President Robert Olmstead III started the meeting at 12:00. He welcomed everyone to the best damn Rotary Club in Arden Arcade. He noted that this was his 27th meeting. He then asked our neweestclub member, Lisa Keller, to start the meeting with the pledge of allegiance. Michael Caplan entered the room at just the right time to be asked to provide words of encouragement for the day.
The Prez noted that there is an increase in the duplication of first names. We now have two Als, Lisas, Michaels and Toms. From now on, new club members will need to have the same first name as an existing member… or an existing member will have to be willing to change their first name.
Secret Word
The Prez quickly asked, and Tom Goode was lightning fast on raising his hand, and was selected to answer the question “What is the secret word?” Tom knew that Idaho is not only a state but also a secret word. For this he received a sleeve of Edward Jones golf balls. Tom represents Morgan Stanleyand said he would be happy to use the balls, especially near water traps.
Introduction of Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Al Cady introduced Al Frumkin for the very last time as a visiting Rotarian. Al Frumkin is an Attorney at Law/Teacher. He will be inducted later in the meeting.
Tom Goode introduced two guests: Tom King, son of Paul King. Tom King has submitted a membership application. Eddie Morlet also has attended many meetings and has participated in the poker tournament.
Tom Goode
Tom King
Eddie Morlet
Announcements and Other Fun Stuff
Dictionary Delivery Update
Bill Hambrick reported that the dictionary deliveries (secret word is deliveries) will take place on:
The Prez reported that we have one more work day on the tortoise enclosure on February 17th at 9:00. Only a few workers will be needed. Once the project is complete there will be a ribbon cutting party with the Carmichael Rotary Club.
Poker Tournament
Richard Goore reported we still need sponsorships as well as players. Please talk to your friends, family, neighbors, enemies as this is our biggest event of the year and we need a good turnout. This is an all-hands-on deck premier fundraiser event. Please make sure all sponsors sign up their players as soon as possible. A big thank you to Al Frumkin and Lisa Keller who signed up as sponsors today. Please go to the website to register your players and claim your sponsorships: AllinForArdenArcade.com
Charter Night
Matt Ross reported that Charter Night will be held on Friday, February 24th at the Del Paso Country Club. District Attorney, Thien Ho will be our guest speaker for the evening. The event starts at 6:00 pm with a no host bar and, thanks to John Gabriel, the lively sounds of jazz will be performed by the Rio Jazz Band. The dinner will follow at 7:00 pm. A sign in sheet was passed around and we have 29 signed up so far. We need a good showing so please plan on attending. Rotarian’s meals are free, so long as you are a member in good standing, guests’ meals
are $50 and should be paid for in advance, if possible. Awards will be given in early in the evening this year to allow time for the guest speaker to arrive.
Off-site Lunch, CA State Library
The Prez has locked in our next off-site lunch at the State Library for April 11. The exact time and duration of the lunch has not been finalized. A sign up sheet will be passed around towards the end of this month. You will not want to miss this opportunity to see the rare documents that few people ever get to see. Lunch will be provided in library cafeteria. Guests are welcome to attend.
Scholarship Lunch
John Gabriel reported we will be returning to Dell Paso Country Club for the Scholarship Lunch this year. It will be held on May Tuesday, May 9th. The hat will be passed in early April and weekly thereafter to help defray the cost of the lunches for about 35 guests; students, parents and educators.
Bell Ringers
Happy Bucks
Sad Bucks
John Gabriel rang the bell in honor of his turning 78 on Friday, February 3rd. He also is celebrating his 53rd anniversary so when you add the two together you get $131 bell ringer. John noted that after dealing with health issues for the past year these milestones mean a lot more.
Christine Jensen announced she was a proxy Bell Ringer for Jenny Davini who wanted to ring the bell twice.
First, for peace and thankfulness for her granddaughter’s successful surgery. She is recovering so quickly that she came home after four days from open heart surgery.
Second, for the support and love Rotary has shown her during this process. Jenny hopes to be back as soon as she can feel it is safe to come out of quarantine.
Matt Ross rang the bell in honor of his officially retiring from the state.
Richard Goore was absent from last week’s meeting because he was having a great time skiing in Steamboat Springs and offered up $10 Happy Bucks to prove it.
Tom Goode had happy bucks for his daughter turning eight months old. He also announced that he and his wife went on a quest to find the perfect organic baby formula the was not only great for the little one but also passed the taste test. He is now offering up all of the baby tested and failed formula that did not quite make the cut. If you, your child or grandchild needs formula let Tom know.
Al Frumkin had $7 happy bucks for the time he spent with Steve Turner in Disneyland. The two of them wanted to make sure they experienced Splash Mountain at least one more time before it closed. They had a great time together. Oh, and while they were there, they claimed to be checking it out as a potential Rotary conference site. This will be a conference for the whole family. It will be very innovative and Steve is going to be an outstanding District Governor.
Al Frumkin Induction Ceremony
The Prez then turned the meeting over to George Prather to induct new member Al Frumkin. George was not able to do his normal induction as it usually focuses on introducing the new member to Rotary. In all these years, George has never installed a Past President of a Rotary Club, let alone a Past District Governor. There is little if anything George could say to educate Al on what it means to be a Rotarian.
George Prather and
Al Frumkin
Al Frumkin
Lisa Keller pinning Al
Al grew up in the East Bay Area. He recently moved to our area. We are honored that out of all of the clubs in the area, he chose to join ours. Al received his Batchelor’s degree in political science from U.C. Berkely in 1965. His senior year was the Free Speech movement. Al has lifetime teaching credentials from Sac State Hayward. He obtained a second major in speech and drama. He obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from San Francisco Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1972. He also was a teacher administrator in the San Lorenzo School District from 1967 to 1975. His Rotary experience includes Past President of the Rotary Club of San Ramone, District Governor of District 5160, Zone Institute Chair in 1998, GETS Chair and instructor in 1999, NATS Chair and instructor in 2000, representative to Rotary International 20 times (including two districts in India), Zone 23 Rotary Foundation Coordinator 2001 to 2023. He has been a presenter and speaker at all levels, Club, District, Zone and International. He was awarded the Citation of Meritorious Service in 2000. He has been named as the Most Distinguished Past District Governor in Zone 23 in 2001 and 2002. He received the Distinguished Service Award in 2007/8. He has received special recognition from the Rotary Foundation for raising over 19 million dollars for the foundation. In 2003/4 Al served as the Chairman of the Constitutional and Bylaws Committee for Rotary International for the Council on Legislation in 2004. In 2009 through 2014 Al served as Zone 25 Polio Plus Challenge Zone Coordinator. 2012/14 Zone Coordinator and Administration and Protocol. Al has twice served as the discussion leader at the annual training of the Governors in Anaheim. Al is a Paul Harris Fellow, bequest participant and major donor. Do you think there is anything that George can tell him about Rotary?
Lisa Keller pinned a special pin on Al as part of the ceremony. The pin was given to him in 2001/02 when Richard D. King was World President. Al was part of his five-person cabinet.
Al Frumkin noted that he and Lisa are very happy to be part of this club. It is a traditional, strong, Rotary Club. "Thank you for welcoming us." The Prez noted that it is our club that feels honored to have him join. He looks forward to learning from Al. We are excited and welcome aboard.
Guest Speaker, Kelly Brothers
Kelly thanked the club for inviting him to speak and shared the reason he got out of TV…high definition! He still does KCRA and KFBK about every day. It is a lot of fun staying up on current affairs. He gets a lot of feedback on his segments because you can’t say anything without it being seen as politically motivated. He enjoys improving the financial literacy of the masses. They pay closer attention when the markets are moving downward.
Retirement once was handled by pensions earned from employers and the government. Now, the trend is to place that burden on the employee. Fifty years ago, a person retired with a pension at 65. Social Security was fully funded, Medicare was fully funded. You took three cruises and died at 72. Those days are gone. People are now retiring with up to 35 years of retirement ahead of them. We are now concerned with the viability of Social Security and Medicare. Pensions are going away and may go away in the government sector too. The responsibility for retirement planning is falling on the individual.
Last year was an ugly, ugly year. The government can’t print trillions of dollars and not creat an inflated economy. One would expect the dollar to lose value but it didn’t because the rest of the world did the same or worse and the dollar gained in strength. Last year the domestic stock market as well as the bond market were down. It was the bond market that really hurt. The stock market normally goes through corrections every seven to eight years. However, the bond market was the worst year since the Civil War. This is because the Fed held down interest rates artificially. So far, this year is turning out to be better. We presently are experiencing good job growth with the lowest unemployment in fifty years. That does not sound like a recession, so the Fed still has room to maneuver.
Unfortunately, many people are leaving our state for economic reasons. These are great business and philanthropic people. There are many states cutting their tax rates as an incentive to entice people to move to their state. These states are getting the cream of the crop. It is becoming more difficult mapping out the financial futures for clients that are leaving our state.
Two years ago, our funds were up 10%. Last year they were down 15%. This year they increased 5%. This means that there has been zero growth over the last two years. Kelly thinks that all things considered that is not a bad outcome and that we are in the right place with our investments. Cash management is back on the table and money can be made. We have a combined fund value of approximately $750,000. He appreciates working with our club and looks forward to continue serving the it.
It was at this point he opened the floor to questions… none of which are being reported here as the bulletin is too long already.
The Prez thanked Kelly Brothers for the informative presentation.
Next Week
Next Week
The guest speaker will be Rene Jacques to speak to us about the mortgage industry in California and locally.
Champaign will be provided by Christine Jensen in honor of Valentine’s Day and because she is a sweetheart.
President Robert Olmstead III thanked everyone for coming and rang the club bell closing the meeting at 1:05 p.m.
Respectfully (more or less) submitted by,
Mike Grace
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