Sep 8 2015 - Rotary Forum

By Dick Dannells

The opening bell was rung at 12:37 PM by Pres. Joel with the usual introduction of guests and he then put the first of two spotlights on Chuck Anders, who grew up on a farm in Iowa near Aplington, a town at that time of 800 and has hardly grown in 55 years since he left. He went to Iowa State where he got a degree in aeronautical engineering just after we landed on the moon. During the space race of the 60s a large number of students went into aeronautical engineering, so that when he graduated and got a job at the Iowa Department of Transportation, he felt lucky to use his engineering skills on the job. He progressed from Iowa, to Minnesota and to Arizona with jobs of increasing responsibility. He then went into the private sector as a consultant. His late wife was an executive so that at the time they enjoyed a very comfortable existence and suddenly she was gone. He reevaluated his life and decided friends and helping others was much more important than material possessions. He remarried Thea and decided to move to Arroyo Grande, where his wife operates Gentle Touch Pet Training and he continues consulting doing a lot of California transportation projects.

The second spotlight was on Lee Ann Liscombe, who was born in Woodside California and then moved to Santa Cruz on a large spread so that her fondest memories were horse riding. She went to Santa Barbara for college and continued her education at Cuesta College and then Cal Poly where she majored in business administration/accounting. She worked for a CPA company in 1985 and and then went into partnership in her own CPA firm. Although her husband has retired she continues her accounting practice. She has two sons who live in New York, which means that most of their travel is to see them. She and her husband plan to do a lot more traveling when she does retire.

Pres. Joel contributed $10 to the treasury in recognition of Cliff Nagler addressing him as Dr. Pres. Next Steve Curry’s less than stellar introduction of guests Rae Alee Breen cost him $20. Deenie Dotson’s bigmouth cost her $20. Michael and Ashley Boyer’s September 14, 2002 wedding anniversary resulted in a $25 spin-the-wheel fine. September 12 is the wedding anniversary of Sarah and Pres. Joel so he fined his wife

Pres. Joel showed a short video extolling the pleasures of Bakersfield during the Dist. Conference starting on Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4.  Jim Lewis reminded everyone that the first vocational visit of the year will be next Tuesday, September 15 at the new facilities of the Arroyo Grande Police Department. Michael Boyer reported that the combined barbecue with Grover Beach and the Echo club will be held at the Steve Curry Ranch will be held on September 22. Steve Curry announced that from 11 to 1 PM this Saturday, September 12, AmpSurf will be holding a barbecue at the Pismo Beach pier.

Dick began with a 10 minute PowerPoint presentation of him and his wife’s trip to sub-Saharan Africa.  He stated that the trip was organized by Outdoor Adventure Travel in cooperation with Wilderness Safaris that provided a unique Safari experience. The first part of the trip was four separate safaris; 2 in Botswana, 1 in Zambia and 1 in Zimbabwe. They not only viewed all of wildlife that the guides could find, but continually interacted with the local populations. All of the excellent meals included the guides and other staff. The guides emphasized the importance of conservation of the wildlife against poachers. They have adopted a shoot to kill and no questions asked policy if they see a poacher out in the bush. All of the rhinos had been moved into well protected game reserves. Although elephant population is still large, they have been declining at an alarming rate due to poaching for their ivory. He stated that a portion of money of each trip goes to their protection and that safaris are a very important source of the income for the local population. 

The second part of the trip included Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa.

“When we judge others by their worst faults, we judge ourselves by our best intentions.”