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Los Altos Rotary ClubHome of the Annual Rotary Fine Art ShowOctober 10 2013 |
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| Writer: John McDonnell - Photographer: Charles Lindauer - Editor: Cynthia Luedtke Issue: #15 2013-2014 |
Los Altos Rotarians arriving for the annual red badge auction were met by a
gaggle of greeters. These included JOHN NICHOLSON, KATHY BERRY, MICHAEL
ELLERIN, DONNA VERNA, and BILL MOISON.
Pres. JACK KELLY chimed the meeting to order a bit early, and asked GARY MAGGARD
to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
STEVE POMEROY presented the
thought for the day from John Lennon. When he was 5 years old, his mother
told him that happiness was the key to life. Later in school, he was asked
the usual question, what do you want to be when you grow up? He wrote
down, “Happy.” The teacher told him he didn’t understand the assignment,
and he told the teacher, “You don't understand life.”
President-elect KENDRA GJERSETH then took the podium to introduce visiting
Rotarians. Our first visitor was past district Gov. Arley Marley. Our next
visiting Rotarian was Mike, past president of a Rotary club near Portland
Oregon. Our final visitor was Don from the Sonoma club, who admitted he
was just a regular Rotarian.
Rotarians with guests included JEAN MORDO, DUANNI HURD, BONNIE BURDETT, ROY
JONES (who introduced his today wife, Maureen) and GARY MAGGARD.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
KENDRA also announced that the Avenues of Service event is coming up, on
Thursday of next week at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose. The cost for
attending is normally $ 45, but the Club is paying for a large number of members
to attend. A clipboard was circulated, and people who are interested in
attending should contact Kendra
MARLENE COWAN announced that the Coanequim Burn Center cruise event was a great
success. Our Club attained a gold sponsorship level and produced the
highest amount of funds for the burn center in our history. As an added
bonus, RON PACKARD won the raffle for a trip to Latin America.
RON LABETICH announced that the November 14 luncheon will be our annual Veterans
Day luncheon. He also announced that they had sold their quota of hats and
raised $ 3000 in donations for the veterans.
NEW BLUE BADGERS
JEAN MORDO announced that one of our red badgers had completed all of their
requirements, and qualified for blue badge status. JEAN called up DONNA
VERNA and Donna's sponsor, BARBARA SMALL, who was awarded her blue badge pin.
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10 MINUTE TALK- GREG HARTWELL
In tracing his
past, Greg discovered that one of his ancestors where the Hartwell Tavern near
Concord Massachusetts where a Revolutionary War battle was fought. The
family ended up in Houston where he grew up.
He attended Catholic grade
school but then moved on to Robert E. Lee public high school in Houston.
Staying close to home, he went to Southern Methodist University, and then began
working in accounting. He was less than thrilled with the work, so he
decided to go to Harvard business school, where he met all types of wonderful,
modest people.
He married his wife Lisa in 1991, and they eventually moved
to Palo Alto, where they are raising 2 daughters, Courtney and Ashley.
One day, his wife hit a 95-year-old bike rider. She took him to the doctor
and for rehabilitation. She even began to cook for him. Meanwhile,
Greg was working in a number of jobs, including stints at ABC, Intuit, and IBM.
During this time he saw all of the needs of seniors, and he saw their desire to
stay at home and have in-home care. He and his wife started their senior
home care business in 2008. They are about to celebrate their fifth
anniversary, after providing over 32,000 visits to seniors.
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| Title/ Description | Donor | Winning Bid | Winner |
| Celebrity Forum Tickets | PP Dick Henning | $ 425 | Steve Yarbrough |
| San Jose Sharks Package | El Camino Hospital | $ 550 | Pat Gray |
| Russian Hill Condo | Joe Eyre | $ 700 | Diana Wigman |
| Fly to Brunch | Marv Patterson | $ 500 | John McAlister |
| Capitola -by -the- Sea | Diana & Martin Neiman | $1,000 | Jean Mordo |
| Capitola -by -the- Sea | Diana & Martin Neiman | $1,000 | Bill Moison |
| Wine, Cheese, Hors devours | Kirk & Kathy Mahncke and Joe & Teri Eyre | $ 600 | PP Mel Kahn |
| Honey-Do-List | John Hammerschmidt | $ 450 | PP Dennis Young |
| Jazz Trio | PP John Sylvester | $ 500 | Abby Ahrens |
| Gold Country Getaway | Robert & Alice Montgomery | $ 400 | Francis La Poll |
| Celebrity Golf Package | Steve Shepherd and Jerry Moison | $ 450 | Mona Armistead |
| Enchantement | Abigail Ahrens | $ 500 | Von Packard |
| Helicopter "Ride-Along" | Santa Clara County Sheriff | $ 375 | Diana Neiman |
| Apple I-Pad Mini | Dana Bennett | $ 400 | Wyatt Allen |
| Kitchen Design Services | Harrell Remodeling | $ 200 | Val Carpenter |
| Susan Cummings Bracelet | Earthworks | $ 450 | Gary Waldeck |
| Afternoon Tea | Lina Natasha Broydo | $ 450 | Pat Gray |
| TOTALS Live Auction | $8,950 |
When the $4,595 from the silent auction is added in, the Red Badgers raised $13,345 for Vida Verde!
The bidding had gone so quickly we were finished 10 minutes early, and President JACK decided to adjourn the meeting at that point.