1. Taught tennis throughout high school
.
2. Climbed Mount Whitney on his 18th birthday.
3. Was the county chair person of the Republican Party while in college.
George Chaffey was thus revealed. He called his trek to the summit of the Mount the sickest he has ever been in his life. Last effort at tennis resulted in a resounding defeat to one of our former foreign students. Don't know if he is still a party stalwart.
CAMP VENTURE NEEDS NOMINEES
We all live in an area that is threatened by natural disaster, namely wild fire or earthquake. Data shows that only 50% of households are prepared to survive a 1 or 2 week period following a catastrophic disaster. In case of a major earthquake in our area, authorities will be overwhelmed and it will take at least 2 weeks until we see any help.
This was the introduction to Dave David of Farmer's Insurance
who came to inform us on how to be prepared to protect our families and our property. He also share information on different types of earthquake insurance, what to expect if we make a major claim, and what to expect from insurance companies.
Dave has worked for Farmers for 31 years and currently serves as District Manager in Pleasanton where he supervises 27 full time and 10 part time employees. He is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, which is the highest designation one can achieve in the property/casualty industry.
Dave stated that his mission this morning is to jolt us into action (pun intended). He began with a truly disturbing drum roll of information and statistics. To wit:
1. The San Francisco Quake of '06 and the destructive fire was mostly man make. They weren't prepared.
2. Those empowered ignored lessons learned, and a repeat performance with Kitrina in New Orleans was more of the same.
3. The Hayward fault is the most dangerous in CA today because the last time the fault moved was in 1888. There is a 52% chance the next quake will appear in the next 25 years.
4. 300,000 people could be homeless.
5. 1,000 roads and bridges could be destroyed.
6. 50% of hospitals will be destroyed.
7. 70% of schools will be destroyed.
8. Anywhere from 4 thousand to 28 thousand people will die.
Well Dave. You certainly had our attention!
So, how prepared are we?
On the 2 week preparedness we should have at least 1 gallon of water per person per day stored. Our cars should have first aid, blankets and a whole host of other things covered by the American Red Cross in www.redcrossbayarea.org.
What is the status of our insurance? Here we go again....
1. 12% of Californians have earthquake insurance.
2. This is down from 30% since the Loma Prieta Quake.
3. 80% of houses with an evaluation of less than $500,000 do not have quake insurance.
What do insurance companies have to offer? Most all companies have taken terrific hits from their individual protection policies. Under previous policies the insurers suffered from claims that amounted to 12 billion dollars, which were only covered by insurers of 2.5 Billion. They entered into risk pool funds for insurance companies, however these are assessable policies. Meaning if a similiar 10 to 1 hit occurs again the policy holders will be assessed their share of the overage!
PAY ATTENTION! THIS IS IMPORTANT! There is a private firm which has become expert in evaluating risk of private residences, and will provide a quite for insurance. The company is Geovera Insurance and a quote can be obtained on-line at www.homerisk.com. The evaluation process is specific and unique to a single address. If Geovera deems a property high risk, it will not quote on a policy. If the property in their estimation is medium or low risk it will cover it. You don't need to buy! But it is a great idea to get a quote to find out how your property's safety is judged. If you already have quake insurance Dave urges you to hold onto it, and keep the payments current. Annual costs can be expected to be in the $3,000 per year range for this area.
Closing story: Not too long ago a 4 year old called 911 to report that his mother was sleeping on the floor and he couldn't wake her up. The dispatcher asked him to place the phone close to her head so they could hear her breathe. The boy told them his address and he then was instructed to open the door when help arrived so they could help his mom. His actions saved her life. How did he know to do this? Because his mother knew she was prone to seizures and so she trained him in exactly what to do if/when she might have another one when she was alone with him. The moral to this story........as the boy scouts like to say "Be Prepared!"
Well there you have it! It's time to do your homework. Thanks Dave, you were extremely effective in your presentation.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
4/10/09: Rotarian Pete Giers and Annaline Scholz on the Rotary Academic Scholars program
4/11/09: District Assembly, 8:00-2:00 or 9:00-1:00?
4/17/09: Micheal Pope, Executive Director, Alzheimer Service of the East Bay (ASEB)
4/24/09: Expose': Hear the fascinating story of Venera Maysuryants (oh yeah, and Tay Wheeler too)
2/24/09: TGTLFOTM at Skip and Linda McGowan 5:30
5/8/09: Domingo Blanco Rotary Peace Scholar, returns.
5/15/09: Pascal Kaplan, Ph.D., holistic studies. How the internet supports service-inspired initiatives not otherwise imaginable.
6/5/09: Benjamin Lawrence, UC Davis professor & Davis Rotarian, boring water holes in Africa 
Venera Maysuryants brought us "Destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for. It is a thing to be achieved!" William Jennings Bryan
yanking, and wheelbarrowing were topped off with fine cuisine on Saturday! Thanks to earthen talents of Ernie, Rich, Joanne, Pat, Cal, Brad and buddy, Las Trampas enjoyed a face lift. John Spahr's troopers were solid performers while wheel barrowness Holly kept us moving. Culinary showoff David and Evie topped off the morning." Great job one and all!
landscaping skills on Sat April 4. Our campus has never looked better. On Monday morning all I heard was how great the courtyard area looked! No more ugly weeds and old plants. The consumers enjoyed their lunch in the courtyard and had a wonderful time. We greatly appreciate your kind support to the men and women we serve with developmental disabilities. We couldn't complete these special projects without the help of our dedicated volunteers.
event held at the Berkeley Rotary Club meeting earlier in the week. Past Presidents Bill Boyd, Chuck Keller and Moraga's Cliff Dochterman were there to speak about the Rotary Peace Scholar program at the University of California and six other Universities around the world. There are about 20 Rotary Peace Scholars here at Cal, and an equal number at the other universities. They were at the University on a mission to perform a site inspection of the Peace Scholar Program on behalf of Rotary International. It was a very inspirational meeting. Our 
Lamorinda Sunrise Club will hear a first hand report from the peace scholar our club "sponsors" on May 8th, when Domingo Blanco will be with us.
School Seniors will be held in Benecia from June 28 to July 2. Our Club sponsors two students for this event. Thomas is now seeking applicants. This is a well regarded program for motivated students who are interested in learning about business careers, with a healthy dose of start-up and small business venturing.
Lafayette, provided a comprehensive update on the results of 23% budget reduction imposed in March because of state fiscal problems. The CCCTA, which provides local bus services to the East Bay, has been forced into difficult decisions to shrink bus routes and increase fares for everyone, including seniors who for the first time will pay $1 per ride. The routes have been reduced to the #6/#6L and #25. The #6 Provides services between Orinda BART, St. Mary's College, and Lafayette BART. The #6L Orinda Loop provides limited weekday service between Orinda BART and the Community Center. The #25 goes between Lafayette BART and Walnut Creek BART. Details are available on the 