Meeting Summary March 15, 2011
Meeting Summary March 15, 2011
by Cook, Barry
President-Elect Anita Grossman called to order the best Rotary club ever at 12:29 pm
Dom Passinisi led our pledge to the flag.
Twana Karney was our greeter and gave the thought of the day.
Anita Grossman led us in song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".
Tom Myers invited introductions to any visitors to the meeting. Carla Paul introduced Merlin Martin to Rotary. Merlin was the speaker for the day, Road Runners, Senior Transportation Services.
Club announcements by Anita Grossman:
Recognition: Special thanks to Bruce Barsi, Hal Taylor and Bert Raphael for helping out with the screening for our short-term exchange student. Justine DeClaro, a student at St. Francis, who is applying to be a short-term exchange student this summer. We also have a long-term exchange applicant, Maria Anderson, who will be traveling to Germany next year.
Mother’s Day Cards are available through District 5170 - Honor mothers on Mother’s Day and help mothers in regions of the world protect their children from the spread of Polio. Your $25 donation will provide polio vaccines for 40 children. If you have signed up please make your check payable to The Rotary Foundation and give them to Gerry Felix.
Our club fellowship ski trip event in Tahoe is just a few weeks away. Contact Bruce Barsi for details or if you have questions about this fabulous weekend, March 24‐27.
Kim Castro shared an article from last week’s “Mountain View Patch” which talks about the newest expansion of the trail from the Sleeper Avenue neighborhood access point over Highway 85 to a landing area at the intersection of Dale Avenue and Heatherstone Way.
The final crab feed tally is in and we raised $14,587 to support our community grants. Kim Castro gave an estimate of $12,500 that could be distributed in grants this year. She currently has four applications and expects many more based on last year’s submissions.
Kim Castro passed around a sign-up sheet for the “Steven’s Creek Trail Clean-Up”. This event will be held on Saturday, April 16 from 9:00 - 12:00 pm. Meet at Whisman Park, 310 Easy Street, Mtn. View. Food and refreshments will be provided. Wear work clothes and sun screen.
Rotating Dinner: Mark your calendar, Friday April 15, as the date for the ever-popular rotating dinner. Contact Jim Cunningham about the details of this festive event
Golf Tournament: The club golf tournament will be held on Friday, June 10. The golf tournament starts at 10 am - BBQ at 4:30 pm with drinks, and dinner at 5:30 pm. The cost to play in the tournament is $65.00, dinner is $25.00. Contact Walt Joyce for any other details.
There is also a signup sheet for the District Assembly, also known as Rotary U, on April 9th. This is a great educational event for next year’s board, for red badgers or anyone interested getting the latest information about the work that Rotary does at the District and International level. Topics include Community Services Projects Panel, New Generations, International work, Social Networking and many others. The fee is paid by the club. If that’s not enough to get you going, District Governor Elect Arley Marley and his wife Mary Marley are offering a surprise party for the club with the highest percentage of members registered.
The District website is also open for registration to the District Assembly on April 9th. This is an educational event for next year’s board, red badgers or anyone else interested in attending.
“District Celebration”, May 7‐8, to celebrate all of our accomplishments throughout the year is also available to register on the district website.
Speaker:
Carla Paul introduced Merlin Martin from Road Runners, Senior Transportation Services. Merlin shared his story of growing up in the mid-west. Merlin landed in the Mtn. View area and worked at Raytheon Semiconductor for 42 years. After retiring in 2001, and running out of things to keep him busy, he joined Road Runners six years ago. Road Runners is a transportation service provided by dedicated El Camino Hospital Auxiliary volunteers. Road Runners was started in 1976 to help radiation patients to their appointments. The Road Runners service became part of El Camino Hospital in 1985. Road Runners transportation is provided for medical, dental and El Camino Hospital outpatient services. The Road Runners service has been expanded to include many local transportation needs of the community. Road Runners will take appointments for door-to-door transportation to any location within a 10-mile radius of El Camino Hospital. There is a small fee based on the distance traveled within a 10-mile radius. Currently there are approximately 40 volunteer drivers and they all wear white. Thank you, Merlin, for your service.
Next week:
The club shall have a candid discussion about the membership pilot program that was presented weeks ago. We will address the membership outreach for the short and long term needs of the club.