July 22, 2021
As Rotarians began to filter into the Country Club, on a fairly warm, sunny July day, the affable President Rick Gorman was there to meet and greet as he continued his official reign.
As the clock ticked to 12:30, President Rick called the assembly to order and asked longtime Rotarian and a former President, John Dado to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Keeping with a shout out to senior members, Dan Libarle was asked to use his baritone vocal talents and spearhead God Bless America.
I guess having me come forward with the thought of the day further established that seniors are ruling on this day! And my rules to live by were well received.
Much to our chagrin...or at least mine, President Rick advised that in lieu of the current state of the variant virus, some members were uncomfortable to hug and be hugged in return, so a wave to all in place...ugh! I am a hugger!
And Senior Day continued when Dan Libarle was the recipient of a bottle of wine as he nailed the winning ticket.
Shari Ranney, our benevolent and oh so competent Chair of the International Committee, brought us up to date on several projects; Miracle League Summer Opening Day for Saturday, the 24th, hosting an International Committee meeting at the Ranney Ranch on the 26th and acknowledge that The Wiffle Ball Tournament is set for Sept. 25th at the Miracle League Field with all three Petaluma clubs once again teaming up in support of children all over the world! We are reaching out to Petalumans to team up and come out to play.
Instead of going into exile, our beloved Queen Anne remains active chairing this year's Golf Tourney on Sept. 13th. She proudly announced that foursomes are coming forth and sponsorships are fast materializing. Hooray!
While she was center stage, Anne finally nailed her elusive board member Doug Hecker, to give him his cap..."The one that nearly got away!"
Joanne Ferris happily reported on behalf of the Program Committee that we will be enjoying 'party time' when The Block hosts our club to kickoff Labor Day weekend on Sept. 2. Let's toast our President as he encourages us all to circle the date!!
Adding more mystery to the missing bell and gavel, mainstays of every President to rule by...Mike Baddeley refused to be implicated with their disappearance. However, he did indicate the items were on a 'road trip' to be determined!
Our program aficionado Charlie Stuart came to the podium to introduce our honored guest speakers, Mayor Teresa Barrett and City Manager Peggy Flynn via Zoom. (And kudos to tech gurus Michael Nistler and Dan Berry who setup the zooming which went off flawlessly)
The knowledgeable Petaluma leaders discussed a myriad of subjects including the impacts of Covid, new crisis team, housing, new policies for the future, and the historic drought. As we neared our hour's end, both women were gracious with their time and remained on Zoom to answer questions.
Ricardo Marzo acknowledged that both speakers were to be commended for their work in support of the city. He also was happy to report that even though they may have had different political views they were friendly adversaries during his time on the Planning Commission.
Since we are dark next week, enjoy the end of July with a smile and warm thoughts of each other, thankful that we are back to meeting up close and in person...til we convene again!
This week's Editor: Mike Ambrosio
July 15, 2021
New president RICK “Ka-Ching$$” GORMAN opened our second regular lunch meeting of the new Rotary year at precisely 12:30pm,
and immediately had MICHAEL “No Fees, No Points” NISTLER lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance,
followed by the Thought for the Day by ROYCE “Rate of Return” VAN BEBBER. Too bad Julie Andrews isn’t in our Club, otherwise we may have also heard the “Sound of Music”, but alas, there was no song!
There were no visiting Rotarians, but a few guests joined us for lunch, including ONITA “Prime Rate” PELLIGRINI’s (Eric) and CAROLYN “Bitcoin” BUCK’s (her son and granddaughter). Enthusiastic handshakes, hugs, and busses amongst the members ensued…to the point where our stoic Prez had to bang the gavel to get the members back in their seats!
Our recently dethroned Queen ANNE “Greenbacks” GEALTA, who is chairing the Annual Club Golf Tournament this year, then reminded us that the event is scheduled for September 13 at the Petaluma Golf and Country Club, and that she has 48 4-some slots available. Please visit the Club’s website if you are interested in playing (or just joining us for dinner), and feel free to call Anne for further details.
Next, the Prez called upon
ELIAS “Currency Exchange” HUSARY, ROYCE VAN BEBBER,
MIKE “Bearer Bonds” BADDELEY,
STEVE “CD” POWELL and MICHAEL NISTLER to share their ah-ha moment in Rotary, which they each experienced in different ways but all to the same end.
Raffle ticket #2857 proved to be the winning ticket for CAROLYN BUCK, who walked away with a nice bottle of wine!
Finally, and inasmuch as our scheduled speaker had to cancel on short notice for a sudden health reason, the Prez used the open time to give us an overview of his year and his leadership philosophy, which is basically the old DOS System: Deputize, Organize and Supervise! After fielding a few questions from the floor, the new Prez then summarily adjourned the meeting at 1:00 p.m., with nary a fine levied, a fee extracted, or even any overdraft charges assessed…talk about a user-friendly banker!
See you all next week!!!
This week's Editor: Mike Baddeley
July 08, 2021
Immediate past president 'Queen Anne' called our first in-person meeting (in over a year) to order. She was filling in for our new president, Rick Gorman. Anne was all smiles, as she was able to hold her first live meeting (no Zoom!). Sorry Rick, but Anne fined me $100 bucks since I was AWOL and didn't attend the debunking!
John Dado led the Pledge of Allegiance as fellow member Dan Berry sang back-up vocals! The honorable Mike Baddeley was asked to sing God Bless America, "Don't I get to choose the song?" uttered Baddeley - followed by an abrupt "No!" from Queen Anne!
Chris Elzi handled the 'Thought for the Day,' which was an ode to Queen Anne: "Just when I thought I was out they dragged me back in!" For those of you who are horse owners please check to be sure your horse is not missing!
Jim "Kimo" Becker was visiting from Hawaii...
Shari Ranney, the liaison for Miracle League, announced that Rotary will be hosting a Wiffle Ball tournament on Saturday, September 25. Get your teams together. This will be a single-elimination tournament and will be a lot of fun!
Raine Howe, the Executive Director of the Polly Klaas Foundation, gave an update on the construction (the District approved our donation match) of the Polly Klaas Theater including: interior demo, framing for new bathrooms, foundation, sprinkler system, abatement, civil engineering, new sidewalks, plumbing, ramp, steps, drywall, paint, electrical, siding, etc. Antonis Construction has offered a donation to paint and Kelly Moore Paints will donate the paint. Ghilotti Construction has also donated time and materials for the incredible venture that so many local companies and individuals have donated to. Valley Rotary and our club are handling fountains, plants, trees, etc.
Lee Reposa was surprised by Queen Anne when she accused him of taking the bell from the debunking! Lee, of course, denied any wrongdoing! Anne offered my $100 bucks to anyone who reveals the location of the bell!!!
Dan Berry was the lucky winner of the raffle and walked away with $25 bucks!
Michael Nistler reminded us of Rotary's Five Avenues of Service: Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service, International Service, and New Generations/Youth Services.
It was nice to finally meet in person. Please enjoy the photos below (Rotarians working, smiling, and enjoying the microphone (not a Zoom meeting with a computer microphone!):
This week's Editor: Doug Hecker