Los Altos Rotary Club Home of the Annual Rotary Fine Art Show August 25 2011

“Happy Days are Here Again” shouted jester KURT HUEG in greeting to District Governor of the Realm, Arley Marley III.  Queen-President MONA ARMISTEAD knighted Sir Arley, The Transformer, with the sword of King Arthur and dressed him along with Squire Ginny Lear and Lady Mary in new tunics of blue and gold made especially for them by competitive sewing wizard and former Queen-President TRACIE MURRAY. 

Sir Arley was declared to be a Rotary Transformer, not unlike King Arthur under whom Arley trained with Lancelot and the Motley Crew.
 

Squires GEORGE STAFFORD and LONNIE GARY welcomed every Rotary Knight as they entered the Castle Shoup. 

Tax Mistress KAREN OWEN plucked a gold doubloon from each Rotary subject as they crossed the drawbridge.
 

After swimming the moat and citing the Pledge led by former Queen-President MARGE BRUNO, the Rotary Knights and Ladies were seated at the round tables for a feast of mutton and mead.  Squire Esteban explained the mystery of Prince Chumlee and revealed the secret incantation of Persistence: “Talent will not win out, nor genius or education. Only persistence and determination shall prevail over the troubles of the realm”.
 

The Man Who Would Be King, Heir Apparent, JOHN SYLVESTER, welcomed heralds from far-away lands and Knights visiting from other Rotary kingdoms, and all complied with the requisite protocols of greeting.  “Would Be John”, announced that next week’s program will be an oxymoron, not to be confused with a hydro moron, a carbon moron or a just-plain moron. The subject of next week’s talk will be “California Common Sense”. 

A SPECIAL HONOR
KAILAS CHIDAMBARAM asked Sir Arley to bestow the rank of Paul Harris Fellow upon his surfing (not to be confused with “serf-ing”) son Patrick, who was visiting with his wife, Angelica, from Australia. 

TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION
Despite the Tea Party’s attempt to prevent higher taxes, Princess of the Fines, BAIDRA PROCHNOW MURPHY successfully sought recompense for our deficit by leveling surcharges on:

• ALLISON SALISBURY
• JOE RENATI
• SAM PESNER
• PAUL GONELLA
• BARRY GROVES
• KAILAS CHIDAMBARAM
• STUART BOWEN
• VAL CARPENTER
• STEVE BIANCHI
• STEVE WHEELER

TOWN CRIERS
Crier KENDRA GJERSETH advised all Rotarians to send her a note by Twitter, Face book, or carrier pigeon, of any makeup meetings they may have attended.

KURT HUEG welcomed Rotary Bikers to take a tour on Saturday by gathering at Hillview.

Greeter Coordinator, PAUL SCHUTZ welcomed prospective greeters to sign up for future meetings. This is a great way for new members to meet other Club Members.  

SAM PESNER announced the annual drive to support the Coeniquem Burn Centers in South America.  $1,800 will support two burned children which our club has supported for many years in the past. Who will help?

Email from PP SAM PESNER:

Dear Fellow Rotarians,

As I mentioned at our last lunch meeting, the time for pledging support for our burned children at Coanichem is at hand. In the past you have generously contributed $25 each, or more, to sponsor a child. It takes $900 per year to sponsor one child. I hope you will find it in your heart and budget to support this cause again this year. Please write your check to Choanichem BCS and mail it to my attention, to the Club address (LARC, attn Sam Pesner, PO Box 794, Los Altos 94023). Thank you for your generosity!

Also, the annual Fiesta of the Americas will occur in September - information is below. If you are interested in attending this event in Pleasanton, perhaps we can form as group to carpool. See below...

FIESTA OF THE AMERICAS
Celebrating the treatment of over 100,000 children since 1979.
Annual Benefit Fiesta Benefiting the children supported
by COANIQUEM Burned Children Foundation.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Firehouse Arts Center
4444 Railroad Avenue, Pleasanton CA
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM.
2:00 PM Reception
2:45 PM Entertainment,
5:15 PM Dessert and Coffee

Chilean Singers Rafael and Ingrid.
Bolivian Dance Group Corazón.
Guitarist Ryan Flynn.
Other special entertainers.

Latin tapas catered by Girasole
Chilean wine
Live Auction
Charity Drawing sponsored by Delta Airlines.

COANIQUEM BCF is a registered charitable organization in the United States with
the mission to support the rehabilitation of burned children throughout the Americas.

Tickets $60 per person
(Limited number of children's tickets for $30. Contact Carolyn Schuetz for availability.)

For further information contact Carolyn Schuetz, Director/Treasurer,
COANIQUEM Burned Children Foundation 510-769-9661; csandlb@burnedchildren.org

Thanks,

Sam Pesner

HAIL TO THE DG!:
Squire Ginny Lear introduced Sir Arley for his 34th club round table visit of the 5170 Realm. Many did not know that Arley was born in Gary, Indiana, home of the Music Man.  He went to Purdue University where he obtained a degree in aeronautical engineering and became one of Boeings leading flight test engineers.  Later, Sir Arley christened his own Silicon Valley bar code startup and is now the leading Knight of the Rotary District 5170 Kingdom.
 
In his talk to the Rotary Roundtables, Sir Arley asked “Why Rotary?”
 
“Is it because you are thrilled at the thought of eradicating polio from the face of the earth and making the current 325 polio sufferers the last to face this devastating illness?”
 
“Is it because you are called to fight hunger in a world where 1 billion people are going to bed hungry each night?”
 
“Is it because you want to reduce the rate of child mortality when 1.8 million children die each year due to diarrhea?”
 
“Do you want to increase basic education and literacy because education rebuilds lives around the world?”
 
“Are you active in Rotary to promote world peace and understanding?”
 
Sir Arley encouraged club membership and announced his plan to develop the Rotary E-Club of Silicon Valley to accommodate Rotarians who cannot participate in a weekly meeting, but who want to serve in the Ranks of Rotary.
 
He pointed out that the Rotary Foundation is the grease that makes the wheels of Rotary turn through administering and providing matching grants for projects around the world.  He asked every Rotarian to contribute to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and every year (Every Rotarian Every Year) to the extent they are able. 
 
Arley said Rotary connects the dots through community service and provides each Rotarian with the benefit of vocational networking in return.
 
In the area of Club Service, Arley plans to develop and publish best club practices to be shared District-wide.
 
Arley encourages Rotarians to engage with Rotary Youth Exchange, Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) program and International Service, the backbone of Rotary.
 
Sir Arley said Rotary does what no government can do because it is not hampered by political or religious impediments. Rotary’s four-way test is not a slogan, he said, it is a way of life.  Feed your inner spirit, know who you are. Care for your family.  Respect your occupation. Make Rotary a part of your life.
The rewards are transformative!

THIS THURSDAY'S PROGRAM:

Dakin Sloss,  President,  California Common Sense 
If you are interested in transparency and accountability in government, come and listen to Dakin Sloss, a Stanford senior who is President of California Common Sense.  In order to improve the efficiency of California’s state government, this organization, which is non-partisan and non-profit, is using its quantitative analysis skills to help make California’s government transparent to the public. They are also engineering new technologies to enable citizen engagement and augment fundamental structures of representative democracy with online tools.

Their studies so far have revealed fragmented administration and overlapping state entities. The Stanford student team is also analyzing California’s financial data in order to identify ways to protect California’s long-term fiscal future.  This database of State government operations will benefit the taxpayers of the state and help state lawmakers make well-informed decisions regarding State issues. The solutions and research they identify will be promoted through interactive online forums that mobilize citizens and connect them to politicians.

Dakin is a senior at Stanford studying physics, mathematics and philosophy.  He was born in Vienna, Austria, and has grown up across the country, but considers the Bay Area to be his home after living in Redwood City, Palo Alto, and Los Altos with his parents, Heidi and David, and younger sister Kamala. Dakin enjoys playing tennis and skiing when he is not actively involved with his studies at Stanford and California Common Sense. Dakin will graduate in the fall and work as the Executive Director of California Common Sense for the next year.