ANNOUNCING NEWSLETTER PUBLISHING CHANGES BEGINNING NOW
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Finally had a new idea did we, Ron? |
The Lamorindan, which has been anything but weekly lately, henceforth will be published no later than Tuesday, starting next week. While retaining the familiar format, some changes are afoot:
All informational/administrative content - "nuts and bolts" -- from the previous Friday's meeting will be reported. Upcoming Programs/Events will be highlighted, with more detailed descriptions, as can be noted in this edition.
The Program reporting and other featured, ongoing activity outside of club meetings, will be circulated to members in a new, monthly publication, likely to be named Rotary Roundup. The intent here is twofold:
1. Retain the topnotch reporting on the outstanding Programs Buddy Burke produces week after week. Having duly weighed options, the newsletter braintrust has concluded that it's not necessary to publish Program reportage as hot-off-the-press news. We hope you agree. This is by far the most time-consuming element in putting out every Newsletter to date. Unfortunately, it often results in untimely announcements regarding upcoming Club events ... so this knotty problem is eliminated. The usual emphasis on Program reportage will not -- we promise -- be compromised, even though each will now appear as part of a monthly collection.
2. Begin providing meaningful reporting and updates on HOME Team, The Gala, Motorama, Tippy Canoe, Garden Park Apartments, TGITLFOTM, Demotion Parties and other significant activities constantly ongoing within the Club and occurring outside of weekly meetings. Not incidentally, we intend to use selected items from this new publication to advise local news media of the positive role LSR plays in our community.
"All of this is in the name of improving communications within and without Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary. That's our excuse and we are sticking to it. Besides, it makes life easier for the crack reporting, photography and copy editing teams who plunge on diligently, regardless of the slings and arrows which we will continue to blithely ignore." ~ Ron Brown, Editor-In-Chief
TOP 10 THINGS OVERHEARD AT LAMORINDA SUNRISE ROTARY
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New THOUGHT standard, Mark |
From Mark Larks, who apparently was channelling David Letterman:
10) "Welcome to Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary, the home of Motorama, Home Team, and the defending champions of the District 5160 Fight Club!"
9) "Steve Ware's selling watches for $10 in the parking lot to raise money for the endowment fund! Funny...I didn't know it was spelled 'R-O-L-L-E-C-K-S'..."
8) "Y'know, if you squint hard enough, Alex really does look kinda like The Pope."
7) "Alright! Who's the wise-guy who tampered with the LN4 to make it look like it's flipping the bird?"
6) "Look, George, I'm happy that you and Buddy wanna represent our club at next year's 'Wrestlemania', but Rotary International already uses the name 'The Flying Rotarians' for something else."
5) Censored
4) "Hey, everyone! Marggraff's kid created an app that generates 1.21 gigawatts from your smartphone! Let's all pile into Mark's Jimmy and see if we can't get that sucker up to 88 miles per hour!"
3) "Remember when Thomas Peeks was president? Rumor has it we were THIS CLOSE to declaring war on the Rossmoor Club."
2) "Gary Fulcher got mad that he didn't win the raffle, so he carved Postino's bar into a canoe. Do we have enough money in the budget to cover the damages?"
(And the actual THOUGHT FOR THE DAY that ties all of this together...)
"If you can't laugh at yourself, then how can you laugh at anyone else?" --Payne Stewart
GUESTS OF OTHER PERSUASIONS
None today, unless you count Marty, who is going to be inducted soon.
BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS GOODIES
Held in abeyance for a week.
COMING SOON
The annual Interclub Meeting is fast approaching, as is Wednesday, February 6 at Rossmoor. Doors should open around 11:30, lunch served around 12:00 or 12:15. The cost is $25 which will be added to your bill so you won't even notice it.
This is a great chance to mingle with your fellow Rotarians from the Moraga, Orinda, Lafayette and Rossmoor Clubs, not to mention a golden opportunity to embarrass President Roberts in public. Contact him to sign up or get more info.
THERE ARE 20 MORE SPOTS AVAILABLE ON THE RENO TRAIN TRIP
Except for the fact that the trip is in February and promises to be fun, is there really a whole lot more to say? Contact Fearless Leader Mark for more info.
WE ARE BRINGING WATER TO TANZANIA
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Chief LSR Waterboy, Prez Mark |
Did you know that District 5160 is working with Rotarians in Tanzania to supply wells and catch basins that will create supplies of clean, accessible drinking water in Tanzanian villages near Mt. Kilimanjaro? And that Lamorinda Sunrise is part of that effort? True 'nuff on both counts. Chico Rotarian Walt Shafer (a really nice guy - this reporter has met him) and Chico Rotary are spearheading this effort. Walt reported to President Mark, who reported to us, that District 5160 has raised about $44,000 toward this effort. But wait, as Ron Popiel would say, there's more. Because we are working with Tanzanian Rotary Clubs and various Rotary International matching grant programs, the total amount available for this project is approximately $154,000.
These clean water programs have impact well beyond the obvious. You would expect that they result in decreased illness. But did you know they also result in increased educational results for affected kids? They do, because decreased illness in the kids means increased school attendance and ability to focus on their education.
Ground has not yet been broken on these projects, but you can count on a good outcome because Walt and Chico Rotary have done this before. And they're pretty good at it. Stayed tuned; this will be another Rotary success story and we are a part of it.
IF YOU FILL IN THE FORMS, HE'LL SHUT UP
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Yada, yada, OK Rich, We'll do it. You go first! |
Our Gala Dinner & Auction fund raiser is in May. May 18th, to be precise. But planning is already well under way under the watchful and professional eye of Nancy Baglietto. But, sayeth Rich Shearer, we need your help now. Specifically, we need names from all of you of people we can invite to come (and, yes, spend money) at our event. 15 names per Member will get us a great data bank of potential community support for our efforts.
We need them by February 15. Why so early? Because we need the lead time to get our "save the date" cards, invites, and the like. And because there are a bunch of other things that need to get done down the road, and doing them is a lot easier if we aren't still scrambling to identify possible guests.
So far, the Roll of Honor includes Nancy, Cal Lee, Ken Kosich, Claire Roberts and Mark Roberts - they have turned in their completed forms. The rest of us (yes, that includes this reporter) need to open those Rolodexes and Outlook files and jot down folks we think would be willing and able to support our efforts.
So please, the sooner everyone does this, the sooner Rich will have one less excuse to harangue the Club.
HOME TEAM HAPPENINGS
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We expect a full report, Joe |
It's a big weekend for HOME Team. Not only will there be the usual bi-monthly "go fix stuff" shenanigans on Saturday, there will be a HOME Team table at Sunday's Home Show at the Lafayette Veterans Hall. There we will be able to spread the word about the HOME Team to folks who may need our services or know folks who do. Stay tuned.
MORE GOOD WORKS COMING SOON
Dave Waal reports that we will be involved with a Habitat for Humanity project in Walnut Creek come April or May. Apparently, Habitat does not do power tool safety screening in advance if they are willing to turn us loose.
SAD NEWS FOR US
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Thank you, Andres |
Andres, who is there every Friday to greet us and keep us floating in coffee, is leaving Postino; today was his last time with us. All of the Postino staff is great, but Andres always brings us extra cheerfulness and service. Vaya con Dios, Andres. We hope to see you back again.
TGITLFOTM ALERT
By the time you read this, you will already have either attended or missed the January TGITLFOTM at Chuck Yeager's and Mariam Worsham's house, so I won't say anything else about it.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
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Buddy, impresario extraordinaire |
On FEB 1st, we are lucky to have Jonathan Moscone. He just appeared at the Commonwealth Club (as part of a duo) and here's his description from the Commonwealth Club calendar. (Note that you're getting a better deal):
Theater in the East Bay
Jonathan Moscone, Artistic Director, California Shakespeare: The artistic force behind the success of the Bay Area theater scene joins us to explore his life and work. Moscone, son of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and a Yale-trained director, took charge of the California Shakespeare Theater in 2000 and turned around the once struggling troupe.
Cost: $22 standard, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
On FEB 8th "Over Troubled Waters " You'll learn all about the delta- California's most important ecosystem. Ken Kosich's fishing friend Bobby Barrett helped create an award-winning movie on this hot subject. There is only so much fresh water to go around. Who gets it? Southern Cal? Northern Cal? The wildlife?
Your Homework is to see the trailer:
http://overtroubledwaters.org
HOME Team
Saturdays - March 23, May 25 - 8 a.m. Gary's shop
