Los Altos Rotary Club Home of the Annual Rotary Fine Art Show April 10th, 2008

We were heartily greeted by eager red badgers TIM BYRD, MARV PATTERSON and FRANK VERLOT.  Long-lost CHRIS ELLSON led us in the pledge and, in anticipation of April 15, JOHN SYLVESTER led us in “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” -- was that supposed to make us feel better about paying taxes!? 

  DAVID SMITH recently got an email from a friend back east about insults made with class that he shared as the thoughts for the day (apparently, you can blame insulter extraordinaire Mel Kahn for that one).  Thanks go out to photographer JERRY TOMANEK, sergeant-at-arms SCOTT FLEMING, and cashier LEE LYNCH. 

We had many visiting Rotarians, introduced by Pres JOHN MOSS, most of whom were from the Palo Alto University Club.  PP JOE RENATI and PP SAM PESNER brought guests.
 
Announcements:  At its meeting the day before the LARC meeting, the LARC Board approved a budget that has been set to all members, and will be posted on our new website for 30 days for member review.  Please contact PP JOHN MOSS or SANDIE WHIPPLE with any questions or concerns. 
 
On behalf of another Relay for Life Team, DENNIS YOUNG announced his cameo appearance at a celebrity bartending outing at Maltby’s on Tuesday, April 15.
 
It’s time again for the art show!  ROY JONES can get you an official LARC shirt to wear at the art show, but only if you order it immediately (otherwise, you will receive it after the show is over).  JERRY MOISON has raised $12,500 in sponsorships for the art show.  He would like to get to an even $13,000, so if you have a spare $500 lying about, send it to art show treasurer JEAN MORDO.    Also, please volunteer for your shifts at the art show at www.losaltosrotary.org. 
 

JOANNE BYRNE regaled us with stories of her life in a 10-minute talk.  Family is important in JOANNE’s life, whether it is the family in which she grew up or the family she acquired in the City of Los Altos, the local community, LACF or Rotary. She has five older brothers and sisters.  Her parents grew up in the same small town in the south of Ireland.  While he was serving in the military, her father wrote to her mother to tell her he was going to America and to ask whether she would join him there and marry him.  JOANNE was born at El Camino Hospital in 1963 (a youngster among us!).   She grew up in Los Altos and went to Los Altos High School.  She went to work for the City of Los Altos Recreation Department where she met her sponsor BOB RAYL and many other Rotarians.  Also while working for the City, she attended San Jose State University.  She left her city position in 2001 to found a marketing and development consultancy.  One of her clients was the Los Altos Community Foundation and PP ROY LAVE hired her as the first LACF employee.  That position has had its challenges, but she loves working with the donors and helping them achieve their philanthropic goals. 
 

SANDY BOZICH tried to get some applause as finemaster by promising not to fine those who clapped for her.  LARRY CHU, JR. was the only one who fell for it, but he was not fined.  KEVIN PHILLIPS took care of the duck bucket, so if your fine was not reported properly you have him to thank.  SAM HARDING got a fine for drilling a hole in his name badge to attach his Rotary pin so he would never forget it and be fined for not wearing it.  In honor of tax day, all of the accountants (whether they had anything to do with tax preparation or not) and tax preparers had to pay a fine.  CHRIS ELLSON, who had not made an appearance at a meeting in quite some time, joined the President’s Club AND to avoid answering any questions about tax preparation.  JEANNE MACVICAR paid $25 because the University of Kansas won the NCAA title.  ROLAND PAYNE became a grandfather to the most beautiful grandson in the world, so he paid a fine.  JOE CORRAL paid $30 because it put him in the President’s Club.  PP DICK DUHRING paid $35 for the same honor.  NANCY DUNAWAY paid $50 to join the President’s Club and brag about her son.  PP DAN DUTTON paid $28 to join the President’s Club with pleasure.  KATHY BERRY is very proud of her daughter who just got into medical school, assisted by JACK HIGGINS, so she paid an additional $25.  PAT GRAY challenged the accounting of PP STEVE ANDERSON because she already has her President’s Club pin.  She was off the hook.  JERRY TOMANEK also disputed the accounting and offered to show his receipts.  SHELLY POTVIN was fined $35 to join the President’s Club because she did not know that a boob job (to 56FF, no less) for a professional stripper is tax deductible. 
 

Last week we presented a few pictures of club members who went to FILOLI GARDENS social Saturday before last.  Here is another picture of some of the participants, courtesy of PP SAM PESNER

WILLIAM GRINDLEY gave us a brief history of the future of Saudi Arabia.  If I got it right, it went something like this:  In 1902, the first modern Saudi king, Abdul Aziz, who eventually had 36 wives, invaded Riyadh and took it over to create a pure, religious fundamental state.  Saudi Arabia consolidated its power and was recognized by the rest of the world in 1932.  As is any other kingdom, Saudi Arabia is a dictatorship and its subjects are either served or servant in each any every relationship they have.  Woman in Saudi Arabia are veiled after they reach puberty.  Men and women do not mingle with each other unless they are related.  There are three legs to Saudi Arabia’s stool:  family (al Saud), Islam (protector of the faith) and oil (the relationship with the U.S.).  The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a population of 19 to 20 million, about 25% of which consists of immigrants who do all the grunt work.  Ninety percent of all Islamic people in the world are Sunni.  The Shia (“partisans of Ali”) split from the Sunni and relocated to Iran and Iraq about the time of the Fourth Prophet.  Saudi Arabia takes about 10 million barrels of oil out of the ground each day.  It has 260 billion barrels of oil still untapped, with about four times that yet to be documented.  Grindley is not optimistic about the future of Saudi Arabia.  There is lots of money to be made there, but most of the population is under 20, which is a demographic time bomb for which the United States is going to pay the price.  

{Copyright � 2008 Los Altos Rotary Club. All rights reserved}

template updated: 03/28/08