Apologies to you faithful readers who have missed the last few issues of the bulletin. There is a very good reason: we didn't print one.
The miscreants gather...
Your intrepid reporter is back at long last from a summer vacation and has only now buckled down to the task of recording the events of our beloved Rotary Club. Under the leadership of our new President, Brett Schreiner, the meeting got off to a rollicking start with Steve Forseth greeting, Ray Wyatt pledging and Chapman singing (if that's what you call it...) We settled down to a nice repast of chicken salad with trimmings and were only rudely interrupted when PDG Clarence waltzed to the front of the room in a most cavalier fashion and began embarrassing Chapman with the presentation of his Rotary Foundation Major Donor Award.
This is what you call your big presentation...
Later, in a pensive moment, the big guy was heard to remark, "Jeez, all you do is throw $85 a month their way and the next thing you know, you're more or less a big shot." This reporter falls on the 'less' side of the argument. Anyway, nicely done.
Next we had some announcements, but needing a new prescription, your reporter didn't catch all of them. With the conclusion of the announcing, it was time for the weekly Ray Wyatt drawing and this time it was Dr. Bob Adam whose number was drawn and Bob in that patriotic manner he has, left the $65 to grow another week so that Ray can have a fair chance at it.
This is referred to as "Going for it..."
This is referred to as, "Hey, look! Bob's got a white ball!"...
Naturally in our traditional meeting format, it was time for the Sarge and this week did not disappoint. PDG Clarence got up and began the session by asking about pin and badge infractions and it was none other than President Brett who had to cough up a few drachmas for the offense.
The Club's power elite observe from the balcony...
When Clarence noted that it was Steve Forseth's birthday month, Steve paid extra to avoid the song. (Way to go Steve; we were not in good tune today) Next it was Pat Orelli donating to cover his recent Hawaiian vacation, followed by Treasurer Tracy McLinn noting that she was headed to Tennessee (yes, on purpose) for a baseball tournament featuring her daughter and her team. Good luck, Mom.
Even Merlin was paying attention...
Hard to imagine that a Sergeant would fine a guy who he had just recognized for donating 10 big ones to the Rotary Foundation, but Clarence never met a wallet he didn't want to see the inside of, so naturally he zoomed in on Chapman for a recent trip out of town where he was busy opening up an orphanage and finding a cure for cancer. Yeeeesh...
New President at work under the watchful eye of the 'has been"
Finally, Navin chipped into the pot for missing a recent board meeting (is that 'board' or 'bored'?) and it turned out that Brett had given him the wrong time or date or place or... In any event, that was it; game over.
As the room breathed a collective sigh of relief, the Prez revealed that our guest speaker had not shown up, so he looked in PP Sean's direction and said, "How about it?"
Sporting his new facial tattoo, the Past Prez delivered a good talk...
Still feeling guilty about the big haul he had received at Demotion, the PP responded in the affirmative and delivered a terrific talk on the state of water in the State of California. After revealing how he come to the water business, he went on to talk about how the various water districts coordinate water delivery, how the state has mandated water meters for everyone, and even delved into the topic of fluoridation. It was a very informative talk and no one left early. Nicely done. Good meeting.