Weekly eBulletin - Nov. 13, 2013
eBulletin written by Bill Paul and Scott Fellows
Photography by PDG Rick Mendoza
Webmaster Dave Whitehead
(REDONDO BEACH) November 13, 2013 -- President Karen Weigel is back from her month-long sojourn to Fiji working on several water projects, and not surprisingly today's meeting was jam-packed with announcements and activities. She is shown here with out luncheon speaker, Major Kyle Smith, and the children's book the club will donate to the Redondo Beach library in the Major Smith's name. More on the Major's presentation later.
The Invocation/ Inspiration was offered by PDG Vicki Radel
PDG Pat Cashin led us in the Flag Salute.
President Karen introduced visiting Rotarian Arlene Kruger from the Downtown Albuquerque Rotary Club, Connie Siegel from Hershey Rotary Club in Pennsylvania, and Mike Stark who is an honorary member of our club.
Meals on Wheels: Our weekly task of distributing meals prepared by The Salvation Army to shut-ins was handled by Jeff Melodia today.
Announcements: At last weekend's Paul Harris Foundation Celebration at the Science Center, General Kevin P. Chilton, Command Astronaut Pilot 1992 & 1994 Endeavour missions, gave a "fantastic speech," said President Karen Weigel. General Chilton spoke to about 600 Rotarians and friends who sat in the giant hall housing the Endeavor Space Shuttle, the same shuttle Chilton commanded in 1994. "It is much larger than I thought," was a common comment heard throughout the hall.
President Karen thanked club members who participated in last week's Redondo Beach City Employees Pancake Breakfast.
Redondo Beach Police Reserve Commander Mike Stark was on hand to receive a check in the amount of $3,400 from the Redondo Beach Rotary Club. This was our 19th year sponsoring the annual Police Reserve Banquet.
President Karen announced the club will donate $1,000 to ShelterBox for the survivors of the recent Philippines typhoon devastation. ShelterBox teams are on the ground in the Philippines and will donate more than 4,000 ShelterBoxes to that devasted country. Two members of our club then announced they were prepared to donate an additional $200 to the relief effort, and Karen invited club members to dig into their pockets for more donations. Donations quickly rose to $1,610. Altogether the club will donate $2,610 to ShelterBox. The donations will provide at least two large tents, sleeping blanket, cooking supplies and other survival supplies for more than 20 people.
On Thanksgiving Day, the Salvation Army is sponsoring a Parsons Remembrance, in honor of John Parsons and his volunteer work with the Army. Club members will cook and pack lunches, write Thanksgiving day cards, deliver meals, and sort canned food. Volunteers are needed between 7:00 and 10:00 a.m.
Rotary International requires that we conduct nominations for club officers and directors for the 2014-15 Rotary Year, at this week's meeting. The 2014-2015 board nominees are:
President: Rolando Andrade
Vice President: Dave Whitehead
President-Elect: Nasrin Moghadasian and Scott Fellows
Past President: Karen Weigel
Secretary: Monique Waite
Treasurer: Jean Scully
Club Service Chair: Bill Gard
Youth Service Chair: Karina Garcia
Vocational Service Chair: Michael Jackson
Community Service Co-Chairs: Laura Fields and Galina Gilman
International Service Chair: Pat Cashin
The final election for 2014-2015 will be held during a Club Assembly at the December 11th club luncheon. And if you are curious what each of these positions is responsible for, click here to see President Karen's slide show presentation describing the duties and responsibilities of each position.
The UCLA/USC Tailgate Luncheon will be held in less than two weeks. It is scheduled for Tuesday Nov. 26, 11:30 - 1:30 p.m. The luncheon will be a joint meeting of the Redondo Beach Rotary Club and four Torrance Rotary clubs. Cost is $30 and our club is responsible for 60 tickets. President Karen said we've sold 35 tickets to date. Scott Fellows demonstrated how the football pool for the cross-town rivalry game between UCLA and USC works. The much-anticipated game will occur Saturday, Nov 30, 2013 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Scott said pool winners will receive a $100 prize for picking the score at the end of the first, second, and third quarter, and $200 for the final score. Cost to participate is $10 per square. Results will be announced at club luncheon on Dec. 4.
Speaking of luncheons, today's luncheon speaker was Major Kyle Smith, General Secretary of The Salvation Army, Southern California Division.
Maj. Smith wasn’t always a high-ranking officer in the Salvation Army. As a new recruit (actually you volunteer for this Christian Auxiliary) in 1996, he quickly rose in the ranks and in two short years got his commission to oversee the Western Territory and was stationed in Long Beach, Calif.
By 2008 Maj. Smith was appointed to oversee the committee that directly helps the thousands of U.S. military veterans living in and around Southern California and Los Angeles County in particular. He notated that mental illness ultimately leads to homelessness, with that unfortunate condition the result of a few factors, mostly from combat related experiences and to a lesser degree due to a high use of drugs.
He noted that the “Army” is the second highest donator in the area to veteran’s needs and are able help nearly 50% of veterans in need, with the number around 3,000.
They have several outreach programs:
1) The Haven -- for males and females
2) Bell Shelter -- also for men and women
3) Hope Harbor – for veterans and their Families
4) Westwood Traditional Village – also for veterans and their Families
The goals are self sufficiency, income stability and family structure for Veterans, of which 90% are men. The major goal is to have solid and continuous employment, living in a dwelling – not on the street, and having a stable personal life. Those are Noble goals -- indeed.