Almost on Time.... Again

Well, sir, we were this close to starting the meeting on time (again), but once President Sean got the bit in his teeth, he stopped off at the dentist and then it was off to the races.  Opening the meeting, the Prez thanked scheduled greeter Ray Wyatt's alter ego, P.E. Brett Shreiner (P.E. = President  Elect to the uninformed), who capably stood in for the absent Ray.  Then it was on to everyone's favorite Rotarian, the big guy, to lead the Pledge and then ... uhhhh... Brett led us in the song.  Well done.  Soon Rotarians and their guest were consuming mass quantities of victuals, which consisted of pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans and salad.  Kudos to Dave and Jan for another marvelous repast.

 

 

We all know that the Prez never saw an announcement he didn't fall in love with, and today was no exception, with the list growing even longer in spite of the fact that the Rotary year is growing shorter.  The big one (the elephant in the room, so to speak) was our upcoming Crab Feed in under two weeks and so Mel and Chapman and others had a lot to say about it.  One important announcement for those on the setup committee:  setup will begin at 9:00 A.M. on the day of the feed, February 18; you'll want to be there in plenty of time.  Our format is somewhat different this year, what with the Rotary Club not engaged in any kitchen activities so we'll need to be flexible as the event unfolds.

 

 

'Twasn't long after that the traditional weekly drawing was held and since Ray was in the room for this one, everyone just assumed he'd take home the moolah.  However, when Bob Adam's ticket was called by our guest speaker, we all realized that Bob didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of actually pulling the orange ball and carting off the $173 pot.  Hard cheese, Bob... keep plugging away at it... keep believing... keep your nose to the grindstone and eventually you'll see Ray walk off with all the money.

 

 

 

Since it was the Orange Team's turn to set up the meeting, Orange Team captain, Ross Johnson was Sarge for the month and he almost skipped to the front of the room to begin exacting vengeance.  Aided by bagman Steve Forseth, Ross almost began with happy fines, but digressed momentarily to nail Ray for not showing up to be the scheduled greeter.  Then the happy fines began to flow: Tom Redmon threw in some happy bucks for getting to go to a relative's funeral (?), then Clarence admitted to being a guest speaker at Pre-PETS (which was attended by P.E. Brett Shreiner.)  Paul Schubert and Bob Adam threw in for no particular reason, when out of the blue, Neil Orchard confessed to a Vegas trip where he witnessed his granddaughter April play in her first collegiate softball tournament, which her team won 5 - 0.  Way to go April!  Steve Forseth related a very amusing roofing story and paid and then the Sarge himself threw in for getting a cell call from his son.  Ross MacCarty added to the pile of filthy lucre for something having to do with Hillary Clinton and then Melody got nailed (don't read that too literally...) for having her phone erupt during the meeting.  The big guy chipped in for some undefined transgression and that was pretty much it.  Game over. 

 

 

Then, following a long and hallowed Club tradition, the Prez got up and introduced a volunteer introducer, Chapman, who proceeded to ... uhhh... introduce our guest speaker, Kris Calvin, from Davis.  Kris is bipedal... no! wait! she's ambidextrous....hmmm, that's not it either... well, she wears two hats (she's two-headed, that must be it...): she is a writer whose first novel was published recently to rave reviews and she is also the CEO of the California chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

 

 

 In a most engaging presentation, she expounded on the art of advocacy, highlighting a number of tips we can all use when advocating for a cause.  At the end, she delved into her personal journey into the creative world, having never really thought of herself as a creative person.  Her admonishment to 'just do it' was the reason she was able to break out of a conventional thinking mind frame.  In an unprecedented gesture, Kris offered a signed copy of her book to every Rotarian who donated $10 to the Club and a number of folks took her up on the offer.  Very well done, Kris.

 

 

At the conclusion of her remarks, President Sean got up and apologized for not having a book for her to sign and that was about it as Rotarians abandoned the room as if a 10 kiloton warhead was about to detonate in the next room.  Good meeting.