Bret Bratigan welcomed us and called the meeting to order: Welcome to our favorite Rotary Club! 

Bill Prather led us in the Flag Salute. 

Leslie Bouche provided us with the Inspirational moment on the Rotary Motto: SERVICE ABOVE SELF.  “It is defined as work performed without any thought of reward or prepayment.  This is the art of giving with no need or expectation to receive – where the act itself is a gift to everyone involved…. In practicing selfless service, we receive the gift of creating ourselves – our own character, our own hearts – with this as our guiding force, we can become the best versions of ourselves – the who we want to be. … Let’s never forget that what we do as Rotarians really brings value to the world – and meaning to our own lives.”

Bret invited guests to be first for lunch.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 

Thank you to our meeting crew today:

Set up and tech crew – Gary Liptak, Dave Watson

Greeter – Rod Owen

Flag –  Bill Prather

Inspirational moment – Leslie Bouche

Roving mic – Terry Beckett

Fining – Bill Prather

Net – Bob Eisler

Reporter – Bruce Hanson

Editor – Randy Roth

Treasurer – Dave Brubaker

Chef Ray is back with a deliciously prepared meal. 

We ask all Rotarians for Taste of Ojai sponsorships

The musical SIX performance is this weekend at Matilija Auditorium (Previewed at last week’s meeting.)  Presented by the Ojai Music Academy with Smitty West.

DUES are DUE   Biannual dues are $400 which includes lunch plus $75 for fining and confessions.  (TRF $100/annual is separate, Patricia will notify in November)

Ed Webster will be inducted into Rotary August 21^st

Upcoming programs: 

August 21^st: Jack Piatt will discuss his short film, The Singers which won an Academy Award.

August 28^th: Joe Sohm will present his photo show American Mosaic which has toured the world with photography.  

Our guests today are Rosey Reed, Ed Webster, Clay Creasey & Kim Barns.  

Fun Fact: George Washington fired the first shot in the first global conflict of the Seven Years war. 

Bret will be looking into what we could do to help the hearing impaired during our meetings. Let him know if you have comments, needs, or suggestions.

Bill Prather conducted the fining for today with Bob Eisler as his net man.

CONFESSIONS: 

On August 30, Andy Gilman will be leading session on the future of Ojai at the Museum

Marilyn Mosley has a young visitor from France named Max, who will be traveling on to Florida Tech Max to Florida Tech to train to be a pilot.

Bill Prather had his 55^th Anniversary! He also contributed $1,000 to sponsor Taste of Ojai.

FINING: Topic was to guess the results of a poll of how many people present have… 

Cindy Frings, how many members or people in the audience, guests can also be included, have driven a snowmobile or have been skydiving?

Jeff Loebel, how many members of the club and our guests have been or are currently a certified scuba diver?

Terry Becket, how many members of our club have been to a NASCAR race?

Rod Owen, how many of the people in this club who are here today, including guests, have attended three or more colleges?

Tony Thatcher, how many of you here today have piloted an airplane or a helicopter?

Fred Faver, how many of the people who are here today play a musical instrument??

PROGRAM

Our speaker today was Clay Creasey. Clay was born in Bakersfield and grew up in Napa Valley working in the family farming operation. He was a high school exchange student to Japan. Got his college degree in lies, damn lies, and statistics from Stanford University.  Got his MBA from Stanford Business School. Was an actuary at Fireman's Fund, a corporate banker with Crocker Bank, controller at Lucky Stores and the chief financial officer at Mervin's and Toys R Us, his final post was eight years as CFO and then interim CEO at the AAA Motor Club, headquartered in Northern California. And many of you know him as Daddy War Bucks in the production of Annie at the Ohio Art Center last winter, current title is an organization co-chair with his wife Kim of the Ohio Performing Arts Theater. Community member, he works with the Ohio City Finance and Budget Committee.

SUMMARY (AI Assisted)

The talk, titled “Fly as Far into the Crash as Possible,” presents five episodes from the speaker’s long business career and the lessons he drew from mentors, difficult decisions, mistakes, and opportunities. The title comes from test pilot Bob Hoover’s philosophy that when something goes wrong, a pilot should continue to fly and make the best decisions possible rather than simply giving up. The speaker applies this idea to careers and leadership: even when circumstances deteriorate, people should continue making thoughtful decisions and moving forward.

The first lesson comes from his years at Stanford, where he earned a degree in statistics. He argues that statistics is an excellent business discipline because it teaches people to make decisions without requiring certainty. Since certainty is rare, successful leaders must evaluate probabilities, recognize what the evidence suggests, and act with confidence despite uncertainty. He also describes how joining a fraternity gave him a supportive community and exposed him to peers focused on business, law, and medicine, helping shape his decision to attend business school.

At Lucky Stores, he learned the importance of having a good mentor. CFO Ed Grubb provided guidance early in his career, while also teaching him through their disagreements. The speaker recognized that new technology—in this case, early personal computers and spreadsheet software—could transform financial analysis. His projections showed that Lucky Stores was accumulating excess capital and could become a takeover target. When the company was eventually acquired, his analysis proved remarkably accurate. He also emphasizes that mentoring works in both directions: advice given to younger employees can influence their careers for decades.

At Mervyn’s, his mentor Chuck Lynch taught him practical principles for hiring and developing employees. Using an analogy from training dogs, Lynch argued that leaders should first select good people, then be consistent in their expectations, and never punish employees for responding when called upon. The speaker found these principles highly effective throughout his career. Lynch also taught him to take calculated risks through a strategy he called “playing career poker,” which helped the speaker secure the CFO position he deserved.

His experience at Toys “R” Us provided more difficult lessons. He rebuilt a struggling finance organization and helped prepare the company for a potential public offering. However, he became frustrated when the owners delayed the IPO despite his belief that favorable market conditions would not last. He ultimately urged the owners to replace the CEO and later faced pressure from a new CEO to manipulate financial results. He refused, insisting that financial statements must reflect facts rather than desired outcomes. Although he was eventually fired, he maintained his integrity and avoided becoming involved in fraudulent reporting.

Finally, at AAA, the speaker shifted from primarily being mentored to becoming a mentor himself. He improved financial management and, most importantly, focused on developing talented employees. One example involved promoting an employee named Charlene despite her poor interview performance. The speaker accepted responsibility for developing her, and she ultimately became a highly successful senior executive and controller.

The talk’s overarching message is that career success depends on sound judgment, strong mentors, integrity, calculated risk-taking, and a willingness to develop others. The speaker ultimately views mentoring as a gift passed from one generation of leaders to the next.

Final thoughts: Fern Barishman is in hospital with an obstruction but should be OK. Please hold her in your thoughts.

The meeting was adjourned

You are invited to visit us at an upcoming meeting.