Jim's story for April 9 Bulletin

 

It was Monday, April 9, 2017, and President Mark Burton was back in the house, leaning on a cane and a few pounds lighter but clearly recovered from his surgery. Duly impressed by President Mark’s good health, Nelson Gray exhorted us to “use up’ our bodies and to go into that good night shouting “Woohoo, what a ride!” Wasting not and wanting not, Kathleen Terry invited us on her April 26 Hyperion Treatment Plant tour and reminded us to buy CMB tickets and collect auction items. Ed Kushins kept his hands off President Mark’s cane, but he collected everyone else’s crutches for Crutches 4 Africa and will be back in three weeks looking for more (he had his eye on Mike Doell’s post-surgical cane as well). Ed recognizes  real crutches when he sees them—namely our spouses and significant others--and so he has created a GoogleDoc significant other (SO) directory.

 

Manhattan Beach Police Chief Derrick Abell (“No call too small, we respond to them all”) joined us to present the Police Officer of the Year award to Detective Traci Navarrette. She has been with us 13 years, coming to us from the Sheriff’s Department. The Chief praised her and, while she claimed an inability to match his articulate ways, she proved very articulate in attributing her department’s success to a collaborative effort of its personnel and our community.  Lucky us to have them both. Standing O.

 

We inducted two new members:  Annie Hendrickson, sponsored by President Mark, and John Clough, sponsored by Jim Hallett (alas, yet another lawyer among us). Welcome, welcome, welcome!

 

Dennis Morehead introduced Nancy Tonner, the assistant director of the El Camino College Foundation. They handed out $800K in scholarships this year, and Dennis (our club scholarship chair) handed her another $5000 to go with it.

 

Dave Salzman visited us to tell us about the Friends of the Senior Center and Scout House, the reconstruction of which is currently seeking funding (the Board includes Steve DeBaets). Louie Tomaro is the architect. The Manhattan Beach Property Owners Association has already contributed $500K. The project has so far collected $1.34 million toward a needed $3.5 million. The Scout House serves 500 Cub and Boy Scouts and 1000 Girl Scouts. Dave shared an interesting bit of history:  the now worldwide Pinewood Derby races started right here in Manhattan Beach in 1953.

 

Kathleen Mary Margaret Murphy (“No, I’m not a nun”) (But she just might be Irish) presented her craft talk. She was born and raised in New Jersey, one of eight kids in an Irish-American neighborhood, under the watchful eye of a tough and organized mom, a Notre Dame alum dad, and siblings who kept each other in line. She herself became a young mom, delivering her daughter (Kara—sp?) at age 18—her daughter is now married with a son in New York. Kathy went from community college to Rutgers to an MBA, remarried, and delivered (Dad is Korean) two more daughters, Emily and Lauren, now attending respectively Batson and Cornell.  There’s also a long-haired Dachshund, Shadow.)

 

Kathy started in banking and moved into aircraft leasing, now with Avolon. Avolon has 550 planes, with 150 more on order, and made $22 billion in 2017. Kathy’s territory includes both the U.S. and Canada, and her lessees include both Southwest and Air Canada. Avolon is the third largest aircraft leasing company out there. They primarily lease narrow body planes, which are a better fit for leasing.

 

We often say in Manhattan Beach Rotary that craft talks are our best programs. We say it often because it is true, and Kathy’s talk was a treat. Kathy is a serious businesswoman and has showed it already, diving into Celebrate Manhattan Beach and more, as willing to collect a silent auction item as to lease an airplane. I’d also mention that she exudes personal warmth, but hey, that’s a given—she’s Irish.