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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
 | | Nancy does Winston proud! |
Nancy Baglietto did a brilliant job with the Thought For The Day. It was pithy, germane, witty and the delivery was spot-on. The words originally came from the lips of the great U.K. orator Winston Churchill. "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."Thankfully, we have none of these in our midst.
VISITING ROTARIANS
Alicia Cragholm - Lafayette
Don Jenkins - Orinda
Luis Alcon - Concord
Jay Lifson - Lafayette
Jack Selway - Somewhere in Colorado. Oh, and he's the Lamorinda Sunrise Charter President. RI has almost forgiven him for that.
GUESTS OF OTHER PERSUASIONS
Jim Kendall - Back again. He is either interested or a slow learner. Maybe both.
Kevin Cragholm - Rumor has it he is related to Alicia in some way or another.
Jim Newport
Mariam Worsham - Chuck Yeager's SO
BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS GOODIES
 | | The startled, happy grandparents |
Cal Lee is a grandpa. Ellis Lee James and Mom are doing fine thank you. Cal's birthday was last week, and Agatha Sue's is next week, so he just got it all out of the way by adding $100 to
 | | Venera gives back! |
the raffle winnings, which Venera Maysuryants won and gave back. Venera apparently takes the whole "catch and release" thing seriously.
George and Carol Chaffey celebrated their 47th Anniversary at the Claremont, or, as George called it, "that big white place in Berkeley." Carol is leaving for South Africa and Zambia soon as part of a Rotary dictionary and LN-4 hand distribution project. George thought all of this was worth $40, so that's what he was charged.
All other B&A celebrants were off celebrating, reported Mark "I'm a Glutton for Punishment, So I'm Serving as the Club Services Chair Again, at Least For a While" Roberts. But their time will come. Oh, yes, it will come. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
WELL DESERVED KUDOS FOR THE HOME TEAM TEAM
 | | You can count on George |
George "Born to Shmooze" Chaffey was the only Lamorinda Sunriser to attend the District 5160 2010-11 Awards Shindig & Weenie Roast, held in Corning or somewhere thereabouts. (George would likely go to the reunion of the 1992-93 District 5160 Club Greeters if one were held.) He came back with more than just sunburn, though. Specifically, he brought back the District 5160 2010-11 official recognitions for the Innovation Award and the Excellence in Service Award.
 | | HOME Team winner! |
 | | HOME TEAM winner! |
No, he did not steal them. They were awarded to LSR for the HOME Team project, the brainchild and labor of love of Hays Englehart and Joe Bettencourt. Hays and Joe graciously thanked the Club for its support and enthusiasm, but the real thanks go to them. The HOME Team is a brilliantly conceived and excellently executed program. The number of folks we have helped is growing all the time, and the interest other Clubs have shown in adopting it for themselves is heartwarming. Way to go, Joe and Hays for making this happen, and way to go to Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary for taking this ongoing program to its collective heart. This is one we can be very proud of.
THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING
 | | Gillet sez the Russians really are coming. |
Long-time LSR Members will recognize that clarion call. For a number of years, we welcomed annual delegations of Russian bakers who came here each year to learn from area practitioners of the baker's art and others in businesses that could be of assistance to them as they learned how to make their businesses work in the newly-liberalized Russian economy.
Well, we're doing it again, only this time it will be Russian real estate agents who are coming to visit and learn. There will 11 coming October 3 for two weeks, and we need people to house them for that time. Ask some of the veteran members - hosting these folks is a hoot and is a fairly short-term commitment. Hosts will also need to be able to transport the Russians to and from the day's meeting spot (usually local).
So, who has a spare bedroom to, um, spare?
THERE HAD TO BE SOMETHING IN THE WATER
There was Hays Englehart, minding his own business and wearing the very cool, very limited edition Cars II shirt he received from his son-in-law who, as you might recall, works at Pixar. So up
 | | Auctioning it off Chuck? |
walks Chuck Bove, who demands the shirt off Hays' back. Now Hays is a good and accommodating guy, but he isn't that good or accommodating. So he said, in effect, "I'll give it to you in exchange for $1,000 to be donated to the Club's Endowment Fund or the Rotary Foundation or whatever other Rotary-related do-good fund I select or that we agree upon." (Okay, that was more of a paraphrase than a direct quote, but I don't have paraphrase marks on my keyboard.) Chuck agreed.
As stated in the headline, there had to be something in the water. I'm guessing it was distilled spirits. But it is an extremely cool shirt.
PROGRAM: FEEDING CONTRA COSTA COUNTY'S HUNGRY, 3,000 TIME A WEEK
 | | David Gerson is the new leader. |
Imagine it's 1983 and you are one of two women, Lucy Zendaez or Pauline Bisbin. You look around and see that, in a county that has some very affluent communities, there are people who simply do not have access to enough to eat. You can't bring yourself to look the other way, so you decide to do something: make sandwiches and give them out to people who are really in need of something to eat.
Such were the beginnings of Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa County. Our speaker today, David Gerson, is the brand-new Executive Director of L&FCC. His background is in tax law and serious volunteering (he used to be a big part of Shelter, Inc.), and he is now rolling up his sleeves and getting to work helping this great organization keep growing.
Notice that is "keep growing." From the sandwiches handed out 1983 by Ms. Zendaez and Ms. Bisbin, Loaves & Fishes of Contra Costa now serves 3,000 hot, nutritious meals a week. It has served 3.5 million - yes, million - meals since its inception.
Note that the meals are both hot and nutritious. In fact, the mission statement stresses both: "The mission of loaves and fishes is to feed the hungry of Contra Costa by providing free hot nutritious meals at dining facilities." That pretty well sums it up - the rest really is pretty much details.
But those details are important. Loaves and Fishes has a central kitchen in Pittsburg that prepares the meals. It has the capacity to just about double the number of meals it can prepare in a day. From that kitchen, the food goes out to dining facilities. Loaves and Fishes runs five of them in Antioch, Pittsburg, Baypoint, Martinez and Oakley. There are three additional locations run by partners, including locations in Antioch and Concord by Mental Health Consumer Concerns and another in Walnut Creek by Fresh Choice. There are two part-time drivers who help pick up and deliver food, but most of that work is done by volunteers.
 | | Potential volunteers in rapt attention |
Speaking of volunteers, 98% of the manpower that makes Loaves and Fishes work is provided by volunteers. There are only two full-time employees, Mr. Gerson and the office manager. Even Joleen Lafayette, the Development Director, who joined Mr. Gerson to provide moral support and further info, is a part-timer. All other employees are part-time.
The money comes from fund-raising, individual donations, and partner agencies and companies. 89% of the food budget comes from Loaves and Fishes' food partners, including the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties (headed up, of course, by our good friend Larry Sly of the Concord Club). Very little of the L&FCC budget comes from government grants.
Mr. Gerson is a Lafayette local, and one if his priorities is to increase the participation of the Lamorinda area in supporting Loaves and Fishes. He aptly notes the area's generosity, and hopes some of it can be directed to Loaves and Fishes as it seeks to increase its numbers of meals served.
This is a well-run operation. As noted, labor costs are kept low. About 80% to 85% of the funds coming into L&FCC goes to program operations, meaning into obtaining, preparing, delivering and serving the food. The rest goes into administrative expenses and the costs of fund raising.
So how can you help? You can volunteer to drive to pick up or deliver food. You can volunteer to help staff one of the serving locations. You can help out in the kitchen. You can donate money.
Thank you, Mr. Gerson and Ms. Lafayette, for coming to tell us about this worthy organization.
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Alex Arnold is making his reportorial debut with this new (actually old) feature column.
 | | New Prez speaks out |
We held our first "Board Meeting" on July 13th, and in attendance was Ernie, David Waal, Mark Roberts, Ron Brown (by phone), Buddy Burke, Walter Nelson, Gary Fulcher and Hays. The purpose of the monthly meetings is to review each position on the board....the status/update/activities that exist....and to make recommendations on "next steps". For example: Walt Nelson is responsible for "Programs"....our speakers each week. We reviewed the next 4 to 6 weeks of speakers....support his efforts when necessary and re-confirm our direction in providing quality speakers, who make us more aware of community projects as well as local politics. In the meetings ahead, I will be introducing our board members, and outlining to all of you the responsibilities involved. Our next big task is to vote on projects that our club will be supporting this year (7/1/2011 to 6/31/2012). Projects such as; Camp Venture/Royale for our high school students; 4 way speech contest; Dictionary project, third graders; 75yr luncheon; Home Team; CC County Interfaith Council Housing; Las Trampas; Rotary International Projects; and other projects that members will be presenting...members like you!! Stay Tuned!!
CALENDAR
Friday, July 22, Postino 7am, Travels with Cameron Shearer
Friday, July 29, Postino 7 am, Can You Canoe?
Saturday, July 30, HOME Team paints at Las Trampas property
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