Meeting Recap for Tuesday, July 15, 2014
A quick relationship question for you, dear reader: What does one do on their 41st wedding anniversary? Well, if you’re Susan Sheridan, you reserve a room at the Hilton with hubby (Dr. Larry), stuff it full of Rotarians, throw in some bungee jumping, a haka dance, and one of the finest speakers in the Rotary World, and hold your first full meeting as President of the Rotary Club of Sacramento (not exactly sexy, but hey, did I mention it was their forty-first anniversary?)
It all started quietly enough, with the usual pre-gavel meet-and-greet, with Ted (I sing like Barry) White buying drinks for everyone and newer members Todd Koolakian and Michael Pearson greeted the gathering throng.
After the invocation by the visiting Reverend Christine Martin, and the dispatching of the introduction chores by the pinch-hitting Sarge-at-Arms, Todd (I sing like Julie) Andrews, President Susan took over the meeting and the mayhem ensued.
Among the quickly growing list of things that you likely didn’t know about our new President is that she’ll bungee jump for money (rumors that this was how she put herself through law school were dispelled, after some crack investigative reporting by the Rotary newsroom), and Diane Woodruff had the video footage (and $1,000 payment) to prove it along with Past President Skip Lawrence, who also paid a $1000 for her jump.
You know who else is crazy enough to jump? Our very own Past President Dan (I sing like Nat King) Cole, who was also caught on tape. And you know what else Dan does – that’s right, the haka dance. Not just Dan, a whole bunch of the “Rotary All-Blacks”, who saw the New Zealand rugby team of the same name perform it during their trip to the recent Rotary International Convention, and figured that a haka dance troupe is just the type of entourage that President Susan needs during her reign to maintain order (with the First Dude, Dr. Larry, doing his “haka thing” right along with them).
Jumping back to this hemisphere, Prez Susan returned to more traditional topics, such as the club announcements, where Bob (I sing like Roger) Miller and the G4K Committee need your financial, golfing, and volunteer support now – right now – for the upcoming Golf 4 Kids fundraiser on August 11th.
Simply put, dozens of orthopedically challenged kids in Sacramento depend upon our club to fund educational experiences that they would not enjoy without us, and we can’t fund them without the proceeds from the oldest fundraising event in all of Rotary, our own Golf 4 Kids tournament.
If you’re a golfer, grab a foursome (or the committee will assign you one), and play on the 11th. If you’re not golfer, you can help out with the event at the course that day, or sponsor a tee, or donate raffle prizes, or just give money. It’s all good – just be sure to do something for this ever-important fundraiser for the club.
And while you’re at it, call Virginia Wade and tell her you’ll help fill her remaining need for volunteers at the July 29th Loaves & Fishes feeding.
After those good deeds, you’ll have earned a drink or two, which you can have on July 30th at Chops (5:30 to 7:30), the site of the next Rotary mixer (for you newer members, this is a great way to get to know your fellow Rotarians in a fun, relaxed setting). Want another way to get to know your fellow members? Go to Yosemite on August 6th with our resident expert, Jim (I sing like Wilson) Phillips.
To give our speaker more time (which we were well rewarded for doing), President Susan took it easy on the Rotary pocketbooks this week – with a notable exception being the $1,000 donated by those tireless Rotary Rooters – and beckoned Past Prez Walter Dahl to the podium, who introduced our speaker, Rotary International Past President Rick King.
A college classmate of our own Past President, Brian Van Camp (I tell you, Cal put out some eloquent grads in those days), Rick King entertained and inspired us as he’s done before (easily one of the finest speakers the club has ever had the pleasure of hearing), and reminded us, most passionately, of what it means to be a Rotarian. No recap of Past President King’s speech could do him justice – instead, go to youtube.com, enter “Richard King – Rotary International” in the search line, and watch his speech to the Ketchikan, Alaska club – you’ll see what you missed today.
We’re back home at the Red Lion Hotel Woodlake next week – who knows what Prez Susan has in store! JBW