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Program for Friday October 17, 2003

Drake Zimmerman

A Rotary member from Normal, Illinois will inform us about the Rotary Malaria project.

Door Duty: Donald Lau and Bud Martin

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Program for Friday October 24, 2003

Michael Becker

Michael Becker was a member of the Rotary 2003 GSE team that visited Vietnam. This is a story of how they communicated to the Vietnamese the mission of Rotary.

Door Duty: Jon Lawlis and Norm Lundberg

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Program of October 10, 2003

Assistant District Governor, Gary Mills

With an unusually large number of school superintendents in the room - our Speaker, our VP, and Gloria -   Dr. Werner provided a gracious introduction. Werner avoided all references to nuclear isotopes and awarded a "I Survived the Blackout" T-shirt to Mark Howe.

The speaker was Gary Mills, Past President of the Albany Club, and past Superintendent of the Albany District. Gary's subject was Team Building. He discussed the difference between leadership and management and defined leadership as involving the motivation of people, and management as working with systems and processes.

Gary used his experience as a head coach of a Midwestern football team to illustrate the principles of team building. Fresh out of college, he became, by default, head coach of a team with a solid losing record. By involving the kids, parents and his assistant coaches, he was able to build a strong team. He put out 4 Principles for a successful team: (1) Purpose (2) Commitment and Dedication (3) High Expectations, and (4) Pride. Using these principles, Gary brought continuous improvement to his team's performance, and at the end of the third year, 3 players received football scholarships - the first time players from that school had been so recognized.

Upcoming Speakers
10/31/03 Malcom Sproul, Save Mount Diablo
11/07/03 Cornell Green (son of the great db for the Cowboys) talking about his dropout prevention and student motivation program at Peres.
11/14/03 Graham Hawks - Updates us on Deepspace.com

Important Dates
10/17/03 Peres Honor Roll BBQ
10/18/03 Brazilian Carnival in Dixon
11/07/03 Community Services Mtg Mira Vista 11:45-12:15
11/19/03 Peres Bedtime Story Night
11/28/03 No Meeting. Happy Turkey!
12/05/03 Holiday Auction and Club Elections
12/11/03 Holiday Party at Mira Vista CC
01/25/04 Annual Reno Train Trip
02/20/04 Help celebrate Rotary's 99th B'day
06/04/04 D-Day meeting on The Red Oak Victory

Where to Make Up
San Rafael   Monday       12:15 Seafood Peddler
Albany        Tuesday       12:30 Mira Vista G&CC
El Sobrante Tuesday       12:15 Joe's of El Sobrante
Berkeley     Wednesday 12:15 His Lordships
Hercules     Wednesday   7:15 am Hercules Senior Center
San Pablo   Wednesday 12:15 San Pablo Casino
El Cerrito    Thursday       12:15 Mira Vista G&CC
Pinole         Thursday      12:30 Outback Steak House
Vallejo        Thursday      12:15 World Holiday Inn

Door Duty Reminder
10/31/03 Barry Gordon and Oscar Lugo
11/07/03 Paul Allen and George Alvarez
11/14/03 Jim Bates and Charles Belcher
11/21/03 Jim Cannon and Josh Genser
11/28/03 No Meeting
12/05/03 Dick King and Ken Leverich
12/12/03 Theodore Abreu and Charles Wong
12/19/03 Richard Alexander Father Nick

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Last Week
As Vice Prez Herb rang the bell to start the meeting, there was a collective sigh that two weeks without a Rotary meeting is too long. Elof, the most decorated veteran in the Club, led the pledge of allegiance. George Egan gave a memorable Thought for the Day: It was about the real estate agent and the two story house: the agent gave the customer one story before the sale, and the second story after the sale.

Visiting Rotarians
Gloria introduced two visiting Rotarians, Jerry and Judy Gates from the Pinole Club.

Guests
VP Herb made every effort to avoid introductions, but Dental Officer Dan wouldn't stand for it. Dan's guest was Dr. Immi Song, an orthodontist who had received a Rotary scholarship toward college - CAL of course. John Nicol introduced his colleague from the Hilltop Dealership - Troy Traylor.

Announcements
Vice Prez Herb provided some facts about the history of the tuxedo and topped it of with the announcement that sustaining member Dave Calfee donated a check for $500 to the Peres School Adoption Project, to a round of applause.
John Nicol made his annual terse announcement about the Reno Rotary Supertrain. The facts: the train leaves the East Bay on January 25th, returning the next day. The cost is $235 this year, up $10 from last. Make your check out to the Reno Intercity Meeting. And you need to submit your name to John by 17 Oct to be sure of getting a seat.
VP Herb announced that Don Hardison was able to drive to the Museum Board meeting, despite the cast on his leg.
Secretary Joe reported that the Badge Box has been renumbered. So head's up, your slot number may have changed.

Sunshine Report
David K happily reported that he had nothing to report.

Recognitions

Happy/Sad $$
Superintendent Gloria had bounty for the Club following the success of the District debt refinance effort. The State loan to the District has been reduced to 2% interest, which will save $400,000 / yr. Another round of applause. David K had a sad $5. A fellow Rotarian, with a great fishing boat, had invited David for an outing on the BEST day of fishing ever experienced in the Bay - based on technical jargon only David understands including tides, moon phases and sturgeon appetites.   Unfortunately, this Rotarian, who isn't afraid to stand at the podium now and again, had to cancel. Joanne Blum was happy that her last name can be worn on top of a tuxedo. Jim Young was sad that his cold won't go away. One theory is that he has become such an avid Bay sailor that he is never able to wring all of the saltwater out of his wet socks. Vice Prez Herb was happy because he wanted to bet Erle Brown BIG bucks on the USC/CAL game, and gentleman Erle kept the bet at $5. This generous action saved Herb $95 when USC tanked! Jon Lawlis was happy to be a part of the Polio Plus donation scheme that Joanne inspired. Jon had contributed $500 to the effort and somehow convinced Herb to toss in the $95 that he thought he had saved from Erle. John Nicol wanted to ensure that Joanne's Polio Plus challenge was met, and contributed $100 toward his daughter's Paul Harris. A donation stampede ensued, Dan Tanita, Mark Howe, George Egan, Michael Finley and VP Herb each contributed $100. Including President Stoney's pledge of $500 and David Brown's gift of $200 from the previous meeting we exceeded the mark - total funds for Polio Plus $3350! WOW! Thanks to Joanne and all you generous Rotarians for making this happen. Secretary Joe is very happy that his radiation treatments are going well, and he is now off for a month.

Raffle
Josh Genser won the ticket pull. VP Herb changed the bag and the mix of balls so many times you would have thought the game was being held in a Chicago speak-easy. Alas, the white ball was pulled.

Bumper Sticker in the Mira Vista Parking Lot - "Don't Believe it just because you Think it".

Semper Paratus