March 16, 2012    
   Reporter: Ron Brown               Editor: Ron Brown                     Photographer: Tom Black       President:  Alex Arnold, 2011 - 2012          

 

SURE AND BEGORAH

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Irish revenge is sooo diabolical

 

An Irish prayer from the lips of Mark O'Roberts: "May those that love us, love us; and those that don't love us, may God turn their hearts; and if He doesn't turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles, so we'll know them by their limping."

 

GUESTS

 

Chris Laszcz-Davis - Environmental engineer extraordinaire

Ron Melvin - Branch manager, USBank, Lafayette

 

VISITING ROTARIANS

 

John Sherry - Noon club, honorary breakfast club attendee

Alicia Cragholm - Vying with John for best attendance record

Anna Stevenson - Noon club, but three weeks in a row is a trend?

Gary Irwin - Moraga club

 

GEORGE'S EPIPHANY?

 

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Will the real George...

What happened to George Chaffey? He arose

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Chaffey please stand up

majestically so that all could gaze upon his countenance. Oh, no! Oh, YES! After 40 years, by his estimate, the mustache is gone. Why ditch it now

? Is it because Carol is out of the country? He didn't expl

ain but did venture that his upper lip now "feels like a baby's bottom."

 

UPCOMING "FREE" EVENTS AT THE RESERVOIR

 

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Hocus Pocus?

Hoping to sell more raffle tickets for the Concert at the Rez on May 12, 11 am to 2 pm, John Sherry explained how we can sneak into reservoir level parking spaces. The secret words, to be whispered in the ear of the ranger at the kiosk, is "we are coming as a friend of Lafayette Rotary Club for the concert" and voila ... no parking charge will be assessed. The same trick will hold true for the dedication ceremony of the performance stage on Thursday, Apr. 25, at 5 pm. Nice try, John. The proof in this ploy will be good results, or not.

 

JOINT TIGITLFOTM IN THE OFFING

 

Alex Arnold announced that he and Troy Fedderson of the noon club are seeking a venue for a joint TGITLFOTM this year. Should this event be held someplace like a park in order to accommodate the vast hordes of Club members and guests bound to show up for this once-in-a -lifetime opportunity? Stay tuned.

 

QUEEN GLENDA COSTS EX-KING PAUL

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Please, give Glenda another chance Paul

 

Glenda Fillinger had the audacity to show up in the current Lamorinda Weekly shamelessly pushing half-price sales on all used books at the Lafayette Book Store. Paul encouraged all people in attendance "who can read" to dash down and snatch the usual $2.00 book for only $1.00. Although this could put a severe crimp in profitable sales for the library, their loss is our gain. Go for it. Oh yes, it cost Paul $10 because Glenda failed to sport a Rotary pin, or even mention Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Club to the article's reporter. Tsk Tsk!

 

SHERRY ADDS INSULT TO INJURY

 

Mr. Sherry, feeling ever more comfortable in his quasi LSR membership role, also got to contribute $10 to our cause for mentioning Banana Republic is also having a half-price sale. What's that connection all about, John? Do you own stock in The Gap?

 

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES

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Smooth talker Jim

 

Jim Marggraff celebrated wife M.J.'s birthday and Valentine's Day in the "appropriate" fashion. Cost him $20.

 

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Like to drive Ken?

Ken Kosich and wife Patti celebrated her birthday on their traditional, annual trip to Lake Tahoe. Ken said it was great to get away. They even drove around the lake ...both directions ...In perhaps the most unique (most uninspired?) birthday celebration ever devised. Ken thought it was worth at least a $100 Paul Harris donation to get the newest grandson going in the right direction.

 

In honor of Carolyn and Gary Fulchers' 40th wedding

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No question who's the boss

anniversary Gary contemplated trips to places like Rio de Janeiro or Paris. Carolyn wasn't having any of that. They settled for a romantic dinner in San Francisco. Gary kicked in $80 for the two of them. Thank you, Gary.

 

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Chuck's week to remember 

Chuck Yeager was recognized for an extraordinary happening. He was in town all week, and even attended both the Board meeting and the weekly meeting. Not only that, this is the 14th anniversary of Chuck's induction into this motley crew. Should be worth a lot.

 

Rich Shearer acknowledged his second anniversary of wedded bliss with Valerie. The day was highlighted by a trip to Sacramento while Valerie was lobbying for a worthy cause far too complicated for even Rich to explain. Anyway, he coughed up $20 for the anniversary and $100 for the Endowment Fund.

 

TWO MYSTERIES THIS TIME

 

Mystery Rotarian No. 1

  1. Traveled all continents except Australia
  2. Solo, flew an aircraft after 5 hours and 12 minutes of instruction
  3. Spent more than one year working in Taiwan  
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Leander's our guy

Leander Hauri barely got past explaining item #1 when hilarity ensued. A discussion about the number of continents ranged from the five Alexander espoused, versus the seven a few know-it-alls offered up. Fortunately, Leander has an infectious laugh and a full-out riot was narrowly averted.

 

Mystery Rotarian No. 2

  1. Took several years of ballet as a kid
  2. Grandmother entered U.S. via Ellis Island
  3. Owes existence to the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1919
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Rich "TuTu" Shearer

George Chaffey absurdly suggested it was Rich Shearer. Incredibly, he was right. Picturing Rich in tutu and ballet slippers is just too awful to contemplate. He did it, he said, because his mom thought it would be good for him. Really?

 

The Spanish flu epidemic (in the U.S., March 1918 to June 1920) altered the course of his mother's life when her loved one perished. The good news (?) is she married Rich's father and thus he came to be. Everyone he has ever met so far has been putting up with the aspiring, classic dancer ever since.

 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

 

Hays Englehart felt the level of decorum at the meeting had deteriorated sufficiently so he decided to take it one step further by reading a portion of an email exchange with self ascribed Tom "Ansel Lite" Black. Although it appears Hays was indeed the author of this segment, you may eventually realize it was the stealthy Black in action:

tom black 11-14
And you thought "Ansel" was harmless?

 

"Your offer to line coffers of Foundation characteristically magnanimous. I look forward to unfurling of C-note on Friday. How about naming it in honor of LSR's official default photographer, something like "I offer this self-tithing in honor...word used very loosely here... of Tom Black, who, citing First Amendment freedom of the press, heroically and nobly refused an offer from me...this very same, freshly minted, hundred dollar greenback...to suppress a mugshot he took of me last week and which,

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Is this the one to suppress?

to my embarrassment and horror, appeared in the latest Newsletter. In turning down the bribe...I mean generous buyout offer...Tom made it clear that I should not infer that he cannot be bought, only that the offer must be at least four figures. At a time when the integrity of the

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Want to negotiate some more, Hays? 

press is under unrelenting and withering attack from all quarters, I think it admirable that someone stand firm on the high ground. So Tom, this has your name on it, even though I consider you a rotten SOB for telling me to go pound salt. Print this out, memorize it and deliver it verbatim, preferably in impassioned, sonorous tones, with appropriate inflection and pregnant pauses for theatrical effect. If you do, I would be surprised if a thunderous ovation does not ensue. As you deliver this memorable gem, certainly worthy of the Club time capsule...appropriately buried under the men's room at Postino...smile broadly, as Ansel Lite will be taking your picture, which, I promise, will appear in next week's issue."

 

PROGRAM

 

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Alex truly enjoyed the previous nonsense
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We're doing very well at doing good!

After all of the fol-de-rol, Alex provided an excellent status update in the second Club assembly of his year. In November, Alex reported to the club on activities and budget projections for club projects. He began today's report by reviewing current budgeted items. The good news is that we already have funded over $23,000 in projects, both internationally and locally. Significant, unanticipated donation impetus was provided through the proceeds of the wildly successful Tippy Canoe raffle, especially as relation to the new Rez concert stage and the Concord Food Bank.

 

The Club Mission Statement is as follows:

 

Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary, by its name, is a regional club, composed of voluntary members who are devoting their time to the community with a "Service Above Self" attitude. In identifying community needs, we look for areas that are either underserved or unaddressed.

 

We believe in establishing our own projects or we may partner with one or more other non-profit organizations, but in all cases we try to emphasize "hands-on" participation.

 

We believe that the membership number is driven by community involvement, and that 60 to 70 members is a good membership number. Mark Roberts offered some interesting statistics recently learned at the President-Elect Training program he attended earlier this month. Membership turnover for individual Rotary clubs averages 20% annually. This statistic reflects membership departure from RI, therefore does not include new members inducted during the same period. LSR compares very favorably in membership retention.

 

Leadership succession planning is a new concept well on its way to implementation. Simply put, the current President (Alex) and succeeding Presidents elect, (Mark and Hays) are paying attention to club plans and working together on smooth annual leadership change transitions. This also means that Board members are committing to a three year term, with the first year as member in training, the second year as member in charge and the third year as a mentor for the first year member. Therefore, the Board is now in the process of backfilling for each position. Mark intends that these Board positions function more like committees and that each member find a home, working with at least one of these committees.

 

Community Outreach has been and will continue to be a big part of LSR's agenda. This comes in four categories:

 

          Check Writing: Generations in Jazz, Buena Vista Auxiliary, Concert Stage at the Rez, Food Bank, LN4 Hand

 

          Services: Camp Royal/Venture, Four-Way Speech contest, Christmas families, Interact

 

          Hands-On: Westival, HOME Team, Rush Ranch, Las Trampas, CC Interfaith housing, School Dictionaries, Three-Quarter Century Club luncheon, Canoe building and raffle

 

          Community Events: Motorama, Gala, Community bench building, 25-Year Celebration of Club

 

Fundraising has benefited from the addition of several new members, clearly a good thing. Mark Roberts and Ron Brown explained a recent decision to sponsor a fundraiser in partnership with the Lamorinda Wine Growers Association. This will be a first-of-its-kind happening in Lamorinda which, if successfully implemented, can transition into a signature annual fundraising event in perpetuity. Details will be forthcoming in the near future. Mark your calendars now for a Lamorinda Wine Discovery event at Cal Shakes groves on Saturday, July 14, from 1:00 to 4:00pm. (And yes, we know it's Bastille Day, which seems entirely fitting, as this is a truly revolutionary idea.)

 

Alex has done an excellent job in providing quality leadership for the Club this year. Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Club is running merrily - and solvently! - on all cylinders.

 

CALENDAR

 

Friday, 3/30, 7am - Expose yourself

Friday, 4/6, 7am - Behind the Pensions - Dan Borenstein

Tuesday 4/10, 7am - Board Meeting, Realty office, Orinda

Friday 4/13, 7am - Our kids stomachs - Cindy Gershen

Friday 4/20, 7am - Mark Twain comes to life

Friday 4/27, 7am - Expose yourself - Mark Roberts

 

Friday 5/4, 7am - Saucy Jack the Ripper

Tuesday 5/8, 7am - Board meeting

Friday 5/11, 7am - Pan Am TV series - Nancy Hult Ganis

Friday 5/18, 7am - District Attorney Mark Peterson

Friday 5/25 7am - Expose yourself - Jim Marggraff

 

Friday 6/1 7am - Kara Boatman

Friday 6/8 7am - Lesher Center Director Michael Butler

Tuesday 6/12 7am - Board meeting

Friday 6/15 7am - Cal Shakes Marketing Director - Marilyn Langbehn 

Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Links

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ADDITIONAL PHOTOS OF THIS AND OTHER LSR EVENTS MAY BE FOUND AT WWW.LSR.SMUGMUG.COM. SHOULD BE YOU SMITTEN BY A PARTICULAR IMAGE, PRINTS MAY BE ORDERED FROM THIS WEBSITE. (THE QUALITY IS EXCELLENT.).
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Lafayette, California 94549
www.lamorindasunrise.org
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