Weekly Bulletin - November 14, 2012
Written by Bill Paul
Photos by Rick Mendoza
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No wonder Karina Garcia grew up a tomboy. She is the oldest of five siblings, three of whom are boys. We learned this about Karina during her craft talk at today’s luncheon. Turns out her family are from Bolivia but she grew up in nearby Hawthorne, attended Hawthorne High School and graduated from Cal State Long Beach. Karina spent 16 years in the hotel business; a couple of years marketing for a helicopter tour business in Los Angeles, and now is in the real estate business. Divorced with two children, a boy and a girl, she loves to read, does yoga and is an avid old movie fan. Since joining the club, she has taken on the New Generation chair and is involved with the Interact Club at Redondo Beach High School.
John Mirassou spoke about his second boating adventure
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On the recent 1,400-mile journey, “We wanted to see if we could find the same America spirit,” he said, referring to the generosity of strangers he and his friends encountered during the original voyage. “We did,” he said, “we found the same America. On this trip, we were taken in 50% of the time the same as 25 years ago. The American spirit is alive and well,” he declared. Unlike the first trip, however, on this time the adventurers had sponsors, among them Microsoft. Moreover, this journey was video streamed on the internet, a technology not available in the late 1980s. (Visit http://onlyinamerica-web.sharepoint.com/Pages/default.aspx or on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=6njqtahjBFAon). As a result of this trip and the publicity it received John told us, “I receive hundreds of email requesting me to speak all over the country about our experience.”
In other club business, President Nancy Campbell discussed the devastation of Hurricane Sandy and asked the club to assist with the relief effort. PDG Rick Mendoza took on the challenge of leading a club fundraising effort. Marna Smeltzer said the Chamber of Commerce would promote information about the club’s efforts. Contact Rick at 310-488-9349 or by email to rmendoza5280@cox.net.
President Nancy also announced that 17 Redondo Beach Rotarians attended the USC/UCLA Tailgate Party earlier that week. She recommended to President-elect Karen Weigel that the club become a co-sponsor of the vent next year.
Karen also announced the formation of six teams to generate donations for the upcoming Casino Night. It is the major fundraiser of the year for the club and is scheduled for March 16, 2013 at the Toyota Auto Museum. Six team leaders —Colette Paul, Terry Tamble, James Jackman, Nasrin Moghadasian, Bill Paul and State Scerra— selected nine club members each to serve on their committee. The teams will compete to raise sell tickets, raise funds, generate sponsorships and donations for the silent auction.
Meals on Wheels: Scott Fellows and Michael Jackson. Next week it will be Matt Killroy and Scotgt Fellows.
Visiting Rotarians: Beth Aldrich from Savannah, Georgia and Jim Charvin, a Rotarian looking for a new home club.
Visitors: Lisa Mundl and Dawn Bayer of the Molina Foundation joined us today, as did Alex Cuitra, a guest of Captain Marcello Goncalves of the Salvation Army.