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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).r

Door Duty: Troy Pewitt and Bill Reid

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Program for Friday April 25, 2003

Honorable Laurel Brady, Presiding Judge, CC County Superior Court.

Door Duty: Don Hardison and Mike Ready

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Program of April 04, 2003

Frank Falzon

Prez Dave introduced Frank Falzon who worked with the San Francisco Police Department for 28 years, 22 years as a homicide inspector. Frank was the Chief Inspector on a number of well known cases including the Zebra murders, Moscone and Milk murders, the Trailside Killer David Carpenter, and Juan Corona. Frank is a recipient of the Gold Medal of Valor, the highest public service award presented by the SF Police Department. He has also been featured on Court TV. Frank is a member of the Novato Rotary Club, and a Paul Harris Fellow.

Frank told a number of amusing stories about his many years as an investigator. He put a very human face on the difficult work of homicide investigation. I especially liked the story about Mr. John Grazosksi, a member of the Hell's Angels - another community service club, probably full of wannabe Rotarians - with the obscene tattoo inside his lower lip. Frank has focused on Rotary work since his retirement and provided some delightful insight into the world of the SF Police Department.

Recognitions
Joe Bagley took the floor for recognitions and persuaded Doc Russ Schulze to admit he went to the Mira Vista first, and not surprisingly, he found the parking lot empty. Past Navy League Grand Pooh Bah and lumber baron Ralph Hill celebrated an anniversary with Audrey and had a generous donation for Polio Plus.

Happy/Sad $$
Jonathon Lawlis is headed for Maui and will miss the presentation on stem cell research next week. He'll compensate by doing his own research on the stem of a martini glass. Which made Dr. Gloria Johnson immediately decide to go to Maui next week. Leslie Levy is happy to go to Scottsdale next week, but at this rate I won't be surprised if she joins Jonathon in Hawaii as well. Erle was happy that Judy Kafka won the "contractors lunch" with he and Jon, and reports that he inspected the kitchen, and most of the menu, at Little Annie's and all is OK.    Judy clearly prefers not to be alone with these two guys - who can blame her - and is bringing Debbie Sterns along. On the theme of last week's speaker, Dr. Herb made a large donation because the House voted to support oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I must have been the only one in the audience that our speaker convinced last week (I secretly prefer higher gas prices). Dan Ercolini had money in his pocket even after his Paul Harris contributions and was happy his daughter turned 16, and sad she turned 16, and happy baseball has returned to the Bay Area.

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Last Week
Once again the Mira Vista Country Club threw us out, and La Strada was there with warmth, welcome and a notably good bar. Dr. "I'm not Shy" Herb led the pledge and Prez Dave gave the Thought for the Day: "Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it" - Mark Twain.

Guests
In the Guests of Rotarians category, Hans Shaper entertained Honey and Judy Kafka brought Debbie Sterns - both ladies are returnees.

Visiting Rotarians
Dean Heffelfinger(sp?) from the Novato Club, category Mortgage Banking. Dean accompanied our speaker.

Announcements
Paul Hodgen passed around the Christmas in April sign up sheet, with reminders to bring every tool you have in your garage. The date is April 26th.

Next week's meeting will be at La Strada again.

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.

Prez Dave recognized the "Man on the Mountain, Dave Calfee, for his generous $500 donation to the Polio Plus campaign. Dave isn't able to make many meetings, but he continues to support Rotary projects in a big way.

Erle Brown provided a brief soliloquy on Rotary Foundation matters observing that he may be a slow accountant, but he's better than the last guy. Yea, but the last guy didn't disappear to Mexico quite so frequently. Erle presented a Paul Harris Fellowship to Dan Ercolini, and Dan received a well deserved standing ovation. Thanks for your many contributions Dan, including your great work supporting the PERES School Adopton Project.

Another loud ovation followed when the Prez announced he won't attend the next meeting. VP Stoney Stonework will do the honors.

Coming Speakers
May 9th - Peres School, Spirit of Excellence Kids
May 16th - Sunne Wright McPeak on the BCDC
June 20th - Steve Seskin, Award Winning Songwriter

Raffle
When Prez Dave asked "do we have any balls?"
Several comments issued forth from the peanut gallerey.
Detective Falzon picked Don Lau's ticket. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion in next week's Flywheel.

Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat.

Semper Paratus