That little imp "El Nino" took a day off and we were blessed with blue sky and sunshine.
At the Bell
Mel Davis led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance
Karen Daniels hit all of the right notes leading the group in God Bless America. Can't say the group hit all the right notes.
Jim Raffini brought the thought for the day: From the Captain of the ill-fated Windjammer ship the Fantome - a toast that he made to all his passengers.
I would like to toast four common temptations in life, lying, cheating, stealing and drinking
If you lie, be it to save a friend
If you cheat, cheat death
If you steal, be it to steal the heart of a loved one
If you drink, be it to toast long life, good health, and happiness to your friends.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
Once again, Bud Daveiro introduced a few representatives from the Sebastopol Sunrise club: Nick Randall, Bill Sauber, and Michael McGlothlin.
Guests included Bruna, our exchange student from Brazil as introduced by Michael Hixson. She is still hoping to hang out with some of the members.
John Blount introduced his guest Dr. John Sweeney, a longtime Rotarian who first introduced John to Rotary way back in the dark ages.
Patty Blount introduced her guest, Cathy Hicks
Debbie Brooks introduced her husband Mike.
Tag Team Rotarian Talk
Tom Lambert selected as this month's Rotarian gave an interesting presentation about his life and career.
Tom was raised by a mom and dad who loved the outdoors and it left a lasting impression on him. He studied biology at Chico State and graduated just about the time that a national concern for the environment was beginning to blossom. The Santa Barbara oil spill, the Cuyahoga River fire and Earth Day all came together to shed a new light on protecting our resources.
Tom signed on with Pacific Gas and Electric and became one of their men on the environment beat. He studied hydro dams and power production to protect the rivers and streams from degradation. He was also sent on a hunt for the elusive wolverine (unicorn? leprechaun?) in the Sierras. Alas, no wolverines were located but it sounds like it was kind of fun, and they paid him, too. Tom spent 28 years with PGE and remains a keen student of the environment.
He lives with his wife Sally and his two sons.
Announcements
President Rick announced that he is the proud protector of a found Raincoat and he is waiting for the owner to claim it.
Our meeting on February 5 will be the Queen of Hearts Extravaganza. Everyone is invited for a special program. Please bring your significant other and RSVP with Edwin or Diana Wilson.
President Rick wanted to say a special thank you to Senator Mike McGuire for his great program last week. Rick sees big things in Mike's future.
President Rick gave a shout out to the Rotarian volunteers who helped put down the new flooring in the Sebastopol Community Center. President Rick showed a picture of the crew including Jim Pacatte, Tom Dilley, Chris Dawson, Steve Prandini, Michael McGlothlin and David Still. I can tell you that three of these guys really know their stuff and the other three probably shouldn't be let around sharp objects.
The floor got put down in two days instead of the planned-for five. If you want to get a look at the floor, you can buy a ticket to the Sunrise Rotary's upcoming Casino night/Mardi Gras Ball on Saturday February 20 at 6pm. You weren't going to New Orleans anyway and this is the next best thing.
Captain Bob Rogers is organizing a Bocce Ball team for the June 11, 2016 tournament at Juilliard Park in Santa Rosa. This gives you plenty of time to practice rolling those balls.
You may remember that there was no Super Bowl Board last year and we were unable to make our regular Super Bowl contributions to charity. President Rick put out the call for someone (anyone) to organize the board and Past President Aleia Coate answered the call. She will be assisted by Richard Power.
Bring your charitable contributions next week for a chance to do some good. Aleia will only be slightly deflated if her beloved Patriots don't go all the way this year.
Next Week Past Presidents Day Celebration
Don't forget next week's special program on January 22. Champagne Reception at 11:45 and Program at 12:15. Don't be late.
Recognition
Apparently many members of our club were born in the winter months and have been celebrating birthdays all over the place. President Rick broke out his newly inflated $10 fines for all of the lucky birthday people.
First victim was Steve Prandini for his November 24 special day. Steve claimed that it was so long ago that he couldn't remember anything about it.
Norm Stupfel's B'day fell on Thanksgiving this year for a double celebration.
Bill Cole also suffered a senior moment and was unable to recall his birthday doings on December 20.
Mike Ferguson remembered that he threw himself a surprise party (how do you do that?) on December 20 and his entire family came out to fete him. One of the best birthdays ever.
Dick Zimmer turned 74 years young on 12/20.
Mark McDonnell remembered nothing memorable on his December 26 birthday. Not a surprise for someone with a Boxing Day birthday.
Judge Bob Boyd had a fine lunch of TurDuckHen leftovers with his sons. President Rick had an especially enjoyable time fining a Judge.
John Blount spent his birthday driving down I-5 heading to a Southern California celebration watching the miles and the years fly by.
Patty Blount, not on a Rose Parade Float this year, celebrated by ordering takeout pizza.
Hal Kwalwasser celebrated his birthday at the Ahwanee Hotel in Yosemite Valley. Hal was fined an extra $5 for not knowing the new name of the Ahwanee Hotel.
Steve Kellner had a wild and crazy birthday on 12/14 attending a Labor-Management Seminar. That sounds like fun.
Bob Hirsch partied on and on in Forestville, claiming he stayed out until 10pm. Hard to believe he was able to get out of bed the next day.
The Raffle
Once again, the Powerball-like excitement was palpable. Jim Raffini got his lucky chance but did not come up a winner.
Aleia Coate introduced Speaker Steve Page. Steve worked for Congressman Leon Panetta and the Oakland A's before taking his position with the Sonoma Raceway. The Raceway was known as the Sears Point Raceway for many years before becoming Infineon. When the Infineon naming rights expired, the course became Sonoma Raceway.
With the introduction of the wildly popular NASCAR series, the enduringly popular National Hot Rod Association, and the excitement of the Indy Car race series, the Raceway is at a peak of popularity. The Raceway is not an ellipse but a road course, one of only two road courses out of 35 courses on the NASCAR circuit. The drivers actually have to make a right turn once in a while.
The NHRA drag strip is also a popular draw where you can see cars that accelerate from 0-100 in one second. The Indy car race is the final race in the season series with all of the excitement that brings.
Steve pointed out the raceway is actually in use 340 days a year, not just on big race weekends. It hosts amateur racing, training schools and even vintage race car races. There are professional automotive and racing concerns that have a permanent presence at the track. The Raceway attracts visitors from all over the United States who come to Sonoma County for events.
The Raceway is also interested in new environmentally friendly technologies including solar power and recycling materials. The Raceway would like to show that environmentally sensitive approaches can co-exist with high performance automobile enthusiasm. And yes, they are always trying to improve access into and out of the Raceway on race days.
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Mel Davis led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance
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ought the thought for the day: From the Captain of the ill-fated Windjammer ship the Fantome - a toast that he made to all his passengers.
She is still hoping to hang out with some of the members..jpg)
Tom Lambert selected as this month's Rotarian gave an interesting presentation about his life and career.
You may remember that there was no Super Bowl Board last year and we were unable to make our regular Super Bowl contributions to charity. President Rick put out the call for someone (anyone) to organize the board and Past President Aleia Coate answered the call. She will be assisted by Richard Power.
First victim was Steve Prandini for his November 24 special day. Steve claimed that it was so long ago that he couldn't remember anything about it.
Norm Stupfel's B'day fell on Thanksgiving this year for a double celebration.
Bill Cole also suffered a senior moment and was unable to recall his birthday doings on December 20.
Mike Ferguson remembered that he threw himself a surprise party (how do you do that?) on December 20 and his entire family came out to fete him. One of the best birthdays ever.
Mark McDonnell remembered nothing memorable on his December 26 birthday. Not a surprise for someone with a Boxing Day birthday.
udge Bob Boyd had a fine lunch of TurDuckHen leftovers with his sons. President Rick had an especially enjoyable time fining a Judge.
Patty Blount, not on a Rose Parade Float this year, celebrated by ordering takeout pizza.
Hal Kwalwasser celebrated his birthday at the Ahwanee Hotel in Yosemite Valley. Hal was fined an extra $5 for not knowing the new name of the Ahwanee Hotel.
Steve Kellner had a wild and crazy birthday on 12/14 attending a Labor-Management Seminar. That sounds like fun.
Bob Hirsch partied on and on in Forestville, claiming he stayed out until 10pm. Hard to believe he was able to get out of bed the next day.
With the introduction of the wildly popular NASCAR series, the enduringly popular National Hot Rod Association, and the excitement of the Indy Car race series, the Raceway is at a peak of popularity. The Raceway is not an ellipse but a road course, one of only two road courses out of 35 courses on the NASCAR circuit. The drivers actually have to make a right turn once in a while.
