Convoy of Hope

by Jim McFarland

It was a wonderful morning back at the Westdrift hotel, after a couple of weeks on the road (MCHS and Mychals). Dave Gendron led the flag salute and showed us a clip of the movie classic Cool Hand Luke. “What we have here is a failure to communicate”.  We need to listen to each other. See the included explanation at this link:  https://nofilmschool.com/cool-hand-luke-failure-to-communicate
 
Kelly Stroman introduced Dr. Vineh Gupta, Val Pagett and Brian Duwe. John Ranaudo introduced Howard “Mitch” Mitchel, an Air Force 2 star general.
 
Celebrating our Club's 75^th anniversary this year we also have someone who was born the same year as our club, master’s degree in "Butt Dialing", Always on Time, Devoted Friend, Diehard USC Alumni  and  supporter, Incredible Shrinking Man - Wade Austin celebrating 75 years! Cedric presented him with a memento, a Rotary Globe. Dick Chase celebrated his birthday today, John Osten and Dan Sax are also celebrating BIG birthdays this week!!
 
May 16th and 17th are busy days for the club. Magic in Giving on the 16^th…GET YOUR TICKETS!! [here], and Tour de Pier, on the 17^th will have a booth. We need people to man the booth starting at 7:15 AM. Also, writer’s note: we have space on a bike if you would like to ride, contact Jim McFarland. Sign up here
 
Local fundraiser this Saturday May 9^th  at 1540 The Strand Hermosa Beach to benefit foster youth [get tickets].  A Connection Challenge raffle is coming up next week for those that made connections. Fireside chat is on June 3^rd [register].
 
April 29^th was a nightmare night for one of our members, Lisa Hemmat-Lupercio’s Playa Hermosa was vandalized, causing over $100,000 in losses and damage. Hermosa police were able to find the individual and who is now in custody.  No mention of reopening date.  In the meantime, Lisa has added a new bar/speakeasy to her portfolio!!  Georgia’s Lounge 1500 Aviation, Redondo Beach.  https://Georgiaslounge.com
 
Community Recognition:  MBPD police chief Rachel Johnson thanked us for our support and recognized two special people voted on by their peers.  Shirley De La Concha is their professional staff member. She is assistant to the captains as well as overseeing payroll.  Our officer of the year is David Givens, a training officer, former K-9 officer and is in DUI enforcement.  Congratulations and thank you!!!
 
Community Spotlight: Family Promise leads programs supporting families facing homelessness with a focus on keeping families together and rehousing quickly. They partner with community and volunteers across LA to transform local spaces into a safe shelter for families. They are headquartered in Torrance, across from the courthouse. You can find more information at https://familypromise.org/
 
Convoy of Hope: Lisa Haley, with Convoy of Hope (CoH), was introduced by Lisa Hemmat-Lupercio. Ms. Haley is a former Rotarian in Truckee CA. She now resides in Paso Robles.  She showed us a video on what kinds of projects they are involved in. Established in 1994, Convoy of Hope is a faith-based organization with a driving passion to feed the world through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreach, and disaster response. In partnership with local churches, businesses, civic organizations, and government agencies, Convoy strategically offers help and hope to communities around the world. They have served 150 million worldwide. How can our club help! Community events, partner events and service trips. In some instances, they will even sponsor your trip. 92 cents of every dollar goes to people in need. Eric Neubauer works with CoH, and he also attended the meeting. For more info, see:  https://convoyofhope.org/
 
Last week’s meeting at Mychal’s Café was a hit!  Some minor parking issues, but a good time was had.
 
Fun and Fellowship!  Botanical Gardens Wine Around included over 35 Club members/spouses.  There was evidence that our club had been there before with plant signage.  Rotary in Action.  If you didn’t notice at Mira Costa two meetings ago, the Rotary Club of Manhattan Beach sponsored a community service mural.  “Dedicated to the students of MCHS who give so much to their community.  It was right outside the cafeteria.
 
Rotary in the wild. Don Winfrey invited a few of our members to the home of Alex Trebek’s widow, Jean Trebek.
 
Dictionary distribution at Ramona Elementary.  Mean Girls, Mira Costa Drama…After party at Georgia’s!!  Grandview Gator Run! Sion’s reopened! Beach Life!
 
Dine Arounds hosted by the Boochever’s and Hemmat-Lupercio’s were recognized as well as several Challenge Connections.
 
Happy Dollars!! Geoff Bremmer has Happy Dollars for being 4 days into retirement!  Dave Gendron’s daughter is going to Berkeley!!
 
Next meeting May 11^th Craft talks Lisa Schlager and Shwetha Reddy. May 18^th is Teacher awards. May 25^th is Dark for Memorial Day!
 
For more meeting photos, go to SmugMug.

Magic in Giving Ticket Info

by Editor

Magic in Giving organizers have some advice for you. When you purchase tickets, please enter your credit card information, guest names, contact info and meals preferred at the time of purchase. This will allow our MIG team to collect guest credit card numbers and meal preferences before the event. This will help prevent long line delays at the door and allow quick entry for members and guests. See you all on May 16.