Written by Patrick Hart

 

Ian Riseley- President of Rotary International 

Donald Brewer - Governor of District 6440 

 

Tucker Olson opened the meeting with a prayer, but our song meister was absent, and we had to plunge into our weekly business without the benefit of a happy tune to lift our spirits.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

On the Eve of Pearl Harbor Day our president took a moment to remember our former member, Ralph Laedtke, who was at the scene of the attack on December 7, 1941 , and who at 97 years of age is now living in Seattle.

 

There will be a board meeting next Tuesday, December 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Mickey Finns.  Our District Governor, Donald Brewer, will be at the board meeting and will also be our speaker next Wednesday morning.

 

Our bell ringing for the Salvation Army last Saturday was a huge success, and a couple of gold coins were dropped into buckets we were manning.

Doug Fendon updated us on the membership contest, which he now plans to put a serious effort into organizing.  Reassignments will take place between teams, and captains will be appointed for teams who failed to choose a leader on their own.

 

Tom Miller reminds us that Feed My Starving Children will be holding a packing event at his business on December 16 and 17, and he needs volunteers to help manage the event.  If you can put in a few hours for this worthy cause contact Tom.

 

Our winter fund-raiser is scheduled for February 23, 2018, and we need donations of raffle items.  

 

Diana Taylor reminded us that next week we will hold our election of club officers for the upcoming year. 

 

Elliott Pinsel thanked everyone for their contributions to his holiday gift program, which will be donating between 530 and 550 gifts this year.  Elliott also mentioned that he had a great time ringing bells with Rick Mittelman on Saturday.

 

Rick Mittelman bragged about the great job his wife did in making preparations for our holiday party on November 29.

 

Tony Collins’ wife entered a turkey trot and won for her age group.

 

Bill Rickert reminded us that the Badgers had a great season this year and are going to the Orange Bowl.

 

David Potts has returned from a majestic river cruise in Europe which included passing through Switzerland.  

 

Carol August is happy about the great experience she has had in Rotary.

 

Ron Lapin has just completed a month vacation in Marco which included a celebration of his fourth anniversary.  His wife was injured in an accident on the trip, but this gave Ron an opportunity to brush up on his care giving skills.

 

Tom Zengeler bragged that he had collected 5,200 coats for veterans this year. 

 

Scott Hezner modeled Fun and Frolics this week after an old TV game show called the Dating Game in which each table had to answer a question and then see if the panel of judges agreed with their answer.  It sounded kind of like trivia to me, but that seems hard to believe after Scott, when he was Sergeant at Arms, led such a brutal campaign to stomp out trivia.
 
PROGRAM: 

Our program today was put on by members of the Lake County electricians union, Local 150 IBEW.  The speakers were Brian Sorenson, Steve Smart and Matt McNeill, and they told us  about what is required to become an electrician.

 

A union electrician must undergo a five year apprenticeship program, where they spend 90% of their time obtaining on the job experience, plus taking classes and fulfilling mandatory community service hours.  Electricians are also required to take continuing education throughout their careers, which is necessary to keep up with technical development in the field, such as the growing use of solar power and other forms of green energy.

 

An applicant for an apprenticeship must be at least 18 years of age, hold a high school diploma or a GED equivalency, and must have completed at least one year of high school algebra or one semester of college algebra. Apprenticeship candidates also need to pass a physical examination, and all members of the union are required to go through drug testing.  The trainers also emphasize that they are looking for candidates interested in a career as an electrician and not just a job.  Once a person completes the Lake County apprenticeship program, they are qualified to work as an electrician in any state in the country.   

 

Electricians earn a high wage and have the satisfaction of performing an essential task for society.  Disadvantages they face include only receiving pay for when they work (there are no paid holidays or sick days for union members), having to perform their services in unpleasant weather conditions, and having to put up with long commutes, when they are hired for remote job sites.

RAFFLE: 
Our progressive pot was up to $970.00 this week with only 18 cards left, and unable to resist temptation a wide eyed Dave Ritland went for the big money.  Unfortunately, he drew the Jack of Spades, and we have another rollover.  Bill Rickert then won the more modest $33.00 weekly prize, which will hopefully be enough to buy him a hot dog at the Orange Bowl.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:
“The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all.”       Gilbert K. Chesterton