Meeting of the Rotary Club of Eureka
August 20, 2012
The 8th meeting of the Rotary year began without
incident. Lots of interesting things
could have happened, like the bell exploding, or Nancy being attacked by
seagulls like in the movie “Birds”, but instead the bell rang and we all stood
up for the flag salute, led by Ray Wickel, who joined the club in 1967 and
promptly went to Arizona for the winter.
The invocation was given by Craig Hansen. He reminded us to be thankful for the roof
over our heads, the food in our bellies, and the cash in our pockets. Millions are not as fortunate.
Student Guests
The Rotary exchange students were introduced:
Franco Calleja from Chile
and Bibiana Fabri from Italy.
Birthdays and Anniversaries
J. Warren Hockaday and new member David Wells
celebrated birthdays this week. Carlton
Nielsen, Bill McAuley and Richard Borough had wedding anniversaries this
week.
Announcements
Saturday September
1st Lost Coast Rotaract is sponsoring a
Softball Tournament. In honor of the late Mike Depew Lost Coast Rotaract has
established an Art Student Scholarship.
Donations are being accepted.
Tuesday August 28 Ferndale Rotary is having a fund-raiser: Oysters, Barbeque and Steak $20 a
person. Greg Seiler asked the club to
share its ideas on the Annual Raffle with him and Christian Hill. Bruce Rupp invited people to the vocational
committee meeting on August 21 to discuss career day and Lemonade Day. Raffle tickets were drawn and Steve Beckman
and Don Smullin were the lucky winners.
Program
Our program was then introduced by Eric Bergel. Our Rotary Exchange students for 2011-12 have
returned and wanted to share their thoughts on their year abroad.
First up was Imogene Carson, who spent a year
in Kolbu Norway. She had a great year which included rock
climbing and cross country skiing. She
visited Gjovik and Tromso.
She said that
she had learned to become more appreciative, that we are all the same world
wide, and that her year had been a journey of self-discovery.
Next up was Mitch Mastroni, who went to
northern Italy near Milan. He spent time in Busto Arsizio and Legnano. He said the hardest part was when he first
arrived and knew only 20 words in Italian.
At school he studied classics and linguistics and was in a class with 20
girls and one boy.
His Rotary club had
trips organized every month, so he went to Rome,
Venice, and Cremona.
His lessons learned: “You can’t
expand your comfort zone from inside, it
is important to be self-aware, and it is easier to judge than understand.” It was the best year of his life.
Our final exchange student was Jasmine
Schatz, who went to Modica, Sicily. She said that there were lots of ruins, and
was impressed by Mount Etna. “Small streets, small cars, small
people”. She stayed with one family the
entire year. The food was delicious,
even the French fry pizza.
She took trips to Pisa,
Florence, Rome,
and Venice. She made lots of friends. Don Smullin then asked her if she ever
encountered the Mafia. She gestured to
two swarthy men in black suits who picked Don up and dragged him out of the
room. There were no more questions.
Cheerfully submitted by Hank Ingham.
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