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This cool, crisp and beautiful autumnal day was warmed considerably by greeters Scott Riches, Tom Liston and Jack Heidmiller.  Members gathered for social time and old friends who haven’t seen each other in a week renewed long-standing friendships and shared memories.

PRESIDENT SAM rang the meeting to order at precisely 12:15 pm and Dan O’Donnell led the Pledge of Allegiance.  The PRES then called for SAM HARDING to present the musical portion of the program.  But unbeknownst to SAM, SAM had already arranged for ALAN LAMBERT to lead that rousing rendition of “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” 

As a prelude for things to come under Program Number 1, the entire Thought for the Day, as presented by BAIDRA MURPHY, is as follows:  “For a few moments, let’s imagine that we are a village in Africa.  Now I’d like to ask that everyone under 35 please stand.  Because many areas in Africa have an average life expectancy of 35, these would be our village elders.  While these are very talented individuals, look around the room at all the wisdom & experience we would miss.  How different our village would be.

Today we are in the position to affect great change in the lives of our fellow African villagers.  With the very basic HIV/AIDS education & support, we can give our fellow villagers the gift of health, the gift of a better life.  How different their village will be.”

PRESIDENT SAM declared this would be the quickest business meeting on record because we were running a dual program today.  Under this kind of pressure, PRESIDENT-ELECT JOHN MOSS somehow managed to have no visiting Rotarians and only one guest, so very properly introduced by BOB ADAMS.  JOHN wants you all to know the Rotary International President’s Dinner is scheduled for January 3, 2007.  Please make your plans to attend.  More details will follow.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Judging by the large number of requests made to your humble scribe to make sure this announcement got into the Rotator, it must be important so please pay special attention.  Please buy your Christmas Tree from the Los Altos Kiwanis Club Christmas Tree Lot located in the Albertsons parking lot on Foothill Expressway at Arboretum Drive in beautiful South Los Altos.  Thank you.  You can also have a couple bucks donated to a local school of your choice when you buy your tree from these nice folks.  They’re also the ones supplying what PRES SAM called the “Rotowanis Tree” which, with any luck, will be well-lit long before you read this.

The delightful duo of CINDY WEMYSS and TRACIE MURRAY want us to bring toys and/or food for the annual CSA Toy & Food Drive.  Here is a flyer with all of the information.  We can do this for the next three Thursdays.  And to make life even easier, if you don’t have time to do your own shopping, just give them your money and they’ll do it for you.  How much easier could it be?!?

KATIE NUTTER, new GRAND POOBAH of the Art Show is hosting a kick-off meeting/party at her home on January 8, 2007.  Wouldn’t it be a nice surprise if everyone showed up? 

2007 Fine Art Show Season to Start with a Bang! Raising money so Rotary can do good things is the primary goal of our fine art show.  But a close second, says the LARC Board of Directors, is providing an opportunity for fellowship among Rotarians.

With that second goal in mind, 2007 art show director Katie Nutter plans to kick of the 2007 season with a wine and hors d’oeuvre party at her house – combined, of course, with a brief business meeting.  Here’s the scoop:

DATE:                         Monday, January 8, 2007
WHO’S INVITED:        All chairs, present and past – PLUS anyone who just wants to come
TIME:                           5:00 to 7:00 p.m., with the business meeting slated for 5:30 to 6:30. 
WHERE:                     901 Los Altos Avenue, Los Altos (between West Portola and Loucks.)

The goal is to provide a time for visiting before and after our meeting – and to schedule our meeting at a time when folks can drop by on their way home from work (and get home for dinner, if they choose.)

NO RSVP REQUIRED – Consider this a real meeting, even though we plan to have fun.  One RSVPs, to parties, not to meetings.  For meetings, one simply shows up. You are encouraged to do so.

Operations Director MATT CABOT reminds everyone that for the next two weeks, he will be passing the hat for a Christmas Bonus gratuity for the Servers.  Twenty dollars is suggested considering that the servers not only set up and take down the meeting room each week, but serve and clear the tables.  We have approximately 47 meetings per year, so at $20, that is less than 50 cents per meeting shared by 4 servers.

[Correction to last week's Rotator]   Last week we said:  "to sign up for the dinner with the RI President at the San Jose Fairmont Hotel."  The location was in error.  Actually the 2007 Presidential Dinner is Wednesday, January 3rd at the luxurious Santa Clara Marriott Hotel, not the Fairmont.  RI President WILLIAM B. BOYD will be honoured at this gala dinner.  The Sign-up clipboard is circulating at the meeting.  The price is $50 per person.  We already have 2 plus tables.

SOCIAL CZAR STEVE GRUBER has just 50 spaces left for the annual Rotary Holiday party on December 19th.  They’re going fast, so please contact STEVE as soon as possible.  Here is the detail repeated from last week's Rotator:   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!  Call Steve if you have any questions, time is getting short. 

Super-organizer, JANE REED, is looking for volunteers to work with the Los Altos & Palo Alto Rotary Hands-on Project.  This takes place February 2-8, 2007, in Yucatan, Mexico.  Her fellow travelers will have the opportunity to engage in real manual labor (the kind where you get to help those who truly need it) like painting, planting, teaching, and cooking.  Each delegation member will take an extra suitcase laden with new or used clothing, sports equipment, small toys, special-ed material and books, all for the children.  Please see JANE for all the details.

Special Delivery from SAM HARDING and WYATT ALLEN:  “Time is running out to make your Rotary Foundation contribution and still have a chance to have your name drawn for the District door prizes.  First prize is a trip for two including airfare and 6 nights lodging at the Fairmont Orchid Resort on the island of Hawaii.  Second prize is a trip for two including airfare and 3 nights lodging to the Uniendo America Project faire in San Miguel, El Salvador, Jan. 18-20, 2007.  Get you contributions to Wyatt Allen by Dec. 5th to be in the drawing Dec. 6th.

Since less than half our club has contributed this Rotary year, there is ample opportunity for the rest of us to support the important works of our Rotary Foundation.  Remember, every dollar helps.  Please give what you can, even if it is very modest, since our club benefits directly with support for projects and grants from the Rotary Foundation.  Wouldn't it be fantastic for the Los Altos Rotary Club to achieve 100% participation!  Please help make that happen in 2006-07.

PRESIDENT SAM recognized DON WITT as Rotarian-of-the-Month for his never-ending contribution to the club.  DON has, single-handedly and for years, been the one responsible for making the Los Altos Rotary Float (Mother Goose, or as the Town Crier calls it, the Rotary Goose) look as good as it does during the Festival of Lights Parade.  Not only does he maintain it, he also provides locomotion for it during the parade and I can personally testify to the fact that he really does work up a sweat.  In other words, he’s the driving force behind the goose in more ways than one.

PROGRAM 1
With the charge from PRESIDENT SAM to go first and go fast, DUDE ANGIUS introduced two remarkably committed young ladies to commemorate World AIDS Day (which was the day after our meeting).  Loren Young and Katie Bolbach are two of the three founders of FACE AIDS, an organization helping to fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa.  Twenty-five million people (adults and children) in sub-Saharan Africa live with HIV.

They shared some very fascinating and heartfelt stories about the people they encounter and how hard it is for us in the US to truly understand the situation.  $140 per year is all it takes to provide essential medications that substantially extend and improve the life of someone living with AIDS.  FRIENDS OF RAP helped fund their project.  This is just one more example how a few committed folks can make a difference in our world.  More information is available at www.faceaids.org.

Many thanks,

Dude

PROGRAM 2
After quite appropriately acknowledging the importance of PROGRAM 1, GINNY LEAR introduced the new CEO (since August) of El Camino Hospital, Mr. Ken Graham.  Mr. Graham comes to us most recently from Bellvue, Washington, and was the first Executive Officer of Rotacare - Bay Area.  He has been a member of five different Rotary Clubs.

We now know what’s going on with that “big hole in the ground” in Mountain View and should anyone need up-to-the-minute information, the web-cam at www.elcamimohospital.org is always available.  You can check the history of the project as well as view daily activity on the site.

El Camino is billed as a “smart” hospital because of the incredibly modern technology used in treatment protocols as well as the communication capability among departments, medical staff, and administration.

The marketing folks are stepping up the campaign to make the hospital known not only as a “nice place to have babies”; they also want the world to know that they have no mercy for cancer and lots of TLC for you (just check those posters).

Some Festival of Lights Parade Pictures courtesy of President SAM:

Paul & Liz Nyberg with Lois & Bob Adams at Main St Cafe	Lenelle & Dave Smith
Pres Sam & Lou Pesner with Brian & Teresinha Ward	Marge Sentous & Steve Anderson at MSC
Mmes Pesner & Anderson at MSC	Joanna Medin & young friend at MSC
Ye Old Town Band	A very young Santa at that
Still young

Finally, in case you missed it, here it is:

This guy's wife asks, "Honey if I died would you remarry?" He replies, "Well, after a considerable period of grieving, we all need companionship - I guess I would." She says, "If I died and you remarried, would she live in this house?" He replies, "We've spent a lot of time and money getting this house just the way we want it. I'm not going to get rid of my house - I guess she would." So she asks, "If I died and you remarried, and she lived in this house, would she sleep in our bed?" and he says, "That bed is brand new, we just paid two thousand dollars for it, it's going to last a long time - I guess she would." So she asks, "If I died and you remarried, and she lived in this house, and slept in our bed, would she use my golf clubs?" And he says, "Oh no, she's left handed."

Good day and maybe the fine-master will be back next week.