THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

"There was my name up in lights. I said, God, somebody made a mistake but there it was, up in lights. And I sat there and said remember, you're a regular person and not someone famous - yet there it was - up in lights."   ~  Marilyn Monroe.

 

Gillett offered his own postscript,  to wit, "Do you know who you are when your name is up in lights." A bottle of wine was offered as a prize to anyone who could identify the source of the quote. Needless to say Gillett's wine remained safely in his possession.

 

GUESTS

 

Caroline Kunkel - Back again for the umpteenth time

Krysten Layne's Rene - Still basking in the TGITLFOTM glow

Steve Ware's Katie Rose  - Establishing her own record attendance (we lost count ages ago)

Wendy Scheck - Wife of guest speaker and co-presenter

 

VISITING ROTARIANS

 

John Sherry - Lafayette noon club. Hawking tickets to its annual Concert At The Rez, May 15.

Bob Shusta - John's trusty lunch club companion with more tickets.

Andy Scheck - Official guest speaker

 

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES

 

Rick Ashburn patiently explained what his kids call a pi birthday (3.14) which presumably applied to wife Dana. The net result was a $20 celebration contribution.

 

Gary Fulcher, having previously announced an ignored special day for long-suffering, better-half Carolyn, allowed as how they had actually spent a delightful, albeit tardy, celebration at Cabrello Point. Deemed by Gary worth $40 self-tithing.

 

ACCUSATIONS AND CONFESSIONS

 

Paul Bettelheim collared John Fazel for a recent newspaper article and photo in which King John appeared sans badge, rotary pin or any other accoutrement identifying him with our august organization. Fazel offered the lame excuse that he was wearing a pin, but it was somehow hidden? Cost him $30; would have cost him much more if he had dug the hole any deeper.

 

Rich Shearer admitted that he had committed matrimony in Livermore on March 13. A moment of silence was quickly observed for blushing bride Valerie (in absentia). Rich honored the occasion with a $50 check to the Paul Harris Foundation, and another $50 to the club endowment fund. Best wishes to the happy couple and a special good luck to Valerie! (Not that we think she needs it, mind you.)

 

Ex Prez Pat Flaharty came up with a unique monetary pledge this morning. He will contribute $1 to the club for every pound of weight shed by Jim Brencic. Jim proudly announced that Pat owes the club $35 as of now, with more to come. Jim could teach some of the rest of us how he does it. Could this be LSR's answer to Jenny Craig? Hay's claimed to have gone a few pounds further than Jim. Can that be?

 

Long-gone Venera Maysuryants's return to our midst was roundly applauded. She also confessed to a birthday for husband Robert which only cost her $10. Welcome back, Venera. We missed the warm, friendly smile!

 

WINE AUCTION ROUND-UP

 

Skip McCowan reminded one and all of the continuing obligation of each member to secure a bottle of wine costing at least $20 and retailing at least twice that. These bottles will be auctioned at Motorama, and will be a major contributing factor to the financial success of the club's fund raiser on Sunday, June 20. He held a bottle high proclaiming that some of us actually followed his directions by putting a correct label on the bottle (name, where bought, cost and retail value). It is a bit much for this reporter to understand how Skip expects this group of wild ducks to fly in formation. Follow directions? Good luck with that.

 

MOTORAMA UPDATE

 

"We have the highest volunteer participation rate of any fund raising effort in the history of the club" proclaimed Krysten Lane. She distributed a handful of "Save the Date" cards to all. Said cards give details of the upcoming event, and information as to how to show a prized vehicle or to participate as a vendor or a sponsor. It's all on the website http://motorama.us.

 

Thanks to Buddy Burke for the design of an official shirt for Motorama, which will be suitably labeled. Interest level is definitely on the upswing as Krysten continues to exude confidence and passion for her favorite undertaking. This is to say, virtually anything with wheels attached that moves.

 

HOME TEAM GAINING MOMENTUM

 

Hays Englehart reminded us that the next Home Team fix-it event is Saturday, April 10. He added that a small Home Team crew took over a task previously started by another group, 35 strong, who had been unable to complete the task. Our Home Team stalwarts finished what the others had started in less than one hour! Remind us not to call the "other guys."

 

PEARLS FROM AS I WAS SAYING

 

Paul Fillinger read from a paperback collection of Cliff Dochterman's extraordinary speeches. The subject was a barnyard fable about a mouse that worried about a mouse trap in the house and was unable to get any help from a variety of barnyard animals who couldn't be bother with his problem. A series of catastrophes ensued for each animal as a result of their lack of interest or support in helping the mouse escape his pending doom.

 

This story simply illustrates why we are all connected with humanity, not only locally but throughout the world, and why our international presence is so important to each caring Rotarian. Dochterman's book is a treasure trove of funny, spot-on, must- read material for every Rotarian.

 

A MOMENT WITH AYMERIC

 

Aymeric greeted us this morning with a Hawaiian "aloha ." He pronounced the week prior his best as a Rotary exchange student. He was in the company of several fellow exchange students from other western states. Aymeric enjoyed touring Oahu, the beaches at Waikiki, and meeting unidentified "persons of interest" he encountered along the way.

 

He promised another slide show, claiming he took about 3,000 pictures that currently reside in his flash drive. His room will have to be cleaned up first before he can actually locate the drive. He also reported that his parents, his younger brother and his homeland girlfriend will be arriving for a visit in April. Aymeric promises to bring them to a meeting. Brave lad!

 

TGITLFOTM

 

This Friday at 5:30 pm at the home of Alex and Mary Jane Arnold, 23 Idlewood Court, Moraga. Phone 376-9271. Bring a yummy and your favorite beverage. A great time awaits all who attend. (Bear in mind that Alex is our Two Heartbeats Away top dog. Attending could earn you valuable brownie points.)

 

PROGRAM

 

The Lamorinda Weekly newspaper was front and center today. Its slogan is: "Independent, locally owned and operated!" It was ably represented by publisher Andy Scheck and Associate Publisher Wendy Scheck, not incidentally his spouse

 

The paper saw the light of day three years ago and is now a thriving entity. Remarkable, given the dismal state of many newspapers across the land. Andy drew upon his experience in the electronics industry to conceive the notion of a fully high tech publication. He assembled a group of local professionals and filled the need for a community paper.

 

The two-week cycle (yes, the Weekly is actually a fortnightly) lies in the hand of an  editorial team consisting of six staff members, 20 contract writers and community involvement with letters to the editor, a public forum and community service announcements.

 

Typically, the paper runs roughly 55 articles sprinkled through 28 pages. The church-state split is 60 percent editorial, 40 percent advertising. The amount of space devoted to advertising, which covers costs, is about 20 percent below industry norm.  They are able to do this thanks to relatively low overhead and exceptionally cost-effective, computer-driven input.

 

The Lamorinda Weekly - free to all -- goes to more than 21,000 households plus 1,500 businesses, 250 copies to St. Mary's College, and 80 take-a-copy outlets throughout the legendary Lamorinda "triangle."

 

Wendy Scheck described the content of the paper, how articles are selected and what the advertising process entails. Community service stories emanate from civic organizations, fire districts, letters to the editor, article submissions and event calendars. More than 40 bylines (authored material) appear regularly.

 

The paper also is published in online form at www.lamorindaweeky.com. This version is driven by a unique database including photos, bylines and captions in the same format as appear in the printed edition. It is archived and available for download or sharing via e-mail. The website averages 800 visitors, 8,800 hits on 2,400 pages every day. That's a lot of hits!

 

An interesting point came up in the Q&A. In its inaugural year the paper was printed in Canada, and reached the San Francisco airport within 16 hours from the time the electronic version was received up north. In year two the paper rolled off presses in Southern California. This past year Andy struck a deal with the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa. This is significant in that paper, owned by the New York Times, had recently installed a new, three-story-tall printing press. It is capable of churning out 24,000 copies per hour. (This is even better than we do!)

 

Not incidentally, Andy is a member of the Lafayette noon club. He and Wendy are widely, and rightly, lauded for performing a tremendous public service to our community. Many thanks, Andy, for the entertaining, informative presentation. Perhaps if other newspapers followed your inventive business model, more would still be in circulation.