NEXT MEETING: December 6, 2013
Club dark on November 29th. Happy Thanksgiving.

Our Annual Holiday Auction

Our Annual Holiday Auction! This event raises the money we donate to local schools and community organizations. Your contributions add to our bottom line: it’s money but it’s more. We support dozens of local organizations that make Richmond a good place to live. So join the band: if you have yet to make your donation, do it today

MEETING OF November 22, 2013

Welcome

Alan Baer led the meeting and although capable is not as pretty as our current President. Norm Foley led the pledge and Stoney led the moment of silence. Sid’s thought for the day: When you do more than you are paid to do, you will soon be paid more for what you do.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

We welcomed a full house of visitors and guests:

Jilavyan Marina, a visitor from “St Petersburg White Nights” Rotary club, and guest of Dan Tanita

Hovic Kokochian, also from St. Petersburg White Nights, and son of Jilavyan. And also guest of Dan Tanita

Linda Young, guest of Jim Young

Igor Barer, guest of Tom Butt, via Mark Howe

Sister Mary Greenan, guest of Hank Covell

Bonnie Foley, guest of Norm Foley

Shauna Bagley, guest of Mark Howe

Special Events

Hovic Kokochian, Dan Tanita’s visiting dentist for the last month who was graciously housed in several Rotarians’ homes during his stay, will fly back to Russia with his mom after a short trip to LA. Hovic’s mom Nilavyan said that she was amazed when she visited America years ago on a dental exchange program and was so moved by the program run by Richmond Rotary that she went back to St. Petersburg and started a Rotary club there, now called the White Nights Club. Both Hovic and Nilavyan were very thankful to the club and to Dan Tanita for the Dental Exchange program. Our Russian friends presented several gifts and thank you certificates our club.

Announcements

• Have you contributed yet to the Holiday Auction, December 6^th. Our most important fundraiser of the year is only a few days away, so please add your contribution today! Use our handy Holiday Auction contribution form. And don’t forget part two: point your friends to our Auction page, then invite them to spend holiday dollars at the lively event.
• Richmond Rotary’s Annual Holiday Party will be held on December 6th at 6pm, at the Richmond Country Club. Dinner will be served at 7pm. The terrific dance band, GTS, begins playing at 7:30. The buffet-style dinner will offer a chicken, beef, or pasta dish. The Kiwanis Club of Richmond will join us this year. $150 per couple, and $75 per person. Richmond Country Club. Buy tickets online (see right side column) or mail checks to David Brown.
• Tom Waller asked that the people who bid on Judy Morgan’s event at last year’s auction need to contact her so the event can be completed. You can contact Judy at judy@rcoc.com  or at (510) 234-3512
• Mark and Stoney want everyone to know that they will once again hold a BBQ at Mark’s house featuring Stoney’s award winning BBQ sauce.
• The holiday bikes are getting close to the full match of 100 bikes. Each bike and helmet combination is $47 so if you still want to donate get your checks into David Brown ASAP and get the full match of 100 bikes.
• Alan Baer will hold a Typhoon Relief Fundraising BBQ at his house on Saturday November 23 at 3001 Barkley Drive. Richmond CA 94806.
• The Rotary Trading Post is now up and running on the Rotary 5160 District Website. You can buy and sell goods so check it out.
• The Vespa for Bangladesh needs a friend. If we can raise $700 more we can purchase the 2^nd Vespa. The Vespas will be used to get out to the villages and train people about arsenic in the water.
• December 13, 2013 is our annual toy drive, in cooperation with the Richmond and El Cerrito Fire Departments. Bring your new unwrapped toys to the meeting the firemen and women will distribute them to deserved children in the community.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

PROGRAM

Cheryl Waits, a registered nurse, owns the company, Life Changing Ways. Ms. Waits is a professional Life & Health Coach and Nutritional Consultant. She grew up in New Jersey, and faced numerous health problems growing up. When she moved to Fairfield, Calfironia, the health problems, including numerous allergies, continued.

When Ms. Waits began focusing on nutrition for good health her health problems cleared up. She has been free of those conditions for over 20 years. She distinguished between nutrition and diet. Diet is the food we eat and nutrition is the specific nutrients that your body requires to build and repair cells. The secret to living longer, with a good quality of life, starts with nutrition.

NEXT MEETING: November 22, 2013

Living Healthy with Today's Food Chain

Cheryl Waits, a Registered Nurse for 35 years, shares the good news about nutrition and its connection to living a more pain-free, disease-free, vibrant life. She will discuss how various changes in foods over the past 100 years (GMO, pesticides, herbicides, processing, heating, corporate farming, etc.) means we all need to be more informed and watchful in looking out for our own health.

MEETING OF November 15, 2013

Welcome

Red Badger Ethan Heinrich led the pledge. Stoney led the invocation. Sid’s thought for the day: The best thing a parent can do for a child is love his or her spouse. Liliane greeted the Rotary with enthusiasm and reminded all Richmond Rotarians that as a group, we must get involved because that is how we change people’s lives for the better.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Lucy Wu, the guest of Ethan Heinrich.
Richard Poe, Jean Yvesi Charon and Cheryl Vaughn were all guests of Tom Butt.
Heather Kulp brought her guest, who also happens to be her husband, Barry, to our meeting.
We also welcomed Neal Wells, a visiting Rotarian from the Orinda Rotary

Announcements

• Have you contributed yet to the Holiday Auction, December 6^th. Our most important fundraiser of the year is only a few weeks away, so please add your contribution today! The number of items helps build the excitement and interest that is key to our success. Use our handy Holiday Auction contribution form to send us a description and a good photo, if you have one.
• Richmond Rotary’s Annual Holiday Party will be held on December 6th at 6pm, at the Richmond Country Club. Dinner will be served at 7pm. The terrific dance band, GTS, begins playing at 7:30. The buffet-style dinner will offer a chicken, beef, or pasta dish. The Kiwanis Club of Richmond will join us this year. $150 per couple, and $75 per person. Richmond Country Club. Buy tickets online (see right side column) or mail checks to David Brown.

• 

  

  Reminder: Our 7th Annual Crab Feed will be held on Saturday, February 8th. Cocktails at 6, dinner at 7. Raffle following dinner. Tickets are $40/person. Please use button on right to purchase tickets online, or download flyer and use order form to pay by check.
  For more information, contact Erle Brown at 510 223-6291, or Henry Moe at 234-4433, ex. 1104.

• 

  
  

  Another reminder: Each year about 1,000 kids sign up for the Richmond/El Cerrito Fire & Police Holiday Program to receive toys and food– and, if they’re lucky–a bike! Through a free raffle a some kids get bikes, some don’t.

  David Brown tells us we still have a long way to go to reach the club’s matching level of $4,700. Chip in, please, and Buy a Kid a Bike so fewer children will go away disappointed. One bike plus a helmet is only $47.

  Please make checks payable to Richmond Rotary Club, and mail to 3260 Blume Drive, Suite 410, Richmond, CA 94806. Or click the Donate button on the right to make your contribution online. Download flyer.

• December 13^th  is the date of our Toy Drive for the Richmond and El Cerrito Fire Departments. Bring your unwrapped donations to the meeting
• Bike donations can still be given to David Brown. $47 per bike includes a helmet and the club will match donations up to 100 bikes.
• Richmond Rotary Crab Feed will be held at Salesian HS on February 8^th. Cocktails at 6pm, dinner at 7pm. The Crab Feed costs $40 and checks can be sent to David Brown to secure your spot. Doug Millar, from San Pablo Rotary, is the first to buy seats. Invite your friends and make it a fun evening. For more information call Erle Brown 510-223-6291 or Henry Moe 510-234-4433 ex 1104.
• The Bangladesh Vespas project will provide 2 Vespas (motor bikes) for the women in Bangladesh who train people about arsenic water safety. The Club is seeking 7 more contributions of $100 to meet this worthy goal.
• This Saturday, November 23^rd, at 4pm, Alan Baer will host a BBQ fundraiser at his home  to benefit the Disaster Victims on Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. All are invited. Alan’s address is 3001 Barkley Drive, Richmond CA 94806.  Bring your appetite and a check.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

A woman was going through her husband’s desk drawer and discovered three soybeans in an envelope containing $30 in cash. So she asked him about it.

And the husband said, “Well, I have to confess. Over the years, I haven’t been completely faithful to you. But every time I cheated, I put a soybean in the drawer to remind myself.”

“So, where did the $30 come from?” she asked.

“Well, when soybeans hit $10 dollars a bushel, I decided to sell.”

PROGRAM

The Warning Signs of Elder Abuse

Patricia Fisher, a Board Certified Forensic Document Examiner, spoke about the signs of elder abuse. Ms. Fisher described some of cases she has worked on. She identified what cues alerted her to attempts to present fraudulent wills and codicils to a court. She outlines these signs in the attached document, Ten Red Flags of Elder Abuse. Distilling years of field experience, it’s worth a look.

NEXT MEETING: November 15, 2013

Combatting Financial Elder Abuse

M. Patricia Fisher, a Board Certified Forensic Document Examiner and Certified Fraud Specialist has worked for more than thirty years on hundreds of probate and financial elder abuse cases as a forensic document examiner. Attorneys use her services to analyze wills, codicils, Deeds of Trusts, beneficiary forms, and other documents related to an estate when these documents become suspect for forgeries, alterations, or fabrications. Using a PowerPoint presentation, she will provide an inside view of several especially interesting and challenging cases and describe the red flags associated with financial elder abuse.

MEETING OF November 8, 2013

Welcome

Lillian opened with a heartfelt thank you for all members that made of our San Francisco Consular meeting an outstanding success. She closed by stating it was a privilege to be our president.

Sid’s thought for the day was  “You must be able to manage yourself before you can lead”

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Our visiting Rotarians included Banu Dadlani from Berkeley,  Jeff Mulvihill from Redding, and Dominique Yancy from San Ramon Valley.

Guests included Sid Chauvin’s wife Zelpha and grandson Zackary Johnson Chauvin.  Erle Brown brought his wife Phyllis. We again welcomed Dan Tanita guest from Russia, Hovic Kokochin. (Dan says he can now pronounce his name.)  Tom Butt’s guest was Richard Poe.  Don Lau brought his son Jordan, and Jim Young brought his wife Linda.

Special Events

Mike Aaronian received his Blue Badge. Congratulations, Mike!

Announcements

• Have you contributed yet to the Holiday Auction, December 6^th. Our most important fundraiser of the year is only a few weeks away, so please add your contribution today! The number of items helps build the excitement and interest that is key to our success. Use our handy Holiday Auction contribution form to send us a description and a good photo, if you have one.
• Richmond Rotary’s Annual Holiday Party will be held on December 6th at 6pm, at the Richmond Country Club. Dinner will be served at 7pm. The terrific dance band, GTS, begins playing at 7:30. The  buffet-style dinner will offer a chicken, beef, or pasta dish. The Kiwanis Club of Richmond will join us this year. $150 per couple, and $75 per person. Richmond Country Club. All checks should be sent to David Brown.
• 

  

  Reminder: Our 7th Annual Crab Feed will be held on Saturday, February 8th. Cocktails at 6, dinner at 7. Raffle following dinner. Tickets are $40/person. Please use button on right to purchase tickets online, or download flyer and use order form to pay by check.
  For more information, contact Erle Brown at 510 223-6291, or Henry Moe at 234-4433, ex. 1104.

• 

  
  

  Another reminder: Each year about 1,000 kids sign up for the Richmond/El Cerrito Fire & Police Holiday Program to receive toys and food– and, if they’re lucky–a bike! Through a free raffle a some kids get bikes, some don’t.

  David Brown tells us we still have a long way to go to reach the club’s matching level of $4,700. Chip in, please, and  Buy a Kid a Bike so fewer children will go away disappointed. One bike plus a helmet is only $47.

  Please make checks payable to Richmond Rotary Club, and mail to 3260 Blume Drive, Suite 410, Richmond, CA 94806. Or click the Donate button on the right to make your contribution online. Download flyer.

• Henry Moe promoted The Salesian High School “Crab-Feed” February 8th 2014.
• Tom Waller read from a letter of thanks from NIAD for the painting work the club did last Saturday. He named all the volunteers. Thanks to all of those.
• Joan Davis promoted “Feed the Homeless” on Thanksgiving Day at the Saluté Restaurant, where the staff plan to fed 1000 people.
• Richmond Rotacare is offering flu shot on the same day, Thanksgiving. (Thank you for not getting sick!)
• Alan Baer has invited the Indonesian consulate to The Crab Feed.
• Mark Howe has a lunch planned with the consul from Korea.
• A correction to last weeks Flywheel. I, Alan Blavins was not honored as a 5-pin Paul Harris recipient.  It was the other Alan, Alan Baer. Congratulations, Alan.
• Reminder: Rotary Day at the Races, at Golden Gate Fields, takes place on November 16^th.  See Pam Jones for tickets, which are $35/person.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

Yes,  another lawyer joke…

A lawyer and an engineer were fishing in the Caribbean. The lawyer said, “I’m here because my house burned down and everything I owned was destroyed. The insurance company paid for everything.”

“That is quite a coincidence,” said the engineer. “I’m here because my house and all my belongings were destroyed by a flood, and my insurance also paid for everything.”

The lawyer looked somewhat confused and asked, “How do you start a flood?”

PROGRAM

RIchmond Police Activity League

Our speakers were Larry Lewis, the Executive Director of the Richmond Police Activities League (PAL); Brenda McCuisien Director of PAL’s mentoring Program; and Joe Hunt, Director of PAL’s Computer Program.

PAL’s mission is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for recreational, educational, cultural and social programs. Their goal is to promote a partnership to build a positive relationship between police officers and Richmond’s youth (children 5-17 years of age).

Larry pointed out the benefits of mentors by acknowledging his mentor at 17, Erle Brown. From another mentor, Don Lau, he learned how to hold a meeting. Don’s theory: one hour max in and out. That’s how Larry holds all meetings today. He was very proud of PAL’s boxing program. Only 10% of the roster is cleared for boxing by the doctor, though this does not deter the remainder from participating in the program. The boxing program is still part of the national  “Golden Gloves” . One of their boxers, Leon Brown, just won a National Championship. If he can win two more, he will qualify for the Winter Olympics in 2014. Right on Leon! All boxers promise not to take what they have learnt in the ring into the streets of Richmond.

Next to speak was Brenda McCuisien on her mentoring program. She gave an example. When she first started with her mentor in 2002, her student thought she would never go to collage. She did in fact graduate, the first in her family.

Brenda teaches, apart from motivation, etiquette, life skills and how to act at public functions. She cannot do this alone so she called on volunteers to give up 6-8 hours per month.

Joe Hunt followed Brenda. He spoke about his basic computer assisted learning program, AutoSkill. Richmond Rotary purchases the licenses necessary to use this software program.

Larry Lewis finished on yet another positive note, “Shop with a Cop” It’s just what it says. Chosen kids are given $100 and shop at Hilltop Mall with a mentor cop. About 80% of the kids spend the money on their parents. The next “Shop with a Cop” is planned for December 21^st 2013. Where Herb Cole leapt to his feet and called for help for this cause, ten members instantly offered $100. Is this a great club or what?

NEXT MEETING: November 8, 2013

RIchmond Police Activity League

Our presenter is Larry Lewis, the Executive Director of The Richmond Police Activities League (RPAL), of the Police Activities League, the mission of which is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for recreational, educational, cultural and social programs while building positive community relations between police officers, youth and citizens. Its goals is to promote partnerships between youth (children 5 to 17 years of age ) and adult allies that support and empower the development of each mentee to further RPAL’s mission.

MEETING OF November 1, 2013

Welcome

President Lillian presided over the meeting and welcomed all members and visitors. Herb Cole offered a silent prayer for peace, freedom and justice on earth.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Our club was honored to have hosted a large number of visiting Rotarians and guests.

Announcements

• President Lillian Koziol is wearing two hats today: Rotary President and Consul of Madagascar.
• You’ll soon be asked (that is, called by a phone call by a fellow Rotary member, probably around dinner time) to contribute to the Holiday Auction, to be held on December 6^th. If you already know what you’ll be donating, please use the Holiday Auction contribution form to let us know.  Do it today so our friendly (!) operators won’t be disturbing your dinner.
• Did you know that there are more than 34,000 Rotary clubs worldwide? Our talented Sergeant-at-arms, Sid, prepared a display of all of the flags representing Rotaries around the world. Thank you, Sid!

• 

  
  
  
  

  Our 7th Annual Crab Feed will be held on Saturday, February 8th. Cocktails at 6, dinner at 7. Raffle following dinner. Tickets are $40/person. Please use button on right to purchase tickets online, or download flyer and use order form to pay by check.

  For more information, contact Erle Brown at 510 223-6291, or Henry Moe at 234-4433, ex. 1104.

• 

  
  
  
  

  Each year about 1,000 kids sign up for the Richmond/El Cerrito Fire & Police Holiday Program to receive toys and food. They come to the E.M. Downer YMCA in Richmond, and receive numbered tickets for a chance to receive a bike. Some kids get bikes, some don’t.

  By chipping in to Buy a Kid a Bike, fewer children will go away disappointed. One bike plus a helmet is only $47. Richmond Rotary will match the first $4,700 in funds raise.
  Use the button on the right to make your donation. Or make checks payable to Richmond Rotary Club, and send to 3260 Blume Drive, Suite 410, Richmond, CA 94806. Download flyer.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

On night little Johnny finished his prayers with “God bless Grandma,” and the very next day his grandmother kicked the bucket. Johnny told his family about his prayer, but no one seemed to give it too much thought. A week later he ended his prayers with “God bless Grandpa,” and the next day his grandfather died. The family was running a little scared by now, and when Johnny finished his prayers one night with “God bless Daddy,” his mother thought maybe she better warn her husband about it.

All the night Johnny’s Dad couldn’t sleep for worrying, and the next day he came home from work early. “I had a terrible day worrying about all this,” he confided to his wife.

“You think you had a bad day,” she said. “The mailman came to the door and dropped dead.”

PROGRAM

Rotary Peace Foundation Center

This was an extremely special meeting as under the leadership of our President, Lillian Koziol. We were honored with the attendance of our District Governor, Dr. Steve Lack, the current President of the United Nations Association; Rita Moran, the Vice President of Advocacy at the United Nations Association; as well as the San Francisco diplomatic Consular Corps. President Koziol introduced Professor Henry Epstein, International Studies at U.C. Berkeley and member of the Berkeley Rotary Club. Professor Epstein introduced today’s speaker, Bruce Campbell, Vice-Chair of the Rotary Foundation Peace Centers Committee.
Mr. Campbell described the Rotary Foundation Peace Center, whose mission is to amplify peace and education around the world. The vehicle for this mission is the ‘Rotary University of Peace’. Rotary Peace Centers have partnered with various universities since the 1990s. They began with 40 universities and now have relationships with over 400. A goal of the Rotary Peace Center Program is to pay for scholarships to the Rotary University of Peace. We can support the program by helping to identify quality candidates and talk up the program among fellow Rotarians.