, and club that she also offered to join the PooBah Club. BAIDRA PROCHONOW MURPHY was grateful for her first Thanksgiving with Baby Aiden in her new Mountain View home. Good job, Marge; you seem to have struck a chord within our members!

COMMUNITY SERVICES AGENCY NEEDS HOLIDAY CONTRIBUTIONS
GINNY LEAR introduced today’s speaker, Tom Myers, CEO of the Community Services Agency serving Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Mountain View.  Tom is a local boy who graduated from Awalt High and served 3 years with the Peace Corps in Liberia.

He announced that few other community services agencies enjoy such strong support and detailed the agency’s 14 distinct programs that provide food and shelter, including school supplies and dental care which is supported by the Town Crier Holiday Fund. However, Tom indicated that there are pockets of poverty even in Los Altos where school children receive free or reduced fee lunches. Each year over 3,000 people receive supplies from the Food and Nutrition Center’s pantry to cook at their homes.  About 300 homeless clients each week receive “lunch bags” that do not require cooking or can be heated in 7-11 stores’ microwaves. The Alpha Omega rotating homeless shelter has been closed and replaced by 110 single-room units in San Antonio Place.

CSA’s Annual Report shows that recent donations are better than expected due to our local economic recovery, though client numbers aren’t going down. It also shows that funding sources are very diverse with municipalities and individuals as the largest donors.

Holidays, though joyful for many, can be a very trying time for CSA’s clients.  70% of all donations arrive during the holiday. Vouchers rather than actual Thanksgiving turkeys are preferred for food safety reasons. Foods appropriate for Hanukkah and non-religious celebrations are also appreciated in December. Parents with CSA identity cards visit the Toy Store and gratefully select toys appropriate for their children.

CSA needs both money and volunteers to continue making the holidays a cheerful time for their clients. To volunteer, please contact Alison at 650-964-4630 or ahopkins@csacares.org or contact Tom Myers at 650-968-0836.

Webmaster's note:  There wasn't enough feedback about the Google calendar to keep it as part of our website.  Besides, it appears that you have to sign up as a Google member to view the calendar.  So we will scrap that idea for now.  Thanks to those of you who participated.