Coffee and Cars
-by John Hugunin
It was Monday, September 30, 2019. We were all happily greeted by Jason Hearne and Nelson Gray. Once in the door, there was Russ Samuels, treasurer, collecting $$$, assisted by his two wonderful sons, Peyton and Quinten. The rumor is that they help Russ with the math part of being treasurer. Sitting next to Russ and checking everyone in with a friendly smile was secretary, Kathy Murphy. You know what they say: “First impressions can make or break an experience.” With the above team welcoming and checking everyone in, it was guaranteed that we would have a wonderful meeting.
Rick Farrell and Jason Wallace got the award for having the most flamboyant shirts. Keith Sultemeier led us in the pledge of allegiance followed by the “thought of the day” presented by Sue Vogl. Sue’s message about our weekly Bulletin got us thinking about “information vs. inspiration.”
President Dave Gendron started the meeting with a video recognizing the Jewish Holiday, Rosh Hashanah. A young man was sound asleep, and his mom could do nothing to wake him. Finally, mom invites their Rabbi in who proceeds to blow his Shofar, immediately waking up the kid. Maybe President Dave should acquire one to get our meetings started. Dave’s welcome slide was: “Shalom Y’all.”
Dave recognized Richard Montgomery for being sworn in as President of the ICA (Independent Cities Association). ICA is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit corporation founded in 1960. Made up of nearly 40 member cities in the Southern California area, it focuses on public safety, education, infrastructure, legislative advocacy, intergovernmental relationships and other major issues that transcend the boundaries of its member cities.
Paul Allman has been teaching leadership classes for the new Leadership Manhattan Beach members. Jan Rhees let us know that Jay Harkenrider is having back problems. She welcomed Mike Doell back who is recovering from an illness.
Mark Your Calendars
Cedric Tuck-Sherman and James Kennedy are organizing a Puerto Rico Service Trip. The team will fly out on Saturday, February 15 and return either the 22 or 23. The trip will focus on fun, education and service, including a visit to the Culebra Special Needs School and a working experience helping to reconstruct the YMCA facility. Cedric will send out an email to see who is interesting in joining the team.
Annie Hendrickson is organizing our “Operation Teddy Bear” volunteers this year. We are going to try something new – pre-packing items to put into the backpacks.
VetFest is scheduled for November 10. Tim Hageman, helped by Kelly Stroman and Lynette Chiabai, will be looking for volunteers.
President Dave announced a very successful signup for the Hometown Fair Wine Garden this Saturday. All volunteer time slots were taken.
Marketplace Evolution
Thanks to President Dave’s video about coffee made from coffee beans that had been swallowed and “pooped” out by bats, some of us may be thinking about switching to tea in the morning. We had a very informative presentation by Jeff Middlemiss about antioxidant coffee. He is the founder and owner of Caffévo antioxidant coffee, which comes from beans grown in Mexico, Guatemala, Ethiopia and Nicaragua. We learned a lot about the benefits of polyphenols and their effect on reducing the risk of cancer, as well as a new way to brew one cup of coffee using a biodegradable “single-serve, pour-over pouch.” Part of the proceeds from corporate sales are donated to the AMC Cancer Research Center in Denver, CO.
Keith Sultemeier introduced the next speaker, Tony Boutelle, President and CEO of CU Direct. Keith serves on the Board of CU Direct, which is, among other things, in the automobile loan funding business. The company has 1,100+ credit union partners, 14,900+ auto dealership partners, and over $45 billion in total funded loans.
Tony’s presentation was about “The Evolving Auto Marketplace.” It was a fascinating forecast of human mobility over the next 20 to 30 years. He focused on the benefits of electric cars and autonomous vehicles. They will improve quality of life (less time driving on the freeway) and safety (fewer accidents based on human error). We learned some interesting statistics. Currently, the Netherlands is the leading country using autonomous vehicles. The USA ranks 4th out of 10 countries. VW is currently making the largest investment in electric vehicles (EVs). However, it’s predicted China will become the leader in the use of EVs in the near future. It’s expected that by 2040, 57% of all vehicles sold will be electric. Also, fewer vehicles will be owned by individuals. The cars will be rented or loaned rather than purchased. Growth of autonomous vehicles (AV) is projected for use in delivery services. In the future, your Domino’s Pizza order will be delivered by an AV. No longer will you have to tip the delivery person. David thanked Tony for a very informative presentation and presented him with a certificate highlighting 100 polio vaccinations that will be donated in his name.
Coffee or Wine?
It was rather interesting that, after Jeff’s presentation, both winners of our drawing (Tim Hageman and Lisa Hemmat-Lupercio) chose Caffévo coffee over wine as their prize for winning the drawing. Maybe Lisa is thinking about starting a “Coffee Around” social event.
Keith Sultemeier had the lucky $379 raffle ticket; however, it was not his day and the white ball stayed in the sock.