All About the World Cup

by Sue Vogl

For soccer fans, and count me as one of them, Monday’s meeting was extra special. Our guest speakers were Alexi Lalas and Rob Stone from Fox Sports, here to tell us details about the upcoming World Cup games in LA. this summer.

We met at Mychal’s Café, which gives people with disabilities an opportunity to work and learn about the food industry. As part of Mychal’s Learning Place, it’s a community service we support.

But first, Norm Levin led the pledge of allegiance and delivered two quotes, one from James Baldwin and the other from Maya Angelou.

We heard from two of Mychal’s staff, who received a check from President Cedric Tuck-Sherman, before turning to two of our upcoming events – Magic in Giving, of course (buy your tickets soon!) and MCHS’s production of Mean Girls, featuring Jim Hunter’s granddaughter as head Mean Girl Regina. Her performance was remarkable! Sandesha Singh organized our group and would like to make attending the spring musical an annual event. Sign me up! 

Sandesha also told us about a trip to Mexico in a couple of weeks, where her family and others will be traveling to build homes, and she distributed fliers for a car wash to raise funds for the project. Mark your calendar - May 2, South Hills Church, 10 am - 2 pm.

Jen Rementer, Library Resource Specialist from Grand View Elementary, presented thank you notes from students across the elementary schools Rotarians visited as part of our beloved Rotary Reads program. She also received a $1,000 check from MB Rotary to purchase books for the schools at Pages Bookstore.
 
MB Mayor David Lesser was on hand to bring us up to to date on the state of the city; the address is coming soon. Our city is in a strong fiscal position, and Manhattan Beach will become a “global destination,” said David, for World Cup and Olympics visitors. MB’s Project Pulse is an initiative to gain input for what we want our downtown to look like. He addressed the housing challenges brought by state laws to increase housing. Responding to questions, primarily about new housing, he talked about our adoption of development impact fees and the 8-9 projects that are coming. He recommends, checking the city’s Website for detailed information.

Jim Hunter introduced our speakers – Manhattan Beach residents and Fox sportscasters Alexi Lalas and Rob Stone. LA is hosting 8 World cup games, June 12-July 10. Alexi talked about the summer of ’94, when he played on the US Men’s team that won the World Cup, which changed his life forever. Who is favored? Rob and Alexi agreed on France and Spain, and said England is also a strong contender. The US should win its group, but their chances after that are not great. Would Alexi donate a signed jersey to Magic in Giving? Readers – he said yes! The two allowed lots of time for questions, and there were many. Security will be excellent, and there will be extra transportation. Grass vs turf? FIFA mandates grass. Tickets may be hard to get and expensive, but if you can’t get them, Rob suggests, go to your local sports bar! The members of all teams will be able to get here, but that may not be true of fans from countries with visa restrictions.

A final quote from Alexi, “Our country is desperate to celebrate together.” 
 
For more meeting photos, go to SmugMug.

Rotarians in the Community

by Editor

Thanks to Sandesha Singh, we saw a wonderful production of MCHS's spring musical, Mean Girls, featuring Jim and Joanne Hunter's granddaughter, the head mean girl Regina. Her singing, her acting, her stage presence - she's a star! We followed the performance with Happy Hour at Lisa Hemmat-Lupercio's new restaurant/bar Georgia's Lounge. Guests at Dave and Kathleen Boochever's DineAround had a special treat. They hosted it at Lido di Manhattan. And, another Dave Boochever photo. This one from his "connection" with Gordon Cook. 

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.