Weekly eBulletin - Sept 11, 2013

Meals on Wheels:  Chantel King and Herb Masi. Next week on the 18th, the deliver duties go to our president's husband, "First Dude" Jeff Weigel and yours truly -- Scott Fellows

Family of Rotary – District Gov. Doug Baker called the other day and thanked our club for all the words of encouragement; words found in the card all of us signed at last week's meeting. His lovely wife, Connie has been diagnosed with lung cancer and is bravely fighting through to full recovery. 

Announcements
28th Annual Redondo Beach Reserve Police Officers Awards Banquet -- Wednesday, September 25th at the Portofino Hotel. 6:00pm  
There are some tickets available. Check at the desk for the sign-up sheet, and simply write a check for $50 to support this worthy event. One I've attended many times before. This is an entertaining and inspiring evening. Great food and camaraderie as well!   

Satisfaction Questionnaire and Pledge Form -- Still a chance to fill out this important form as the results show just what members want to do with their volunteer time and their commitment to help fund our club's ongoing community services. Agent Jean Scully has more forms, if needed. And there are two (2) upcoming opportunities. Stay tuned for updates.

District Picnic at Seaside Lagoon -- Sunday, October 6th from 11am to 4pm. There is no charge for Rotarians to attend this annual event, and what a great time it is! Paul Hayashi and his son are designing and building our cardboard boat at Jim Chen's auto repair shop, Independent Repair; located just east of the corner of Inglewood Ave and Artesia in North Redondo Beach. The dates to help are: Saturday Sept. 21st and 28th from 8:00am to 4:00pm. I've also heard that there may be some adult "foamy" liquids to partake in. Water and soda pop, too. Notice: Proper hydration is both healthy and necessary. Especially as we get older. 

Activities at District Picnic -- This year we are saluting America's veterans and showing our appreciation for those of us who have served. And all clubs are bringing BBQ type foods, hot dogs, burgers, salads, etc. Colette and Bill Paul are bringing stuff to make delicious ice cream sundaes, other club's are bringing lawn games, and other fun stuff; and we can all go swimming, too. This assumes that one is willing to be seen by other Rotarians with less than formal Sunday attire. But I digress.

Our 'Paddlers" in the Cardboard Boat Race will be President Karen and Laura "Mrs." Field's.  

President Karen asked every table at lunch today to come up with a name for the boat, and every table did just that: In no particular order they were -- SOS (Service Over Self), Dingbat Dinghy, Maiden Voyage, Fiji Flyer, Racy Racers. And the winner is: "Redondo Cougars!" 

While standing in the buffet line, Yours Truly overheard newly elected mayor, Steve Aspel, come up with another name, which unfortunately (but not surprisingly) was not included in the voting. After downing a coupla cocktails, you might want to ask him what it was. I'm sure he will oblige your humble request.

There will also be a Chili Cook-off, and yours truly has been asked to represent our club in this event. This contest is highly anticipated, and the chili masters take great pride in making the best chili they are capable of. I am no exception. Now where did I put that out-dated industrial sized can of really tasty chili I bought at Costco? 

Washington Elementary, -- Title 1 School -- Vision to Learn -- October 10th @ 8:00am
Beach Cities Health District has donated $2,500 and our club is more than matching it with a donation of $3,500. Some 600 students from this school will be tested for any vision problems and nurses from all our local elementary schools, along with club members, will conduct this Initial Vision Screening, and students who do not pass this eye chart test will be referred to a complete Vision To Learn full eye exam.  This will be scheduled when all parent consent forms have been returned, which is expected by the above noted date. Rotarians will escort all students to mobile vision testing centers. The children select their frames and within 3 weeks we return and put the glasses on these students. Now talk about community service?! What an opportunity this is! We need volunteers for this project!

4th Annual Rat Ride -- Seaside Lagoon, Saturday, September 21st at 7:30am
This bike riding event coincides with the annual Lobster Fest and entrants are treated to a FREE Tee Shirt, FREE lunch, Rest Stop Refreshments, etc. There are 3 races for riders to consider: A 62 mile ride starts at 7:30am, a 31 mile ride starts at 9:00am and a 15 mile ride begins at 10:00am.  All races begin and end just outside the Lagoon parking lot on Harbor Drive. To register go to:www.ratbeachbiketour.com. I'll see you there! 

La Paz Trip -- Terry Bichlmeier is leaving LAX on Friday, Nov. 1, 10:00am and returns the following Monday at 5:17pm. Assuming he's helping with work related Rotary projects down Mexico way, I believe he will be fine free for the next Rotary luncheon. Could be wrong, though. If you have interest in going to La Paz please contact Terry Bichlmeier.

Rotary Foundation – PDG Rick Mendoza said that the tickets are selling very well. And remember, EVERY CLUB MEMBER must sell the 12 tickets given. Heck! That’s a deal! We are given 12 tickets, but only pay for 10. That means we get to keep $20. What a deal!

UCLA/USC Tailgate Luncheon -- Tuesday, November 26th at Torrance Doubletree Hotel. 11:00am Start time. 
This annual event is a joint meeting with the 4 Torrance Rotary clubs and the proceeds go towards the athletic departments of all 4 Torrance high schools and a recent addition: Redondo Union high school! Each club is required to sell the number of tickets in their membership, which means we must sell 60 tickets. And from past experiences, this is a very fun and worthwhile event; and upwards of 350 are expected to attend. This year's speakers are J. K. McKay from USC and Kevin Jordan from UCLA. I'm personally working on getting UCLA Alumnus and Olympic Gold Medalist Rafer Johnson as a special guest. Keep your fingers crossed. 

26 Past Presidents in our Club -- November 7, 2014 our 90th Anniversary. Members are encouraged to sign up and tell your favorite Rotary moment. 

Speaker
Commander Michael Stark of the Redondo Beach Police Reserve Force. Mr. Stark is a Hostage Negotiator and head of the Reserve Police in Redondo Beach. For over 40 years Mr. Stark has served on this important law enforcement auxiliary and he tells a very compelling story of his years of service in our community. He has recently written a book entitled "Redondo Beach Police Department," and along with Retired Capt. John Skipper, he tells the story of our police department from its inception in 1892 (like, 121 years ago!) when Marshall Rogers was appointed as the city's first Marshal. He chronicles the story of this resort city from its beginnings to the present, complete with detailed pictures and anecdotes from past and present law enforcement officers. I bought an autographed copy and am referring to it as I write. Will finish it sometime soon.

As a Thank You for sharing your story, our Rotary club is donating a book, in your name, to the Redondo Beach Children’s Library.

Raffle Ticket – Paul Salmo won the raffle but no green marble.