President Steve started out the first meeting of his term with an innovative twist – he rang a digital bell.  It seems his went missing at Tim’s demotion bbq.  But no worries! Steve, being the organized engineer type, had his meeting outlined for the club and projected on screen at the front of the room, which, by the way, was arranged in a slightly different configuration. 

Club members stepped up to the plate and helped perform the various duties…

• Chuck Elizondo – Greeter
• John Peplowski – Pledge
• Dave Johnson – Thought for the day
• Ken Holbrooke – Sargeant at arms
• Fred Claessens – Photographer
• Kathy Egenes – Spoke notes

Our visiting Rotarians included Pres. Kimberly Parker - NC 49er, Pres. Allison Swartzendruber - NC South, Pres. Dennis Geare - Nevada City, Pres. Bob Barbaro - Penn Valley, Assistant Governor Doug McDonald. RYE student Belle from Brazil attended her final meeting of the year.  She presented President Steve with her sponsoring club’s Rotary flag, thanked us once again for her great year in Grass Valley and told us she will be heading home very soon.  Great job Belle!  We’ll miss you!

Dan Portand was visiting as a guest of Peter Lemmon. Pete, however, was not in attendance.  It seems he was otherwise occupied encouraging his wife as they awaited the birth of their baby.

Kris Stepanian led us in singing Happy Birthday to: Ray Enneking, Larry Fallery, MaryAnn Cartan, Kelly Quinn, Peter Lemmon and Kat Thomas.

Anniversaries are celebrated this month by: Lori Burkart-Frank and Ken, Larry Faller and Judy, Kris Stepanian and Stephen.

New member Oz Butterfield was inducted today.  He is a transfer from the Tahoe City Rotary Club.  Welcome Oz!

Chuck Elizondo received a 39 year perfect attendance pin. Nice job, Chuck!

Announcements:

• Next week Lori Burkart-Frank will give a presention on the Nevada County Community Leadership Instute – NCCLI.  Many of our club’s members have been through the program and can attest to its value for our community.
• In the coming weeks, the international committee will give a presentation on the Lisbon Convention.
• Play Bocce with fellow Rotarians at Western Gateway Park, Wednesday nights for the next few weeks. 6:00 p.m. All are welcome, no experience necessary.

Confessions:

• President Steve proclaimed this week to be "Fine Free", though he immediately followed that up by having a “pin check”
• Rod and Susan Fivelstad recently returned from a 6 week tour oversees.  They spent 4 weeks traveling around the UK before heading to the RI convention in Lisbon, Portugal for the remaining 2 weeks.
• Bob Long was so excited to announce the birth of twin grandbabies last Sunday that he pledged $50 to Polio Plus.
• Jon Byerrum and Holly just returned from a bike riding trip in Oregon. Despite the fact of riding for 8 days from the Rogue River to the Coast, thru rain storms and blazing heat, up to 20,000 ft elevation and countless miles, their bikes could not seem to pass a single bakery on the route so they ended up gaining 5 lbs each. 

President Steve shared with us the new faces of Rotary this year and introduced the Presidents of the other 4 clubs in our Area. Allison Swartzendruber of Nevada County South took advantage of the multi-media equipment and showed us a glimpse of what we might expect from Steve this coming year.  It appears he can do a “mean” Harlem Shake, complete with a lamp shade on his head – ooohhh yeaaaah! Allison also threw out a challenge for a friendly Harlem Shake dance competition among the local clubs. 

Steve let us know a few of the things that have been going on behind the scenes at the club level and told us about the board’s idea of a new bike race fund raiser in the spring.  He plans to keep communication open between the board and club members with updates on membership and other important decisions.  He asked that we all take the time to express our ideas and concerns.  One of his goals is to Engage - Have fun – Have more fun!

The winning raffle ticket was held by Bob Barbaro of Penn Valley, but alas, he did not pick the black marble.  Steve ended the meeting by ringing his bell, yes - HIS bell, which was returned by Dick Geare of the Nevada City Rotary Club.  I sense a story there… so this may be continued.

Meeting called to order at 12:15. Pledge by Larry Faller and thought for the day by Fred Claessens. The Rotary Greeter was Rich Keene.

Tim McCall enthusiastically displayed his awards given at the Demotion.  He thanked the club for all of the help and generosity given during his tenure as President.

Guests of Rotarians: Isabelle de Menezes – guest of Bobbie Swanson – Isabelle is an RYE exchange student.  She thanked Rotary and remarked on her rewarding experiences.

Announcements

·    Eric Trygg gave us the sad news Bill Beeman, Past President of Penn Valley Rotary (2011-2012) past away last week of a heart attack.  Bill was involved in the broadcasting field.  Bill's life interest was Boy Scouts, his involvement started as a young scout and continued throughout his life.  He is survived by his wife Kay and his two sons.   
Memorial service will be Saturday, August 3rd, 2 pm, at Grass Valley Methodist Church. Bill always had a smile on his face and was a great Rotary President.

·    Kathy Egenes gave us feedback on transporting RYLA participants.  Kelly Quinn, a twenty year Rotarian, was involved in transporting some of them and remarked on the awesome quality of these kids. Thanks to Kelly and Teresa, Bob Long and Wyn Spiller, and Larry and Judy Faller for making the trip to Grizzly Creek Ranch in Portola to give the campers a ride.  Kathy also reminded us that Bocce Ball practice has started at her place every Wednesday evening.

·    Marcia Salter was given an award for four years of perfect attendance.  While she was at the podium she awarded Tim McCall for three years of perfect attendance.

·    Steve Sauer announced the Rotary Picnic at Gateway Park in Penn Valley.  This event is open to all of the Rotary clubs and will be held on Friday August 2^nd.  Steve will be visiting all of the Rotary clubs to promote the event.

·    John Peplowski was introduced as that well know character that does not need a name tag.

 ·   Tim McCall called for a moment of silence for Mike Johnson.

Program: Shelley Drievold is with the Marketing Department of Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital.  She presented an overview of her adventures with the Rotary International Group Study Exchange 2013 - Cultural Exchange to Hyderabad, India.  Shelley was one of a group of four young professionals on the G.S.E team.  On this journey she learned about the food, clothing and culture of India and participated in vocational visits with hospitals, health clinics, newspapers and other marketing outlets.  At the conclusion she participated in the Rotary project – Polio clinic.

Meeting was ended at 1:15pm with the Four Way

Meeting called to order at 12:15. Pledge by Pat Ward and thought for the day by Rich Toothman.

Visiting Rotarians: Oz Butterfield – Tahoe City, Dave Walker – Penn Valley, Nate Beason – 49er BC.

Guests of Rotarians: Michael Pecolar – Eric Trygg’s nephew

Announcements

Anniverseries: Rod & Susan Fivelstad -23 years, Scott Browne & Rich Toothman – 5 years, Keith & Jeanette Royal – 30 years, Steve & Wyn Spiller – 41 years,

Jon & Holly Byerrum – 4 years, Ed & Bernadette Sylvester – 55 years, Ken & Jan Friend – 24 years

·    Don Sheppard is leaving for a new assignment in Tacoma, Washington

·    Kathy Egenes reminded us that RYLA starts next Monday. Driver needs were filled.

·    Lori Burkart-Frank thanked all for supporting “Save the Girls” Bra Project. 9,600 bra’s were collected District wide.

·    Scott Spencer received a thank you card and a Dinner gift certificate from the club for his work on the Fairgrounds Project.

·    Steve Sarantopoulos: Club Survey’s should be submitted this week. Make sure to update the Club Roster. Board retreat at 5pm Friday evening to plan his year.

·    Tim: Demotion June 17 at Condon Park. Joint Board meeting July 31, 5:30pm at Don & Anita’s Houseboat.

·    John Voter thanked Tim and Steve Sarantopoulos for their help with raking at the Fairgrounds. 40 dumpsters were filled.

Confessions: Pat Ward bought a new car. His VW is now a dead bug since it came loose from the motorhome while towing and was totaled. $50 fine made him a Bell Ringer. Bob Long bought a new car. His $50 fine was passed to Rich Toothman, making Rich a Bell Ringer. Kyle Daugherty bought as new bike for a $25 fine

Program: Cindy Grubs and Dee Hedenland of the GVPD Volunteer organization presented an overview of their role, duties and training. They currently have 13 volunteers, and would like to have more.  Some of their duties are crowd control, traffic control, CPR & First Aid, Court document runs, abandoned vehicles, vacation house checks, animal control, crime scene security, car patrol, etc. They contribute

3,500 man hours annually.  Their presence sometimes serves as a crime deterrent. Extensive background checks are done before acceptance as a volunteer.

Raffle: Tom Stanley drew a white marble.

Meeting was ended at 1:15pm with the Four Way Test.

President Tim called our meeting to order and thanked John Peplowski, Bill Schultz, Scott Browne, Team Captain Tom Stanley and Judy Hess for being the Greeter, leading the Pledge, giving the Thought for the Day, pulling double duty for Sergeant of Arms/Photographer and Spoke/Visiting Rotarians, respectably.  

Really cool life events of the day included Kris Stepanian’s Birthday, Bill Schultz’s 80^th Birthday (love you, Bill) and the birth of Peter Lemon’s first grandson earlier that morning. We’ll be celebrating a new baby for Peter and his wife this July!

President Tim recapped the Rotary District Conference and our “Awards in a Box”. Don and Anita Daniels chaired the “House of Friendship” this year and knocked everyone’s socks off with a warm reception and awesome hospitality. For large clubs our Club was in the Top 3 and was recognized for our commitment to The Foundation/per capita, our Rotary @ Work Day (painting the GV Police Dept lobby) our Literary Service Project, and Speech Tournament. We were the #1 Club for Club Administration – Thank you Tom Lathrop!!! And got a Governor’s citation for membership. We were also #1 in Polio Plus per capita.

Scott Spencer gave a quick recap on the Rotary @ Work event at the Fairgrounds sharing that 37 of our Club members participated – all day- and played a big part in being able to accomplish almost $100,000 in projects!!!  

It was great to welcome Yvonne Bartlett back to our Club. A 49-er Rotary Club member, Yvonne introduced Coke and Cindy Newell and “Project Amigo”, an international service project determined to “end poverty through education”.  For almost 30 years, Project Amigo has enabled disadvantaged children and youth of Colima, Mexico, to achieve their highest potential by providing them educational opportunities, material support, enrichment activities and medical and dental services. Volunteer Work Weeks allow volunteers from developed countries to engage in humanitarian service and become both friends and sponsors of Mexican children and youth seeking the advantages of education. Work Weeks can also include electrical and plumbing repairs to homes, helping children with their English homework, reading to children, professional skills such as dentistry, computer technicians, electricians, etc. The list is endless. You can get more information on how you can help by going on line at www.projectamigo.com.

Larry Faller drew a white marble and Tim closed our meeting by reminding everyone about his demotion dinner - 5:30 p.m. on June 17 at Condon Park

An enormous clang of the old, heavy, Rotary Club of Grass Valley bell struck by President Tim McCall begins our meeting.  Hey President Tim where’s your presidential bell?   It has been missing for months.  Maybe it is time to invoke the 4 way test with your fellow Area 4 Presidents, before we lose what hearing we have left. 

Speaking of hearing loss, who was the greeter?   Scott Browne led the pledge followed by John Peplowski on Thought for the Day.  Tom Stanley, May team leader, doubled up as Assistant Sgt at Arms.  Yours truly on Spoke notes.   After a chance to eat, we were reconvened, a little less enthusiastically.  My ears were still ringing.  Scott Browne introduced visiting Rotarians.  Susie Geminiagni introduced Robert Crawford as her guest.  Robert works with Susie at AJA video.

May Birthdays and Anniversaries were announced by President Tim.  Our Birthday folk were granted a reprieve and did not get Happy Birthday sung to them.

On to Announcements:

• Susan Fivelstad gave an update on the Little Libraries project.  Lyman Gilmore Interactors had decorated two newspaper boxes donated by the Union.  These boxes will house the first two little libraries to be placed in the community.
• We got a report on the Rotary at Work Days.  This included the Fairgrounds Area Clubs project coordinated by our most able Scott Spencer.  Over 180 Rotarians raked, painted, tore down a dilapidated stage, or layed concrete.  It was awesome and we were treated to a delicious lunch prepared by Bill’s Chuckwagon, owned by Rotarian Tom Stanley.  The other RAW day had been done at the end of April.  Dave Peeler and team painted the reception area at the GV Police Department.
• John Voter spoke about a Weight Lifting fundraiser for the Bear River High School Football team. 
  
• President Tim solicited help for housing our incoming GSE team from India and
  
• reminded us about the upcoming “Flight Day” at Lyman Gilmore on May 15th. 
  
• Tim also plugged District Conference (May 16-19).  Beam me to Conference Scotty, there is no intelligent life around here.  
• Demotion will be June 17.  Maybe the bell will find its way home.   

Fines were flying faster than I could write them down.  We got a bunch of bell ringers and that did not help my hearing.  Going full speed, President Tim needed a reminder that we had several students and their parents as guests and that we might want to do Student of the Month, before the Guest Speaker.  We met Lyman Gilmore’s May Students of the month.  Apologies now, for any misspelled names:  5^th Grade Alyse Rodrigues and Jaden Thomas; 6^th Garret Goff; 7^th Jusina D’Oliva; 8^th Ellie Ninnick.  Each student received a standing ovation and a nice bag of school supplies from Walker’s Stationery.

And now the program, Jessie Hudson, our County Librarian gave us a well-paced overview of the County Library System including a presentation on the library system and user stats.  Some of our members actually have Library Cards and are among the Patrons, although it wasn’t clear, if any had actually checked out a book , but those old, “Life of Riley” reruns were a hit. 

Yours truly had the lucky ticket for the marbles.  But having lost all his marbles managed only to select a white one. I am not sure if Tim rang the bell to end the meeting, my hearing was totally gone by then.

Yours truly, Rod

• Greeter: Tom Stanley
• Jon Peek led the Pledge.
• Dave Johnson jumped in and gave a prayer for the day.
• Photographer: Steve Rosenthal, (substituting for team leader Tom Stanley, who forgot his camera)

Guests:  Oz Butterfield, Truckee-Tahoe Rotary,  introduced by Kyle Daugherty.

Announcements:

• Tim McCall talked about GSE luncheon on Saturday for GSE Team  from India at 5 Mile House.  Today they are observing the reconstruction of the Foresthill Bridge and going on a catwalk under the bridge 700 feet above the river.
• Tim then announced that the Club will be receiving 7 awards at the District Conference this weekend and urged everyone who can to attend.
• Tim recognized Dave Peeler for his Rotary at Work efforts at the Police Station with 2 RI pins.
• Tim also thanked Steve Sauer and Scott Spencer for their help with the Rotary at Work projects.
• Tim talked about the Lyman Gilmore Flight event scheduled for Wednesday, May 15^th.
• Larry Faller announced  a quick meeting of the Little Library Committee after lunch
• John Voter asked for clarification from certain contributors to his son’s weightlifting fundraiser and said the club contributed over $120.
• Jon Byerrum talked about Rotary Foundation and doing a mini drive to complete the Club’s goal for the Foundation planned for a meeting in the near future.
• Monty East wowed us all with stories about his trip to Africa.  He and his wife Judy saw great white sharks up close and then went on safari where they got to see lions devouring a buffalo and a cheetah sunning itself.  Unfortunately, he had a heart issue at Victoria Falls and was flown to the hospital in Johannesburg.  Fortunately the problem was quickly resolved without major surgery and they returned home by way of Dubai a few days later.   Tim made him a Bellringer for this .
• Tom Lathrop advised the Club about his 2 week vacation visiting family  where he gained  5 pounds, so Tim levied a $10/pound fine, making it $50.
• Chuck Elizondo is back after a fishing mishap and hospital stay – Marcia Salter picked up a $25 fine for Chuck.

Guest Speaker – Fred Bueller Friends of Nevada County Military

Eric Trygg introduced Fred Bueller to talk about Friends of Nevada County Military (FONCM).  Fred thanked the Club for its early support when the group was first formed in 2005.   Fred, a retired banker,  went to Baghdad as an economic advisor.  He came back inspired by the work of our military personnel there and formed the FONCM to support our troops.  They began with mailing  boxes of goodies to the troops with personal letters of support.  He then found out that families at home needed support too, and began a program to assist them.  The projects of FONCM include participation  in parades to give support to troops and welcomes troops home when invited.  The group also helps with families of soldiers killed overseas and helps out veterans as well.  FONCM is looking to new programs for the future as troop deployment reduces.  Fred was given a standing ovation for his outstanding work.

Jon Peek was unsuccessful at the raffle.

Tim reminded the Club to email in any pictures they took from the Rotary at Work day.

Meeting adjourned at 1:15 pm.

Kelly Quinn greeted Rotarians upon entry. Kris Stepanian led the pledge while Steve Spiller gave us the Thought for the Day, reminding us all that our upcoming Rotary at Work Day annual event started here in Grass Valley in 2006 with projects instituted by Past District Governor Wyn Spiller: an impressive decade of service!

Bob and Kate Ziehlsdorf, Cindy's Tech Team, were introduced as Guests of Rotarians. Scott McFarland introduced Visiting Rotarians, Dave Walker and Mark Linsky. (I sure hope I got his name right!)

President Tim thanked Dave Peeler and his crew, which included Marcella Peeler, Steve Sauer, Don Shepard and Scott Spencer for a great job painting the lobby of the GV police station on Saturday April 27.

Cindy Ziehlsdorf presented a very interesting program about Ensemble Designs, a Grass Valley company designing and manufacturing equipment used worldwide in video production. The ideas used in Cafe Ensemble have been found useful and replicated in our area, as well. 

Lori Burkart-Frank was our Photographer. Peter Lemmon served as Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms...with Ken Holbrooke's appreciation.

Steve Sarantopolous opened the meeting with a suggestion that our missing President was in a place deserving of a fine. The place and fine amount were not disclosed. Nate Beason was introduced as a visiting Rotarian. There were no guests. Anita Daniels was presented the attendance award for 11 years of perfect attendance. Scott Spencer expressed his satisfaction with club participation with the fairground project on May 4 and requested that we bring tools. Anita mentioned that 150 Bras were brought to district assembly. At least one high ranking official tested the bras on stage to ensure quality. Rod Fivelstad announced that cases of Polio have dropped from 350,000 cases per year in 1988 to 18 per year. Lee Osnas announced that he sold his dental practice last Friday and Lori Burkhardt-Frank suggested that we move our Rotary meetings to a cruise ship after attending another Rotary Meeting on her cruise ship. Kyle Daugherty bragged about his high score when competing with other Rotarians at a recent fundraiser. Kathy Egenes suggested members could hone their bowling skills for next year at home on her Wii console during bocce ball practice.

Eric Trygg introduced our fellow Rotarian Sandra Barrington. Sandra currently works as a fund raiser for the hospital foundation. She and her husband own an 8 year old Chesapeake terrier. She graduated from Chico State and loves the outdoors. Sandra’s experience in fundraising goes wayback to her early days organizing parties with her sister at her parents’ house when they were away. 

Bob Long  graduated from USF. Bob signed up from combat arms which as he described gave he and his men an opportunity to shoot at the enemy flag for practice. Bob met his wife six months after he returned from Vietnam. He has two sons and a daughter. Bob moved to Grass Valley to work with CHW’s outpatients practice. 

Bill Schultz gave Kathy Egenes a ticket for the raffle. Turns out it was Tom Stanley's ticket.  She drew the white marble and Tom got to keep the table winnings.

Grass Valley Rotarians painting the lobby of GV Police Department on April 27, 2013

Scott McFarland - Greeter, Don Sheppard - Pledge, Peter Lemmon - Thought for the day, Kelly Quinn – Visiting Rotarians, Kenneth Holbrook – Photographer, Steve Spiller – Assistant Sergeant at Arms, Kris Stepanian – Spoke Notes

Visiting Rotarians:  Nate Beeson and Ginny  Trapani

Guests of Rotarians:  Mark Trujillo – Invited by Eric Trygg who knows Mark from The Camera Club

President Tim brought forward Peter Lemmon who sponsored and assisted in inducting new Grass Valley Rotary member Bill Standley, classification is in engineering.  Peter Lemmon also received a pin for recognition of sponsorship.

Announcements:

• Lyman Gilmore Interact Club members introduced themselves and promoted the fundraiser for their 5^th grade dance which will be on April 24^th.  President Tim had Ken Holbrooke, sergeant at arms, pass around the pan to raise funds for their cause.  Amount raised to be announced at next meeting.
• Visiting Rotarian Ginny Trapani announced “Flight Day” to take place at Lyman Gilmore on 5/15/13, and extended the invite to all. 
• Anita Daniels announced that we have achieved and exceeded our goal of 100 bras for the “Free the Girls” campaign.  Donated items can be dropped off through Friday, 4/19 at Tri Counties Bank in downtown Grass Valley.
• Kyle Daugherty passed around the sponsorship/donation sign up for our GV Rotary Bowling Team in the upcoming Big Brothers Big Sisters fundraiser.
• Kyle Daugherty and Steve Spiller also announced the REAGL workshops coming up the last two weekends of September.  We will need volunteers to help out with this event, and should start thinking about it now.
• President Tim preached about Rotary at Work Day on May 4^th.  He urged us all to participate in the approximate $85,000 worth of improvements to be done that day.  He reminded us to rally our friends and family to join us in ”expanding our Rotary horizons beyond Monday lunch.”
• Anita Daniels noted that the original Rotary at Work Day is on 4/27/13 – which is a smaller job, yet also needs more participation.
• Bill Schultz was acknowledged and recognized for his decades of service to Nevada County and recent tribute dinner with a standing ovation by the club.
• Eric Trygg is looking for recruits for craft talks.
• District Assembly is 4/20 and it is not too late to sign up.  Registration is paid by the club.
• District Conference is coming up 5/16-5/19 and the GV Rotary turn out is looking good, but there is still plenty of room for more to attend.  The more the merrier!

Confessions:

• Jon Byerrum – purchased a new 5^th wheel and sold his old trailer on Craigslist – fine of $50 was paid in part by him ($20- which made him a bell ringer) and $30- to Maryanne Cartan.
• Dennis Burbridge bought a 2006 used IKIA and was fined $30
• Steve Sauer vacationed in Honduras and was fined $50- for being out of the country.

Steve Sauer spoke to us again about the Affordable Health Care Act.  – Thank you Steve!!

The winning ticket for the weekly drawing went to Ken Holbrooke, he drew the last marble in the pot was declared the big winner.  –   A vote determined that from now on when there is only the winning black marble left, we will add a white marble to give a 50/50 chance of winning. 

Monica Daugherty (Kyle’s far better half) presented fifth grader Jacob Trembly and eight grader Leo Zlimen. The two winners of the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools Speech Contest jointly sponsored by the Rotary Club of Grass Valley and Tri Counties Bank. This year’s theme was “Courage”.  Jacob described the courage of at-risk kids at Old Skool Café located in Hunters Point, San Francisco where the kids run the kitchen, serve the meals, and even provide entertainment for the patrons. The kids at Old Skool Café have grabbed the opportunity to learn real life skills and turn their backs on the drugs, gangs and violence that has captured many young lives in the Hunters Point community. Leo used the theme of 9-11 Flight 93 as the center piece of his speech about courage. Remarkable performances by both.

Respectfully Submitted - Steve Spiller

Pledge of Allegiance was done by the Two Scott’s, President Tim contributed the thought for the day. Dave Walker was a visiting Rotarian from Penn Valley. No guests today. The President ordered a pin check. Proceeds will go to Polio Plus. Blake and Breanne Smith have been married 7 years, Fred and Ellie Claessens are celebrating their 11^th year wedding anniversary, Ron & Kathy Egenes celebrate 35 years, and Tim and Chris McCall are celebrating their 42nd anniversary. Carol Lenard reminded President Tim that Bob Lenhard’s birthday is 4/19.

Announcements:

• For Demi Seghezzi's fundraiser dinner, please buy tickets at Sasz Beauty Salon, $20, for the Greg Seghezzi Memorial Scholarship. It will be held Friday night, April 5, 6:00pm at the Calvary Bible Church on Hwy 174
  
• Please sign up for the April Speech contest by 4/3
• Music Contest is 4/7 at 2:00 at the 7^th Day Adventist Church off of Hwy 174.
• The benefit for Scott Robinson’s son Dan,  will be Sunday 4/7 at 4:00 at the Nevada City Elks Club.  Donation is $10.   Dan is doing well, though has resulting paralysis.
• Corr Dinner is 4/13 to celebrate Bill Schultz
  
• District Assembly is 4/20
• District Conference is 5/16-5/19
• Scott Spencer announced Rotary at Work Day  on May 4. There are 9 projects.  Please sign up.  5 clubs will be there.  A lot of camaraderie
• Dealers are needed for a Casino Night sponsored by Care Crisis Nursery on 4/6
• Please collect bras for the Free the Girls project.  This helps women freed from sex slavery to support themselves by selling the under garments to African women.  We have until 4/20 to collect them
• Mckeena Wong, winner of our music competition, sent a beautifully written thank you card
• Coin boxes were collected - please bring them in next week as well.

Anita Daniels volunteered her shameless self promotion, she wanted all to know about fabulous interest rates on car loans and equity lines.  Rates are as low as 1.99%.  Judy Hess was kind enough to accept the fine since Anita was already a bell ringer

Kyle Daugherty mentioned that April 20 is the Big Brother and Big Sister Bowling Event.  He attempted to solicit 4 volunteers for this event.   This was a bit challenging but I think he finally succeeded.

Maryann Cartan missed two meetings.  She made 1 up in Nevada City and the other in Arizona where the ex CEO of Intel talked about Arizona education.  She was fined $25 for the trip.

We sang Happy Birthday to Judy Hess’s mom who turned 85 that day.  She was not at the meeting but it was a fun time for all of us

Our speaker today was Sandy Jacobson.  (JAKE) is the Executive Director of Community Services.  She came to speak about her organization and all of their  programs which are made to fund the meal program which delivers meals to those $60 and older. 

Carol Lenhard welcomed fellow Rotarians as this afternoon’s Greeter. President Tim called the meeting to order and Morgan Stoltz led the club in the pledge of Allegiance.  Bill Schultz volunteered to lead the invocation. Thanks Bill. 

Visiting Rotarians: Dave Walker from Penn Valley 

Chuck Elizondo had the honor of recognizing Al Alstrand. Al has been a member of the Grass Valley Rotary since November 1975 and just celebrated his 56^th wedding anniversary. Al is a six time Paul Harris Fellow and served as the Club President in 1988 and 1989. He led the club during a very challenging time in our community, just following the 49er Fire. He led the “Green Again” campaign to reforest the area after the fire. Al was also the founder of the Early Risers Toastmasters. 

 Al Alstrand addresses the GV Rotary Club   

 Sandra Berrington receives her Rotary pin from Judy Bagley

Announcements:

• Demi Segezzi, the daughter of past Rotary member Greg Seghezzi, is sponsoring a fundraiser to raise funds for her father’s memorial scholarship. The dinner will be held on April 5^th, at Calvary Bible Church. Tickets are $20. The money from this fundraiser will provide a scholarship for a senior at Nevada Union High School who recently lost a parent.
• Scott Spencer spoke about the upcoming Rotary at Work Day. Last year our local Rotarians received the Merrill Award, which was a significant honor.  This year the Work Day is scheduled for May 4^th. Nine projects have been identified so far. A big round of applause for Scott Spencer for all his efforts.
• Jan Friend announced the area speech contest, which will be held on April 3rd at the Grass Valley Methodist Church. The winner will go on to the district competition in Sparks, Nevada. 
• On April 7th, a fundraiser will be held for Scott Robertson's son, Daniel, who was inured in a motorcycle accident.
• The Music Contest will be held on April 7th, at 2:00, at the 7th Day Adventist Church
• CORE is honoring Bill Schultz on April 13th.
• The fireside chat was moved from Thursday, March 28th to Wednesday March 27th, at 5:30, at the Nevada City Winery.
• Eric Fredrickson, announced that he bought a new motorcycle, he was fined $25.00

Presentation:

Our presenters this afternoon were Michael Ertola, the Nevada County Chief Probation Officer and Pam LaFountain, the Supervising Probation Officer.  Pam presented information regarding AB 109 and what it means to Nevada County. This new policy, implemented in October 2011, released approximately 30,000 inmates in California to local county jails and probation departments.

Since this new program was implemented in Nevada County, only 1 out of 71 inmates have been sent back to state prison in Nevada County. Nevada County is "Special". We are very low in sending people to prison. The low level offenders have been successful.

Probation is required to use research-based practices. Supervision and Treatment is a two-pronged approach that is being utilized. Flash Incarcerations is used to provide immediate consequences up to 10 days in custody. Revocation is another consequence and this places probation violators into custody for 180 days for more severe violations. 

This is having a huge impact on our local jail. The jail has taken over parole violations. The maximum jail population is 250 inmates. The following modalities are used for treatment: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which uses Interactive Journaling.  Moral Recognition Therapy (MRT) is also used. This therapy focuses on the clients thought process. 

Where Probation needs support: Housing, Employment, and Pro Social Connections.

The goal is to slowly release the parolees back into society. Currently using CORE for transitional housing. There is no data that says that AB 109 has increased crime in Nevada County. Prop 30 has secured funding for this program. Looking at hiring staff the first time in six years. 

Thanks to Pam for providing such an informative presentation.

Following the presentation, President Tim conducted the Raffle. Rod Fivelstad's ticket was drawn, but unfortunately he drew the white marble.

President Tim closed the meeting.

President Tim called the meeting to order. Carol Lenhard led us in the pledge and Blake Smith introduced our visiting Rotarians. Jon Byerrum greeted us at the door, inspired us with Einstein quotes, and wrote these spoke notes (I must have missed a meeting).

Steve Spiller encouraged us to attend the District Conference (May 16-19). Bill Schultz frightened many of us by reciting a self-written Senility Prayer (way too close to home, Bill). Kimberly Parker, executive director of the Hospital Foundation, graciously accepted our club’s donation of $1,000, which will be matched by an anonymous donor. Anita Daniels invited all to attend the 4^th-8^th grade speech contest the night of the meeting. Jan Friend encouraged us to attend the area speech contest on April 3^rd, 11:30 at the G.V. Methodist Church. Steve Sarantopoulos took up the P.E.T.S. challenge and donated an additional $100.00 to the Rotary Foundation. Ralph Anderson shared that he is mastering the art of preparing all of his meals on his BBQ during his kitchen remodel. Let us know how those pancakes turn out, Ralph (editor’s advice: use a pan). Marcia Salter shared her experiences on a recent three-week trip to Australia. Wyn Spiller shared that she too had just returned from Sydney where she served on the Rotary Promotion Committee (Hey, how come Wyn gets to attend Rotary meetings in Australia while the rest of us attend Rotary meetings in the back room of the Holbrooke?) and visited friends in the Blue Mountains. And lastly, Fred Claussen shared that he and Larry Faller just returned from Cancun. Apparently Fred was attacked by a vicious raccoon-like animal in the jungle. Sounds to me like Fred and Larry had a few too many margaritas.

For our program, Monica Haulman shared her experiences as a Rotary RYE student last year. Monica had an amazing year learning the customs of her host country, Belgium, making lots of new friends, and traveling extensively in Europe. Like all RYE students, Monica said that her year was truly a life changing experience. In fact, since her return Monica has used her Rotary experiences in her senior project at NUHS and has been educating other students on the extraordinary opportunities offered by our RYE program. She concluded with a very warm, heartfelt “thank you” to our club for supporting her and the RYE program.

Jan Friend’s number got the call, but alas, no black marble.

Bobbie Swanson introducing Monica Haulman

Carol Lenhardt led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance and Bill Schultz gave an invocation for the Thought of the Day.  President Tim announced the March birthdays and Rod Fivelstad led the club in singing happy birthday.  President Tim announced the March anniversaries

Announcements:

• Polio Plus change boxes. The board asked that we take a vote to track the contributions either by individual or by total submitted. If it is counted individually the contribution is credited toward Paul Harris. It was decided that if a member wants individual credit they are to count the change themselves and write the amount on the container.
• Kimberly Parker, from the Hospital Foundation, will be here March 18th. The board has decided to donate $1,000 to the Hospital Foundation for an oncology simulator.  Members can choose to make additional donations.
• The fundraising committee has met and has made the decision to continue having Casino Night as one of the club’s fundraising events.
• George informed the club that Paul Rohrer bids farewell to the club. If he is able to get out the hospital he will be heading to live with his family out of town.
• The Robertson family’s son was in a motorcycle accident this weekend and was severely injured.

Confessions:

• Rod: Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Fined $50
• Larry: Just returned from a two-week vacation to Cancun. Fined $50
• John: Fishing trip in the Florida Keys. Fined $25
• Dick: $47 dollars - 1 for each year he has been married to his wife

Rotary Speech Contest:

Jan Friend introduced this year’s theme: Peace through service. Each speech was required to be 5-7 minutes in length. There were three contestants. They each did an incredible job. We are so proud to have such outstanding high school students in our community. It was a tough decision, but the judges reached the following decision:

• 1st Place ($100) Joe Finnner
• 2nd Place ($75) Amber McCleand
• 3rd Place ($50) Parker Rhodes

While we waited for the results of the speech contest President Tim made the following announcements:

• May 4th: Fair Grounds project. Scott Spencer is taking the lead on this
• April 27th: Rotary at Work Day Painting project at the Police Department.
• June: Habitat for Humanity project
• Spring: The Gilmore Amphitheater project will continue

President Tim announced the drawing. This was the second week in a row that Dennis Burbridge had the winning ticket; but to no avail - another white marble was drawn.

Before adjourning the meeting, President Tim led the club in the Four-way Test.

2013 Club speech contestants with Jan Friend and President Tim

The meeting was relocated to another room in the Holbrooke. President Tim insured that the show went on even though the accommodations were not ideal. As members and guests were rotating through the food line, President Tim started the meeting with announcements.

• Kathy Egenes made an announcement about needing volunteers for RYLA interviews on March 20th both at Nevada Union and Bear River High Schools. Susan Fivelstad and Kelly Quinn stepped forward to cover NU and Bill Schultz and Bob Long will be covering the interviews at Bear River.
• Steve Sarantopoulos made an announcement about the District Assembly Meeting scheduled for 20th April, at the Atlantis Hotel in Reno. Club members were encouraged to attend. President Tim encouraged the new members to attend this meeting.
• Jan Friend announced that the Speech contest is scheduled for next Monday, March 11^th.
• Area Music Contest will be held at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, on April 7th.
• There is a Casino Night debriefing combined with a fund raiser brainstorming meeting scheduled for Wednesday night March 5 at the Nevada City Winery.
• Anita Daniels announced the annual Nevada County Schools 4^th through 8^th Grade Speech Finals on Monday March 18^th.  This event is sponsored by Tri Counties Bank and the Rotary Club of Grass Valley.  Our own President Tim McCall will be the emcee.  It will be at the Nevada Theatre on Broad Street in Nevada City starting at 6:30PM.  Admission is free.

The three Visiting Rotarians were introduced.

Guests: Bobbie Swanson introduced the visiting RYE students who were visiting Belle. They will be traveling to Reno and will be going to the San Francisco Bay to sail. Belle is on her way to Hawaii with a group of RYE.

Eric Fredrickson announced the birth of his first grandson, Elijah James Mills, born on March 3^rd.  Kris Stepanian will be appearing at Off Broad Street in Forever Meadow Green starting March 8 and running until April 20. She and her mother were both fined for shameless self promotion.

Blake Smith led the club in the Flag Salute and Kathy Egenes provided the Thought of the Day

The Gilmore Students of the Month were introduced by Principal John Baggett, Assistant Principal Chris Roberts and teacher Laura Bigham.

Steve Sauer gave a presentation on the Affordable Care Act. He showed a seven minute video that was produced by Kaiser.  He talked about the exchanges that were being developed and four tiered plans: Platinum 90, gold 80, silver 70 bronze 60. He stated that employers will still be offering plans. There will be penalties for not having a healthcare plan. Those penalties will increase over 4 years. October 1-March 31 is the first Open Enrollment Period. There are a lot exemptions. There is a concern that there will be a shortage of health care providers, especially in the rural areas and that with supply and demand the prices could go up. If an employer has less than 50 full time employees they are not required to provide health care.

President Tim adjourned the meeting.

Our meeting opened with President Tim presiding. Our greeter was Suzie Gemignani, the pledge was led by Ralph Andersson, John Voter gave the thought for the day, and Fred Claessens was our photographer. Jon Peek assisted the Sergeant-At-Arms.

Guests: Dennis Burbridge brought his brother Bob as his guest.

Announcements: 

• Anita Daniels announced that the speech contest is right around the corner and we still need people to volunteer to be judges.
• Jan Friend announced that the date set for the speech contest in March 11^th.
• Lori Burkart-Frank is collecting bras and lingerie used to support a program that prevents sex slavery in Africa. The undergarments will be given to women in Africa who have been rescued from sex slavery so that they can sell them to make a living.
• Susan Fivelstad announced that she had great success collecting undergarment donations from hair salons and wanted to pass that tip along to the rest of the club.
• Ralph Andersson was recognized by President Tim for being in the paper and was fined $5 for being in the paper. The newspaper article highlighted Andersson's leadership in the quest for the best burger in Nevada County.
• John Voter could use more brown paper bags for the food bank. John was also fined $5 for clapping between the music contestants in our meeting's music contest program.

Confessions:

• Valerie Logsdon confessed to having a 24hr airplane ride. She was returning from a 23day trip to Thailand. She was fined $50 making her a bell ringer. Susan Fivelstad shared a portion of the fine with her.
• Eric Trygg confessed to taking a 14day cruise in the Australia/New Zealand area and joked about leaving early in order to miss our Casino Night fund raiser. He was fined $50 but since he was already a bell ringer, John Peplowski took the fine.

Program:

Jon Byerrum led the program which was our annual music contest. We had two fine pianists. Taking first place was McKenna Wong, a Senior at Forest Lake Christian High. McKenna wishes to pursue a career in Political Science and was accompanied by her mother and brother who was also her page turner. Second place was won by Caroline Johnson, a Junior at Nevada Union High. Caroline wishes to pursue a career in Neurology and Music Therapy and was accompanied by her mother, father, and piano teacher. Both contestants will move forward to the area music contest on April 7^th.

Our meeting concluded with the four way test and our white ball/black ball raffle. No winner today...

                                                         McKenna Wong                         Caroline Johnson                                                

Engineer-President Tim began the meeting exactly as the clock struck 12:15.  John Voter led the pledge and Bill Schultz replaced Anita Daniels with a thought for the day, which included a prayer for moisture.

President Tim thanked Ray Enneking as the Greeter and Steve Sauer as the photographer.   Executive Sectretary Tom announced there were no visiting Rotarians.  Bobbie Swanson introduced Bella who is on crutches due to a soccer injury.  Bobbie also announced a student orientation for both incoming and outgoing students the last Saturday of this month.

George Grayeb was guilted into confessing he missed casino night due to the inconvenience of being forced onto a two week cruse to Hawaii.  Choppy seas did not diminish the $50 fine levied by Pres Tim.  George also made the club aware that Paul Rohrer is in the ICU and having a rough time of it.

Don Daniels announced that Jerry Trammel had a 5 way bypass and is doing well.  Ron Fivelstad’s mom has passed away.  He thanked the club for their support.  Our sympathies are with you Ron.

On  a happier note, President Tim inducted a new member – Mary Ann Cartan, a school administrator.  President Tim went on to dig the hole even deeper over “Free the Girls”.  Lori Burkart-Frank stepped in to save him and offered to coordinate donations for our club.  The editor will avoid all the obvious jokes and comments and just leave it to your imagination.  President Tim warned of a test in two weeks on the current Rotarian magazine.  And finally he called Steve Spiller to the front to formally thank him for a job well done on Casino Nite.

Let’s not forget confessions – Bob Long admitted to a ski trip that sported 50 inches of new snow.  At a dollar per inch he was forgiven the second confession of expected twins in July for his daughter.  Jan Friend picked up the rest of his fine.  Jon Peek spent a week in India studying the beef industry – “Beef - it’s not for dinner”.  The following description of the evident pollution was dicey at best after a wonderful lunch.  Scott Spencer  fessed up to 2 weeks in Phoenix and wonderful weather at the TCPC Golf Tourney for the price of $50.

Rod introduced our speaker Ken Hardin a professional musician, artistic director of “In Concert Sierra” and conductor of Sierra Master Chorale.  Ken told us the history of the group as it started out attracting young, growing talent and has expanded to attracting established classical talent to Grass Valley.  As the conductor of SMC he told us about the semiannual orchestra made up of 1/3 local talent and a choir of local vocalist.

Carol Lenhard won the raffle, but no black marble.  Remember the music contest is the last meeting this month.    AND MOST IMPORTANTLY – WE ARE DARK ON FEB 18.

The meeting was called to order at 12:15PM by President Tim.  Our team assignments were:

Greeter – Steve Sauer, Flag Salute – Susie Gemignani, Thought for the Day – John Voter, Assistant Sergeant at Arms – Ray Enneking, and Photographer – Bob Long.  There were no visiting Rotarians.

Wyn Spiller introduced guest Justin Sternberg from the Hospitality House, and Peter Lemmon introduced Bill Standley.  We enjoyed the monthly “Student of the Month” activities whereby we met five very fine Lyman Gilmore students who were Olivia Parman (5^th), Griffin Ellis (6^th), Daniela Terry (6^th), Dakota Elmore (7^th) and Adam Dennis (8^th).  The students in turn introduced their parents in attendance.

There was a pin check and several dollars were donated to Polio Plus as a result.  Birthdays and Anniversaries were recognized. Several announcements were made including the Nevada City clubs request for donations of bras for the “Free the Girls” project in Africa.  There was an interesting discussion that followed…No room here to elaborate.  Bobbie Swanson shared the fun had by all at Bella’s 18^th birthday party last weekend.  Steve Spiller shared his excitement on the success of our annual Casino Night held last Saturday and he recognized the work done by all his sub-chairs and the entire membership including spouses and friends .

Our program for today was provided by Sandra Barrington, Major Gift Director for Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation who was introduced by Team Captain, Susie Gemignani.  Sandra’s focus today was sharing the wonderful benefits of having a Cancer Center here at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital.  Some less known facts about our hospital and the center are that the 104 bed acute hospital is a 501c3.  That the cancer center services a vast number of patients and that their philosophy includes treating the “whole” patient, not just focusing on the disease.  The cancer center was founded in 1995 by Dr Bill Newsom and is a nationally accredited center.  It also has a joint commissioned accreditation and it includes a living room (rather than a waiting room) and gardens furnished entirely by community donations.  The foundation is a separate 501c3 that raises over $1 million a year to support the hospital.  Sandra recognized Judy Bagley who is a part of the Finance Team at the Foundation.  She went on to tell us about the more advanced equipment at the cancer center and the need to stay on top of technology and the changes as it’s so important for our patients and avoiding their need to travel down to Sacramento for treatment.  Cancer treatment has changed dramatically with the newer technology and survival rates are increasing to new levels.

The winning ticket was drawn and Jan Friend had it.  Unfortunately she drew a white marble.  The club recited the “4-Way test” and the meeting ended promptly at 1:15PM.

Steve Sarantopoulos led the pledge and Valerie Logsdon gave an inspirational Thought of the Day. Tom Lathrop announced visiting Rotarians for Bobbie Swanson.  Guests of Rotarians included our outbound RYE to Spain as well as the current RYE resident student.

Announcements included Paul Rohrer moving to Quail Ridge and the upcoming District Conference.  Coin boxes are available as a great way to commit loose change to Polio +, just remember to put your name on the box for credit.

Steve Spiller led the last regular meeting coordination of the Club’s major fund raiser Casino Night.  8:30 am is setup and 5:30 pm for final organization before doors open.  Ralph Andersson coordinated bartending specifics.

President Tim requested a short BOD meeting immediately following the regular meeting to reschedule the regular BOD meeting due to issues with email.  If that was confusing well I’m still sorting it out also…

Don & Anita Daniels along with Kris Stepanian were each fined $50 for being out of the country.

Dick Panzica was fined for a “Chucky Cheese” adventure (I have no idea what that’s about so I’m making something up to ensure it looks like I paid careful attention to details).  Our Exchange student Bell thanked the club for sponsoring her trip to Squaw Valley.

Our speakers were the Club’s own John Voter and Rich Toothman who gave Craft Talks. 

John started out with an extensive background that included Delta Home Loans, School in Maine, Military service in Marysville, selling cars in Marysville, meeting his wife Suzanne, attempting to enter Real Estate sales but his wife would not hire him, then working for his wife after she agreed to hire him.  John and Suzanne have three children; a daughter studying music in San Francisco and two sons both who are quarterbacks.  John also volunteers for the local Food Bank.

Rich gave a lively (is Rich any other way than lively?) talk about his history but engaging the Club with several pop quizzes (guess what he did professionally?).  He grew up in a household with his parents and three sisters who were all valedictorians.  Went to St Mary’s college which was all male but became coed by the time he graduated.  Rich became a Professional Educator (for us laymen that’s a teacher) starting out as a substitute in Oakland.  When his father retired his parents relocated to Rough and Ready.  Rich then followed into this area.  Rich then presented some “teaching” stories complete with visuals about spherical teaching equipment, bathroom kindergartners, peregrine falcons, spiders and snakes as well as him learning about Rotary.  Rich ended his presentation stating that he is proud to be a Rotarian.

The raffle ended our meeting with a white marble drawn so no winner this week.

Meeting adjourned at 1:15 pm

-respectfully submitted by Steve Sarantopoulos

We are DARK on Monday 2/18/13 in Observance of Presidents' Day

President Tim McCall was replaced by Steve Spiller for today’s meeting.  He started to thank today’s Greeter, Valerie Logsdon, but realized she was not there.  Pledge was led by Bobbie Swanson and Steve Sarantopoulos gave the Thought for (of) the Day from information that was found on the District website.  Photographer was Fred Claessens and there were no visiting Rotarians except for our program presenters, so Chuck Elizondo was off the hook.

Confessions:

• Kathy Egenes confessed that she got rid of her 15 year old vehicle and bought a Toyota Highlander Hybrid.  Her youngest son got a job in North Carolina with Nascar in their IT department.  They also are a host family to a young Brazilian girl who will be with them until June.  Kathy’s $50 fine was passed on to Judy Hess and Suzie Gemignani.
• Suzie Gemignani also got a new Toyota Prius.  Suzie was fined an additional $25 for a total of $50.
• Scott Browne confessed that he and Rich Toothman spent 5 days in Seattle with Lee Osnas and his wife around New Years.  All were fined $25.
• Kyle Daugherty confessed that his wife bought a new home at the end of the year and that he sometimes lives there.  A $25 fine was levied amid protests that his wife was the buyer.

Chuck Elizondo reminded Steve Spiller that he had not given the opportunity for introductions of guest, and Steve fined himself for the error!  With that, Carol Lenhard introduced Diane Lane, Kyle Daugherty introduced Masu the new Manager of Tri Counties Bank located inside Save Mart. Peter Lemmon introduced Bill Standley.

Steve Spiller introduced the membership duo, Barb and Andy from the Sparks and Carson City Noon Clubs who talked about the Ignite Program to reverse the 10 year downward membership growth.  Membership is the same number as 10 years ago even though Rotary has brought in over 1 million new members. 

The key to growth is commitment; everybody in the club is on the membership committee.  They went over the 15 tips for success of which the club needs to pick 4 to focus on.  A couple of new ideas are the Dead Beat Rotarian Club, which is a fun way to get Rotarians to bring guests that can be potential members, and the Buddy Club where everyone draws a Rotarians name out of the hat for a buddy.  Then each week they are responsible for calling their buddy to find out what’s new with them for a potential report during the weekly meeting. 

Lee Osnas’s ticket was drawn, but alas, he pulled the white marble. 

The first meeting of the year was opened by President, Tim McCall.  Bobbie Swanson was today’s Greeter, Chuck Elizondo led in the pledge and announced our visiting Rotarian, Dave Walker from the Penn Valley Club.  Thought for the Day was done by Jan Friend who quoted two former Presidents and their ideas of government.  Guests today were Maryanne Cartan, Superintendent of the Nevada Union Joint High School District, and Janet who is the host mother for our exchange student, Belle.

It was Student of the Month, and the club was joined by students from the 5^th, 7^th, and 8^th grades.  The 6^th grade representative was too intimidated to come (are we that mean?). 

Announcements:

• Steve Rosenthal was fined $10 for a picture of him ice skating at the Holiday Inn.
• Bob and Carol Lenhard were each fined $25 for their recent trip to Disney Land.
• Mike Fronk announced that this week is the beginning of his radio show, America’s Wealth Management.  He was fined $25 for self – promotion which was passed on to Judy Bagley.  However, the fine may be waived if he announces he’s a Rotarian and does a promo for Casino Night.

Casino Night: 

• Steve Spiller has small posters for the merchants, and should have the larger ones in a few days.  He also has tickets for the merchants who donate or sponsor.  Steve also has the master sheet to sign up teams to canvas each area (please sign up if you haven’t done so already).
• Judy Bagley reminded everyone to get your Casino Night items into Anita at Tri Counties Bank; the sooner the better!
• Dick Panzica will be the BBQ master at the event, serving Tri Tip and Caesar salad among other food items.

President Tim talked about Rotary spare change boxes that you can put on your dresser and add your change to.  When the proceeds are turned into the club, they will go to Polio Plus.  If you need a box, see Dick Panzica.  

Bobbie Swanson introduced Belle, our exchange student from Brazil.  She was one of 6 inbound students from Brazil this year.   Belle gave us a tour of her home state that is known for waterfalls and has a history of gold.  Her home city has a population of 400,000 where her father is an engineer for Fiat and her mother is a psychologist.  She misses playing hand ball which is a field sport that is part soccer, with the ability to use your hands.  She will be entering law school when she returns home to become an internal affairs cop.

George Grayeb’s ticket was drawn, but alas, he pulled a white marble.

Bobbie Swanson, President Tim & Belle

President Tim was conspicuously absent today.  However, Santa, arriving late, managed our meeting.  While Santa is a well known member of Rotary, a badge or pin was noticeably absent on his suit.  He was also absent the Rotary bell, but continuously jingled his belt of bells.  The pledge was let by Don Daniels and Rich Keene gave us the thought for the day.  Santa presented Rod Fivelstad with his 10 year pin and a HOHOHO.  Santa exchanged Michelle Belmonte’s red badge for a permanent blue badge and then volunteered Pres Tim to pay her fine … and a HOHOHO.  As he was full of the Christmas spirit (or something) he also thanked Kathy Egenes for her great work on the news bulletin and, yet again, a HOHOHO.

Finally Santa introduced our program for the day, a Christmas Carol-fest by the Lyman Gilmore choir.  Their final piece – Let There Be Peace on Earth, was enhanced by several Rotarians.

 And really finally, Santa forgot to introduce guests – Justin Sternberg, Nevada City born, guest of Wyn.  He is joining Hospitality House.  Dan Horton was our greeter.  Our Hostess Diane was presented with her annual tip, which was greatly appreciated and immediately put to good use.  Lee Osnas drew the white marble.

From the Editor – God Bless everyone and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

 Call it the weather, call it holiday excitement, call it - life happens. For whatever reason, our noble spoke note recorder missed the deadline for getting the story in. If this humble editor could remember every detail of last week's meeting I would happily relate them to you. However, I can barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning.  I can tell you that Kim Zwick and husband Andy thoroughly entertained us with the wrap up presentation of their tandem bike ride across the country "from sea to shining sea", a journey of 3,000 + miles from San Francisco, CA to Ocean City, MD.  It sounded like quite an experience and we anxiously look forward to hearing about their next great adventure. Thanks Kim and Andy!

Christmas Party...December 8...Rich and Scott's house...ask Kyle for details

We were a little out of synch after not having a meeting on November 12.  President Tim rang the bell and was ready for the pledge but the flag was slightly late on arrival.  Things got back to normal quickly as Judy Hess led the flag salute as Ken Holbrook served as flag holder.  

And then it was a fast moving and most entertaining talk by our Guest Speaker Chris Enns.  Chris has written 27 books.  She told some fascinating tales from her book--available for sale!-- the Bedside Book of Bad Girls--Outlaw Women.  Chris kept us in stitches and on pins and needles as she retold in quite vivid detail some stories from the old west.  The time flew by and soon it was time for John Peplowski to win the raffle, but alas, with $55 on the line, he drew a dreaded white marble.  Maybe next time John.  We closed the meeting by saying the Four Way Test.  

Here are a few fun facts about "turkey day," in America (courtesy of the history channel):

• Thanksgiving is the most travelled holiday of the year
• Minnesota produces the most turkeys
• Americans are estimated to eat "46 million turkeys" on Thanksgiving
• Three towns are named after the Turkey (Turkey, North Carolina, Turkey, Texas, and Turkey Creek, Louisiana)
• 1934 was the first Thanksgiving the Lions and Bears played
• The turkey was the inspiration for a dance called, "the turkey trot"
• Deep Fried Turkey originated in the Bayou in the 1800's
• The first "championship football game" was on Thanksgiving Day, 1876
• More than "5,000 football games" took place by the 1890's, on Thanksgiving Day
• The Macy's Parade begin in 1924, and Snoopy has appeared more than any character

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

1st Annual D-5190 Rotary Youth Exchange Scholarship Benefit Concert!

Friday, November 9th, 2012     7 P.M.

Nevada City Winery

$25/person

Limited to the 1st 50 purchasers

Featuring Singer-Songwriter

CHUCK PYLE

Tickets sold on a will-call basis, cash or check only
For more information, contact any member of the D-5190 RYE Committee,
Or call Chris Cook @ 775-688-4727 or 775-843-7169
Email @ rye5190treasurer@gmail.com

President Tim McCall opened the meeting at 12:15 and acknowledged the fine work that Team Spiller did to assist. We had one visiting Rotarian, Rosanne Kilpatrick, from the 49er club and two guests of Rotarians. Carol Lenhard introduced Dean Pitts and Judy Hess introduced the winner of the ball drop, her granddaughter Presley Newsom.

It was brought to light that Don Daniels is doing better after is hammock broke and he fell on his you know what. It is said he ascertained a wound. Chuck Elizondo is doing well after his recent surgery.

President Tim fined himself $25 for missing the Foundation dinner and fined Bob Long for not showing up at his shift to sell Ball Drop tickers. District Governor Woody recognized Paul Harris Elite members: Wyn and Steve Spiller; Anita and Don Daniels; Rod and Susan Fivelstad; Chuck Elizondo and Paul Rohrer for going above and beyond in their giving. He said the Foundation brings hope worldwide and makes the impossible possible. He then presented the Silent Rotarian award to Marcia Salter for her outstanding service above self and dedication to the club. Woody also recognized Rotarians who go beyond the club level and work at the District level: Wyn and Steve Spiller; Anita and Don Daniels; Bobbie Swanson, Blake Smith, Scott Spencer and Rod Fivelstad.

Woody talked about his personal involvement with Rotary and how he became interested. He then told a story of how our Rotary International President, Mr. Tanaka, became involved. Stories such as these are prevalent throughout Rotary. Membership continues to be of importance and through the Ignite Program, it is hoped that North American will turn around and gain more members.

In President Tim’s absence, Steve Spiller brought the meeting to order, and then kept the Club standing until the Hotel started serving dinner.  Scott McFarland led us in the flag salute and Kelly Quinn gave us an invocation.   There were no guests.  Steve Sauer gave a “Ball Drop tickets” sales report:  $2,500 has now been raised; one more weekend of sales; and, volunteers are needed!  Kathy Egenes was recognized for 12 years perfect attendance, and she shared a Rotary Moment with us—after hearing about the Botwa Pygmies on NPR with no mention of Rotary; she was happy she new the “inside story” and Rotary’s own Dr. Kellerman!   

As usual, the meeting started with mass confusion.

President Tim finally got the meeting under way at 12:15 pm.
The Spiller team was in charge of assisting Tim as follows: Greeter was Kelly Quinn; the Pledge was led by Blake Smith; Ken Holbrooke gave a special Rotary moment that was nicely done. There were no visiting Rotarians, photos were handled by Steve Spiller and notes were taken by Monty East. With a full agenda today, President Tim introduced 2 members of the Lyman Gilmore Interact Club who were conducting a fundraiser called "Purple Pinky". This is designed to draw interest to and symbolize the efforts worldwide of eradicating polio.

Next up was our monthly "Adopt a School" program recognizing the students of the month. This year we have a 5th grader to add to the 6th, 7th and 8th graders we normally introduce. Parents and students always go away proud. This is a great program for the school and Rotary.

Birthdays and anniversaries were recognized for October. Birthdays included Michelle Belmonte, Judy Hess, Morgan Stoltz, Carol Lenhard (Carol let us know her granddaughter's birthday is on the same day as hers). Anniversaries were announced for Rich Keene and Eric Trygg.

Announcements included Anita's invitation/reminder of the Foundation Dinner on Wednesday, October 24th with cocktails at 5:30 at Miners' Foundry. This will act as our regular weekly meeting.

• Jon Byerrum also spoke about the Foundation and announced the upcoming Club Assembly focused on member participation. Calls will be made to members letting them know their status and what they may do with matching funds toward their journey to become a Paul Harris Fellow. Last year, our club achieved 100% participation.
• Steve Sauer let the club know that this past weekend we sold $645 worth of Ball drop tickets. We really need more volunteers!!!! Scott Browne was fined for not showing up and relieving President Tim. His fine was $50 worth of Ball drop tickets.
• Steve Sarantopoulos was presented with his pin for having successfully completed 6 years of perfect attendance.
• Kris Stepanian will be performing at the Center of the Arts (Disco & Boogey). For her announcement, she was fined $20.
• Lee Osnas confessed to a recent Alaska trip and was fined $30. During hisconfession, it was made known that two other Rotarians also went but werebeing very silent about it. Of course, President Tim finding out that it was Scott Browne and Richard Toothman, fined both of them $25 each, as well.

Finally we got to the all important program, which was facilitated by Steve Spiller and Pete Lemon. The first to speak was Wyn Spiller (good move, Steve). Wyn gave us some very interesting data. It seems we are still at 1.2 million Rotarians despite bringing in 1.1 million between 2003 and 2010 worldwide. The biggest decline seems to be in North America and our zone. This is really why the new member focus "Ignite" is being implemented. It is designed to give structure and tools to the focus. A point system will be put in place to encourage building memberships on a wide scale. The new program will dwell on meeting these needs:

1. A way to measure;
2. Giving members meaningful jobs;
3. Nurture.

Our club 10 years ago was at 82 members. We are now at 72. The visioning exercise we conducted at a club showed a goal of 100 members. We all broke out into working groups and brainstormed ideas to enhance membership. Many good ideas came out and will be carefully looked at by the committee. These ideas will then be provided to the membership. It was a very good session and enjoyed by all. One of the key points made was that "every" club member, in effect, is a member of the committee. We all need to be vigilant and active.

Drawing was conducted and Rich Toothman drew a white marble.

President Tim closed the meeting at 1:30pm.

In the news...
John Peplowski was recognized for 19 years of perfect attendance.
Kimberly from the Penn Valley Rotary Club announced the Annual Penn Valley Fall Festival. Booths may be rented by businesses and are free for non-profit groups.
Bobbie Swanson announced that a third family has been acquired. Looking for an Outward Bound student by October 10th. Eligible ages for this program are 15 and a half to 18 and a half.
Valerie Logsdon announced that the board approved to support Lacy Jane Dalton’s favorite charity by donating a $100 gift certificate and poster of a horse.

Regal: Blake Smith announced that the T-shirts are $10 and wristbands with the 4-way test are also available. The first weekend of Regal went great. Steve Spiller gave a description of the program. Next Saturday this group will be going to the Ropes Course at Lyman Gilmore School. Steve Spiller also invited Rotarians to the graduation luncheon for this group on Sunday at 12:00 at the Higgins Diggings Lions Club.

Ball Drop: Steve Sauer talked about selling tickets for the Ball Drop. Only 5 people signed up for last weekend. Sold $550.00 in tickets last weekend. Currently we don't have anyone signed up for next weekend. President Tim encouraged the members to get involved in helping support these fundraisers. We will have to cut programs if we don't raise the funds. If you want to do it at another time let Steve know.

Confessions:
Ralph Andersson had a surprise birthday party for his mother who turned 75.
Jan Friend announced her mother and twin sister celebrated their 93 birthdays.
Monty East took something off his bucket list. Went skydiving from 13,000 feet. He also bought a new vehicle.
Chuck Elizondo went to Hawaii. 

Program: Rod Fivelstad introduced the guest speaker. He is a famous Rotarian and the Foundation Drive Kickoff speaker.
Dr. Scott Kellerman shared the work that he and Rotary District 5190 have been doing for the Batwa Pygmies, in Uganda. He stated that 38% of the pygmy children were dying by age 5. In 2003 a hospital was built and is now a 132-bed Bwiindi Hospital. The focus has been on Maternal and child health. Rotary donated a generator, anesthesia machine and incubators. This is the only healthcare available for a quarter of a million people. There is a dental clinic as well. It was quite entertaining to watch a video of the primitive way a government tank was used to unload a container truck filled with supplies sent by Rotary.

The Batwa Pygmies appreciate relationships more than anything. A Re-feeding program has also been implemented. This program teaches them how to plant gardens. A Waiting Mothers' Hostel has also been established. For $1.25 a day these mothers can stay. Because of all these efforts the death rate has dropped. They have also created an HIV Unit. Malaria is also a serious problem in this area. Malaria kills almost 800,000 children in Sub-Saharan. Rotarians have donated bed nets to help eliminate this problem. The people believe that a “god” causes Malaria. Education was provided to the village witchdoctor about the source of malaria. This education has made a significant difference. Other accomplishments: Medical records are now kept on a computer using finger print scanning. Have started schools and constructed 120 homes since they have been evicted from the forest. DRC refugees showed up for a while and Rotary helped with water purification systems. Have created a cultural center in the forest where they used to live. In the process of developing a training facility for nurses. The nurses are the key healthcare providers. There are 28 nurses per 100,000 people.

The pygmies do not speak English, but they do know the work Rotary. 

President Tim called the meeting to order and thanked the September team for their help. He then welcomed the return of Paul Rohrer from his illness. Judy Bagley received her pin for ten years of perfect attendance! Steve Trotter received his permanent badge and paid $5.00 for the privilege.

 Bill Schultz stood and said that he had several announcements. The first announcement was, “I don’t want that damn thing,” when offered the microphone. I’m not sure that one counted as an announcement. He then announced the half pig in Marcia’s freezer needs to be purchased soon (especially before Marcia looses her electricity this winter….yuck). His final announcement, also dubious according to Webster’s, was a joke about a preacher, a cowboy and an attractive flight attendant. I didn’t hear the entire joke, but the punch line was, “Forget my drink. I didn’t know we had a choice.”

 President Tim then ordered a pin check. It was pointed out that Morgan Stoltz himself was “pin less” as he gleefully collected everyone’s money. Larry Faller gave a summary of actions taken at our last board meeting. The board minutes are available on Club Runner. Steve Sauer needs more sign-ups to man the Ball Drop tables on upcoming Saturdays. John Voter shared that the Bear River Boosters raised over $13,000 for their sports programs. Anita Daniels shared that we netted $5,360 profit from the recent Lacy Dalton concert, which leaves us with over $11,000 still outstanding in the Mike Johnson fund.

 Ralph Anderson expressed confusion as to how two hogs could yield five half-hogs. Turns out Ralph’s full hog was actually only a half hog. I’m guessing he got the back end of the big guy. Ralph then generously donated $500 to the Mike Johnson fund. Thank you Ralph! Blake Smith announced that 30 students are signed up for REGAL this year. Shirts and wristbands will be available next week for a modest fee. Morgan Stoltz paid $25 to brag about his grandson (starting right tackle for University of Mississippi) and talked about Southern hospitality.

 Eric Trygg then introduced our guest speaker, Rita Stevens from KNCO. Rita shared a few facts from her past (she worked in San Francisco TV and radio for 20 years). She then talked about the inner workings of KNCO.  Members expressed appreciation for the station’s commitment to a community focus and the resulting importance of KNCO for local news, weather conditions and emergency information (not to mention Swap Shop).

 Kelly Quinn took advantage of 50/50 odds and drew the black marble. He promptly donated the entire $257 to the Mike Johnson fund. Well-done Kelly!

 Dutifully submitted by Jon Byerrum

After President Tim brought the meeting to something approaching order, Dave Johnson led us in the flag salute and in an invocation. Dave Walker was visiting from the Penn Valley club. Guests included Isabelle de Menezes - "Belle", our new exchange student from Brazil and Teresa Quinn. Steve Sauer received his permanent badge and promptly circulated the sign-up sheet for selling “Ball Drop tickets.”

 President Tim announced that the October 1^st meeting will be a club assembly on membership. He also announced that the district is hosting September 15^th seminars on New Generations and on Public Image. Brian Shannon sent a note thanking us for buying his pig at the fair. Meanwhile, Marcia Salter still has half a pig living in her freezer that needs a new home. Larry Faller was welcomed back from his recent surgery. Bill Schultz has requested a leave from the club and is living at Hill Top Manor. President Tim encouraged visitors. Bill Roach is also on leave.

 Jon Byerrum shared a School Readiness bag designed to help parents prepare their children for success in kindergarten. The project is co-sponsored by several Rotary clubs and the Superintendent of Schools office.

 Don & Anita Daniels and Kathy Egenes confessed to a three-week vacation in Great Britain. Don complained about having to drive the group over a thousand miles in three weeks only to discover that they could have covered the same distance in 2 ½ hours had Rocky Robinson been driving. Ken Holbrook bought a new truck and also went to Mexico with his wife who apparently feigned disorientation after a snorkeling adventure and boarded a different boat. She was overheard to say, “just how much Nevada County history do you think I can take?”

 Our guest speaker was Rocky Robinson, current holder of the world’s record for the fastest motorcycle at 376.363 MPH! If conditions permit, he will return to the Salt Flats next week to try for the magical 400 MPH mark. Rocky’s presentation was both excellent and nerve wracking. I noticed most Rotarians driving away from the meeting more slowly than normal. The club wishes you a fast, safe run next week, Rocky.

Our meeting of August 27^th was commenced with Tim McCall presiding as President, Monty East was our greeter, Steve Sarantopolous led the pledge, Steve Spiller gave the Thought of the Day and Bob Long served as Assistant Sergeant at Arms.

Rocky Robertson could not be our speaker of the day as his presence was needed at the salt flats due to heavy rain. Hopefully he will be able to speak to us at a later date.

Richard Toothman announced our visiting Rotarian, Dave Walker, of the Penn Valley Club.

Scott McFarland introduced his guest Dan and Kelly introduced his guest Teresa.

Announcements:

Susan Fivelstad announced that the little library group will meet immediately after today's meeting.

Jan Friend – She is our “official” lost and found person as she is the holder of two matching his and hers brown hoodies that were left at the Lacy J. Dalton concert.

Steve Spiller – Reported on the Membership Committee Seminar that was held in Incline Village. The next seminar will be held September 15^th to talk about New Generations and Public Image.

John Peplowski is looking for a green oblong table and was wondering if Jan had it in her lost and found bag as a joke.

Rod Fivelstad reported that over 138 Rotarians attended the game in Reno to support Polio Plus.

Valerie Logsdon announced that our exchange student is here. Her name is Belle and she's from Brazil. She got here on Monday and went to Nevada Union High School the very next day. She even served at our benefit concert at the Kid's drink area. She will be at our next meeting. Yay Belle! We are so glad she's here.

Pat Ward gave the Rotary Minute featuring Lacy J. Dalton's song “Is it the Truth” honoring the four way test.

Eric Trygg got fined several times for being the lucky one that got to be Lacy J Dalton's companion/escort while she was here. He, and others, were very impressed and delighted with Lacy. She was kind, genuine, sweet, gracious, down-to-earth, and super sweet. In the end, Eric became a bell ringer at the demand of the entire club chanting “bell ringer!” as his punishment for getting the most enjoyable job of the concert. Also mentioned was Lacy's passion to help save the wild horses and it was suggested that we may want to individually donate to this worthy cause.

President Tim and others spent the rest of the meeting acknowledging certain individuals who went above and beyond to make the concert a success. He also acknowledged every single member of the club and other Rotary clubs in the area that put service above self to help support our beloved Mike Johnson and the benefit fund.

Marsha gave a run down of the financials of the concert to date.

 Additional editing by Fred Claessens

Announcements:

Membership Ignite in Incline Village on the 25^th of August.
The district is holding an Aces Baseball event on August 26^th and $7 per ticket will benefit Polio.
Jason Auld has resigned from the club due to personal obligations. He may return at a later date. Paul Rohr has had a relapse of intestinal issues and is out of the hospital recuperating. The Sunshine Club to follow up.

George is back! Welcome back George.

Our president Tim McCall called the meeting to order thanking Paul Rohrer for greeting members and guests at the door.  Anita Daniels led the club in the pledge.  John Voter provided the thought for the day - reminding us that we need to make the Lacy J Dalton Benefit Concert for Mike Johnson a great success.  Nat Beeson from the 49’er Rotary Club paid us a visit.  Our newest member Michelle Belmonte brought her two nieces.       

            Anita passed around a very nicely framed Blue Ribbon given the five Area Four Rotary Clubs by the Fairgrounds in appreciation of the Rotarians @ Work day in April.  As far as they can determine it was the largest volunteer work project turnout ever at a California fair.  Also passed around was a Special Congressional Recognition from Congressman McClintock.    

            Don Daniels was fined for having a picture in the newspaper of him at the BBQ, and Steve Sarantopoulos was fined for his successful climb to the top of Mount Whitney.  Carol Lenhard made a somewhat strange appeal that President Tim had wrongfully fined Bill Schultz at the previous meeting.  Some members voiced their opinion that Carol was semi-confessing to having some part in the escapade that resulted in Bill’s fine.  While not reducing Bill’s well deserved fine one bit, President Tim gave Carol her own fine, plus a $5 enhancement for tweeting during a Rotary meeting. 

            Ralph Andersson discussed the tasks and volunteer positions necessary for a successful upcoming Lacy J Dalton Concert.  There is much to do, but everyone appears committed.   

            Jon Peek presented a fascinating program on Rabies.  As a doctor of veterinary medicine, Jon has had occasion to treat rabid animals first hand.  Jon provided some of the history of the disease “that you know you don’t want to get.”  Beginning with the first dog bite law in Babylon in 2,300 BC, the first rabies vaccine developed in France, and current rabies incidents in Nevada County.  Jon’s talk got sidetracked discussing the strange Vets of Nevada County - one of whom was Dr. Lynn Conti.  Don Daniels, Anita Daniels and Bill Schultz all had their own bizarre stories concerning Dr. Conti.  The meeting was successfully concluded with Steve Rosenthal not getting the black marble.    

Respectfully Submitted

Steve Spiller

The meeting was called to order by President Tim at promptly 12:15PM.  The flag salute was lead by Paul Rohrer and John Voter gave the Thought for the Day.  Don Daniels and John Peplowski shared the greeter job and Ed Sylvester was nominated as photographer for the day.  Tim lost his bell early on in the meeting, but I think he planned it that way, because he went straight to Bill Schultz and got it back.  He even charged Bill $25.  Poor Bill, he didn’t do anything, he was just sitting there, and another good Rotarian stole the bell and handed it to him……

Suzie Gemignani introduced the visiting Rotarians (Bob Dunstan from the Auburn Club) and guests were introduced including Melanie by Don Sheppard and Colton Childs, our speaker’s son.  Michelle Belmonte was inducted as a new Rotarian into our club and we welcome her, classification Mortgage Resources.  Announcements included birthdays and anniversaries for August; billing statements have just been sent to all; an exploratory fundraiser committee needs volunteers, and a need for a photographer at the benefit concert. 

Everyone was encouraged to attend the Opening Ceremonies at the Nevada County Fair.  Seems our five clubs are being honored with a “Blue Ribbon Award” by the Western Fairs Association for our work at the fairgrounds for “Rotary at Work Day”.  


Also those interested in purchasing an animal at the Junior Livestock Auction were asked to talk to Bill Schultz.  Ralph Andersson still needs more volunteers for the bar at the concert.  President Tim will request help from the other clubs.  

Bocce Ball and Fellowship happens next Monday night at 6PM at Kathy Egenes'.  Come one, come all.  Ralph Andersson gained a daughter when his son got married recently and was charged $25.  Kelly Quinn went to Las Vegas and was fined $25 for not telling….and he went on the “zip line”!  Julia Jordan showed us how to send our friends the concert publicity via Facebook.

Rod Fivelstad introduced our speaker Danny Childs.  Danny is in charge of Nevada County Habitat’s ReStore.  He shared with us the growth of the ReStore since the early 2000s.  The new facility, that is over 20,000 square feet, provides 17,000 square feet of retail floor space plus offices and storage.  The concept is that the citizenry donate building materials for resale thereby providing funds for new home construction in the “Habitat” program.  (Twenty three homes have been built to date via Nevada County Habitat for Humanity. They have just completed 6 homes at the sixteen home project, Heritage Oaks, off Whiting Street.) But it doesn’t stop there; the ReStore also accepts furniture, appliances, exercise equipment and more.  They’re also an advocate of recycling which their operation encourages.  Citizens can take their otherwise discarded items to the ReStore instead of the landfill. They say this has made a phenomenal difference at our landfill.

Carol Lenhard had the winning raffle ticket, but drew another white marble.

President Tim McCall opened the meeting by thanking Nancy Palmer for being the Greeter.  The pledge was led by Steve Sarantopoulos and Thought for the Day was provided by Bobbie Swanson.  Visiting Rotarian, Nancy Guthrie, President of the Morro Bay Club was introduced by Tom Lathrop.  Valerie Logsdon was the photographer. 

 Announcements:

• President Tim announced a pin check (we were warned last week!) which was a $5 fine if you entered the room without a pin.
• Anita Daniels said we still need spots filled for the Mike Johnson Benefit Concert, so please sign up for a job if you haven’t done so.  She has more posters and tickets.  There are tent cards to be folded and delivered to restaurants.  Rich Keene offered to take them to the restaurants.  Anita also has 2 tickets that have been paid for and she’s looking for a needy couple to give them to. 
• Rich Toothman has “ask me about” badges to wear so pick one up on your way out today. 
• Ralph Andersson still needs volunteers for the bar (will have 2 bars operating in order to accommodate the 500 +/- attendees.  He also needs some type of overhead lighting for the one bar that will be operating after 8:00pm.
• Kathy Egenes announced Bocce Ball at her house tonight at 6pm.  It will be determined if they will have a team for the Italian Festival this year.
• Nancy Palmer announced that she wants to be a bell ringer today just because it’s summer!
• Ed Sylvester brought a flag from Bali and also wants to be a bell ringer.
• Peter Lemmon’s daughter just got married in Santa Paula and he was fined $25.

 Today’s program is Club Assembly.  President Tim asked anyone who hasn’t submitted their survey to get it in, as there are positions to be filled for his term.  He was happy to announce that during the budget process, it became clear that Club Administration is paying for itself, and that no fundraising $ are being used.

Club Administration: Chair Steve Sarantopoulos says Club Administration keeps the mechanics of the club running.  The IT committee will become the “hub” of the club in the coming year, helping in the area of Social Media and moving us into the era of technology.

Membership: Steve Spiller Chair.   In 2007 the club membership was 78; by 2011 it had dwindled to 68.  Now due to Past President Anita’s leadership, we are at 72.  The goal is to have a net  increase of 5 members each year, measured at July 1^st.

Service Projects: Scott Brown, Chair.   This is the key to our organization.  Casino Night and the Ball Drop represent 90% of our fundraising.  We need overall Chairs for both Casino Night and the Ball Drop.  Most of the sub-chairs are filled, but we need someone to step up into the lead position.  There will be a committee set up to explore an alternative to Casino Night.
Steve Sarantopoulos is the chair for Rotary At Work which will probably be a Habitat for Humanity project.  Scott Spencer will head up the Fairgrounds project which will be separate from Rotary At Work.

President Tim explained that any excess fundraising proceeds will go into a fund earmarked for an International project, but due to budget issues, we will not have a specific project until sometime in the next 1-2 years. 

Phase 2 of the Amphitheater project is on schedule to be done at Lyman Gilmore School and under Dave Peeler’s guidance, we will be painting the reception area at the Police Department. 

Foundation: Rod Fivelstad and Jon Byerrum, Chairs.  Foundation Drive to be held earlier in October this year as the Dinner is scheduled for October 24^th.  Last year we donated $199.80 per member against a goal of $200 per member.  It’s important that we are aware of all programs in the Foundation.  Only 3 countries have reported cases of polio; surprisingly India was not one of the 3.

New Generations: Blake Smith Chair and Kyle Daugherty Co-Chair.  We will need help with Interact in the coming school season.  Along with Lyman Gilmore, we are looking to establish clubs at Union Hill land Chicago Park.  Position of RYLA chair was just filled by Kathy Egenes.

Public Relations: Valerie Logsdon, Chair, Lori Burkart-Frank and Julia Jordan, Co-Chairs.  This is how the public views the Club/Rotary.  Priority is adding events to our Facebook.

Rich Toothman had his lucky ticket drawn, but came up with a white marble.  Meeting ended with the 4 Way Test.

President Tim McCall opened the meeting with a ring of his bell (he is still in possession, this may be a record as we are approaching the end of one month in office).

The Spoke Note recorder missed who led the pledge, Dave Johnson gave a prayer as our Thought for the Day and Jan Friend announced visiting Rotarian Nate Beason.  The Club did not have any guests at the meeting.

President Tim announced Club Assembly will be at next week’s regular meeting, fair warning of an upcoming pin check that carries a $5 fine and the BOD meeting immediately following this meeting.

Ralph Anderson announced the need for volunteers to staff the Bar at the upcoming Lacy Dalton concert. Don Daniels, as proxy for Bill Schultz, requested the member support for our annual purchase at the upcoming Nevada County Fair livestock auction.

Jon Byerrum and Lee Osnas were each fined $15 for actions in the past which included $5 interest due to not being present last meeting (this President seems a bit tough starting out). Lee recounted that he hiked the Alaska to Canada trial and that his children informed him that due to lack of speed he was the bear bait on the trail.  President Tim proceeded to add a $50 fine for being out of the country…

Jon Byerrum informed the members he rode the Death Ride for the second time in his life, requested a signup sheet harassing President Tim to bring Bill Schultz back and stated unequivocally that he was “never doing this damn race again”, end of quote.

Pat Ward showed two inspiring videos for a Rotary one minute plus four more.

Our speaker was the Club’s own Steve Trotter who gave a Craft Talk.  Steve’s wife is Colleen who is also one of our Members but was not present at the meeting.  Steve informed the audience that being bald has been a big part of his life.  He then recounted that he was born in Encino, CA; grew up in Sunnyvale which was cherry & apricot orchards at that time and is now the heart of the Silicon Valley.  Wife Colleen is a twin to her sister.  They moved to this area October 2011 and believe it is a wonderful place to live (no arguments from the audience).

Most of Steve’s career to this point was spent as a high tech executive which required extensive travel.  Two incidents finally convinced him that he needed to make a lifestyle change

1. While traveling to Toronto he got to the hotel, opened the dry cleaning and realized he had a suite without pants.  Due to the time of day no stores were open so that meeting was conducted in jeans.
2. The topper came on an extended trip with many different hotel stops.  One stop, Steve woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom facilities, thought it odd that the light was on with the door closed and proceeded to exit the room into the hallway with not a whole lot of clothing on, no key and no ID.  After some haggling with the night clerk he did make it back into his room.

      When he returned home his priorities changed:

• His nights would be spend at home with his family
• No reporting to shareholders or BODs
• No one is to report to him.

With those criteria he started a real estate firm which unfortunately required employees that reported to him. A second change brought them to Grass Valley and the starting of a “green” technology endeavor.  Steve now recycles -  taking materials and donating them to non-profits.

The raffle ended our meeting with Monty East drawing a white marble.

• Kyle Daugherty announced his new job at Tri Counties as a Business Relationship Officer, and was  duly fined.

• Monty East announced his recent vacation to Hawaii and was fined.

• Dale Boothby passed away recently; he was a former Rotarian and local pharmacist.
• There will be a Joint Board meeting on June 28th on the Daniel's houseboat, Tim needs RSVPs.
• Reminder to all Rotarians to get the club survey done this week!!!
• Kyle Daugherty talked about the demotion dinner, which takes place on June 25th 5:30 pm at    Condon Park.  He still needs signups – needs someone to run the bar
• Blake Smith talked about RYLA – still need to have one student brought back on Saturday June 23rd.
• Eric Fredrickson thanked the club for the support of Lyman Gilmore & Student of the Month and presented a BIG thank you card with photos of the students with "Grass Valley Rotarians Rock!" boldly written on the card.
• Lee Osnas reported on his Father's Day hike where his son had hidden a big rock in his Dad's pack to get him "prepared" for their summer hike of the Chilkoot Pass in Alaska.

Your Chance at the Professional Opportunity of a Lifetime!

The Rotary Club of Grass Valley is looking for a young professional who wants to travel to India during January and February, 2013!

            Each year, Rotarians throughout the world sponsor Group Study Exchange Teams made up of four young professionals and an experienced Rotarian team leader who travel to another country to learn about the culture and the practice of their professions.  This year, our team will be traveling to Andhra State in South Eastern India, home of the city of Hyderabad.  While the exact travel dates have not yet been set, the team will leave in early to mid-January, 2013, and return approximately four weeks later.

  Team members must be: currently employed for at least two years in a business or profession; be between 25 and 40 years old; work or live in Rotary District 5190 (which includes Nevada County); and be able to travel, with employer's permission, for the entire four week trip.

            Team members are chosen by a competitive process that includes an application and interview  - you'll be competing against similar young professionals from Northern Nevada and Northeastern California.  If you are selected, all of your transportation, housing, and food are paid for by the Rotary Foundation and Rotarians-you are responsible only for incidental expenses.  The application deadline is July 20, 2012.

            Want more information and an application?  You can call  Anita Daniels 530-913-8953 or email at anita.daniels@tcbk.com.  You can also contact Rotary District 5190 Group Study Exchange Coordinator Martha Greene at msg@wabenzi.net or by calling 775-626-3266.

• Small Size Club, International Service - Penn Valley
• Medium Club, International Service - Nevada City
• Large Club, New Generations Service - Grass Valley

• Small Size Club, Club Service - Nevada County South
• Medium Club, New Generations Service - Nevada City
• Large Club, International Service - Nevada City 49er

• Small Club - Nevada County South
• Large Club - Grass Valley

• Small Club - Nevada County South
• Large Club - Nevada City 49er Breakfast

• Large Club - Nevada City 49er Breakfast

Field Trip

Today we went on a field trip to the beautiful Sierra College Campus in Grass Valley arranged by Nancy Palmer (Sierra College trustee and GV Rotary member) and Eric Trygg.

The meeting was opened by Anita Daniels.  Al Alstrand was our greeter and Bobbie Swanson led us on the Pledge.

Anita opened the meeting on a sad note.  Mike Johnson took a turn for the worse last Friday and passed away over the weekend.  He will be missed by all of us and the community.  A memorial fund raiser is being planned for August. 

Marcia Salter provided an update on the Union Hill School Project.  The project is completed and everyone is pleased with the results.  A celebration is being planned.

Bobbie Swanson, Richard Toothman, Don Daniels and Tim McCall gave rousing reviews of the District Conference.  The music contest was memorable with outstanding performances by the contestants.  All agreed the conference is well worth the effort to attend for the educational and entertainment opportunities. 

Our Sierra College hostess Stephanie Ortiz described the background and current operations at the campus.  We then split into two groups and were given a tour of the campus with emphasis on the new construction.

• Marcia Salter reported on the Union Hill School project. They are in the final stages of completing the project but need volunteers to help assemble the Green House. Marcia asked any Rotarian's with a little mechanical skill to please consider helping this Saturday.

• Susan Fivelstad was recognized for receiving her 4th Paul Harris Fellow.

• Anita reported that Mike Johnson is still fighting a stubborn infection and has been returned to the ICU. She feels he is making some progress and we all hope to see Mike at Rotary again when he is well. Anita also reported we are still in need of additional funds to cover the cost of flying Mike back to the United States.

• Anita asked for Rotarian's who are planning to attend the District Conference to please consider helping man our House of Friendship at the conference.

• John Peplowski was fined for a poster Anita received drawn by Ken Holbrook. I couldn't see what was on the poster but Anita felt it was worth $20.00 so even though John was a bell ringer being a good Republican he accepted the fine and did not pass it on to someone else.