Jim's story for the April 29 Bulletin

It was Monday, April 22, 2019, and President Ken Deemer presided over the now expected recitation of countless projects that engage the Manhattan Beach Rotary Club.  Bob Lanahan, speaking for the children of the world, quoted Frederick Douglass saying, It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults (OK, Douglass said men)…..City Manager Bruce Moe introduced our new Fire Chief, Daryn Drum, who told us he’s looking for a service club to join.  (Hmmmm.)  He offered a very simple vision statement:  We take good care of people……Birthdays and anniversaries were cheered with an array of Susie’s cupcakes…..We watched slides of the April 20 Lennox event in which Easter baskets full of groceries were organized and delivered.

 

President Ken told us that he, Tim Hageman and Dave Gendron are working on a video of the organizations we support…..President Ken phoned Jay Harkenrider, who has a challenge ahead of him but is recovering nicely….May 22 will be the Manhattan Beach Police blood drive in honor of deceased cancer victim Officer Mark Vasquez….May 1 will be a City/Chamber Town Hall…..April 27: the Richstone Walk and Hunger Outreach Program were on the calendar, with a Friendship Foundation carnival at Chevron Park the next day…..And April 29 is the deadline for auction items for our May 10 CMB.

 

Ron Sokol, randomly displaying a slide of himself as a child smoking a cigarette and sipping a whiskey, admitted that what he was really doing back then was listening to Vin Scully on his transistor radio, after bedtime.  Now a baseball blogger, Ron took us along on his visit to the Louisville Slugger Bat Factory in Kentucky.  It’s really a baseball museum, with artifacts like endorsement agreements with the biggest names, from Babe Ruth to Jackie Robinson.  Ron’s presentation devolved into what you expect from him when he talks baseball—lots of gushing and drooling.  He’s a fan!

 

President Ken, accompanied by sponsor Dave Gendron (Gerry Morton cosponsored) and Membership Chair Dave Long, introduced us to new member Jim Schlager, a financial advisor.  In a new addition to the usual ceremony, President Ken led us all in a recital of the 4-Way Test.

 

Kim Lewand Martin is an environmental attorney, founder of Grades of Green, and a local mom deeply involved in Manhattan Beach City and School District environmental programs.  She has a blog, Everyday Eco-Habits for Everyday People (Google it and sign up), which presents one tip per month, a simple change to develop into a new habit—things like giving up straws, giving up single use cups, limiting meat, limiting outdoor watering, sustainable fashion, and much more.  Her green school movement started at Grand View ten years ago and has now spread to over 600 schools.

 

As profound as the Rotary 4-Way Test is, it’s still a tongue-twister for many of us—there is something about it that is hard to memorize.  When in doubt, we could just go with Fire Chief Daryn Drum’s mission statement: “We take good care of people.”  We do.