Los Altos Rotary Club Home of the Annual Rotary Fine Art Show January 29 2009

WELCOME, FRIENDS
ROLAND PAYNE led us in the pledge, followed by MARY MARLEY who offered a thought about the paradox of our age from the Dali Lama. JEANNE MACVICAR led us in a rousing round of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”.  Appreciation went to our greeters VAL CARPENTER, JOHN HAMMERSCHMIDT, and PAUL NYBERG who welcomed members and the many guests at our meeting today.
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Membership Director JOHN CARDOZA announced that ESTHER NG was ill today and will be inducted into our club next week.
 
Three red badges turned blue today for GREG DABB, a chiropractor and 1988 Los Altos High grad sponsored by PE TRACIE MURRAY, for NANCY SIMON, a mortgage broker and community volunteer sponsored by CINDY WEMYSS, and for MIKE ABRAMS, a “very retired” but very active community volunteer sponsored by PAUL NYBERG. It was observed that protocol reserves the Club’s standing ovation for newly inducted members, not for red badges turning blue.
 
Three new Directors for the LARC Board will be elected Feb. 5 from the seven candidates: BONNIE BURDETT, KAREN FOX, STEVE GRUBER, MARY MARLEY, ROY JONES, PHIL ROSE, and JOHN SYLVESTER.  Congratulations to all who are running.  This is your opportunity to select your club’s leaders, so be sure to vote.

BONNIE BURDETT	KAREN FOX	STEVE GRUBER	MARY MARLEY	ROY JONES	JOHN SYLVESTER

MIKE ABRAMS reminded us of the Red Badge Project benefiting the Bullis School Library for which 110 books and encyclopedias have been purchased.
 
PP GINNY LEAR, spreading sunshine to club members, circulated cards for good wishes to TOM POTTERFIELD and GUY FARTHING, just home from surgery. JULIE ROSE added her request for good wishes to Pinky Whelan.
 
Fellowship Director, KENDRA GJERSETH announced the club’s next great party: the 60th anniversary celebration of LARC to be held at the Los Altos Golf and Country Club on March 5 with honored (and very entertaining) guest CLIFF DOCHTERMAN PP of Rotary International. To attend, pay $35 each before the end of February. Watch also for future announcements of a LARC bocci ball tournament in Los Gatos. In addition, help is needed to chair the next progressive dinner. Whew, Kendra has been busy planning for our very enjoyable fellowship events!  She also explained there is now one big difference between herself and SANDY BOZICH; it’s that engagement ring on Sandy’s finger. Congratulations, Sandy.
 
RECOGNITION
Our self-proclaimed “kinder and gentler” finemaster, JOHN SYLVESTER had a good time collecting fines on a Super Bowl theme from DENNIS YOUNG, ROLAND PAYNE, KAREN FOX, STEVE SHEPHERD, KENDRA GJERSETH, SANDY BOZICH, SAM HARDING, DAN DUTTON, KATHY BERRY, TOM LISTON, DAVID BERGMAN. Club Secretary and PP STEVE ANDERSON poked a little fun himself, by presenting Finemaster John’s badge to him with the comment that he had neglected to wear today ($20 please). However, John promptly retaliated by asking Steve an “easy” Super Bowl question, which Steve correctly answered, thus avoiding the threatened moniker of “wuss” (which isn’t even listed in this writer’s dictionary)!
 

SPEAKER
JOAN ROSSELLE introduced today’s speaker Mary Alice Rathbun, Director of External Relations for the Alliance for Smiles. She told of this organization’s work in repairing cleft lips and cleft palates for children abroad. Mary Alice is Past President of the Rotary Club of Berkeley, and she explained that the Alliance was started by San Francisco Rotarians just four years ago. Children with this deformity in poor villages are socially isolated and routinely abandoned or given up for adoption. Because the highest rate occurs among Chinese children, 15 of the Alliance’s 16 medical missions have been sent to China.  Rotoplast, also founded by San Francisco Rotarians, does similar surgeries, but does not return for follow-up surgeries and speech therapy as does the Alliance. Mary Alice seeks sponsorships of $1,000 per child and volunteers to accompany the medical missions to China or Bangladesh in February 2009.
 
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