LUNCH MENU: Salad bar, roast beef, chicken a la king, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, rolls, dessert.
CALLED TO ORDER by President Gregg Gardiner at 12:25pm with a rousing slide show celebrating the Coast Guard’s birthday on this very day 224 years ago and a special acknowledgement to Ziggy on his anniversary of 28 years with the Army Reserves.THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by visiting District Governor, Kevin Eisenberg. THE INVOCATION was led by: Greg Pierson. A special prayer was given for Wayne Wilson who is home recovering but not receiving visitors. VISITING ROTARIANS: None GUESTS OF ROTARIANS: Kathy Cloney-Gardiner introduced Mary Eisenberg, wife of our District Governor, Ray Wickel introduced his wife Pauline, Sue Bosch introduced her daughter Laurie, Dick Storre’s wife Debbie was visiting and Kittie Poterack introduced her son Robbie and a colleague, Lois Cook. BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES: Kurt Barthel’s 65th birthday was August 2nd. Pat Folkins is celebrating his 75th birthday and and 54th wedding anniversary, George Owren’s 50th Anniversary was on August 1st. Greg Williston confessed he is celebrating his 29th anniversary by taking his wife to the Benbow Inn next Monday in lieu of attending Rotary. FOUNDATION MINUTE: Dr. Kim Bauriedel let us know that our former exchange student, Dan, from Russia is doing well. He’s back cooking for a living, which Dan loves, and he is about to apply for his driver’s license. So far he has not had to join the Russian Army - a concern of his. Dr. Bauriedel went on to say that The Foundation is part of what makes Rotary different from any other type of organization. The Foundation was established in 1917 but it didn’t really take off until about 1947 when President Paul Harris passed away and donations were made in his name to the Foundation from Rotary Clubs everywhere. Since that time the Foundation has developed the mission to focus on projects related to health, hunger and humanitarian projects throughout the world. This has included the eradication of Polio in 120 countries. Today only 6 countries are not polio free, and hopefully that number will be at 0 soon. (A country is not declared polio free until 3 years have passed with no cases.) Dr. Bauriedel reminded us how important it is to donate to the foundation and how much good every dollar donated does.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: President Gregg opened his comments by stating that so far this year his fines have totaled $360 and Kathy says it has to stop as the fines are starting to come out of her clothing budget. He then asked Ziggy, Jay Bohner, Carlton Nilsen and Kathy Cloney-Gardiner to stand up and show everybody how close we are to ending polio. They all stood up and gave us “the sign”. To find the sign yourself, Gregg says to go to 101 things about Rotary, available at the badge table at your next meeting. George Owren, Kathy Cloney-Gardiner, our Rotary Foundation team, Ray and Pauline Wickel and District Governor, Kevin Eisenberg were all asked to stand at the podium. Ray and Pauline recently donated $10,000 to the Foundation, becoming a Major Donor of the Foundation. District Governor Kevin thanked the Wickel’s for their donation amidst a standing ovation. He then went on to tell us that $10,000 represents 6,000 polio immunizations, That’s 6,000 children not at risk to catch a life altering and threatening disease. $10,000 represents completely equipping a school for girls in a country that doesn’t believe in educating women or $10,000 could represent clean water for 50,000 people. The Foundation does so much. Kevin encouraged us to remember to support this worthwhile cause. The Wickel’s received pins and an engraved glass award in recognition of their donation in addition to a second standing ovation.
SPENGLER-HOWARD RAFFLE: A bottle of Riverbend Cellars red wine was won by Kathy Cloney-Gardiner among cries of a fixed drawing. Sadly Corky Cornwell did not win draw the joker and did not win the pot of $120.
GUEST SPEAKER INTRODUCTION BY Gregg Gardiner. According to Gregg, Kevin Eiserberg loves basketball which is why every table in the room has a basketball as a centerpiece today. Gregg presented a slide show on Pride and Joy, Kevin’s theme this year, that exemplified numerous companies and things that utilize the name pride and joy including a bar, tattoos, and a memorial for a dog. But… Kevin’s real pride and joy are his wife and two children.
GUEST SPEAKER: Kevin presented Gregg with a framed photo of a bottle of pride and joy. He also accused Gregg of being the Rodney Dangerfield of Rotary. Kevin went on a tour of Eureka on Sunday with Gregg, and viewed first hand many of the projects accomplished by our Rotary Club. He attended a board meeting earlier this morning and heard how one person at the Rotary Club of Eureka can have a great idea and the entire club works together to make it happen. Kevin said that in addition to his theme, Pride and Joy Rotary International has their own theme, Light Up Rotary. He knows there are a lot of jokes, especially in Humboldt and Mendocino about this theme, but he encourages us all to look past the jokes to see the power of that statement. The President of Rotary, Gary Wong, took his inspiration from Confucius who said, ‘it is better to light a single candle than to sit and curse the darkness’. Kevin feels that each club lighting one candle at a time can do a lot, but 35,000 clubs lighting one candle at a time can make an immense difference. He said Rotary stands apart from many other organizations in the world and because of our reputation for ethics and service about self we are allowed entry into other countries when others aren’t. He said, one of your own Rotarians told me this morning that a recent survey conducted to research a coming ballot initiative found that registered voters in Eureka were asked, “what organization do you most trust in Eureka?” Rotary was the number one answer. Kevin said, Rotary should be fun, it’s ok to have fun in fact President Wong insists on it. Kevin suggested we wear our Rotary pins everywhere and maybe consider a tattoo so we can even wear it in the shower. He said not only does it create instant friendships with other Rotarians it also sparks conversation about what Rotary is all about. He asked us to look inside ourselves, feel our pride and joy of being a Rotarian, explain that feeling to other people. If you do that membership is no longer a problem. The Foundation has 6 essential goals 1) Disease Prevention and Treatment 2) Water and Sanitation 3) Maternal and Child Health 4) Literacy/Education 5) Economic and Community Development 6) Peace and Conflict Resolution. In conclusion… Rotary is a beacon of light illuminating the path to a better country and world. Take pride and joy in Rotary. Don’t forget to sign up for an exciting conference on April 24-26th in beautiful Yosemite. Flyers available at District 5130 web site.
MEETING ADJOURNED: (1:30pm)
Respectfully submitted,
Alicia Cox
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