Classic Cars
-by Jim Hallett
It was Monday, October 14, 2019, and President Dave Gendron, as well as all in attendance, were grateful to Tom Zimmerman, who once again offered up his beautiful Automobile Driving Museum as our breakfast venue…..Chris Ullman leaned on Dolly Parton for this quote: "If you want a rainbow, you have to put up with the rain"…..President Dave started us off with football, in this case watching a cerebral palsy victim score a touchdown, and added on an excerpt from the original Ghostbusters to entice us to watch the movie at the Westdrift Golf Course…..Geoff Bremer, apparently our resident sommelier, guessed what GSM is—Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre—in anticipation of our November 1 Wine-Around…..By the time you read this, six of our members will have received awards at the Chamber of Commerce Best of Manhattan awards presentations.
VetFest
President Dave displayed the names of all our ticket-buyers for the Sunday, November 10, VetFest (1-6 pm in the Kinecta parking lot)—and there were not nearly enough names on display. Our beneficiaries will be Team Rubicon and Operation Mend/UCLA, and both will be in attendance. We are asked to buy tickets and to spread the word, including Facebook and sending out the EventBrite link……Jan Rhees once again arrived with birthday and anniversary cupcakes. Our anniversary longevity winners for the month were Dottie and Dan Saks at 36 years, a relatively paltry number in this club of married-forever members.
Congo Smiles
Dr. Polepole Tshomba, a physician and Rotarian from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been hosted here in Manhattan Beach by our own Talmud-quoting (and Talmud-living) Joel Ruben, who introduced this remarkable man. He is a surgeon who travels to jungle villages, sometimes walking for as long as 2-3 days, to attend to needy villagers. He has, for example, repaired over 1000 cleft lips and palates. He is now in the United States to treat and seek support for fighting the Ebola virus. We presented him with a $1K check for the Ebola Project and another $1K for his School for Peace program for Congo orphans. He sincerely invited us to visit his club in the Congo.
Mychal’s Learning Place
Our breakfast was provided by Mychal’s Learning Place in Hawthorne, an agency that trains developmentally disabled people to work and live independently. Mychal’s focuses on coffee and baking. Such folks are statistically 80% unemployed in the United States, a needless waste of talent. Their executive director was here and received a $1K check from the club. Their breakfast, by the way, was very well received (I can vouch for the scones), and they are open for business if you want to make the short drive to Hawthorne. (I often go to Homegirl Café in downtown L.A. and will now add this to my list.)
Manhattan Village Development
Don R. Ziss is the VP and General Manager of JLL, a regular Rotary sponsor and supporter and the developer of Manhattan Village. Don has been managing the property for the past two years. Coming highlights include landscaping, lawns, art, water features, firepits and many new restaurants (Mercado is already open and Urban Plates is soon to open, with more like JOEY and Edo on the way). They are looking to be not just a shopping center but also a community center, a necessary feature of retail strategy in an internet world. The former south space of Macy’s will be occupied by retail outlets with creative work space upstairs. There will be a lot of EV charging stations. Fry’s is still open for business and the fate of that space is still undetermined. The entire project is budgeted at $240 million. A proposed Sepulveda culvert entrance awaits Cal Trans completing its expansion there. There will be three parking garages. A Grand Opening celebration will likely happen in June. The overall themes will be ambience, food, and community needs (Ralphs, medical, office, maybe even hospitality and more). The key to its success is to diversify—to deliver an experience.
Why Attend Rotary Meetings?
Why attend Rotary meetings? It’s a legitimate question, often delivered as a challenge. But as to the question, Why attend Manhattan Beach Rotary meetings?, I give you this meeting. Classic cars, fantastic baked goods prepared by developmentally disabled folks, the chance to meet in person and hear from a heroic physician serving small villages in the Congo, and an update on the most important project taking place in our City. It’s a pretty terrific way to start one’s week.