The Reminder for April 7, 2017 Bob Davis= humble reporter
Reporter’s note to self: Self! Note how much easier doing the reminder is when the President snd BOTH speakers give your their notes ( such as they were), and the meeting ends 15 minutes early!
How sweet that is!
So for those of you who were there, this is a try at reporting what actually happened. For those of you who weren’t there, this will be as good as it gets!
According to The President’s notes, the bell rang at 12:10 ( more like 12:14, but who is counting.) Thanks to John Johnston for delivering ( from memory- according to Lerie) the Flag Salute..
Mike Scar gave a thoughtful invocation. Later, the set up crew was thanked ( Matt Clements, Bill Prather, and Bryant Hubert). If that trilogy changes anytime soon, the scribe of the day will report the change. Greeters were listed as Frank Finck and Bob Davis. Those who know Frank well will be pleased to note he was on time and in fine fettle. Davis was late and a bit ramshackle in his performance. Matt Clements kept the roving mike ON and in front of the correct people. Deirdre Daly manned the front table, which according to President Bill, is in the back. Ginger was thanked for lunch plus waterless flowers!!
There were no visiting Rotarians who were announced and no guests. Those who weren’t there don’t know what they missed.
Announcements;
- The Scholarship Committee will make their awards on 19 May. They have plenty of work to do between now and then as they have over 65 applications to winnow through. Give them moral support!
- Accolades were dispatched to the social committee for a successful 5th Friday. ( A personal note from one of the hosts, me, I sometimes judge a party by how much fun the host (s) had. By this account, the party was a raging success!). Note to club. If you want a successful party enlist the support of Deirdre Daly and Betsy Watson. IMHO, these ubiquitous and omnipresent ( but I repeat myself) ladies are a serious part of the glue that holds this club together!!
- President Bill recognized in appropriate fashion the superlative work, over decades, and in dozens of spots around the world by our own Dr. Bob Skankey. Bob’s praises need to be sung, but maybe next time we can wait until he is there! True Kudos to a man who continues to do it all!
- So, 100 years ago today the U.S. entered the first World War. Quick to respond to world desecration, the Ojai Valley had a huge picnic celebration in the park the next day, and tomorrow, the community is reenacting this august moment. This will be passed by the time you read this, but thanks to all of you that will, might or have manned the Rotary booth which supported the Museum, enhanced the historic occasion, promoted the ideals of Rotary, and tried to recruit new members.
Fining.
Smooth talking Bill Prather ascended the podium ( actually, he did nothing of the sort. He just walked to the front of the room to the sound of ever decreasing applause)
Cleverly asking for confessions, and then blowing the cleverness by calling on your humble scribe , who delivered a well timed and brilliant diatribe about what RSVP means and how it relates to the Four way test.
Leslie Bouche made us aware of the World Famous World Family Foundation Fundraising Raffle, an outstanding online event in support of the School in India which has drawn so much praise. PLEASE, check out WorldFamilyFnd.org. Just too much good stuff available for you to pass it by (BUY).
Pradeep announced that he is going to be out of town, but not out of touch, for literally months on end, improving the lot of mankind by being on assignment in the State of Washington. We will miss you!
Bill then proceeded to ask 8 trivia questions about Baseball. If this had been a ball game and Bill had been the opposing pitcher, he would have lost 6-2, as six folks guessed the multiple choice question correctly. As an aside, it was revealed that Bill had, in an earlier life, been associated with professional baseball, where he was a hit, but never a Miss!
The Program.
Today we had the privilege of hearing from two of our newest members,
John Johnston spoke first, and he spoke on what excited him about being a Rotarian, and that would be: Networking, Fellowship, and making the world a better place. We received a brief bio, but the main context was one of desire to provide service, show compassion, and work for unity. John started his talk with a brief tip of the hat to Lerie for showing him the world of Rotary, and I think we need to thank Lerie for bringing us a fantabulous new member! Good Show! (Monica Ros turns out great people!)
Next, Bryant Huber presented us with a well rounded milieu of his early days and how he got here. Growing up in relatively rural northern Michigan ( for those of you geographically challenged brethren and sistren out there, Northern Michigan is the upper half of the lower peninsula, so not north of the bridge, also still part of 
Congressional District #1, but not a Yooper, just a troll with a muted accent!- but I digress!){ um, where was I? } Bryant learned from his parents the value of community and giving back. Somewhere, along the line, talent will out and Bryant joined the Young American’s. and travelled this nation exuding pride, music and happiness- well, why not, as that is where he met his Ojai connection, Carin, and the rest is history. And then Carl recruited Bryant to join Rotary, so that Terry Beckett, and Carl, can dump all the internet, website stuff on Bryant. ( The preceding is an editorial comment that is meant to be chuckled at) Bryant seems incredibly qualified at almost anything, including repairing old musical instruments, and he specifically asked if anyone had old instruments that needed repair to contact him. OK! So Bryant, I have an electric 1920’s Player piano that needs help.
Has it occurred to any of you how incredibly fortunate this club is to have such wonderful and vibrant new members , and, by the way, how this is just an extension of a list of outstanding new members. ( not long ago, I received correspondence from one of the schools ( institute?) that I attended as a youth that pointed out that I probably would not qualify for entrance today. I accept that, but now I’m wondering if I should reapply to Rotary). Both these guys had SUCH Enthusiasm. It lifted my spirits!! Thanks.
Closing.
Luckily, President Bill ended the meeting with more class and grace than I am ending this report, well, except that he made the presenters figure out for themselves how to split the gift of produce. Not exactly the wisdom of Solomon, but not bad for a President of a Medium sized Rotary Club in a small town!
Addendum. Any photos accompanying this report should be attributed to Marty Babayco, who, sensing the absence of our normal photographer, salvaged the visual part of this program.
