President Christine Jensen rang the bell and welcomed club members and guests to the small, but mighty, Rotary Club of Arden Arcade. She thanked everyone for coming.
Pledge:
Patrick O'Neil
The Prez asked Patrick O'Neil to lead the pledge to our flag.
The Prez then led the club in reciting the 4-Way Test:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
She then asked Al Frumkin to provide the invocation. He asked everyone to be seated and then read a thought-provoking invocation on "What will matter?"
Invocation:
Al Frumkin
... and Guests!
Joelle Fondale - Guest of Roy Vogel
Roy Vogel was asked to introduce his lovely daughter. Always willing and eager to please the Prez., so, Roy said "this is his lovely daughter Joelle." This is Joelle's second, possibly her third, visit and she is seriously considering joining the club.
Al Frumkin questioned, out loud, "As lovely as she is, who is her real father?" This was not well received by the club, as the family resemblance spoke for itself.
Emmette Swarat - Guest of DG Steve Turner
Bruce Stimson introduced Emmette as a returning guest, who is also interested in joining the club.
Patrick O'Neil - Bell Ringer
Patrick noted that this is his first lunch meeting since the poker tournament. He had a wonderful time, and it took him this long to sober up and get over his hangover. Joe Green served a wonderful BBQ dinner. He had a wonderful meal with a lovely couple. They noticed his past president pin, and it was the third time he had to introduce himself to Al Frumkin. He looks forward to the next tournament.
Bob Mutchler- Bell Ringer
Bob "This is getting expensive!" Mutchler, announced that today is Patti and his 34th wedding anniversary. Patti said it seems like only 70 years... or that might have been uttered by Al Frumkin on her behalf.
Chris Lewis - Bell Ringer
Chris evidently lost a bet. He was not forthcoming on the details of the bet. Evidently the club benefited from Chris' lack of discernment. Way to go Chris, keep up the good work!
Roy Vogel - Bell Ringer
Roy was very happy to ring the bell in honor of his daughter, Joelle's daughter, (Roy's granddaughter) announced on Easter that she is pregnant. This is Roy and Linda's great grandchild #2. Happy Easter Roy, Linda and Joelle.
New Interact Club?
DG Steve introduced Evan
Gonzales, President of the
Rio Americano High
New Interact Club at School
Evan was asked to fill the club in on what the Interact Club is doing. Evan reported that they are in the process of conducting a fundraiser for playground equipment for Starr King Elementary School, a lower income school. So far, they have raised $750 via a go-fund-me account. When asked about a goal, Evan said they would like to get $1,000. It wasn't clear if that was additional or total. Matt offered up $125 donation, providing there was at least one other matching donation. Matt did not get a matching donation... he got 6 matching donations from Al F., Steve T., Christine J., Rob O., Patrick O., Bruce S., and a $50 donation from Marisol C, for a total of $1,050. (My apologies if I missed a name.) Not bad for an hours work. I think he will be a shoe-in for Interact President next year too.
He was asked about his club and said they have about 30 member, mainly Freshmen, but some Sophomores and Juniors. They meet once every two week and it is really great. When the Interact members graduate they get to wear special Rotary Interact cords.
Al Cady - Happy Bucks
Al was pleased-as-spiked-punch to announce that he had his yearly physical. Now, as part of the examination, because of his advancing decrepitude, they administer a memory test... and he passed it... it took three tries, but he did finally remember his name... so, he is good to go for another year. Now you know the real reason for name badges.
Big Al Frumkin - Happy Bucks
Big Al flew into Las Vegas yesterday at 6:00 AM and flew back home last night at 1:30 AM (and boy, are his arms tired)... He had two meals with the first president of San Ramon Rotary club, Kurt Cooper. Al was the second President; the 3rd President Joe Geralda, was also there. They have been friends for over 40 years. Where else but Rotary can you develop a 40 year plus friendship? (Jail?) "We had a great time. We ate a lot, drank a lot and boy... do I need a nap."
Debbie Hudson - Happy Bucks
Debbie had previously shared that she had taken her 12 year old grandson to help Foothill Highlands Rotary club to help build a bocci ball court. Yesterday we went to their club meeting and they awarded him a Paul Harris Fellowship Pin and a certificate for service above Self for helping. He knew all about Paul Harris and was excited to have received the pin.
Jenny Davini - Happy Bucks
Jenny is happy because taxes are over, her son is visiting for the week, they had a successful bridal shower for her daughter, and she was able to hold her granddaughter many, many times.. . "I'm very happy!"
President Christine Jensen - Happy Bucks
Christine was happy to remind the club that she was the big winner of the spirits barrel raffle at the Poker Tournament. Emmet Swarat, and his beautiful bride to be, wanted to purchase the entire thing from her . They reevaluated their wedding expenses and opted to make a cash donation to the club for the six bottles of spirits only, leaving Christine with the beautiful barrel.
President Jensen
Firefighter's Burn Institute
Sarah Valentine
Sarah is a new member of the Firefighter's Burn Institute Team. She shared that the proceeds from their fundraisers go to the Kid's Camp, Adult Retreat, and medical updates at the U C Davis Burn Institute as well as scholarships to attend educational classes. They just finished their cornhole tournament. This week they are conducting their Adult Retreat for burn survivors 18 years of age and up. It is a great opportunity for them to be with a group of peers and not feel like they are being looked at for being different.
Prez Jensen presented the ceremonial check for $10,000 for their participation in the Rotary Poker Tournament.
Rob Olmstead reminded everyone that they are required to attend at least one of the fireside chats. Linda Bigler hosted the meeting on Thursday, April 24, and Rob and his lovely wife, Vanessa, are hosting the last option Fireside Chat on Wednesday, April 30th. They all start at 6:00 PM and all will have alcohol and finger food.
Demotion Information
The demotion has been changed from June 14th to June 7th. Please change it on your calendar. More information to follow. Because of the change in date to the 7th, we will be dark on June 3rd. Please put that on your calendar too.
Dr. Dave Ferrera
Busy
He Won Wine
Al Frumkin requested that all future Secret Words should be printed in RED.
The Secret Word is red.
Rotary Youth Exchange Update
Bruce Stimson thanked the four individuals that signed up to be the inbound and outbound counselors for this year's exchange students.
Keira Matthews is raising funds to help with her trip expenses. She is selling pastries and Joe Green purchased some for Easter and they were very good. Contact Joe Green for the particulars. She also has a go fund me page: www.gofundme.com › f › support-keira-matthews-rotaryPlease consider supporting her efforts. Each student needs to provide $6,500 to help pay for their expenses. This pays for their flight, visa, medical insurance, jackets, pins, business cards, everything else they need to go on the exchange. Rotary does not make money on the students. In fact, they support them with additional funds from Rotary.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awakening (RYLA)
Bruce and friends are going to be conducting the RYLA interviews this Friday at Aspire.
Macy's Grant Opportunity
Rolundia reported that person they worked with on the coats grant with Macy's was so impressed with her and our club that she called her, rather than other names on a list given to them, to see if we wanted to work with them again on providing clothing for kids in the amount of $1,500. Rolundia confirmed our interest, and they have pre-approved our participation. All Rolundia needs to do is fill out the application... which she did We will be taking ten children, chosen by Paco at Dwyer Kelly Elementary School, to go shopping for cloths at Macy's.
AED Ribbon Cutting at How Park
The Ribbon cutting was a great success as covered in the last news letter.
We are going have the Sacramento Dance Theater on May 27th.
We will be DARK on June 3rd; and on June 10th we will be celebrating
the last Off-site, and the Prez's last, lunch of the year.
Please consider helping with our Rotary booth at this year's Unity Fair at Howe Park Supervisor Rich Desmond is sponsoring this fair to help celebrate and incorporate the different ethnic populations we have in Arden Arcade, in particular the recent influx of Afghanis to our community. We want everyone to feel welcome and help everyone integrate into our society. There will be music, food, henna art and other fun activities.
Capital Community Athletics
The Capital Community Athletics group will be this year's main beneficiaries of our club's community grant. More to follow. The award will be made at a meeting in a couple of weeks.
INDUCTION TIME
District Governor
Steve Turner
Ryan Driffill
Project Manager
Dan Martin
Property Manager
District Governor, Steve Turner, is getting good at inducting members... We have been keeping him busy and making sure he uses up all of his special Governor pins before his term ends, and they expire.
District Governor Steve Turner called Ryan Driffill and Dan Martin up to be inducted. He noted that Rotary members love being around people that are enthusiastic about the work we do, the fun we do helping the community. Whether you are being a leader in the club or a team member, There is a place for everyone. We share our time and talents and treasure, community work, social functions club and district activities. We do want to get to know you guys. We are going to quiz both of you to get to know who you are.
DG Steve: Ryan, give us three adjectives that describes yourself?
Ryan: Fast, passionate and outgoing.
Note: Ryan went down to L.A. with three other Rotarians. When they were asked for an additional adjective to describe Ryan, "talkative, very, very talkative." was the emphatic response from Rolundia.
DG Steve: How did you meet your wonderful bride, Kathleen?
Dan: We met in Butte College and it took three classes before they started dating while taking statistics, what are the odds?
DG Steve: What does Kathleen do?
Dan: She works in the geospatial science room. For many years she worked in archeology and has some great stories about going all over the world mapping out historical artifacts. She has recently transitioned into state service with the Department of Conservation. Steve noted that we have some artifacts in this room at the moment.
DG Steve: What book are you currently reading?
Dan: Leaders Eat Last, by Simon Sinek. Earlier this year he read Nexus. It is about artificial intelligence and information reports. Both are very good books.
DG Steve: Ryan, what are you passionate about?
Ryan: Everything. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Work, relationships, helping the community. He serves on another non-profit organization with Chris Lewis, Delta Waterfowl, the oldest waterfowl conservation organization in North America. I am the chairman of the local Sacramento chapter. We have a big annual banquet fund raiser on November 8th at the Mac Powell event center across from Home Depot and and next to the Realtor Association on Howe Avenue. We are looking to add a spring event to our fundraising.
DG Steve: Dan, please tell us about your vocation.
Dan: I'm excited about property management and real estate. It is something I have done for the last 20 years. Now that I am not moving around anymore, I am happy to help others do the same. I am also a landscape design architect. It is one of the careers in my collection.
DG Steve: Ryan, what do you do for a living?
Ryan: I am a project manager for a local landscape company and help with sales when needed. I hope to start my own landscape construction company.
DG Steve: Ryan, Tell us about an accomplishment you are proud of.
Ryan: Overcoming some hurdles in my life and being where I am today.
DG Steve: Dan, what does a typical weekend look like for you?
Dan: I am working on a house remodel with his dad. We are making good memories and watching StarTrec at night. We are being completionists! Sundays I hang out with my wife going hiking, gardening, or cooking.
DG Steve: Ryan, tell us about a practical joke you are particularly proud of.
Ryan: I purchased an item from Amazon that emits a different sound at random intervals and I hid it in my manager's office. This one had a cat meowing. I also purchased a small stuffed cat toy to hide with it. My manager was freaking out and finally found the cat. He though that solved the problem. A few minutes later he realized he did not have it solved. His office was in shambles. That prank moved its way up to the owner's office. The owners had a similar experience.
DG Steve: Dan, what did you do to get grounded as a teenager?
Dan: One thing that you do not know about me is that my first career was as a classical ballet dancer. I started when I was 8 and was dancing and performing all over the place. One time in my teens, I made a costume adjustment during a dance. I, and the other male dancers, decided to remove our shirts during a dance, without informing the other dancers or the dance director. We thought it was really funny. There was excitement when they went back stage... but not of the good kind. They all were in big trouble and he got grounded.
DG Steve: You were in Rotary in Redlands. Tell us about what Rotary is to you based upon that experience.
Dan: Being new in Rotary, not knowing what to expect. This was just before the pandemic and my mother had just passed away. I went to an event at a brewery and met an estate lawyer who was the guest speaker and talked through everything I needed to know, and gave us a pamphlet. I learned that this is something everybody experiences and it helped me greatly. It is a good example of the vibe I associate with Rotary, fun, good times and very helpful.
DG Steve: Ryan, the future and vision of Rotary comes from people like you. What would you like to do in the next few years in Rotary?
Ryan: I would like to start small like I did in Delta Waterfowl Association, and get to know people and the organization, then figure out what I can do to help out the most.
DG Steve then went into the induction speech, about Service Above Self, Red Coats (not the British) and red badges, rolling up sleeves etc. Thankfully, he left out Heidi Fleiss this time... may that joke rest in peace. He introduced them to drill-sergeant at arms, Al Cady and placed them under his tutelage. He pronounced them inducted, and so they were. He then gave them their red badges, District Governor Rotary pins, and Rotary paperwork. Upon completion of the ceremony he asked all the club members to come forward to welcome the new members by shaking their hands... which everyone did. Congratulations and welcome, Dan and Ryan.
Christine was reminded that the new members are always given a chance to say something about themselves. She agreed and called Dan Martin up to say a few words.
Dan likes to lead with the fun fact that he was once a ballet dancer. It is a pretty good icebreaker. He has done quite a few things over the years that brought him a good amount of travel. He has lived in 15 places. The west coast, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. When he first drove in to Pennsylvania he saw an endless number of corvettes leaving the state. He soon found out that the largest congregation of corvettes happens in that state, similar to the monarch butterflies in Monterey, California, but with a lot more noise. He likes to travel and fish. He likes a broad number of things because he is curious. Coming back to California is wonderful with the diverse ecology of the area. This is the first time in years that he and his wife have not felt like they are on their way to another place to live soon. He is excited to learn more about the club and looks forward to getting to know everyone. "hank you all for the warm welcome."
Ryan felt the need to share with the club a poem he pinned just for the occasion and as an act of retribution to the person that attempted to eliminate him from the poker competition during the tournament, even enlisting his minions to help in said cause...
I wanted to join Rotary, I knew I would.
I had to try Point West, but the eggs were no good.
I wanted to join Arden Arcade, after all, it is my hood.
Arden Arcade Rotary, I would like to join, if I could.
Cause you're all amazing, of course, except for Tom Goode!
The Prez noted that the meeting was fun, if not a little unusual. We are all excited at the number of new, youngish members, and the future of the club looks great. With that, she closed the official portion of the meeting at 12:57 PM.
Respectfully (more or less) submitted by,
Mike Grace
Reporter, Photographer and Editor
Hellen Weight
Ombudsman and Content Supervisor
DISCLAIMER - Some of the information provided in some of the articles, and possibly included in some of the "quotes" from club members, may have been a fabrication of a demented mind. It is up to you to determine fact from fiction. Individuals objecting to all or any part herein, are encouraged to go to Hellen Weight to lodge a formal complaint.
Club Information
Service Above Self
Tuesdays at 12:00 PM
Piatti
571 Pavilions Lane
Arden-Arcade, CA 95825 United States of America
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