Weekly Bulletin:
Pledge & invocation by Dorie: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
Guests: Marie Cano of AAA with Deanna & Chad Bettker (Sp) from Village Green with Kurt.
March Birthdays by Rick Patereau: Debbie Flores born in Louisiana, Whitney Pintello born in Germany, Rod Pintello born in Vermont, Tim Day born in Oklahoma. Scott Smithee & Ernie Filice were absent.
CPR Training available and free organized by Retired Fire Chief Dale Foster, if you are interested please email him.
Polio Plus report by Gregg: 2010 had 1352 cases worldwide, down from over 100,000 before Polio Plus began. 2011 had 650 cases cutting the number in half. 2012 had 223 cases cutting the number by two thirds from 2011. 2013 thus far for the first two months was just 2 cases!
Last chance for District Conference room rates went up after 3/11. Miratage Inn in Napa. Something special is happening at breakfast & lunch on Saturday involving our club, so try to make it for that one day if not for the whole weekend.
April 20th is The Syngenta Flower Sale and if you have not signed up to help please do so when the clip board is passed around next meeting.
Membership: Steve Kinsella is on a 6 month LOA. Debbie Hoey applied for LOA. Membership Social is now rescheduled to April 25th from 6:00-8:30pm at Westside Grill.
Sheriff was Malcolm MacPhail. In the fining process Brigitte Nicholls announced the Santa Barbara Bank building will be Union bank and the Union Bank employees will be moving over.
2013 Rotary International Convention this year in Portugal on June 23rd-26th.
Lisbon sits on a riverbank and is famous for their fountains, monuments and is one of the most inexpensive cities to visit in Europe. The American dollar is still good in Portugal. Their marketplace features fruit, vegetables and fish. They are famous for their custard pastries. Their restaurants may have hanging prosciutto and some you can even pick your own fish for your meal. The Lisbon Bridge is a copy of the Golden Gate Bridge and they have just added a rail line underneath the bridge.
Blue tile is very prominent and shows the history of Portugal. Bullfights are in the arena and different then Spain they don’t kill the bulls. They have castles and the streets are made of cobblestone and have brightly painted houses.
Al Pinero was the speaker for the day and said he was from the Island of Terceira, Angra do Heroismo and it’s only an hour & 15 minutes to the Azores Islands where he was born. June is the perfect time to go.
The Island of Terceira has a sister city with Gilroy, Angra do Heroismo and this relationship was formed while Al was Mayor. Joel Goldsmith and Kai Lai were there and enjoyed the Festas Sanjoaninas festivals which lasts 10 days. Streets are decorated colorfully and look differently than normal. They hosed a pyro show with our garlic festival chefs and who go an teach them cooking.
Dairy farming is the lifeblood of the economy. You may see cows in the road when you drive in the country. You might even be driving down the road and come upon a bullfight in the street or on the beach. Pria (?) has an air force base with 1200 military personnel and acts as a refueling stop when crossing the Atlantic. Hydrangeas grow wild. Al handed out booklets that showed beautiful pictures of the Azores and will be more than happy to help you plan your trip through is travel agency if you so wish. This reporter picked up a brochure booklet that had “Thank You” letters to Rotary from our Charitable Giving program. I’d like to return this on Tuesday the 19th
Fellowship Day: Rotary night May 9th at Pintello Comedy Theater.
Bone Marrow Raffle: No winner.
Club Raffle: Whitney Pintello (David Cox shouting out “The new Marv” in reference to Whitney winning) & and guest Maria Cano from AAA guest of Deanna.
Tuesday 19th program will be Mayor Don Gage- State of the City.