Meeting Recap of Jan. 24, 2011

Invocation

Mike Miklaus did the Invocation, reminding all of us that we who are committed to and value our Rotary membership and relationships seem not to be as successful in sharing that commitment and value with new and prospective members. He noted that when we lose members, it is most often new members who seem not to ‘connect’ right away – and we could and should do a better job of integrating them into the group.  He concluded with encouragement to every member to bring in a new member and double the size – and reach and positive influence – of our club.

Meeting Sponsor

Jim Culleton was meeting sponsor and he yielded his three minutes to John Davis who shared information about Legal Services of Northern California, the region’s primary low/no-cost legal aid clinic serving all of Northern California.  John spoke of the importance and high quality of their services.

Recognition

During Recognition time, Fred Teichert expressed his pride in Teichert’s full-page, inside-cover ad in the recent Comstock’s magazine and also acknowledged that he’d been featured in an article about foundations and charities, which sported the dubious (yet indisputable) title “Well Endowed?”  

Amin Elmallah additionally presented to President Scot a Rotary banner from a recent trip to the Rotary Club of Damanhur, Egypt, where Amin gave a presentation on our club.

Announcements and Events

Happy Hour event at Revolution wines on January 25

Ski Trip/Snow Shoe event with Jim Phillips on February 4-5

Bloodsource – still need blood donors to catch those accursed Point Westians; when you do, use reference number “6569” -- our club’s account number for blood donations.

Keep your eyes peeled for an invitation to go bowling for a good cause!

Speaker Introduction

Chair of the Day Rick Eytcheson introduced today’s speaker, Angela Nickerson.

Angela Nickerson: Michelangelo’s Rome

Angela Nickerson, author of A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome, providing anecdotes, historical context and insights into the life of one of the world’s greatest artists.  Of the several anecdotes, this one is particularly worth sharing: After leaving his native Florence in search of patronage (which disappeared after the death of Lorenzo di Medici and the subsequent warring/factionalism) for Rome. Shortly after arriving, Michelangelo came into the employ of Pope Julius II who hired him to build a grand tomb (just large enough to fit his ego). The pope wanted his tomb inside St. Peter’s Basilica – perhaps a fitting place, but not of sufficient scale as then constructed to house it, resulting in a plan to tear it down and build anew. This became the pope’s new focus, rather than the construction of the tomb (as he didn’t have funds for both).  When the pope refused to see Michelangelo when he returned with tons of marble for the tomb, Michelangelo simply left the stone in the piazza in front of St. Peter’s and returned to Florence.  The pope persuaded Michelangelo to return to Rome, but rather than have him work on the tomb, he engaged him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Once done with that four-year project, and just as his attention was to turn to Julius II’s tomb, the pope died – and his heirs had different priorities than a grand tomb (that would have consumed their inheritance). After decades of squabbling, the family and Michelangelo came to agreement on something less grand, but still magnificent – a tomb in St. Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains), a smaller church where Pope Julius had served prior to his papacy.

Conclusion

President Scot concluded the meeting at 1:30pm with the timely admonition to be good Rotarians!

Next Meeting

Our next meeting is on Monday, Jan. 31 and will feature Bill Herenda, head of Positive Coaching Alliance.