Issues are arranged in reverse order. Scroll down to find the issue you want.
May 6 - Special "Breakfast" luncheon; bring a guest!
May 13 - Dark for District Conference
May 20 - A special program about Paul Harris
President TOM “Marlon” BRANDAL opened the meeting to great fanfare and applause, and he immediately had HERB “Albert” BUNDESEN lead us in song (God Bless America), . . .
. . .followed by the Thought for The Day from MICHAEL “Flight of The” CARUANA. The customary handshake, hugs and busses amongst Members ensued.
FRED “Robert” FROST introduced our visiting Rotarians, including . . .
Greg O'Brien is moving from Phoenix and transfering to our Club.
. . . a special visiting Rotarian guest of President-elect CLARK “War of The” ROSEN. The rest of the guests of Rotarians who joined us for lunch were then introduced and welcomed, including Stas Margaronis of Santa Maria Shipping who is working with Prez Tom’s company to convert shipping containers into housing units for displaced people in Haiti.
GARY “Indiana” BRODIE then gave the Sunshine Report and informed us that BABE “The Bambino” AMARAL is back in circulation and nearly fully recovered.
Next, the Prez acknowledged all of the April birthday babes, including HENRY “Ford” HANSEL, PAT “Hand” CONKLIN, JOHN “Which Way Did” DADO, STEVE “La Fantasma” LAFRANCHI, DICK “Charolette’s” WEBER, RICK VAN “Winkle” BEBBER, and STEVE “The Deer Hunter” HENRIS — $5.00 for those who remembered to sit at the B-Day table, and $10.00 from STEVE HENRIS, who didn’t.
We were then serenaded with a medley of announcements: The Petaluma Valley Country Club is hosting its 5th Annual Million Dollar Classic golf tournament on May 27 at Rooster Run Golf Course – call Jim O’Grady at the PVRC if you want to play (or sponsor); the Petaluma Chapter of Realtors is hosting its 17th Annual golf tournament on May 13 at Rooster Run Golf Course – call Rebecca Celli if you want to play (or sponsor); and, the Rotary District 5130 Conference golf tournament will be on May 13 at Foxtail Golf Course in Rohnert Park – call Prez Tom or Secretary STEVE “Oklahoma” OLMSTED if you want to play.
LEE “The Art of” BEAN noted that our Club is the reigning District golf tournament champion.
JOANNE “of Arc” FERRIS reported that the Rotary sponsored GSE team (from India) will be presenting a program at the Sunrise Club next week (Friday, 5/7 at 7:30 a.m.), followed by a reception for them on Saturday, May 8 – call Joanne if you are interested in attending either event.
LOU “Hibachi” STEINBERG then announced that the annual RYLA camp is slated for June 20-25, and our club is hosting the tri-tip barbeque on Wednesday, June 23 – please call LEE “House of Prime” REPOSA for details.
The Prez then levied a flurry of fines; STEVE “Hyde and” POWELL paid $100 for 6 vacation trips (Caribbean, Banff, Vancouver, Las Vegas, etc.);
STEVE OLMSTED surrendered $50.00 for his recent Reno gambling excursion;
BILL “Redwood” GROVERMAN donated $80.00 for his new niece;
and, GAIL “Master” CARDAROPOLI shelled out $35.00 for a priceless visit with all of her children and grandchildren.
STEVE HENRIS won the raffle, and pulled a blue rock for the wine.
April Program Chairman WALLY “Fort” BRAGDON introduced the speaker, our German Rotary Exchange student (Johanna), who gave an excellent presentation of her home town in Germany, followed by an informative question and answer session – she received a Rotary memento of appreciation and an autographed book will be donated in her name to the PHS Library. PDG ED “Franz” FULLERTON then shared a bit of his personal experience about living in Germany, followed by a nice sentiment for Johanna’s from her last host mom (Polly), who reminded us that next year’s exchange student will be from Thailand. LOU STEINBERG also shared his youth exchange experience, and encouraged everyone to get involved with hosting.
Whereupon, the meeting was almost adjourned…but not before the Prez reminded us that we’ll be having breakfast for lunch at next week’s regular meeting (5/6), and the Club will be dark the following week (5/13). See you then!
This week's Rota-Teller editor: Mike Baddeley.
April 29 - Johanna Eberwein, our German Exchange student
May 6 - Special "Breakfast" luncheon; bring a guest!
May 13 - Jeffrey Mahan - Fraud Detection, Auditing and Forensic Accounting
May 20 - A special program about Paul Harris
On a gorgeous April day PRESIDENT TOM followed the Pledge of Allegiance by calling on ANDY KVALHEIM to lead the opening song. Andy grabbed HERB BUNDESEN, returning from the dessert table, and drafted him to assisting in leading God Bless America.
HERB wasn’t done however. He was up next for the Thought for the Day. In a beautiful, moving talk Herb described his love for Rotary and his appreciation for the many community leaders who were fellow Rotarians with him over the past half-century. Among those he named were Ned Davis, Augie Lepori, Art Agnew, Peirce Thompson, Wally Asinov, Godfrey (“Padre”) Hartzell, Holly Vogensen, Gene Benedetti, Bill Daymond, Red Libarle, John Lounibos, George Lane, Max Herzog, Rev. Herb Ganz, Bill Schneider, A. Tomasini, Jules Fisher, Norm McNeal, Duncan Olmsted, and Alvin and Royce Van Bebber. (Your humble editor apologizes for names missed or misspelled!) Herb described Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable as applying first to his wife and secondly to Rotary. He concluded his remarks by singing Unforgettable (with some Rotary lyrics) and then received a standing ovation from today’s members. Way to go, Herb!
There were no visiting Rotarians, but two members brought guests. JIM BECKER, celebrating Administrative Professionals Day, brought his aide, Paula; GARY BRODIE hosted former member Heidi Kibbe.
RALPH SARTORI started the Sunshine Report by reporting that BABE AMARAL was out of the hospital after “one or two heart attacks” and was subsequently having difficulty walking. This affliction was attributed to color blindness. What? Yep, Babe couldn’t tell the blue pills from the white ones and took the wrong ones. (Babe, be sure to obey the four-hour rule with those blue pills!)
JIM BECKER advised that DICK WEBER had been hospitalized with pneumonia but was now doing well at home. He advised that Dick enjoyed receiving phone calls from Rotarians.
AL KAPLAN said that TED ADKINS had been advised that he’s done with independent living. We hope to see Ted at a meeting soon.
CLARK ROSEN announced his Board of Directors for the 2010-11 Rotary year: Secretary, STEVE OLMSTED, Treasurer, JOHN DADO, President Elect, JOANNE FERRIS, Past President, ONITA PELLEGRINI, and Directors JUDI ALLEWELT, JAMES BURLESON, MICHAEL CARUANA, LORETTA CATAROZOLI, AL CATTALINI, BILL GROVERMAN, MICHAEL NISTLER, STEVE POWELL, and JOE TAMBE.
PRESIDENT TOM reminded members of the SCARC dinner on April 29 and the District Conference May 13-16 at the Doubletree in Rohnert Park.
ONITA PELLEGRINI announced the Petaluma Community Awards on Thursday, April 29 at the Petaluma Sheraton (5:30pm, $20). Among the honorees is our own GEOFF ELLIS for his service to youth.
LOU STEINBERG announced that the tri-club Rotary float in Saturday’s Butter and Eggs Day Parade will be unit #75. The float will be staged on 4th Street between F and G Streets. You can arrive at 11am to help set up or at noon to parade with the float.
LORETTA CATAROZOLI solicited volunteers to judge senior project exhibitions at Casa Grande High School. For full information and a sign-up sheet click here.
Heidi Kibbe announced that her daughter had been honored as Athlete of the Week and thanked HENRY HANSEL for inspiring her at a Crushers game several years ago.
HENRY acknowledged his role and gladly offered a $50 fine.
OUR PRESIDENT said he wouldn’t fine non-member Heidi but would go after her host, GARY BRODIE. Gary put his drink down long enough to match Henry’s $50.
Heidi then rose to insist on paying some fines to the local foundation. She offered $50 for her 18-year-old son who is joining the Marine Corps and another $50 in honor of her daughter. Thanks, Heidi!
WALLY BRAGDON then introduced Lee McCann of the Boy Scouts of America . . .
. . . who presented President Tom with our annual charter for sponsorship of Pack 8 and Troop 8. Loren Dooley, Cubmaster of Pack 8 and Jennifer and Eric Masterson of Troop 8 then thanked us for our ongoing support and briefed us on current activities.
DAVID SOLO and MICHAEL CARUANA teamed up for a special presentation on the Rotary Foundation. They reported that our Club’s goal this year for supporting the foundation was $9,200 and that we’d already raised $7,107. Members were given the opportunity to add to the pot — and many did. David announced that we’d be sending a $1,500 check to Polio Plus tomorrow and that honorary Paul Harris Awards would be presented to RICK SUSICK and DAVE SISLER for their service to Petaluma High School.
The meeting ended with the raffle (Cubmaster Dooley, a bottle of wine) and the reminder that next week’s speaker would be Johanna Eberwein, our German Exchange student. See you then!
This week's Rota-Teller editor: Al Cattalini.
April 22 - David Solo - Rotary Foundation
April 29 - Johanna Eberwein, our German Exchange student
May 6 - Special "Breakfast" luncheon; bring a guest!
This week's Rota-Teller editor: Geoff Ellis.
April 15 - Sharon ??? - Cystic Fibrosis
April 22 - David Solo - Rotary Foundation
April 29 - Johanna Eberwein, our German Exchange student
May 6 - Special "Breakfast" luncheon
ACTING PRESIDENT JOANNE FERRIS kicked off the meeting in place of PRESIDENT TOM BRANDAL, who was mysteriously absent and, supposedly, sailing the high seas. PAST PRESIDENT RALPH SARTORI recited the Pledge of Allegience . . .
. . . and HERB BUNDESEN sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” . . .
. . . and SHERRY BURWEN gave a wonderful Thought for the Day. Her theme was “What I love about Rotary” and she recounted her experience of surviving cancer and being supported by her Rotary Club in Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage. The membership helped her fight her battle and now Sherry continues to give back to Rotary and its projects.
ACTING PRESIDENT JOANNE FERRIS reported on herself for the Sunshine Report – she is feeling better after her recent surgery. The Super Raffle Appreciation Dinner will be held on April 24 at the Petaluma Museum. All winning team members are encouraged to celebrate. On April 23, the Valley of the Moon Rotary Club will hold an Italian Caberet Night and the SCARC dinner will be held on April 29. Please click the appropriate link for details.
AL KAPLAN needs help for the Chili Cook-off to be held Saturday, May 8. Our Club won the award for Best Chili (Service Club) and we need to assemble a team to represent our Club. PAST PRESIDENT LOU STEINBERG appears to be signing on-board, but many more positions need to be filled.
The fine can made its weekly appearance and JOE TAMBE was fined (!) for participating in his first assembly as a member of our club.
He was also charged (???) by PRESIDENT ELECT CLARK ROSEN to join his Board. This was a rare double hit – ouch!
TAWNY TESCONI paid $50 into the can for the brave work her crew performed in capturing a car thief who was on the run in the Fairgrounds.
Always the gentleman, HERB BUNDESEN generously paid $100 and invited all Rotarians to use his new BBQ for Club events.
FRED FROST kicked in $25 for his new solar panels. He also shamelessly used the opportunity to promote his kick-back from the solar company for any referrals.
JANE SALDAÑA-TALLEY and Exchange Bank’s Ron Malnati gave a wonderful presentation on the state of affairs at the SRJC-Petaluma Campus and the special relationship it holds with our Club. The importance of the institution to our community and to higher education is invaluable and it is a resource that continues to grow in size and stature. The tools and facilities available to students are state-of-the-art and will allow them to gain a well respected education and become productive members of our community. The Friends of the Petaluma Campus Foundation is committed to the future and development of the SRJC-Petaluma Campus. Thank you, Jane and Ron for a great presentation.
God Bless
This week's Rota-Teller editor: Ricardo Marzo.
April 8 - Jane Saldaña-Talley and Ron Malnati - Changes at SRJC Petaluma campus
April 15 - Sharon ??? - Cystic Fibrosis
April 22 - David Solo - Rotary Foundation
April 29 - Johanna Eberwein, our German Exchange student
Acting President, CLARK ROSEN, opened the meeting on the appointed half-hour,
LOU STEINBERG led us in song (Rambler Gambler, God Bless America),
JIM McCAFFREY delivered the Thought for the Day (an Irish Toast), and the customary handshake, hugs and busses amongst Members ensued.
There were no Rotarian guests, but there were several guests of Rotarians who joined us for lunch.
The Acting Prez then recognized all of the March anniversaries, including Jim and Mary McCAFFREY’s 51st (Mary must be a saint!), followed by a medley of announcements:
Acting Prez Clark reminded us that the District Assembly is April 9-10; the next SCARC dinner meeting is April 29 at Santa Rosa; and the District Conference is May 13-16 (call Secretary STEVE OLMSTED or President TOM BRANDAL for details and sign-ups).
"BRD AAMOF DQMOT GGOH BFN"
The Acting Prez also noted that the Appreciation Dinner for the Crab Feed Raffle team will be held April 24 @ 4:30 p.m. at the Petaluma Historical Museum, and the Annual Chili Cook-Off is May 8 (Saturday) at the Petaluma Fairgrounds--call AL KAPLAN for details (and bibs!).
MICHAEL CARUANA reminded us that the Club’s annual Arts and Equestrian Event is July 25—call Michael if you are interested in being a sponsor.
The Acting Prez then gave us a Sunshine Report (JOANNE FERRIS and PAT SHAEFER are on the mend), . . .
. . . followed by a report from the Petaluma Valley Rotary Club (Terry and Maureen) on the Joint Services Cub Committee and its mission.
Next, the Acting Prez showed us he definitely has what it takes to lead us through the 2010-2011 Rotary year by levying a slew of fines of $50 each, many for dubious “offenses”:
JIM McCAFFREY (for sharing office space with STEVE OLMSTED);
AL CATTALINI (for being a ’61 St. Mary’s grad, a Gael basketball fan, and cheering his team in Las Vegas);
JEANNETTE CLARK (for a trip to Hawaii with longtime beau, Kenton),
and JAMES BECKER (for crashing a PETS conference on a trip down under). The Acting Prez was so smooth, determined and resolute about his fining that he didn’t even need the fine can!
Raffle #1965 was the winning ticket, and the Acting Prez, who had heretofore conducted a flawless meeting, was just about ready to hand the raffle winner a bottle of wine for the blue rock, when he realized that the winner was…..a minor student (NANCY KOENITZER’S daughter, Victoria). So, upon motion duly made (by RALPH SARTORI), and seconded (by RICK MOSSI) to resolve the dilemma (and keep the Acting Prez out of jail), the “ayes” carried the day and a very happy young lady walked away with $100 instead of the wine!
A relieved NANCY KOENITZER then introduced our speaker,
Tim Miller, Executive Director of the local Red Cross Chapter, who gave us an informative report on the Red Cross activities in Haiti. He received a Rotary memento in appreciation of a program well received, and an autographed book will be donated in his name to a local high school library.
Whereupon, the Acting Prez summarily adjourned the meeting.
This week's Rota-Teller editor: Mike Baddeley.