Meeting Recap for November 4, 2014
The “past presidents on parade” meeting was convened by Past President Beverly Brautigam, ably standing in for President Susan Sheridan, who was in Nicaragua building two houses for Habitat for Humanity. PP Beverly thanked greeters Michael Pearson and Aaron French, and saluted wine reception sponsor Bob Rediger and pianist Dick Wertz. As befitted an election day, Dick Osen led the group in a lovely rendition of America the Beautiful. Allison Cagley presented the Thought for the Meeting.
Past President Dan Cole introduced the club’s newest member, Chuck Brasfeild, a longtime Rotarian who is new in town as scout executive for the local Boy Scouts council. Past President Thom Gilbert then presented Larry Booth with the Cliff Dochterman Award, which honors a Rotarian for distinguished service to scouting.
Meeting sponsor Walter Dahl (you guessed it, a past president) said a bunch of interesting stuff about his namesake law firm, which specializes in commercial law, bankruptcy, business reorganization, secured transactions and real estate. “If you’ve lost it all, please give Dahl Law a call.”
The hotly-anticipated club announcements didn’t disappoint. PP Beverly announced Susan’s next President's Breakfast on the morning of November 13. Future PP Dave Cohen enticed the audience to consider joining the club's contingent to the Rotary International convention next June in Sao Paulo, Brazil. PP Skip Lawrence beseeched the club to donate blood to BloodSource, primarily to defeat Point West but with the helpful byproduct of saving human lives. Diane Schachterle appealed for volunteers for the club's December 6 service morning at Senior Gleaners from 9AM to noon. Kids are welcome as well and it would be a great way to kick off the giving season. Roy Alexander, proxying for Tom Chase, announced that a few primo tickets are still available for the club’s Jersey Boys evening on November 21, at $130 each including pre-show dinner at Lucca. Contact Tom Chase for information.
President Susan’s “levels of risk” takers this week included Doug Crumley giving to his next PH in honor of our Wounded Warriors, having just run in a marathon in Washington DC for that worthy cause. Steve Shiflett gave accolades to Jim Streng (and a donation to Jim’s next EM) for handling a situation for one of his neighbors in true Rotarian fashion. Barbara Crist (formerly Bonebrake) contributed to her EM celebrating her retirement and marriage a few months ago.
Turning to the featured attraction, chair of the day Dick Osen teed up celebrated Sacramento Bee columnist Marcos Breton. This week, Marcos celebrates 25 years at the paper, a run far longer than he anticipated when arriving from San Jose. “I fell in love with Sacramento!” he gushed, noting that he has rejected offers from the likes of the LA Times and Wall Street Journal to raise his family here. A practiced observer, he has noticed some fear of change in our community and, recognizing that change and growth is descending whether or not we embrace it, challenged us to “think ahead” and “manage it.” A recent highlight at work was covering the Giants' improbable run to the World Series title, an assignment which led him to conclude with a smile, “I have the best job at the Bee.”