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In the Beginning....
 
Greetings, sports fans. The Rotary Club of Ojai became Olympic Village north for 90 glorious minutes. Patricia Anderson - Teague brought a ringer, her brother Steve the Michael Phelps of technology and engineering to anchor the meetings relay as our guest speaker. Cherie Edwards winning smile and love of the games made for a spirited heat of fining. And president Bill Gilbreth fenced his way to the gold with his rapier like wit.
 
Meeting called to Order. Yours truly was introduced and led the flag salute. Marc Whitman hit the boards with a stunningly appropriate invocation. It was a quote from poet/philosopher Kahlil Gibran:
 
“I slept and dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and saw that service is joy”
 
And with that we were all invited to break bread. For those following along at home or feeling nostalgic on the road you missed green salad with the optional upgrades of beets, cherry tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. Sautéed carrots, squash and zucchini made up the veg. The main offering was pasta and meatballs with garlic bread. Dessert was a split decision with a one two punch of chocolate chip cookies and brownies.
 
 
12:25 Saved by the bell. Bill Gilbreth rang the meeting back in and after a brief acknowledgement of his gavel fetish and the success of his post law school 12 step program to ween him of it began the thank yous:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
- Bill Prather, Marc Whitman, and Sergeant at Arms, Matt Clements for setting up.
 
- Smitty for the musical entertainment.
 
- Johnny Johnston for the flag salute.
 
- Marc Whitman for invocation.
 
- Rocky for running the mic.
 
- Ginger for the drinks.
 
 
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
 
There were no visiting rotarians.
 
There were several guests in attendance. Patricia Anderson Teague hosted the team Australia table. She was Joined by husband Ross Anderson, son Patrick Teague, nephew Tim Gates, and brother and guest speaker Steven Gates. Bill Gormley’s delightful wife joined us as did the enchanting Dr. Beth Prinz, object of Brett Bradigan’s affection.
 
Charlie jumped into the fray with a joke about a cunning wife and an underpowered gun that got the job done in the end as an homage to the humor of Bill Ghormley.
 
Announcements:
 
-Pope Francis Welcomes Rotary to Jubilee.  Click here for the video.
 
- Youth Services Committee met immediately following the meeting led by Kay Bliss.
- Foundation Board chaired by Marty Babayco will be meeting @ 7:00am Tuesday the 16th at Cafe Emporium.
- International Service Committee led by Mike Weaver will be meeting @ 7:30 the following Tuesday morning the 23rd also at Café   Emporium.
- All members, but particularly new members are encouraged to attend these meetings.
 
Additional Meetings:
 
Mike Malone was beating the drum for the International rotary convention in Atlanta June 10 - 14, 2017.
 
Haady shared the hospital speaker series was offering a stroke recognition seminar at the golf course banquet room at 9am Saturday.
 
Deirdre Daly has agreed to rejoin the Board. She will be replacing Charley Roy, who had to return to Illinois.
 
The board approved the budget for this year.It will be posted on the Club Runner. A special thanks to Don Reed, treasurer.
 
Bill Gilbreth invited everyone to sign up for tickets for Moonlight and Magnolias, a play of the sordid details of how David O. Selznick got Gone With The Wind made. Bill Prather is handling sign ups. $44.00/ticket. Group discount applies. Play is September 10th at the Rubicon.
 
Fines and Confessions:
 
Bill turned the floor over to fine master Cherie Edwards to thunderous applause. 
 
The ever charming Lerie Bjornstedt revealed she had been a member for 29 years. She was donating to the Bjornstedt family trust. She was going to donate a dollar a year but felt it was too much so she thought better and donated five per year.
 
Larry Wilde expressed remorse after pummeling (politically) Dan Reed at the combined Rotary beach party he hosted.
 
Jack Jacobs announced his anniversary and made an impassioned plea to make sure his wife knows how much he loves her only as an accountant can.
 
And with that the games began. Jack Jacobs was selected first. Cherie explained it was a really easy question and so she picked him: what year was the Olympics in Ojai? (1984)
 
Patricia Anderson Teague was asked which famous quarter back Giselle Bundschen, good will ambassador of the games was married to. She asked football quarterback? Her son Patrick snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with Tom Brady.
 
Ren Adam, Hank Bangser, Ron Wilson, Kay Bliss, and Mike Weaver were all asked questions to varying degrees of success.
 
Carl Gross sked the most interesting question as a relief pitcher: what drink was banned at the lake during the 1984 games and why? (Sugar drinks to prevent bee stings. It was terribly successful.)
 
It turns out we have an Olympic alum and logistic genius in our ranks in Bill Prather who ran an unwieldy catering operation to great success in 1984.
 
Dean Vandals apparently didn’t realize confessions were over or was waiting for the statute of limitations to expire, but let the room know he has a staggering collection of illicit Olympic flags in his hangar.
 
Guest Speaker: Steven Gates
 
Steven Gates is a unassuming, plain spoken man who is devastatingly efficient and effective at finding the mechanical advantage in nature. He has devoted himself to being responsible and earnest in the pursuit of sustainable energy. An engineer by education and vocation, he is licensed here in the states and in Australia. He is a graduate of UCSB and has 35 years experience working offshore, defense, and manufacturing. He has a wife Jillian and two sons, Alex and Tim (who was with him).
He discussed the need for sustainable energy and how developing strategies that included greater education of the public were essential to its success. He cofounded Sustainable Energy Now in 2006 to pursue this goal.
There were some fascinating facts he shared. The most amazing to me was the fact the amount of solar energy falling on the earth in one hour is equal to the planets need for energy for an entire year. He also explained how solar energy not only provides a direct source of sustainable energy, but also generates secondary sources of sustainable energy. The sun creates wind. Wind creates waves and ocean currents. It creates photosynthesis which creates bio mass. And rain creates runoff ultimately providing hydro electric.
He discussed using computer modeling to plan supply. He also talked about how technology is allowing emerging markets to jump the traditional centralized power and subsequent infrastructure in favor of direct supply at point of use. So instead of setting up an Edison like plant with power lines you simply set up a panel and inverters and batteries at the site in a few hours and you are operational. The use of cell phones rather than land lines avoids cumbersome infrastructure as well. 
He discussed our needs and the challenges we face, but stressed there are solutions. He shared a variety of affirming and fun projects that included a wheel chair that allows disabled persons to go from the parking lot across the sand and into the water, hover craft for the 2000 Sydney Olmpics, and converting gas vehicles into electric.
Steve graciously fielded questions to the whistle. He was then awarded the Friend’s Ranch gold.
 
 
Closing Thought:
 
"There is no limit to what can be done if you don’t worry about who gets the credit."
 
 
 
 
 
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
Sage