Weekly eBulletin - Sept 18, 2013
Written by Bill Paul
Photographs by Rick Mendoza
(REDONDO BEACH) September 18, 2013 Working on his blue badge, new member Jeff Weigel served as our Greeter today. Thanks Jeff, you are almost there. Then, President Karen announced, the “Paul duo” of Bill and Colette led us in the invocation and flag salute.
Nora MacClellan receives check from
President Karen Weigel for the
Vision-To-Learn project
MORE MEETING PHOTOS HERE
Guests: DeAnn Flores Chase of South Bay Business Lawyers and Marci her videographer.
Visiting Rotarian: Nora MacLellan, of the Westchester Rotary Club. She is also a Vision To Learn volunteer Outreach Coordinator
Meals on Wheels: Jeff Weigel and Scott Fellows. You’re almost there Jeff. Scott, what can we say? You always come through in a pinch. Thank you!
Announcements:September is New Generations Month. Our club is already active in this arena. We have stuffed backpacks for 40 families, our Teacher Mini-Grant program is underway, and we’ve launched the Reading Buddies pilot program. But that’s not all.
The Redondo Beach Rotary Club is collaborating with two other Rotary clubs, the Playa Venice Sunrise and the Westchester, to bring the Vision to Learn program to three schools. In addition, the Beach Cities Health District has popped for a $2,500 Micro-Enrichment Grant and our club is donating an additional $3,500 toward the project.
On October 10th we will launch the program at Washington Elementary, a Title 1 school with 600 students. Students that do not pass the eye chart test will be referred to Vision to Learn for a full eye exam. The screening will be scheduled when all parent consent forms have been returned. We will need 12 to 14 volunteers from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Again, that’s not all.
Terry Bichlmeier announced a three-day trip is scheduled to go to LaPaz, Mexico leaving LAX on Friday, November 1st at 10 a.m., returning Monday, November 4th at 5 p.m. Club members have traveled to LaPaz and worked on renovating an elementary school there. See Terry for more details.
Karen announced there is still time to complete the Club Satisfaction Questionnaire and Pledge Form. So if you haven’t done so yet, get with the program ASAP!
The District 5280 Picnic is scheduled for Sunday, October 6th at the Seaside Lagoon. Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is a family event: Scott Fellows was selected to represent our club in the Chili Cook-off, He promises victory! Colette and Bill Paul will host our ice cream sundae booth, and the team of Karen and Laura Fields will row our entrant in the Cardboard Boat Race. The club chose the name Redondo Beach Cougars for our boat. It was created by Paul Hayashi and his son, and painted by Colette, Bill, and Karen.Karen announced a savings account has been set up at Opus Bank for the John Parsons Scholarship Fund. A banker from Opus Bank came to the Bluewater Grill during our luncheon for Karen's signature. She said, “We already have $4,988 in the account. If you wish to donate make your checks out to the Redondo Beach Rotary Club.”
Jeff Melodia gave a hint about the upcoming Rookie Event, disclosing the activity might be held at the Yacht Club in the Redondo Beach Marina. Hey, that’s supposed to be a secret, but hey, the date will be November 16. Stay tuned more to come!
Karen reminded members about the upcoming UCLA/USC Tailgate Luncheon. This will be a joint meeting with the four Torrance Rotary Clubs at the Doubletree by Hilton on Hawthorne Blvd. Scheduled for Tuesday, November 26th at 12 noon this meeting will be in lieu of our regularly scheduled Wednesday luncheon. That means our club is responsible for 60 tickets at $30 a pop. Organizers anticipate 370 attendees.
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UCLA Big Bruin, Cheer master Scott Fellows, who
has come a long way, selling $10 pool tickets for
the upcoming USC/UCLA football game. |
1993-94 president of the North Redondo Beach Rotary Club, Wayne Bradshaw, recounts highlights of his year as president of the club. |
A couple of weeks ago, President Karen noted that we have 26 active past-presidents in the club. She asked all of them to schedule a few minutes to recount what they are most proud of during their year in office. Wayne Bradshaw, past-president 1993-94, volunteered to be first. “It was the highlight of my life,” he said. Truth be told (i.e. the 4-Way Test) Wayne was president of the North Redondo Beach Rotary Club that merged with the Redondo Beach Rotary Club in 1999. None-the-less, Wayne referred to the now, non-existent club as the “big club.” That said Wayne cited several club activities during his year of leadership. “We contributed to an orphanage and school district in Tijuana, Mexico. A Redondo Beach police officer was brutally murdered and the department came to us and asked if we could raise money for a new police dog. We did. Our member Nelson Zager came up with the money… We started the Ernie O’Dell Award through the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce. It was a great year and I’m most proud of having been president.” We are proud that you were our president too, Wayne. Thank you for your leadership!
“We see lots of start-ups,” she said, noting she has been to virtually every courthouse in southern California. She then launched into an informative discussion of the law and small businesses. She started with a discussion of sole proprietors and partnerships, “You don’t want to be a sole proprietor or general partner, but you do want to utilize a business entity as they offer creditor protection versus unlimited personal liability.” She discussed several types of businesses entities, including Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) and corporations. Regarding corporations, whether C Corp or S Corp, it is important to comply with corporate formalities. “Many small corporations don’t do that. If they don’t properly comply with corporate formalities such as meeting minutes, shareholder agreements and other corporate records, then the corporate entity can be disregarded by someone bringing a lawsuit.”
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| Luncheon speaker DeAnn Chase discussed small business and the law. | |
She also discussed the pitfalls of partnerships, and said that individuals in business together “must decide and put it in writing, the authority of each partner.” DeAnn offered a complimentary 30-minute consultation for anyone mentioning RB Rotary. DeAnn can be contacted at deann@sbblmb.com or 310-545-7700.
Joke Master: Our regular Joke Master Chantel King was not at today’s meeting so Jeff Weigel gave it a crack. He said something about how Fred, a Rotarian, got into trouble the next day when a neighbor discussed Fred’s sex-spiced craft talk to his wife. . However, Fred had told the missus “my topic was about sailing.” Ooops, so much for the 4-Way Test!
Raffle: The green marble is still safe.