Issues are arranged in reverse order. Scroll down to find the issue you want.
August 31, 2006
September 7 - Maureen Merrill, District 31 Membership Chairman
September 14 - Grayson James, City of Petaluma - “Building it Green”
September 21 - Cliff Dochterman, Rotary International President, 1992-93 ($20 tri-club luncheon)
September 28 - Dr. Peter Berstein
The bell is back! And so is PRESIDENT TAWNY. She opened the meeting by rapping the bell with a gavel borrowed from the Sonoma-Marin Fair. The quest for the missing Rotary gavel continues.
Up next was STEVE RUSTAD who led the opening song, America.
LARRY JONAS followed with the Thought for the Day. He talked about his heroes of the past, Joe DiMaggio and Sandy Koufax, and all the other heroes, famous and unknown, who serve as role models.
JAY PALM introduced visiting Rotarians from the Petaluma Valley, Petaluma Sunrise, and Hanford clubs.
The Sunshine Report was blank. No word on how HERB BUNDESEN is doing but we hope to see him back at meetings soon. Note: STAN LAWSON is our new Mr. Sunshine. If you hear of a member under the weather, advise Stan and he will follow up.
Mr. Sunshine finally picked up his Chicken Badge. He paid at $10 fine for the honor and Past President LEE BEAN paid $5 for failing to catch Stan during his term.
The birthday table had a cake but no people. Our only August birthdays listed were those of AL BATTAGLIA and PAT SCHAEFER (???) and they weren’t here. TOM BUCKLEY fessed up to having a birthday this month and bought the cake for $10.
ED FULLERTON announced the Sebastopol Sunrise Club’s Cajun/Zydeco Festival on Saturday September 9. Click the link for details (not the gator sausage link which you’ll find on the menu).
ED then reported visiting Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the annual Oshkosh Fly-In and picking up a gift for PRESIDENT TAWNY. It was a tasteful shirt decorated in an aviation motif.
LOU STEINBERG reported that the three Petaluma clubs would be sponsoring a joint BBQ at McNear Park on Saturday, September 30 from 11am to 5pm. Watch for more information in future Rota-Tellers and on the website. Six days later, on Friday night, October 6, Lou will be running another BBQ. This one is for the Youth Exchange students from throughout District 5130. Lou needs your help. Let him know if you are available.
John Burns, publisher of the Argus Courier, presented a check for $381.10 to PRESIDENT TAWNY for ad revenues from the Salute to Rotary section. Thanks to the 21% of our members who bought ads and to RICARDO MARZO who prepared our input.
PRESIDENT TAWNY reminded members of JAMES GOTELLI’s work with the Relay for Life of Petaluma, the American Cancer Society fundraiser September 16-17 at Casa Grande High School. He needs 10-15 Rotarians for his team, Family Affair. If you can walk for an hour, contact James.
Membership Chair CLARK ROSEN inducted our newest member, CHAD HARDCASTLE, who is transferring from the Rotary Club of Hanford.
CHAD explained that he moved to Petaluma to take a position as administrator of Pleasant Care Convalescent at the former hospital site on Hayes Lane. Welcome, Chad!
It was time for fines — and JIM BECKER was first. A “bad behavior” report from BABE AMARAL (leaving early last week) started things but President Tawny asked Jim about his rumored engagement. Jim confirmed the engagement (to his “best friend, Rebecca”) and escaped with a $25 fine.
JOANNE FERRIS was next. Seems she arranged for last week’s speaker to speak on his birthday but failed to provide him with a birthday cake. Acting President BABE AMARAL had to dispatch BRIDGET DOHERTY to Joe’s A-1 Bakery to get a cake and save the day. Thanks, Bridget. And thanks, Joanne, for the $20 fine.
It seems that ANDY KVALHEIM failed to show up as song leader a few weeks ago. He explained that he skipped the meeting to go to Tahoe and that he had also recently visited Washington state and Maine. Soon he’ll be in Hawaii. For all this he paid $50.
RICK SUSICK was away last week moving his daughter to college in Santa Barbara. For that, and for winning two tickets to next year’s Sonoma-Marin Fair, he paid $50.
It seems that GARY BRODIE was involved in the bell caper and the still-pending gavel caper. He denied culpability for that but admitted to his son being a sophomore at Landmark College in Vermont. In all, he paid $50 for his transgressions.
Lucky JAY PALM won the raffle and took home a bottle of wine.
Program Chair JOANNE FERRIS introduced this week’s program . . .
. . . Roberta Chen and Tom Weisman from the Bird Rescue Center in Santa Rosa. We learned how they rehabilitate native birds and release them back into the wild. Visit their website for information on sponsorship and volunteer opportunities.
Screech Owl surveys the crowd.
Red-tailed Hawk.
October 6 - 7, 2006
First Annual Ramatici ALS Event
Golf - Walk/10k Run - BBQ - Auction
Click the image above for more info
This week's Rota-Teller editor: Al Cattalini.
August 24, 2006
August 25 - Rotary Night at the Ballpark. Click for photos
August 31 - Diane Hichwa - Bird Rescue Center of Sonoma County
September 7 - Maureen Merrill, District 31 Membership Chairman
September 14 - Steve Rustad - "What is a Brand?"
The cowbell sounded at precisely 12:30 and PAST PRESIDENT BABE brought the meeting to order. PRESIDENT TAWNY was hob knobbing in Sacramento with Arnie.
RALPH SARTORI was asked to lead us in song with the Portuguese National Anthem. He talked about the National Anthem but decided not to sing it which brought a rousing applause from the crowd. HE did want to share the National Flag with the audience and produced a pair of men’s briefs on a stick. After much laughter, an enthusiastic “God Bless America” was sung by all.
ERIK GUNHEIM gave the invocation. He was aware of the upcoming Columbus Day and thought a discussion of the best Portuguese explorers would be interesting, but he couldn’t find any.
The usual hugs and handshakes quickly followed. PAT SCHAEFER introduced the visiting Rotarians. The Rotarians with guests were then introduced.
HERB BUNDESEN is in the hospital. Hope to see you soon HERB!!!
PAST PRESIDENT BABE called on LOU STEINBERG for his announcement. LOU didn’t have one so the PAST PRESIDENT fined him $5.00.
CLARK ROSEN took center stage next with a list of exciting prizes for bringing in new members. A trip to Carmel was among them. The contest ends September 30th.
Babe offers "proof" that Tawny has the bell and gavel.
Don’t forget to sign up for the Tri Club Luncheon Meeting on September 21st at the Vets. Past President of Rotary International, Cliff Dochterman, will be the speaker.
PAST PRESIDENT BABE was looking for BARNIE FAUSS. Was he still in the bar?
GARY BRODIE took the heat for winning the Golf Tournament. It seems the foursome included a pro. That cost GARY $20.
PAST PRESIDENT BABE heard that DAN LIBARLE had his cart on the green during the tournament. He was also seen golfing with Father Lombardi and Father Culligan. Someone reported to BABE that he took money from the poor priests. BABE was appalled and fined him $20. (For a picture that might explain it all click here.)
STEVE OLMSTEAD was BABE’S next victim. What was he doing with that crazy Sam Snead hat on the golf course? Before STEVE could answer BABE, he was fined $10.
DICK WEBER was proud to say his son, Scott, won the longest drive contest in the golf tournament. He wasn’t so happy to pay the $20 BABE imposed on him.
The PAST PRESIDENT fined each one of PRESIDENT TAWNY’S board $5 for acting like sheep and accepting their fate. Why haven’t they recovered the PRESIDENT’S bell? He didn’t leave out DISTRICT GOVERNOR NOMINEE ED FULLERTON. ED was asked for $10, too.
BABE then ordered them to march over to the guest speaker, PAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR GREG MOLLOY, and sing “Happy Birthday”.
JAY PALM was called on next to donate $20 for his new location.
TED ADKINS bought a new Nissan Maxima. He offered up $1 a wheel. What was he thinking? PAST PRESIDENT BABE slapped him with a $20 fine and $10 for buying a car with a foreign name.
KEITH SOLTS drove through 19 states and put 7,000 miles on his car on a 3 week trip to Florida. That cost him $30.
MARY ANN SHOEMAKER won the raffle and walked away with a bottle of wine.
RALPH HAYWARD introduces our guest speaker.
PAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR GREG MALLOY was our speaker. He served District 5150 in 2002-2003. He gave us an interesting talk on how he got involved in Rotary International and how it changed his life.
For photos from Rotary Night at the Ball Park click here.
For Golf Tournament photos click here.
October 6 - 7, 2006
First Annual Ramatici ALS Event
Golf - Walk/10k Run - BBQ - Auction
Click the image above for more info
This week's Rota-Teller editor: Loretta Catarozoli.
August 17, 2006
August 24 - Greg Molloy - “The Magic of Rotary”
August 25 - Rotary Night at the Ballpark
August 31 - Diane Hichwa - Bird Rescue Center of Sonoma County
September 7 - Maureen Merrill, District 31 Membership Chairman
September 14 - Steve Rustad - "What is a Brand?"
Special Petaluma Rotary Golf Tournament Edition
Congratulations to Past President LEROY BEAN for chairing a great tournament. The weather was perfect, the food was great and the golf was fun (particularly for the editor).
A tournament like this takes lots of help and PP Leroy got plenty. Thanks to the following Rotarians that help put on this great tournament:
Looking for the beverage cart.
Beverage Cart was handled by RICK VAN BEBBER and RICK OBERLIN.
Registration was done by Lee Christensen, JOANNE FERRIS, TAWNY TESCONI and JOSEPH MOORE. Good to see our two new members jump right in there.
The Putting contest was run by PAT SCHAEFER, CLARK ROSEN, BRIDGET DOHERTY and PP ONITA PELLEGRINI.
In the Kitchen this year helping BUTCH SPOLINI were STEVE RUSTAD, MICHAEL WHITE, CHRIS ALBERTSON, KEITH SOLTS and JAMES GOTELLI.
The Sale of Dinner Tickets was done by HARVEY FREETLY and JUDI ALLEWELT.
Working the tables this year were WHITNEY HALL, ERIK GUNHEIM, TOM BUCKLEY, RALPH HAYWARD, ALDEN HENNINGS and BANO CUMMINGS.
RON HARRIS and RALPH HAYWARD handled the clean up.
Thanks to all of you for your hard work and dedication.
For all those that played, the winners were:
Mens Long Drive (59 and under) – Scott Webber
Men’s Long Drive (60 and over) – Mitch Lind
Women’s Straightest Drive – Vicki Sharer
Closest to the Pin (Women) – HEIDE KIBBE
Closest to the Pin (Men) – Rob Steinberg
Putting Champion – Danny Lavella
Team champions
BARNEY FAUSS, GARY BRODIE, Danny Lavella and Huchinson
4-way tie for 2nd
LOU STEINBERG, Rob Steinberg, Steve Cohen and Steve Bowman
MICHAEL CARUANA, George Villareal, Dan Burleson and Doug Johnson
NORM SANTOS, TENNY TUCKER, B Griffith and B Castelli
DAN LIBARLE, DON RAMATICI, RICK MARZO AND STEVE HENRIS
Congratulations to all the winners and all those who also had a great time!
For lots more photos from the Golf Tournament click here.
October 6 - 7, 2006
First Annual Ramatici ALS Event
Golf - Walk/10k Run - BBQ - Auction
Click the image above for more info
This week's Rota-Teller editor: Lou Steinberg.
August 10, 2006
August 12 - Rotary Foundation Seminar, Cotati
August 14 – Golf Tournament - Petaluma Golf & Country Club (evening meeting today)
August 17 – No meeting today; attend dinner on August 14
August 24 - Greg Molloy - “The Magic of Rotary”
August 31 - Diane Hichwa - Bird Rescue Center of Sonoma County
Filling in for an absent PRESIDENT TAWNY, Past President ONITA PELLEGRINI called the meeting to order and called on ANDY KVALHEIM to lead the opening song. Andy? What, no Andy?
Summoned to fill in for the absent Andy, HERB BUNDESEN led a stirring God Bless America.
Next up was DAVE AMUNDSEN, filling in for an absent ERIK GUNHEIM (Are you starting to get the drift?) to give the Thought for the Day. Dave’s thought was on optimism but he lost us when he inadvertently substituted continence for continuance. Oh well, continence is something to be optimistic about!
CHRIS ALBERTSON introduced one visiting Rotarian, from the Fisherman’s Wharf Club in San Francisco.
Three members brought guests. JOANNE FERRIS introduced two guests, MICHAEL CARUANA introduced his son, Matt, visiting here on his way to graduate school in England, and KIP HERZOG introduced Grant Livingston and his mother (more on them later).
There were no announcements for the Sunshine Report, but your intrepid reporter learned that ROY MUSICK is recovering nicely from surgery on his foot. Roy was here today and there’s more on him later, too.
KIP HERZOG introduced Grant Livingston, leaving soon for a year in Brazil as our Rotary Exchange student. Grant and his mother discussed preparations for the year and their delight at his selection. When Grant mentioned that he was learning Portuguese, ONITA discussed providing BABE AMARAL as a tutor. This idea was hurriedly dropped when it was revealed that Babe’s Portuguese vocabulary was limited to expletives!
Golf Tournament Chairman LEE BEAN gave details on next Monday’s tournament. Registration and lunch are at 11:30 a.m. This year it’ll be BBQ chicken and hot dogs (no burgers). Tee-off is at 12:30 p.m. sharp. Cocktail hour is at 6:00 p.m. with the legendary prime rib dinner served at 7:00 p.m. (The tournament is full with a waiting list of golfers. If you need to cancel, it might be possible. Call JOHN DADO right away.) Remember, this event replaces the Thursday, August 17 meeting.
Acting President ONITA reminded members of the Rotary Foundation Seminar in Cotati this Saturday. Reservations are required so call Onita right away if you will be attending. Onita also mentioned that the annual Rotary Foundation dinner and raffle will be in Petaluma this year (October 14 at the Petaluma Sheraton). You’ll be able to buy dinner tickets and $20 raffle tickets at upcoming meetings.
JOHN DADO announced that the groundbreaking ceremony for Phase II of the SRJC Petaluma Campus would be held at 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 27. This construction project includes a new, larger Herold Mahoney Library, named for a beloved past president of our Club. Plan on attending the ceremony and the reception which follows.
JAMES GOTELLI rose to solicit volunteers for the Relay for Life of Petaluma, the American Cancer Society fundraiser September 16-17 at Casa Grande High School. He needs 10-15 Rotarians for his team, Family Affair.
CARRIE PIERSON reminded members of the ongoing membership drive. You can get a form to recommend new members by clicking here.
LOU STEINBERG discussed the Rotary Exchange program. Our incoming student, a young lady from Paris, is here now. We need a host family to house her November through January. Contact Lou if you can assist. In addition, our Club is hosting a barbecue on Friday evening, September 8 for all visiting exchange students in District 5130. Call Lou if you can help with cooking and serving that evening. Finally, Lou is still looking for a volunteer to serve as Committee Chair for this program. Call him if you are interested or have questions.
CLARK ROSEN inducted our newest member, BRENT BLAUSTEIN. Brent’s classification is Mortgage Loan Consulting. He’s with Princeton Capital on First Street in downtown Petaluma. Welcome, Brent!
Observing some members without their chicken badges, Acting President ONITA directed them to rise. Sitting back down after paying a $5 fine were BABE AMARAL, MIKE BADDELEY, KIP HERZOG, and DICK WEBER. Also hit for $5 was STEVE POWELL who wasn’t fast enough with the portable microphone.
Finally it was time for fines.
First up was ROY MUSICK, back from a trip that started with a week in Paris, and included a cruise from Venice to Barcelona by way of Greece, Turkey, Naples, Rome, and Marseilles. His highlight was a somber visit to Normandy and Omaha Beach. He escaped with a $50 fine.
MIKE BADDELEY was next. Trips to Utah, Incline Village, and Trinity County and a new swimming pool in the backyard cost him a $50 fine.
Fifty dollars was the fee for TOM BRANDAL who is the proud owner of seven new super dump trucks, the first in this area.
Also traveling to Europe was KIP HERZOG. A week in the Greek Isles and a week in Tuscany, spent with twelve frat brothers and their spouses set him back another $50.
MICHAEL WHITE was up next with a rather special fine. Or rather, a special deal. Last week, using the camera in his cell phone he captured LEE BEAN dozing during the meeting. He told Lee that if he paid a $10 fee he’d delete the photo rather than show it to TAWNY. Lee paid the $10 without hesitation.
Thanks to RALPH SARTORI and the Dairy Farmers of America today’s raffle included a cheese bonus. LOU STEINBERG won the raffle, drew the proper rock, and walked off with the cash ($25) and the cheese.
JOANNE FERRIS introduced the Membership Chair for District 5180 (Elk Grove-Sacramento area), . . .
. . . Bill Wittich, who presented exciting ideas for attracting quality members to Rotary.
LARRY JONAS ended the meeting by offering a $5 happy fine. He observed that STEVE POWELL’s New Balance® shoes were made in the USA. Larry, why were you staring at Steve’s legs?
This week's Rota-Teller editor: Al Cattalini.
August 3, 2006
August 10 - Dr. Bill Wittich “Volunteer Management and Leadership”
August 12 - Rotary Foundation Seminar, Cotati
August 14 – Golf Tournament - Petaluma Golf & Country Club (evening meeting today)
August 17 – No meeting today; attend dinner on August 14
President TAWNY TESCONI cheerfully opened (the meeting), . . .
. . . JIM BECKER heartedly sang (God Bless America), . . .
. . . Past-President LARRY JONAS irreverently invocated (Thought for Day), . . .
. . . and RON HARRIS nicely introduced (visiting Rotarians).
The Prez then graciously acknowledged (Rotarian with guests, including JOANNE FERRIS' husband, Mike), solemnly reported (KEITH SOLTS is recovering from pneumonia), and enthusiastically congratulated (August anniversaries). Carissa Bishop–Sage gratefully thanked (for the local Rotary Scholarship she received, enabling her to attend San Jose State for her teaching credential), . . .
. . . Past-President JOHN DADO specifically reminded (Annual Club Golf Tournament on August 14, 2006, 11:30 a.m. registration, 12:20 p.m. shotgun start – non-golfers are welcome for lunch and dinner), . . .
. . . and President-Elect LOU STEINBERG proudly announced (3 Club BBQ at McNear Park on 9/30/06).
JAMES GOTELLI seriously promoted (Relay for Life Event ACS Fundraiser 9/16/06 – 9/17/06: he needs 10-15 Rotarians for his Team Family affair), the Prez pointedly calendared (Rotary Foundation Seminar at Cotati Police Department on August 12 — call the Prez for details), and then avariciously fined:
. . . JIM BECKER ($50 for climbing the Great Wall of China);
. . . OREST BALYTSKY ($50 for a European vacation and World Cup soccer);
. . . JOHN DADO ($100 for betting the ponies at Del Mar & the Sonoma County Fair, and winning a trifecta);
. . . PAT SCHAEFER ($50 for a Graeagle golf & hiking excursion); and
. . . STEVE HENRIS ($100 for trips to Tahoe & Palm Desert, and for owning a boat and a plane).
Secretary STEVE OLMSTED absent-mindedly forgot (the raffle wine and guest speaker book), . . .
. . . ALDEN HENNING fortunately won (the $50 raffle $), . . .
. . . and JOANNE FERRIS professionally presented (Rick Alexander from the Contra Costa County Health Lab and Humanitarian AIDS Project, who gave an informative program on the Global AIDS Program in Ethiopia).
The Prez then gladly delegated (the 8/10 meeting to Past-President ONITA PELLEGRINI and the 8/24 meeting to Past-President BABE AMARAL), and finally adjourned (the meeting).
This week's Rota-Teller editor: Mike Baddeley; photos from the Club archives.
