Recap of Nov. 8 Meeting
The Club got a jump on Veteran’s Day at this week’s meeting, with one of the finest speeches that our esteemed membership has had the privilege of hearing (and we’ve enjoyed more than our share of good ones), in the personage of Medal of Honor author, Peter Collier.
Before being treated to Peter, we tended to our weekly Rotary chores, with Steve Huffman providing the thought of the day, acknowledgement of the usual cadre of guest of, visiting, and prospective Rotarians (Steve’s scion, Mark Huffman, ranking among them), and then Meeting Sponsor of the Day, Neil Paschall, spent his 300-and-3 (dollars-and-minutes) sharing a story of how his investment banking firm, the McLean Group, sold for $38 milskies a firm that the owner thought would fetch only 9 (nicely done, Neil – and smart to plead out the $300 and get some speaking time, rather than quietly donate it during the “contribution” portion of the meeting!).
The club was pleased to welcome back to its ranks Kim Rhinefelder, formerly of Sierra Adoption Services and now of the Eskaton Foundation, and then Past Pres Beverly (Hills 90210) presented Pastor Prez Scot with a flag from her recent trip to Rotary World Headquarters in Evanston, Ill. Beverly’s trip was caught on film, including a picture of the First Dude (hubby Hal Bartholomew) shaking hands with a bronze statue of Rotary founder, Paul Harris (for you newer members at the meeting, Hal was the stiff one in the picture).
On the announcement front, John Swentowsky (still flying high off of his pilgrimage to the Giants victory parade in S.F. last week) welcomes your help at Rotary’s Loaves & Fishes day on November 30th, and the lovely Leslie Botos is bringing the bloodmobile to the November 15th meeting for your easy bleeding pleasure. Past Pres Skip Lawrence (Welk) is rumored to be serving champagne that day (which beats the bejesus out of a donut), so come early to the meeting and give a pint as we try to erase last year’s heartbreaking, 2-pint loss to the Point West scoundrels.
After a few minutes of recognizing some sickly Rotarians (who were coughing up cash during the tithing period), President Scot introduced Chair of the Day, Thom Gilbert, who introduced Peter Collier.
Peter is the author of Medal of Honor (a tome about the incredible Americans who’ve won the Armed Services’ highest honor), and a master storyteller who kept the membership riveted from his first syllable until his last, before receiving a rare (and most deserved) standing ovation from the crowd.
Far too many details for this recap, Peter shared with us the history of the Medal, its significance (for example, it’s the only military medal worn around the neck, and its recipients are the only ones that the President of the U.S. is required to salute), and countless stories of some of its honorees, who performed unimaginable acts of courage (from the soldier who fell on a grenade to save his fellow troops, to the pilot who fought off 4 Japanese fighter planes so that a parachuting pilot from another plane could land safely, to the medic who lowered 77 injured troops off of a cliff by rope, in the midst of a gun battle with the Japanese).
As Peter poetically ended his speech, “We’re the land of the free, because we’re the home of the brave.” Say thank you to a Veteran this Thursday. JBW