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Program for Friday April 11, 2003

Inspector Frank Falzon, SFPD- Retired

The Lighter side of Homicide - A funny thing happened on the way to a murder

Door Duty: Joe Robinson and Jim Young

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Program for Friday April 18, 2003

Dr. Randy Sheckman, Stem Cell Research

(Randy was my neighbor in El Cerrito and recently received a prestigious award for his research -the award is one notch down from the Nobel).

Door Duty: Troy Pewitt and Bill Reid

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Program of April 04, 2003

Margaret Johnson

Mark Howe introduced our speaker, Margaret Johnson. Margaret is a member of the "Great Old Broads for Wilderness", a wilderness advocacy organization with 1900 members. She brought a magnificent set of slides to show the beauty and remoteness of the Arctic National Wildlife Range. With a group of 8 other "Old Broads", she visited the ANWR last June and is clearly fascinated with the area. The ANWR is the size of South Carolina and was established by Congress in 1960. Margaret described the people that she met and their dependence on caribou hunting - 80% of their diet is derived from caribou. Summers last from June through August, and visitors can fly in from Fairbanks, usually to hike and camp. Hunting, fishing, photography and river floating are other activities. Margaret made a strong pitch to protect the ANWR from oil exploration and development. Going almost overboard with politeness, Herb observed after the presentation that Margaret only provided one side of the political discussion. And stem cell research on the agenda in only two weeks!

Recognitions
Joe "did anybody miss me" Bagley took charge of the podium, recognized himself and then commenced to pull guilt dollars from his wallet. Good to have you back with the reins Joe. Richard Alexander celebrated a 7th Anniversary with his lovely Kathryn and contributed to his son's Paul Harris. Of course we all remember that Kathryn was an esteemed member of this Club UNTIL she agreed to marry Richard. Herb Cole is now officially a senior citizen and contributed to his son's Paul Harris via Polio Plus.

Happy/Sad $$
Jonathon Lawlis will be happy this week that your scribe is submitting the correct set of meeting notes - those rough drafts are hard to read. Jonathan had 14 dollars for his daughter's birthday and a contribution in the name of the Iraqi lawyer who facilitated the rescue of the American soldier this week. Markku Pelanne was happy that he has resolved an inheritance issue and that he can run like a squirrel on the cardiac treadmill. We always knew you had a good heart Markuu. Paul Allen was happy about a recent trip to Italy and it turns out his 3 year old daughter is a better traveler than he is. Prez Dave was delighted that his youngest son is home from college, except that he rode home on a motorcycle.

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Last Week
Looking dapper as always, Prez Dave opened the meeting asking the Club's recycler of plastics to lead the pledge. There was a long pause, then Paul Allen finally owned up and began the recitation. The Thought of the Day: When in England at a large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush. Powell answered "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return".

Guests
Hank Covell introduced his son of some years, Jason. Jason is Captain of one of the Vallejo Ferry boats and always a welcome guest.

Visiting Rotarians

Sunshine Report
David K was onhand to announce Father Chris is mending well and reminds the Club of the Salesian 75th Anniversary Dinner - I didn't get the date. $100 a ticket and all to a great purpose.

Announcements
Paul Hodgen gave a reminder of the Christmas in April event on the 26th. Why was there a round of applause when Paul remarked that we would be working on only one house this year, not two? There was more approbation when it was announced that we will be finished by noon. Promises, promises.

Now Hear This. Our 4/11 and 4/18 meetings will see a return of hot food at the La Strada Restaurant in San Pablo.

District Conference in Fairfield. 24-27 April. Go to www.rotary5160.org for more information. Make it a Rotary weekend by attending the conference and then helping with Christmas in April on Saturday.

Volunteer Needed. "Rotary Day at the A's for Polio Eradication" will be held on 21 May. We need a volunteer to organize Club participation in this event.

Rotarians are needed for Camp Royal. Rotarians are invited to stay the week and participate in the entire program. That means sleep on platforms with the campers, listen to the powerful speakers and be available to discuss the impact of the messages delivered. See if you can carve some time out on your calendars and help out this summer June 15-21. A rewarding experience. Contact Elisabeth Andreason - Direct 925-288-3741. Elisabeth.Andreason@morganstanley.com.

Coming Speakers
April 25th - Honorable Laurel Brady, Presiding Judge, CC County Superior Court.
May 16th - Peres School, "Spirit of Excellence Kids"
June 20th - Steve Seskin, Award Winning Songwriter

Raffle
Turns out Prez David B - are we sure it wasn't Donna B sitting right next to him? - won the chance to pull a ball from the treasure bag. After first looking in the bag, he STILL pulled out a white ball. But anything for a free lunch.

And Remember - When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

Semper Paratus