President Dave Gendron
-by John Hugunin
It was Monday, March 2, 2020, at the Automobile Driving Museum in El Segundo. The museum has over 130 vintage, antique, and muscle cars. The Automobile Driving Museum’s mission is to collect, preserve, exhibit and ride in historic vehicles. Their collection is used to present educational opportunities and displays that illustrate the aesthetic, engineering and cultural evolution of the automobile. Thank you, Tom Zimmerman, for making the museum available for our meeting.
We were all being happily greeted by early arrivers, Norm Levin, Jay Harkenrider, El Donn, and Russ Samuels. We all had fun talking about the classic cars and sharing with others what was our “first car.” Norm Levin’s first car was a 1963 “little Nash Rambler.” According to Norm, the car was designed to encourage “making out” in the car. The front seats could be laid back flat. Whoopee!!
If you are unable to show up early for the meeting, you are missing out on a lot of good conversations and comradery.
Since there was not a flag in the room, we saluted the flag on our MB Rotary logo. How’s that for improvising.
President Gendron started the meeting with a video about Jimmy Valvano. “Jimmy V”, was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. He had an excellent coaching career with multiple schools, most notably at North Carolina State University. While the head coach at NC State, his team won the 1983 national title against improbable odds. Valvano is most remembered for his ecstatic celebration after winning the national championship against the heavily-favored Houston Cougars.
After his career, Valvano gave an inspirational and memorable speech in 1993 at the ESPY Awards, while terminally ill with cancer, telling listeners to laugh, think, and cry each day, saying "don’t give up. Don’t ever give up". He gave the speech less than two months before his death from adenocarcinoma, a type of glandular cancer. Each year, a college basketball tournament called the Jimmy V Classic is held in his honor and in support of cancer victims and survivors. His foundation has raised over $200 million to help fight cancer. We discovered that John Ranaudo went to high school with Jimmy V. at Seaford High School in Seaford on Long Island.
President Dave suggested that Mark Lipps may offer up a stay at his new residence in Lakeport Ranch, CA for an auction item for Celebrate MB. It is a beautiful 5-bedroom farmhouse near Clear Lake, CA. Mark is excited about joining the Rotary club up there. It meets every Wednesday in a local brewery. Mark and Tammy will be moving March 14th. We will miss them both.
Upcoming Events
Celebrate MB - We viewed a creative and entertaining video showing the different ways we all can contribute to this important event. The video was created by Kathleen Terry. Good job Kathleen!!!!!
John Ranaudo encouraged us to become a sponsor, to find outside sponsors, and to donate live and silent auction items. Celebrate MB is scheduled for May 15th. It is not too early to begin donating for the event.
Annie Hendrickson presented 3 opportunities for us to get involved helping others.
The Poverty Simulation – This live-action simulation role-playing lives of low-income families is scheduled for March 14th at Joslyn Center. Annie asked us to volunteer to play the roles of banker, grocer, teacher, pawnshop owner, and other occupations. Contact Annie if you are interested in helping out.
Shoes That Fit – Help measure kid’s feet for new shoes on Saturday March 7th at Lawndale School District Office - 4161 W 147th St, Lawndale. These kids are all from families selected by the schools Director of special services and live below the poverty line for a variety of reasons. It is a very simple and positive experience. Annie sent everyone a more detailed email asking for volunteers.
Roundhouse Aquarium – With the help of our Club's financial contribution to the Roundhouse Aquarium transportation fund this year, children from across LA County will get an opportunity to learn all about the oceanic ecosystem and the wildlife it supports. Rotarians will mingle with students when they first arrive, share a couple of fun facts (fun facts are provided!), and on behalf of our Club, present a check to the teacher that will offset their transportation expenses. Annie sent an email to everyone with more information and asking for signups. There are 5 different dates you can select for participation.
Jason Wallace encouraged everyone to sign up for the Spring Dine Around. You can be a Host or a Guest.
Loli Ramezani encouraged us all to attend the “Keeping Your Brain Healthy” presentation on March 12th. It is sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Los Angeles nonprofit organization and will be held at the Culver City Senior Center. Loli distributed flyers containing more detailed information.
Speakers
Cedric Tuck-Sherman, Ken Deemer, and Russ Samuels gave us a slide presentation about the Puerto Rico Service Trip. It was from Feb. 15th to the 23rd of this year. 7 Rotarians attended along with 5 other participants. They learned a lot about Puerto Rico and the food was great. They were treated to a tasting of Ron del Barrilito Rum. A bottle of Ron del Barrilito 5 Star Rum goes for $1140. They explored the Santurce art district where many of the buildings are painted with murals, visited the Arecibo Observatory which has the world’s largest radio telescope, did some cave explorations, went on a scavenger hunt in “Old San Juan”, and traveled to the El Yunque Rain Forest. They were hosted by James Kennedy who is now living there. One interesting statistic that Ken Deemer shared with us was that Puerto Rico imports 95% of it’s food. It doesn’t make a lot of sense considering much of their land is potential farm land. Ken said there is a resurgence of farming thanks to the support of the local Rotary Clubs.
Kathy Winterhalder presented a very informative presentation regarding the “Distinguished Speaker Series.” She was one of the founders of the organization 24 years ago. There are centers now in Beverly Hills, Orange County, Pasadena, Thousand Oaks, and of course Redondo Beach. Redondo Beach is the most popular venue and has a 6 year wait list. In addition to the speakers being informative and entertaining, it is also a chance to bring together neighbors in a common community of learning, The speakers for the Redondo Beach 2019-2020 season are/were Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin, Father Gregory Boyle, General John Kelly, Dr. Robert Sapolsky, Bob Woodward, and David Cameron. She used President George W. Bush as an example of how much a speaker can make for speaking. The Presidents fee is $250,000. Not bad for an evening of work. Kathy gave the following reasons why speakers participate in the series: 1. Rehabilitate their reputations (Gorbachev and Clinton), 2. Make money, 3. Promote a book (Annie Leibovitz and Dr. Berry Brazelton), and 4. Raise money for charitable causes (Father Gregory Boyle). At the end of her presentation, Kathy graciously offered to donate tickets to next season’s “Distinguished Speaker Series” for Celebrate MB.
Be nice to Bruce Greenspon. He was the winner of a bottle of champagne. He may share it with you.
Dave Boochever had the lucky ticket to try for winning the $70 raffle; however, it was not his day and the white ball stayed in the sock.