Weekly eBulletin, January 22, 2014
eBulletin written by Bill Paul
(REDONDO BEACH) January 22, 2014 -- Our scheduled speaker had to cancel on us with less than 24 hours notice. Fortunately, Connie Siegel was available with a back-up presentation. "I only learned about this last night," he said. None-the-less, his presentation was very informative. More on it later.
In the meantime, Ernie O'Dell was our greeter today and Steve Scerra led us in the flag salute.
Guests –Walter Campbell was a special guest of Jeff Weigel, Nancy Langdon was a special guest of Steve Scerra, Amy Zimmerman was a special guest of Terry Bichlmeier, and Lindsey Dreizler and Sarah Cummings were guests of Gayle Albin-Bailey.
Meals on Wheels handled by Jeff Weigel and PDG Eli Gauna.
Based on the recent Suggestion on Satisfaction Questionnaire circulated in the club, President Karen sent around a signup sheet for the greeting, invocation and flag salute duties for the remainder of her term. No more last minutes arrangements!
Karen also announced that one week ago, January 13 2014 to be exact, "India hadn't reported a new case of polio in three years. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on January 13, 2011. This three-year achievement sets the stage for polio-free certification for the entire Southeast Asia region by the World Health Organization," she said. She also reported that "La Mesa CA Rotarian Terry Caster and his wife gave $1.1 M to Rotary to fund Polio Eradication which is being matched 2 for 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
She reported that in Bill Gates 2013 year in review he said, "We got smarter and faster at fighting polio. The outbreak in the Horn of Africa was controlled in 4 months, less than half the time it took to control an outbreak there in 2005. There is now a coordinated plan to respond to outbreaks, improve routine immunizations, and fight the disease in the last three countries where polio is still circulating: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria and there is $4 billion in long term funding in place."
Karen reminded everyone of the evening meeting next week, January 29, 5:30PM to 7:30PM. The Community Social Event will feature 18 Teacher mini grant awards. "Bring a guest that you think would be a great Rotarian, she said. "We need to know if you are coming and bringing guests, so RSVP with Nancy Campbell today. The evening will highlight what Rotary is about."
Casino Night - March 1, Toyota Automotive Museum – Rolando Andrade, Larry Hashimoto and Laura Fields.
Marna Smeltzer announced the State of the City will be held February 21st, from 7am to 9:15am at the Crowne Plaza. Cost is $40 p/p
The annual Super Bowl 10K Beer Pour is scheduled for February 2nd. The club is supplying 20 volunteers to assist in this project. Time is from 5:30am to 12:00pm. That's right: AM! See Scott Young for further details.
Past President Proud Moments – Colette Paul, past-president of our club in the 2007-08 Rotary Year, gave an upbeat talk about her year as president. "I was sitting at my computer working to build our business for 10 years and decided that to join a local community group. So I sought out Rotary," she said.
Colette had served as club service chair and vocational service chair several times before stepping up to the presidency. In addition she was Rotarian of the Year following her first year in Rotary, worked on several committees for District 5280, and created the district directory for district governors Jack Jones, Doug Wilson and Lew Bertram.
"During the time I was president-elect, I took out to breakfast or lunch about half the club members to get better acquainted and learn what members wanted," she said.
Colette said her three goals as president were: (1) Fund raising, (2) fellowship and fun, and (3) special challenges such as hosting Rotary International President D.K.Lee during his visit to our club. She also launched the Community Foundation of the Redondo Beach Rotary Club.
What does the future hold for her? She will be an assistant governor during the 2014-2015 Rotary Year responsible for four South Bay clubs under Governor-elect Elsa Gilliam.
Speaker: Conrad Siegel, a actuary, gave an informative talk about the conflicts of interest that gravitate toward unrestrained growth of municipal bonds in financing city project. The example he cited was the financial boondoggle of the incinerator in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He also updated the club about the latest development in the Bernie Maddof ponzi scheme. "JP Chase Morgan has been fined $1.1 billion for not reporting the ponzi scheme 20 years ago," he said. Then they withdrew $280 million of their own money before notifying customers." Oops!