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COMING EVENTS

A very special and purely social gathering on Wednesday evening replaced our usual Thursday meeting, as club members and guests congregated at Mister McGoo’s Restaurant.

With less than a week remaining in its Petaluma Boulevard North location, where Mister McGoo’s has been a Petaluma favorite for the last 50 years, a great Rotarian turnout paid tribute to owner Tony McGaughey and his family, sharing drinks and stories and giving thanks for the memories. Among those memories were the three years from 2009 to 2012, when Mister McGoo’s was home to our club for weekly meetings.

Wednesday evening’s crowd included many of our current and past members and some from other Rotary clubs. The bittersweet farewell was punctuated by many comments expressing hope for a re-opening of Mister McGoo’s in another location.

This week’s Rota-Teller editor: Clark Rosen

COMING EVENTS

It was a beautiful ’green’ day during the greenest week of the year (what with St. Paddy’s Day and the first day of spring), when PRESIDENT MICHAEL CARUANA called to order the Rotary Club of Petaluma at the Petaluma Golf and Country Club. PRESIDENT MICHAEL greeted us and immediately led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to kick off the meeting. Corned beef and cabbage were on the menu and this reporter thought she overheard a few folks grumble that this was the second (or third) time this week they’d had the exact same meal . . . Faith and Begorrah!

PRESIDENT MICHAEL invited LEE REPOSA to lead us in song. LEE started us off with our traditional I’m a Rambler and finished off with God Bless America.

PRESIDENT MICHAEL then called on “Lucky” JOHN DADO for our Thought for the Day, except JOHN wasn’t there. So THE PREZ quickly initiated his back-up plan (trying to find a ’thought’ on his smart phone that JOE TAMBE sent him earlier in the week) and when that didn’t work initiated back-up plan #2 (asking JOE if he could remember the ’thought’) and JOE responded he couldn’t even remember emailing anything! So being the no-quit leader he is, THE PREZ initiated back-up plan #3 and commanded us all to ’think good thoughts’ during our club greetings.

We had one visiting Rotarian who brought a Youth Exchange student from Italy. Rotarians with Guests included JUDI ALLEWELT hosting her granddaughter/daughter Ashley, and MIKE STAUBER hosting our visiting Rotarian and her Italian student guest, TOM BRANDEL with his lovely wife Cathy, ONITA PELLEGRINI with good friend Sally, THE PREZ with his better half Diane, and LEE BEAN with past member and club president, Jeanette Clark and her husband Kenton.

PRESIDENT MICHAEL announced the SCARC dinner on Thursday, March 26 at Kenwood Restaurant, the 1st Annual G&G Grilling Competition on June 6 sponsored by Harris Ranch, and the May 2 River Cleanup. He also reminded members of the April 24-26 Annual Conference in Yosemite and noted there is still room for a few more . . . let GAIL CARDAROPOLI know if you’re interested.

THE PREZ called on JAY PALM who announced the upcoming April 10 Farmers and Merchants Night at Herzog Hall. The Ramatici Stew is heating up and folks need to let JAY know how many guests they plan to bring. We’re expecting around 300 this year.

PRESIDENT MICHAEL took advantage of JAY’s moment in the spotlight to fine him for travelling all over hell and gone (Las Vegas, Red Bluff, Klamath Falls) in a motorhome with kids and the wife going from trade show to trade show like vagabonds since December. Didn’t sound much like a finable offense (more like work), so THE PREZ took pity and only $20!

CHRIS RANNEY presented two awards to members in recognition of the work they’ve done to sponsor new members.

LEE REPOSA (who is two members away from ’Silver’) and SHARI RANNEY (one member away from ’Bronze’) were applauded for their efforts to keep the club vibrant and alive! New club members CHAD FILLINGER, ELIAS HUSARY, CARLI THOMAS, and RENEE HAYES were asked to stand and be recognized as our four newest members. Good work everyone!

CLARK ROSEN thought he won the raffle until it was pointed out by THE PREZ that he must had ’stolen’ the winning ticket from his daughter Sarah (who was attending as our program speaker). Once that got all sorted out, Sarah came forward and won herself ANBW (a nice bottle of wine).

CLARK and Sarah then treated us to a lovely father-daughter musical interlude, playing one piece (Five Bagatelles for clarinet and piano) by English composer Gerald Finzi and the second by another more contemporary English composer Joseph Horovitz (Sonatina for clarinet and piano). So beautiful, so sublime . . . thank you, CLARK and Sarah for sharing your talent with us!

Proud Papa CLARK then introduced Sarah as the day’s guest speaker with the sort of introduction only a father could give his only daughter! Aside from her athletic and musical credentials, Sarah is currently an associate principal with an international HR management company.

She noted that she must love her father very much to agree to do two very stressful things in one afternoon . . . playing and speaking . . . though she did both exceedingly well! Sarah’s topic was “Difficult Conversations” in HR situations, and included tips on how to tell someone they have body odor, how to handle the workplace fallout from a non-work related incident, and how to terminate someone. Her grand finale was to publicly ‗fire’ one CLARK ROSEN (who, despite his begging and appearing rather pitiful, got canned anyway) . . . what a pro! THE PREZ noted that clearly CLARK inherited all his talent from his daughter! Thanks, Sarah . . . you’d be welcome to sit in with us during any difficult conversation! Please come back soon.

PRESIDENT MICHAEL’s parting comment was a reminder that next week the meeting has been moved to Wednesday evening (March 25th from 5:30 to 7:00) at Mister Magoo’s. This may be the last event ever for Mister Magoo’s in that location, so we hope to see you all there! NOTE: This replaces the regular Thursday lunch meeting.

Regretfully, there was just enough time left for THE PREZ to administer his ‘Musical Quiz.’ What do you get when you drop a grand piano down a mine shaft? A flat miner (of course . . .).

This week’s Rota-Teller editor: Jane Saldaña-Talley

COMING EVENTS

The mystery of the missing gavel continued as PRESIDENT MICHAEL improvised, using a luncheon fork to strike the bell. The ring sounded a little flat, but what can you expect from flatware?

LEE REPOSA wasn’t a bit flat as he led the singing of God Bless America following our warm-up, I’m a Rambler . . . .

A scatological Thought for the Day was offered by ELIAS HUSARY as he explained the origins of “crappy thoughts.”

After greetings of handshakes, hugs, and kisses, PAUL LOUNIBOS came forward to present a much loftier Thought for the Day. He recited the poem High Flight by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

JIM SYMONS introduced visiting Rotarians from the Novato and Marin Evening Rotary Clubs. There were no guests of Rotarians this week.

BILL GROVERMAN reminded members of the upcoming Farmers and Merchants Night, 6:00 p.m., Friday, April 10 at Herzog Hall. A $20 ticket includes a great polenta dinner and an open bar. Be sure to invite your friends in agriculture and business to this traditional event!

TONY WESTERN encouraged members to join in Rebuilding Together Petaluma on Saturday, April 18. It’s a great way to constructively share your talents. More details from Tony or the RTP website.

JOANNE FERRIS announced a special Rotary social at Mr. Magoo’s on Wednesday, March 25. More details are forthcoming, but mark your calendar now.

SHARI RANNEY announced an International Committee meeting (immediately following today’s luncheon) to discuss our Ecuador project.

MIKE BADDELEY is looking for all those members who expressed a willingness to host a Friendship Feast. He needs firm commitments for an April date of your choosing to host one of the feasts. It’s a great way to combine food, fun, and friendship. Contact Mike right away if you’re interested or have questions.

WHIT HALL’s letter to the editor advocating fluoridation of our drinking water set him up for a fine from our President. What, a fine for promoting children’s dental health? Whit volunteered $100 for his advocacy and added an additional $100 to help with the t-shirts our Club is providing the Aviation Club and Science Olympiad at McKinley School.

DON RAMATICI held the winning ticket, drew the wrong rock, and walked off with a bottle of wine.

ED FULLERTON, a former Marine Corps fighter pilot, introduced a fellow naval aviator who would be presenting today’s program.

Charley Taylor, Commander, U.S. Navy retired, gave a fascinating overview of the Vietnam War with particular attention directed to Operation Linebacker II (“Richard Nixon’s Finest Hour?”).

PRESIDENT MICHAEL closed the meeting with a tease about the next meeting. In addition to fine music, be prepared for a musical quiz. Huh?

This week’s Rota-Teller editor: Al Cattalini

COMING EVENTS

PRESIDENT MICHAEL called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

LEE REPOSA kicked off the meeting as song leader with the club song and America.

RICK MOSSI provided the thought for the day from Charles Schwab.

Visitors included Noah Hill from Bank of Marin, Jennifer Masterson from Boy Scout Troop 8 and Tracey Bellarmine from the Argus Courier.

JOANNE FERRIS is working on a date for a club social at Petaluma Hills Brewery. Stay tuned for the date and time to be announced.

Jennifer Masterson presented PRESIDENT MICHAEL with the current Troop 8 charter. Our club has sponsored Troop 8 for over 90 years. The troop currently has 28 members and Jennifer said they love helping at our annual crab feed.

PRESIDENT MICHAEL proudly announced and paid a $100 fine in honor of his son Matthew Caruana Ph.D! Not only did he earn his doctorate but he has a job too!

CHRIS RANNEY thanked each member of his Super Raffle team for their efforts. They are the highest sales team this year.

CHRIS also announced the club is looking for a speaker with a 3D printer for a program.

CLARK ROSEN was fined for his great article recently published in the Argus Courier.

The Raffle was won by CHAD FILLINGER.

CHRIS introduced the speaker, Natasha Juliana of Work Petaluma. To learn more about Work Petaluma, visit workpetaluma.com.

This week’s Rota-Teller editor: Joanne Ferris