Rotary Club of Eureka, California

Meeting of the Rotary Club of Eureka
May 20, 2013

Lunch: Guinness Beef Stew

S&P: 1665.93

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by past president Bill McAuley

The invocation was given by….past president Bill McAuley. Fancy!

Visiting Rotarians

Bill Morrill, who took our GSE guests to Founders Grove, Fern Canyon, and got a ticket from the CHP.

Bill Morrill - Southwest Rotary Club

Jessie Knight of the “fun club,” in Arcata, and David Katz of Garberville.

Dave Gatz, President of the Rotary Club of Garberville

Guests

Patrick Cleary of Humboldt Area Foundation, Lara Williston, and Tess Schallert.

Student Guests

Ben Ross and Francim Aquillar.

Francim Aguilar, EHS Freshman President

Clark Depew of Rotaract was also in attendance.

GAMBLING INTERLUDE

Sally Arnot $10 John Fullerton $10

Announcements

Jessica Ponsano went on an outbound GSE trip to Turkey in 2012, sponsored by our club. Jessica found the people to be passionate and hot-blooded. Everywhere she went they offered her tea or coffee. Every meeting involves food and is usually around dinner.

FUN FACT: GSE stands for Group Study Exchange

Jessica hopes to make her next project partnering with a school in Turkey that helps students with brain damage. She thanks Eureka Rotary for sponsoring her trip.

Carly Robbins went to France this year on a GSE and enjoyed her time in the southernmost part of France. Carly found the extreme differences in culture to be the most striking part of her trip. Buildings and venues hundreds or thousands of years old. They toured castles, the Airbus factory, and a nuclear power plant. Meals lasted a long time, were delicious, and diverse. She also thanks Rotary for sponsoring her trip.

Program

Our visiting GSE team is from District 1700 where Carly visited earlier this year. The six visitors live across that district, and three of them are from Toulouse, home of universities and space and aeronautic manufacturers.  This part of France looks very beautiful, with beaches, forests, and skiing. They’re also rugby fans, not soccer.

District 1700 runs the largest annual blood donation drive in Europe. They also support local food banks and a brain trauma fundraiser.

Emmanuelle Delon is an IT Manager and sponsored by a Rotary club with no female members. Who knows, maybe she will be the first. Her sponsor club sends relief supplies to Dakar. Emmanuelle worked in Spain for 5 years and has been back in France for 3 years. She lives in a small village of 63 people. She has two children, 5 and 7; and a dog and cat. Also her birthday today!

Jesus Diaz is an anesthesiologist and 32. His sponsor club works on blood collection, healthy water projects, and “professional meetings for insertion,” which sounds like a glitch with Google Translate. Jesus’ family is Spanish. He’s not just an anesthesiologist, he’s also an app developer, specializing in health care apps. His hobby is travel, so I’m guessing he has no kids!

Celine Mazieres is 27 and a commercial assistant in a winery. Sounds fun!  She’s sponsored by a small Rotary club that works with schools, hospitals, and an orphanage. She likes to travel and I basically couldn’t understand a word she said, but she seems very nice. I think she works on a jazz and wine event (also fun) and loves rugby. She says thanks to our district for sponsoring her visit.

Jerome Marty is 32, in IT, and sponsored by the Rotary club of Revel. His sponsor club works on Alzheimer’s projects, food collection, and medical supplies for the Ivory Coast. His family grows grapes. Hey look, a castle! Typical France just littered with castles.

Jerome is an IT security expert, working largely with banks and military organizations. Jerome is into cars (and loving America for our fine collection) and he even painted his own car back in France. He’s a member of the Porsche club, and is a salsa dancer. I’m guessing Jerome is also single.

Sophie Guarandel is a 26 year old lawyer. The club sponsoring her was founded in 1923 just like our club, and has their first women president. Sophie is in Rotaract and is from a small village of 800. Her village has history dating to the 12^th century. University is free in France, and Sophie is the good type of lawyer—she works for the Federal Union of Consumers, giving free services to consumers suing big businesses. Sophie spent a few years living in Estonia and a year in Ireland. She loves traveling and is, of course, also single.

Lionel Lainard is a Rotarian, and his club organizes a Ferrari exposition annually. Sounds nice. Lionel is from a village of 400. His parents own a mechanic shop they work together. Lionel’s grandfather has a pet boar.  Lionel now owns and runs a leadership and management training company.  Lionel sings, dances, and does improve theater. Almost assuredly, also single. 

Applause.

The guest was thanked, the library book was signed, and the meeting ended on time.

Respectfully Submitted,

John Harper