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May 8, 2009  
Reporter: Rich Shearer      Editor:  Ron Brown          Photographer: Krysten Laine 
Pat Flaharty, President, 2008 - 2009

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
 
garfin 5-8Dan Garfin, from The ABC's of Rotary: The 100% Attendance Rule (which has been, shall we say, amended over the years) originated as a contest to increase participation.  Which leads to the idea of "make ups" at other Clubs if you have to miss a meeting at your own Club.  Which, in these high-tech times, has led to there being e-make ups.  And no, neither Dan nor I made this up - see www.rotary.org for details.
 
And then came Mark Roberts, who came up with some inspiration for us:
 
"Love life.  Engage in it. Give it all you've got.  Love it with a passion, because life truly does give back many times over what you put into it."  Maya Angelou
 
"My Dad has always taught me these words: 'Care and share.'  That's how we put on clinics.  The only thing I can do is try to give back.  If it works, it works."   Tiger Woods
 
GUESTS, VISITING ROTARIANS, AND SUCH
 
Regina Englehart - Hays' wife and John Fazel's bosshays family 5-8
Sharon Rossi - 3rd time visitor (at least)
Shirley - Counselor, Stanley Middle School
Bryce - Stanley Middle School student
Don Carlson - friend of Cal Lee
 
BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES & MISCELLANEOUS GOOD NEWS
 
Rich Shearer took his Significant Other, Valerie Heusinkveld to shearer 5-8the SF Academy of Sciences for her birthday (Hint: unless you really want to find out who uses Dial and who doesn't, go somewhere else on a rainy Saturday afternoon) and then to dinner right here at Postino.  Odd thing, though: Rich came to dinner with a girlfriend but left with a fiancee.  That was worth $25 in the Klub's kitty, and $100 to the Club's Endowment Fund. 
 
ANOTHER GOOD DEED DONE BY THE CLUB
 
Every year over Spring Break, 80 to 90 Stanley Middle School students go to Washington DC as a special way to learn about our nation's capital.  Most of them even make it back.  But not all Stanley families have the financial wherewithal to send their kids. Bryce, our guest for breakfast today, is in such a family.  So Lamorinda Sunrise helped pay his way.  And to show hisbryce 5-8 appreciation, Bryce stood up and thanked us.  The poised young man is a Boy Scout (recently made First Class - way to go!)  And clearly had a fun time back East.  He liked the National Archives the best, but also took in the Washington (inside, not just the outside), Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Capitol Building, the White House, the WWII, Vietnam and 9/11 Memorials, Gettysburg, Williamsburg and Jamestown.  (Jeez, where do I sign up?)  In addition, some of our Members gave Bryce some gift certificates so he could buy the appropriate clothes.  Seeing this young gentleman stand up in front of a group of adults he never met before and share his enjoyment was a great reminder that we really do touch lives.
 
But wait, as Ron Popiel would say, there's more!  President Pat drew the winning raffle ticket, and then promptly gave it to bryce 5-8 3Bryce, who then promptly drew the white marble to win a fair chunk of change.  If you didn't get to see the look on his face, you really missed out.  It appears that Bryce is well on his way to "Getting it," as word has it he wants to make a charitable donation with part of his winnings.  Thanks, for coming to tell us about your trip, Bryce.
 
MEMBERSHIP MOMENT
 
Hays Englehart stood up to ask who among us was proud of our Club.  Despite the response, he still wants us to hand out the new-fashioned "come to breakfast" cards, complete with the really cool "I Get It" logo that his daughter designed and that most of us have on the backs of our cars. 
 
While the cards make excellent bookmarks, the real idea is to hand them out to friends, colleagues, etc., who you think would make a good addition to Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary as part of our never-ending quest to add quality people to our quality group.
 
THE ROTARIAN - THAT'S SOME MAGAZINE
 
Mark Roberts is that rare Member who actually does what his roberts 5-8President asks him to do.  So, in keeping with Prez Pat's request last week that he read the latest issue of The Rotarian and come up with some questions with which to torment the Members, Mark actually read The Rotarian.  He didn't come up with any questions, but he noted several articles dealing with the same theme: clean water, its importance, and its lack in far too much of the world.  Thanks, Mark.
 
ANOTHER FUND-RAISING POSSIBILITY
 
Rod Ford-Smith announced that you could spend four nights at ford-smith 5-8the Highland Inn.  One would normally expect to spend $750 a night on such digs, but you may be able to score them for a lot less.  How?  Via an on-line auction.  We and another Club are in the bidding (if you have not received an e-mail for Rod about how to bid, call him, e-mail him, or tackle him in the street).  If one of us is the successful bidder, the Club stands to get some of the proceeds.  So bid, already.
 
ANYONE NEED A CUP O' JOE?  HOW ABOUT A WHOLE BAG?
 
And speaking of Paul Bettelheim, he has more of that great Free-Trade Guatemalan coffee, and part of the proceeds go to our Club's Endowment Fund. $12/pound.  Talk to Paul.  If you dare.
 
A GREAT SHOT AT A GREAT INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
 
chaffey 5-8I know, you like the idea of hosting an exchange student, but you worry about the time commitment and you're afraid of the communication/language issues.  Well, has George Chaffey got a deal for you.  The daughter of a family he and Carol met whilst in Brazil some time back (for the wedding of Ro, a former Youth Exchange Student we hosted over ten years ago) is coming to stay for about three weeks this July.  She is 15 years old and is fluent in English.  We still need one week's worth of housing and hosting for her.  So that's a one week commitment for a girl the Chaffeys have already vetted who speaks great English and whose family will become instant friends and contacts if you ever visit Brazil. 
 
So how can you pass it up?  If you can't, call George.
 
BICYCLE MECHANICS WANTED
 
Brad Davis let it be known that we will be doing bike maintenance and repair on the kids' bikes at the Garden Park davis 5-8Apartments, and asked for volunteers to help.  As many of you know, the Garden Park Apartments is a project started the by Contra Costa Interfaith Council, and is transitional housing aimed at getting homeless people, especially those with young kids, off the streets and into a decent place to live.  The real beneficiaries of this are the kids - if we can help one child grow up to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness and get them on their way to a good education and being self-supporting, the project is worth everything that goes into it.
 
And it's working.  One of the elements of the Garden Park program is a Homework Club, where trained volunteers assist the kids with their school work.  The good word is that they are seeing a noticeable - and in some cases, nigh on to miraculous - increase in grades and overall school performance.
 
So what's this about bikes?  Some of the kids that live at Garden Park have bikes.  Some of those bikes are in less-than-perfect condition.  So, in response to a request from the Powers That Be in Garden Park Land, Brad Davis has arranged to go out, assess the need and tally up what supplies are needed (he's dragging Rich Shearer along to help, so you know he's desperate) and, later, helping the kids fix 'em up.  Brad is clear that we are going to do as much teaching and as little actual fixing as possible.  So, who here knows their way around a wrench?  We've already had some Members express interest.  How about you?
 
THREE-QUARTER CENTURY LUNCH COMING UP
 
Wanna see John Fazel in a tuxedo?  Wanna come as close as you ever will to seeing Mark Twain in person?  Wanna help throwfazel 5-8 a great bash for senior citizens and have a lot of fun doing it?  Wanna see Brad Davis dismember chickens with a big ol' honkin' knife? Then you need to be part of the Three-Quarter Century Club Luncheon, which our very own John Fazel has been running for something like ten years now.  The speaker will be the same Mr. McAvoy who did the one-man Mark Twain show, complete with Q&A, at the most recent InterClub Meeting.  Ask anyone in the Club who saw him, he is a lot of fun. 
 
This is a real feel-good event.  The seniors have a blast, the volunteers have a blast, and the speaker is a guaranteed hit.  The event is on June 10 at the Orinda Community Church.  Volunteers are needed from about 10:00 to 2:00, and John could use a couple of us on the organizing committee. So who's in?
 
WHAT THIS HAS TO DO WITH "I GET IT" IS ANYONE'S GUESS
 
With about two months to go in their term, every single pat 5-8President looks at the fine/dues chart and realizes that he/she is running out of time to nail everyone . . . I mean collect all that is supposedly due.  This leads to (cue the "Announcer Guy" sound effects) Stupid President Tricks.  Even so organized a leader as President Pat is not immune.  He started speaking on the theme of "I Get It," and next thing anyone knew, Alex Arnold was claiming his make-up clips were "in the mail" ($20 postage due, Alex) and Buddy Burke was saying something about wearing a banana necklace. 
 
Just another day in paradise, I guess . . . . 
 
PROGRAM
 
Domingo Blanco-Gutierrez has been here before, but this may be the last time we see him for a while.  He is a Rotary Peace Scholar, and is finishing up his Masters Degree studies at UC Berkeley, and thus will be heading back his native Venezuela soon.  
 
blanco 5-8As you might recall, Domingo is a 10-plus year veteran of the Venezuelan diplomatic corps, including serving on 5 delegations to the United Nations in New York and at least one delegation to the Organization of American States.  As a Rotary Peace Scholar, he came to focus on an important and overarching aspect of Venezuelan politics: decentralization.  In 1989, there was a great deal of civil unrest and violence in Venezuela, and the people rose up to demand an end to strictly top-down governance.  They wanted input into how they were governed.  In short, they wanted a much less centralized means of determining the nation's policies.
 
For ten years, says Domingo, there was significant progress in this direction, and there was less top-down rule.  However, he believes, since 1999, that progress has been halted and even reversed, with power increasingly being concentrated in the Executive branch of the national government.  In general, Domingo finds President Chavez's policies to be inconsistent with the previous popular demand for decentralization. 
 
As for trends in Venezuelan foreign policy, Domingo noted that in recent years, the Chavez administration has reached out to countries not traditionally considered to be within Venezuela's sphere of interest.  For example, ties of friendship have been established between Venezuela and Zimbabwe.  At the same time, traditional ties to the Western Hemisphere and Europe have been de-emphasized.  Domingo thinks it is not a bad thing to reach out to forge new friendships with peoples and cultures to which Venezuela has not previously had much dealing.  He is, however, worried about how this shift in focus is being handled, and fears that what appears to be the ideological basis of the new directions may prove harmful to Venezuela's strategic interests.  
 
blanco 5-8 2Domingo's short-term future is pretty well set; his long-term future, not so much.  He will be traveling to The Netherlands this summer to work with a Dutch Non-Government Organization that works to bring the differing parties in a country together to work out common ground for governance of the country.  He will then have an opportunity to observe the process in action in either Guatemala or Ecuador. He hopes to take this process back to Venezuela and implement it - at a local level if not at the national level.  Domingo hopes to keep differences in political beliefs from leading to such polarization that the parties can't even agree on the framework for debating the differences. 
 
After that, Domingo plans to return to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and resume his diplomatic career.  He is not sure what he will find or what his career path will be, but he is, as he says, "ready to go back and contribute." One thing is for certain: He will be joining a Rotary Club in downtown Caracas, and has invited any and all of us to come visit and make up there.  
 
Domingo thinks that one of the best aspects of the Peace Scholar program is the people it brings together.  Scholars from Ghana, the Palestinian Territories, Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Australia, Colombia, India, Iran, the Czech Republic, and others have come together to meet and get to know each other, cross-pollinate each other with ideas about how to avoid and resolve conflict, and create peace at some of the world's leading universities.  These people, coming from different cultures with different experiences and different perspectives, have not only been able to share ideas and hopes, but they have become close friends. 
 
One sad note from Domingo: as of now, it looks like the Peace Scholar program may not continue at Cal.  For one thing, the program is expensive, and money isn't exactly growing on trees at Cal these days.  For another, there really isn't a "peace" focus in the various Cal disciplines.  Finally, 10 scholars were not able to meet Cal's rigid admissions standards this last time around.  There is a move afoot to persuade the Cal folks to keep this program alive, and Domingo is hopeful that Peace Scholars will continue to come to Berkeley to make use of the facilities of one of the world's great institutions of higher learning.  (Maybe some of you Cal alumni can bring some pressure to bear - no pun intended.) 
 
At the close of Domingo's talk, President Pat asked George Chaffey to say a word or two about Rotary's scholarship programs.  So how do Rotary's programs stack up against, say, the Rhodes Scholarship program?  There are 32 Rhodes chafee 5-1Scholars each year.  There are over 900 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars and Peace Fellows.  Rhodes Scholars receive roughly $15,000 per year.  Ambassadorial Scholars receive $20,000 to $25,000 per year, and Peace Fellows receive more than that. (Rotary puts up around $25 million to $30 million every year for its scholarship programs.)  Rhodes Scholars go to Oxford, admittedly a very fine university.  But Ambassadorial Scholars can go to any university that will admit them (including that Oxford place), and Peace Scholars have a choice of eight fine universities around the world.  So in terms of flexibility of studies, flexibility of school attended, financial support, and number of scholars supported, Rotary beats the Rhodes Scholarship program all to heck - and every other scholarship program, too.
 
Gracias, Domingo, for coming again to talk to us.  We are proud to have played even a small role in your successful stay here, and we have nothing but good wishes for you in your future endeavors.
 
CALENDAR OF EVENTS 
 
5/15/09:   Pascal Kaplan, Ph.D., holistic studies. How the internet supports service-inspired initiatives not otherwise imaginable. 
5/22/09:  Mike Hughes, Local Businesses
5/29/09  Expose Yourself: Venera and Rich 
6/5/09:   Benjamin Lawrence, UC Davis professor & Davis Rotarian, boring water holes in Togo, Benin and Ghana
6/19/09: Expose Yourself: Paul Bettelheim and Rick Ashburn
6/26/09:  President Pat's State of the Union 
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