IT HAPPENED THIS WEEK

Posted by Daniel Cavanaugh Jr. 
 

May 5, 2010

By Chris King

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! While some may be celebrating independence today, all that a room filled with Culver City Rotarians could consider

celebrating was the waning term of President Bill Gardner and the nearness of our freedom from his reign of terror.

Speaking of our infamous, flaccid-gaveled President, he came to the meeting neatly attired in a Democrat-blue suit and white shirt. Could Bill be pulling a Teddy Roosevelt and changing his political affiliation as his term nears its culmination? No one can be sure, but since yours truly is the Reciprocator writer for the next several weeks, believe me, the implications and the scandal will continue growing.

 

Counselor Bruce Jagger, ever the patriot, led us in the Pledge and Surf King Craig Ferre enlivened the room with his rendition of "It's a Grand Old Flag."

Guests today included Ann's guest, Jonathan. Jonathan was instrumental in helping to obtain donated supplies for Rotary's Kenya project. Our speaker, and fellow Pasadena Rotarian, Nat Reed also joined us.

Your humble author, who actually did know the Reciprocator's quiz from last week, duly noted Janet Chabola's comment that our Welcome Song (led by yours truly) includes the words "ere you stray," not "stay." Janet reminded us that she gives all of the "younger" members a copy of the Welcome Song when they join the club. This sparked dispute among our sensitive membership as to who qualifies as "younger" members. Janet quelled the debate defining younger members as those who "have it right" when it comes to the Welcome Song. Thank you for clarifying, Janet.

With no health updates to report, our meeting continued with announcements that included the following:

From Linda Black:

 District Conference on the 14th

 Governor's Black and White Linen Ball

 Hospitality Suite (or Sweet?) with International Desserts and Mudslides

 District Assembly on the 22nd

From Kathy Haworth:

 Our surly ship sails SHARPLY (you like that UCLA alliteration, don't you?) at 7pm on June 26th

 Be there at 6:30pm

 President Bill has not received an invitation, so it might actually be a fun event if he doesn't show

 Should President Bill come, he will be thrown overboard over a part of the ocean where there are numerous sharp-toothed salmon that will take revenge on him for all of the fish that he has murdered on the fishing trips

From Richard Marcus:

 Come see an amazing and truly moving display at the Veterans Cemetery at 950 S. Sepulveda

 The Boy Scouts will be placing 77,000 flags on graves at the cemetery that day

 There will be between two and three thousand Boy and Girl Scouts doing this marvelous work

 The grave sites of four unknown soldiers will be specially honored this year

 Come Saturday, May 29th at 7:30am

 As Richard nicely said regarding our support of the local Boy Scout Troop, "Come see what we've been supporting all these years."

From Craig Ferre:

 We've chosen two students for the Japan exchange trip! Christian Jaramillo, who is a Culver City High Interactor and also the son of Rotarians Brenda and Gerardo Jaramillo; and Kelly who is a member of the Cavaness family.

From Ann:

 May 15th is the Relay for Life. Come walk with us or donate to Ann! So far, Ann has raised $1600 in the fight against cancer. Great job, Ann. Thank you for being an inspiration!

From Alan Goldman:

 There is a Foundation Meeting after next week's regular meeting

From Tim Messmer:

 Some trivia that Craig Ferre knew the answer to because of his daughter's upcoming wedding: Why is the large boat in the Marina called the Zambroda? Answer, because it is the name of one of the circus elephants from the Ringling Brother's circus.

 If you're not into the names of boats or don't know anything about various circuses, then please join Tim in donating dictionaries on May 7th at 9am or on Monday the 10th. Contact Tim for more details

Since trivia seems to be the "thing," by the way, this Journalistic Juvenile poses this question to the club: who was the youngest author of the Reciprocator in club history? Hmmm. . .

A meeting would not be complete without fines. And just as President Bill has been impotent in his gavel retention, so too was he weak this week with his fines. After making one table fine free, although all but two Rotarians had both their badges and pins on this week, Bill levied a meager $15 fine on Craig Ferre for catching a Schnook Salmon on his soon-to-be son-in-law's boat.

Finally, the real meat of the meeting began and Tim introduced Nat Reed author of Don Benito Wilson-From Mountain Man to Mayor. This enigmatic speaker had quite the personal history himself from days as a cab driver in Chicago to time as a stand-up comedian, to time where he encountered most of our club's population when he worked as an undercover cop in Hollywood in the Vice Division. Good thing we've moved all of our illicit operations to Deano's Motel. Whew!

This author's speech was fascinating as he told the tale of a man who went from a Fur Trapper to the owner of Riverside. He even came to

be part owner of Culver City with the illustrious Machado family owning the other major ranchero in the area. Don Benito even has ties with Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, USC, and General Patton. To learn more about the most famous man never written about, check out Mr. Reed's book!

Cartwright sent us off with some humor, that was actually funny this time, and our President slammed a butter knife on our bell signaling the end to this Cinco de Mayo Meeting.

Rotary Moments

Announcements

Joe Lescoulie

Joe Lescoulie turns 98 on May 11th and he is still living at home although he now has some live-in help. He said that he has trouble walking but I could tell talking to him on the phone that he is still sharp as a tack. If you want to wish him a Happy Birthday his address is 10494 Culver Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232. Telephone is 310-838-6015.

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A Note from Carmela Raack

Club members have been very supportive in our Rotary Foundation giving this year. We will have another 6 or more Paul Harris Fellows given to spouses, grandchildren or others and the club is almost a 100% Paul Harris Fellow Club.

Most of the club has been generous in their support but there are still some Rotarians who have not contributed this year. President-Elect Linda Black has written several grants that will multiply our donations back to Culver City but we need the support of the club members to receive these grants.

To help encourage checks or billing, for every $100 donated a Rotarian will have a chance to win a $1,000 Paul Harris Fellow. The drawing will be at the club meeting on May 12th.

Following the two Paul Harris Fellows presented last week, donations were increased by $450! We are almost to our goal! Contact Linda or me with your contribution.

Thanks to all,

Carmela Raack

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The Book...

.. is at Deano's Motel located at 3868 Sepulveda Boulevard, Culver City, just south of Venice Boulevard. Please stop by and see how President Bill makes it all happen.

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Relay for Life

The American Cancer Society Relay for Life is just around the corner -- May 15, I believe. Last year I chaired the event for our club and participated in the Relay, representing our club. I will be honored to do it again this year and I ask for your sponsorship to support this fine organization. And I will welcome anyone who wants to walk as well -- last year we

had several members walking and we had a nice time. Chris King will be organizing the Interact and Rotoract clubs in this event and we hope to join them to form a great Relay Team!! I thank you in advance for your sponsorship and participation. I will be contacting you at our meetings, or, you can also email me with your pledge -- any amount will be most welcome.

My email address is annmiya@hotmail.com. Or you can also call me with a pledge 310-717-6641. THANK YOU TO ALL!!! Ann Murakami

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District 5280 eYellow Pages

Take advantage of posting your business information and searching for other businesses on the Rotary eYellow Pages. It's simple and free! Click on the Rotary eYellow Pages link on the District Web site or go to

www.yp5280.org .

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Make Ups....

Please email your make up information to Darlene Kiyan at darlenekiyan@ymcala.org.

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CALENDAR

May

May 13th - 16th - District Conference

May 19th - TBA

My 26th - Dr. Toni Galardi: The LifeQuake Phenomenon: How to Thrive (not just survive) in Times of Personal and Global Upheaval

June

June 26th - Demotion Party

Future Planning Dates

Board of Directors Meetings - Third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 at the Radisson Hotel

Culver City Interact Club Meetings - Thursdays, C.C. High School, Room 20 at 12:20

More Details and the District Calendar can be found at the following web pages: CCRC Calendar:

http://www.culvercityrotary.org/ District 5280 Calendar : http://www.rotary5280la.org/

Make-ups at Nearby Clubs:

Monday:

Beverly Hills, 12:15 pm, Beverly Hills Hotel

Tuesday:

Playa Sunrise, 7:15 am, Courtyard by Marriott-MDR

Inglewood, 12:10 pm, Hollywood Park Casino

WLA/Brentwood, 12:15 pm, Chez Mimi

Wednesday:

Malibu, 7:15 am, Pepperdine University

Century City, 12:00 pm, Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel

Latinos Unidos, 7:00 pm, Truxton's American Bistro 8611 Truxton Avenue, LA 90045

Thursday: