Did You Know?
-by Ron Sokol
 
Lindy Murrell presently joins us each week from New Zealand, where it is 3:30 in the morning. And that wild guy Russ Samuels has gotten a haircut and face whiskers trimmed... wow, he’s actually quite good looking!
 
Good Morning
Outside, this 15th day of March (ah, the Ides of March), we have a bit of rain as President Tim Hageman bids hello.  John Acker shares interesting history about the Pledge of Allegiance before leading us in the salute.  John also provides the thought of the day that in years gone by we may have said prayers but today, bottom line,  let’s just be thankful for all that we have.
 
Guests included our Assistant Area Governor Sheila Fowler.  Welcome Sheila!
 
Kelly Stroman shares information about the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA), which the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce hosts every year. This is an after-school program, for students from sixth through twelfth grades with entrepreneurial spirits.  YEA provides guidance on steps for these budding business people to consider and take. There are four participants presently who need financial assistance with the program cost, and our club is sponsoring two of them.  
 
By now you can see a whole lot of smiles on Zoom (something to mention because our club is so often about making smiles for others, but I notice it works for members as well).
 
Fireside Chat
Last Tuesday was the fireside chat for new members.  Many contributed, such as Kathleen Terry and Shannon Ryan,who both did a great job. 
 
Manhattan Beach City Corner
Richard Montgomery, our tireless City Council member with a few updates: The Bruce’s Beach Task Force has submitted its proposals.  The council will take them up tomorrow, and discussion is going to be in depth. As an aside, the council is possibly raising parking rates tomorrow. Bottom line, we are hopeful it is time for the city to move on, and to get staff hours back. Also there are some exciting projects ahead, including  a new fire station on the east side of Manhattan Beach.  Other welcome news:  Today we are up to 25% indoor dining, along with outdoor dining.  Can I get a woo-hoo people!!!!!
 
Camp Pendleton
Harrison Clay was beaming – this drive has gone very well.  Rick Farrell is MVP with David Hensler among those who made it work.  Shannon Ryan got the  Interact involved. Erin Rothner contributed mightily as well. Not too surprisingly, Rick Farrell and David Hensler are not with us this morning as they are driving to Camp Pendleton to deliver all the many items.  
 
Craft Talk and Featured Speaker
Jeff Serota is in dah house!
 
Brooklyn born on Valentine’s Day.  His family lived close enough to New York City to enjoy the Apple, but far enough away to stay out of trouble.  His upbringing was enhanced by a relationship with his grandpa (his mom’s dad) known as Poppy Patty. Poppy was wheelchair bound and had multiple sclerosis. During Jeff’s formative teenage years he was Poppy’s caretaker. Thus he got him out of bed, helped him shave and shower, and assisted with Poppy’s personal hygiene.  Poppy was like a parent to Jeff, and had a tremendous impact on him to this day.  (If I may, Jeff is a real gem and so Poppy clearly did a heck of a job).
 
Young Master Serota grew up Jewish but not very religious  Still he has a strong connection to Jewish heritage and culture.  We saw a photo of Jeff at his Bar Mitzvah. He even managed to find the yamaka he wore that day and the tallit.
 
Sporting events with dad were a big thing as Jeff was growing up.  He showed us a ticket stub to the 1977 World Series  (Yankees versus Dodgers). That game is well known for Reggie Jackson hitting three home runs and becoming known thereafter as Mr. October.  
 
Jeff has a business degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School), and an MBA from the UCLA School of Business.  He is a proud member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and has lifelong friends there.
 
Wanderlust brought the younger Mr. Serota to California, but living in Los Angeles while going to UCLA grad school was not so great.  Why not try Manhattan Beach?  Thankfully he did in 1991 and remains here. So, I am convinced that there is a master plan designed by a power greater than we know but I will leave that for another time...
 
Jeff spent some 25 years in the financial industry and quasi-retired in 2013.  Truth is the word “retired” and Jeff Serota are not well matched.  If he is quasi-retired then the energizer bunny is yawning in a hammock (not).  Jeff has been involved in a whole lot of community oriented projects, including the remarkable Local Love for Manhattan Beach, raising $600,000 to help support local small businesses.  One of Jeff’s passions also is education, and then there’s coaching sports where his teams have had quite a nice run.  
 
Note to self:  Go back 40 years buddy, now that you’ve heard Jeff’s craft talk, and change your life for goodness sakes!
 
Jeff’s wife is Peir, who is a second cousin once removed from professional baseball player Dennis Eckersley.  They have two kids, 16 and 14, along with a 19-year-old dog, an 8-month old golden retriever, three cats and a horse named Miracle. Jeff and Peir were married 17-and-a-half years ago on a mountain top in Vail, Colorado.  When they are not involved in serving the community, raising their  kids and tending to the pets, they enjoy time with extended family and others at their vacation home in Mammoth. Oh, I should mention their honeymoon.  You see it was not quite sipping wine poolside... How about they rode the Tour de France route (before the riders themselves did), including in the Alps and all the major climbs.  They wore Just Married jerseys and got a lot of cheers along the way.
 
And now.... drum roll please: How about real adventure?  Like.... ice climbing in Alaska... Fly fishing...  Sky diving...  Scuba diving...  Bungee jumping.... and Class V rafting.  Don’t forget the running of the bulls!  These activities, Jeff insists, keep him going, as does the Eco Challenge (the Super Bowl of adventure racing).  Did I forget to mention Jeff and Peir attended a wedding in India for one full week?
 
Am I the only one who felt exhausted and had to take a nap after today’s meeting?
 
Jeff shows us a photo again of his great friends and lets us know he is quite a Grateful Dead fan.  Ah yes,  “What a long strange trip it’s been.”  I would say, “What an exemplary Rotarian you are!”  For once, for once... I would be absolutely correct.
 
Closing
Next week the guest speaker is from Ancestry.com.  Soon we will have another craft talk, this one from Dan Graham.  Hey, by the way, President Tim extolls the virtues of the livestreaming of Mira Costa football games.  This most recent one was superb!
 
Author’s Note
In closing, I wanted to share that each meeting I always miss a gentleman named Jim Bowser, who was a wonderful member of our club (passing a few years ago).  The Manhattan Beach Rotary Club has brought into our lives so much that is very good, often in the form of another person, like Jeff Serota, like Jim Bowser, like Mike Doell,  like Dennis Morehead,  like Dennis Ridge, just to name a few.  Poppy Patty would be so proud of his grandson Jeff, as he joins a group of folks who set the bar so very high.