This Land is Your Land” was an appropriate song for BEVERLY TUCKER to lead us in singing during a day to reflect on the extraordinary work of the World Service Committee led by FRANK VERLOT and ALLAN VARNI with help from the largest group of committee members (except for the golf committee) in LARC. President DENNIS YOUNG’S term is soon to expire and theWCS team was taking the stage to report on progress during President Dennis’ term.  And progress it has been!

Greeters were JOANNE KAVALARIS and MIKE ABRAMS.  PAUL SCHUTZ led the pledge.  JEANNE MACVICAR presented the thought for the day from Robert Kennedy.  President Elect MONA ARMISTEAD introduced three visiting Rotarians and guests.  Next week’s program will feature Duncan MacVicar, “The Wounds of War.”  Don’t miss it.

Program Committee Brings Great New Speakers

Mona has been leading a new committee this year to improve the weekly programs. Her group has met monthly to develop a list of interesting speakers and arrange for them to present for the club.  Under Mona’s leadership our club has welcomed World War II veterans, NASA space team leaders, authors, surfing promotors, sports celebrities, doctors, educators and more. President Elect-Elect JOHN SYLVESTER is stepping into Mona’s shoes as committee chair for the next year.  Anyone, especially Red Badgers, are welcome to attend.  Send John an email to get on his emailing list.  Bring your ideas to the meetings.  Or just email John your thoughts jhs@sstins.com.

Golf Tourney Championship Winners Announced

STEVE SHEPHERD is chairman of the largest Rotary committee, the 284 member Golf Tournament Committee (GTC).   Steve credited BAIDRA MURPHY, STEVE and CATHY ANDERSON for assisting with the world class event held each year at the breezy Shoreline course favored by Rotarians.  Forty-four players competed for honors.  Fifty-four diners dined and about $300 changed hands at post-dinner Texas hold’em tables.  ROY LAVE cleaned up by winning $100.  Mona’s husband Bob Armistead won $100 and Cathy Anderson and JACK KELLY split $100.

Chairman Steve, assisted by ROY LAVE passed out trophies to President Elect MONA ARMISTEAD and JERRY MOISON for low gross scores. Perpetual low net honors went to CINDY LUEDTKE and JOHN MCALISTER.  JEAN NEWTON FRAGUGLIA and RANDY GARD took home the blind bogey championships. KURT HUEG, ROY LAVE and RANDY GARD were yellow ball winners.  Carol Moison, JOHN MC ALISTER and RICH CASEY were closest to the pin winners.  Mixed couple honors went to JEAN and Steve FRAGUGLIA – silver framed photos of the golfers themselves.  Longest drives were recorded by Carol Moison, STEVE FICK and a guest.

On behalf of all 284 committee members, STEVE ANDERSON thanked Chairman STEVE SHEPHERD for doing it all.

TRACIE MURRAY, who looked like a stand-in for KENDRA GJERSETH, reminded all Rotarians that the Kick Out Dinner is set for Friday, July 1, at the Los Altos Country Club.  You have paid for the dinner so you might as well sign up and come!  You will not want to miss the party.  6:30 p.m. $90 for guests.  RSVP if NOT attending.

KATHY BERRY, who looked like a stand-in for JEANNE MACVICAR, reminded all Rotarians of the Relay for Life honoring victims and survivors and raising money for the fight against cancer.

JACK HEIDMILLER, standing in for himself, asked for our help to man the Chef Chu booth at the Los Altos Art & Wine Festival July 9-10.  Three booth-teams are needed per day.  Sign up online or on the clipboard.  Last year our club earned about $4,000 for our efforts thanks to Chef Chu’s generosity.

Red Badge Chair BAIDRA MURPHY invited Red Badgers to meet with DUDE ANGIUS at the groups meeting this week to learn about the Rotary Aids Project, of which Dude is a founding father.  This is a great opportunity to get involved in one of Rotary’s most remarkable committees.

FRANK VERLOT announced that the next WCS meeting will be at 11:45 a.m., June 28 at Chef Chu’s. 

Rotary Foundation Committee Chair SAM PESNER reminded those who were absent at last week’s Rotary Foundation Award meeting that he has your pins!  President Dennis said that Rotary Foundation giving by our club was just under $75,000, the highest in the District, which reached 117 percent of its goal this year.  Thanks for your generosity.  The money you give, comes back dollar-for dollar in matching grants for our projects.  CINDY LUEDTKE will serve as chair next year of this vital committee.  You can’t say no to CINDY!

Fines

MARY PROCHNOW served as finemistress.  She was highly successful, as usual and raise fines from WYATT ALLEN, who just took a position at Investors Prime Fund in Los Altos, STEVE SHEPHERD, ROY LAVE, SHAWN KELLY, JOE CORRAL, LAUREN HERBSTMAN, ROY JONES, TED SORENSEN, STEVE BIANCHI, JACK HEIDMILLER, and President DENNIS.

World Community Service Committee - Changing Our World

FRANK VERLOT and ALLAN VARNI, working with MARY MARLEY, ROLAND PAYNE and many other volunteers on the WCS committee meet the 4th Tuesday of every month from 8:00 am to 9:30 p.m. at the First Republic Bank Community room.  Agendas and minutes are emailed to all members and friends.  If you would like to join the committee, you are welcome to attend.  Members vote on projects and allocation of funds. 

Last year, with a $15,000 cash allocation from the Los Altos Rotary Endowment Fund, the non-profit fund of Los Altos Rotary, The committee leveraged with matching grants from RI and our district into more than $100,000.  The money has been used to produce the programs and projects of the committee. 

The 2010-11 WCS projects included the following:
In the Nepal village of Rasuwa solar cooking, biomass fuel production and safe, efficient, rocket stoves are being introduced through our Rotary partners in Nepal.  Rotarian ALLART LIGTENBERG has led the way on this effort.  A total of $26,870 has been raised for the project.  In the Balambu village in Nepal, another solar project is underway courtesy of a $15,509 funding match.   

In the Yucatan Mexico village of Ixil, WCS is working on sustainable agriculture with funding of approximately $11,000.

The Child AIDS Prevention effort championed by ALLAN VARNI and other Rotary volunteers in Liberia was triggered by a $5,000 WCS grant, matched with $10,000 from our own Rotary Aids Project committee, then, leveraged with other clubs via Rotary match, for a whopping $75,000 total project grant.  Volunteers are working to provide the medicine necessary to prevent mother to child transmission of AIDS.

In Haiti, our WCS volunteers are teaming with Palo Alto Rotary to work with SOILS, an NGO project for composting toilets to prevent contamination of water and improve health.  In addition WCS is involved with a project to make lightweight brick from the rubble to re-build safer buildings.  The first project is to rebuild a school with this technology and it’s well under way.

A project in the slums of Jakarta, Indonesia focuses on health and sanitation with total funds of $23,406 in matching grants.

The Guatemala project of WCS, funded by $1,500 cash from LAREF and WCS will bring clean efficient cooking to Mayan villages. Also in the village of Atitlan WCS is teamed with 3H Rotary International group on a multi-year project to support hurricane re-construction and water projects.

More projects are in the works in Haiti, Nepal and Liberia.

WCS Chairman FRANK VERLOT invites all Rotarians and especially Red Badgers to join WCS.  It’s both fun and rewarding to be able to help people around the world build better healthier lives.

THIS THURSDAY'S PROGRAM:

Duncan MacVicar

"Invisible Wounds of War"