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.

NEXT MEETING: November 1, 2013

The Rotary Peace Center Program

Past District Governor Bruce Campbell, current Vice-Chair of The Rotary Foundation Peace Centers Committee and past Host Area Coordinator for the Rotary Peace Center at UC Berkeley, will talk about Rotary’s Peace Center program, its history, where it is today and how you can be involved.

Mr. Campbell’s presentation coincides with a luncheon we will host on this day for the San Francisco diplomatic Consular Corps. We celebrate Rotary’s commitment to building international understanding and goodwill through its Peace Program. Members of the Consular Corps from each country will be recognized during the luncheon. Our president asks that you wear business attire.

MEETING OF October 25, 2013

Welcome

The meeting was called to order by President Liliane Koziol at 12:30 P.M. Stoney offered a silent prayer for peace, freedom and justice on earth. Sid’s thought-for-the-day, “You can disagree without being disagreeable.”

Guests and Visiting Rotarians

Today’s visiting Rotarian—now becoming a familiar face at our meetings—was Jeff Mulvihill, from the Rotary Club of Redding, California. We also welcomed two guests: Ethan Heinrich, invited by Josh Surowitz; and Holvik Kokchian, a guest of Dan Tanita and today’s guest speaker.

Liliane acknowledged the many forms of community activities our members have been engaged in. She recognized the District Conference, where 12,228 food packets were prepared and sent all over the world for Stop Hunger in the World program. Landmine victims received 188 hand prosthesis, and 100 clean water packets were distributed around the world.
Liliane also acknowledged Richmond Rotarians participation at “Dollar Day” at Golden Gate Fields, where our members served beer and hot dogs and, not incidentally, raised $1,000 for the Club.

Finally, she thanked those members who pitched in to plant trees in Richmond for Arbor Day. Liliane gave 11 awards and pins for fellowship and service. Thank you, all.
Tom

Announcements

Alan Baer remind members about the Rotary Foundation Day at the Races, November 16. Tickets are $35.00 deadline, deadline November 1. Proceeds to go to Rotary International.

Stoney announced the Holiday Party, December 6, 2013. $75.00 per person and $150.00 per couple. Cocktails 6-7 P.M., Dinner 7 P.M, and dancing to begin at 7:30 PM, with music provided by the GTS Band. The Kiwanis Club may join us.

Jon Lawlis reported that Ralph Hill has a tumor on his neck

Liliane asks that if you are able to attend the reception for the Consular Corps at 11:30 AM on Friday and wish to bring a guest, that you send her an email lkoziel@berkeley.edu or lckoziel@yahoo.com. She also asks that you please wear business attire.

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 Browne 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

The wife smacks her husband upside the head. He says, “Hey! What was that for?”

“That’s for the piece of paper in your pants pocket with the name ‘Marylou’ on it.”

He explains, “That’s from two weeks ago. I went to the races, and Marylou was the name of one of the horses I bet on.”

She hits him again. He says, “Now what was that for?”

“Your horse called on the phone today.”

PROGRAM

Long term planning. A visitor from the Rotary Peace Scholarship program.

This week we welcomed two guest speakers.

Gerald Olivas, a financial representative from Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company, discussed strategies for long term financial planning.

Hovik Kokchian, is a visiting Rotary Peace Scholarship fellow from St. Petersburg, Russia. The program that supports his visit, the Rotary Peace Scholarship, is open to students or young professionals between 20 and 25 years of age. Since graduating from St. Petersburg State Medical University in 2011 with a degree in dentistry, Hovik has participated in charity projects through the Rotary Medicine Arm in Arm program.

Hovik is now involved in a project that offers quality dental treatment for poor children and orphans. It’s no surprise, therefore, that he comes to our attention thanks to our own Dan Tanita, who, as most of you know, established a dental clinic at the Peres Elementary School that provides dental services to low-income children.

NEXT MEETING: October 25, 2013

Planning for the Long Term

Gerald Olivas is a Financial Representative with Northwestern Mutual. The company’s mission is to develop enduring relationships with clients by providing expert guidance for a lifetime of financial security. He offers a broad portfolio of individual life insurance, disability income, long-term care and asset accumulation strategies. Gerald can also help create a complete personal planning analysis- whether a client is focused on managing current financial success, implementing strategies and ideas for their businesss, or protecting and preserving assets over the long term.

MEETING OF October 18, 2013

Welcome

President Liliane Koziol called the meeting to order at the Richmond Country Club. Gonzalo Ochoa led the pledge of allegiance and Herb Cole asked for a moment of silence for freedom, peace, and justice on earth.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

• Jeff Mulvihill, a Rotarian who’s moving to our area from Redding, CA, once again visited our Club.
• Norm Foley introduced his wife, Bonnie
• Liliane introduced her guest, Josiane Siegfried.
• Jim Young introduced his son, Zion.
• David Brown introduced his guest, Miguel O’Hara.
• Richard Alexander introduced his wife, Katherine.

Special Events

• Liliane presented Heather Kulp with her Blue Badge now that she has completed all requirements to move on from the Red version. Congratulations, Heather!
• Connie Tritt, Club Foundation Chair, presented Norm Foley with his third Paul Harris pin for contributions to the Rotary Foundation. With his 45 years of Rotary membership, Norm recounted some of the great things that he’s seen the Rotary Foundation do. He particularly remembers when he was involved with the Group Study Exchange program and the visits of Rotarians from other countries. In the early 1990s, Norm recalls welcoming an all-women study team from Sweden, a significant milestone after the 1989 Rotary International decision to admit women members. Norm also gave Connie a $200 check toward his next Paul Harris award.

Announcements

• Tree planting on Saturday morning at Lucas Park in Richmond was a great success, complete with a new Rotary canopy booth arrangement that’s easy to set up and take down (thank you, Alan Blavins) and some new signage thanks to Joe Bagley. Rotary’s presence (people and booth) was prominent. Thanks to Felix Hunziker for overall coordination.
• Richmond Rotary volunteers for Dollar Days at Golden Gate Fields were numerous and in good spirits on Sunday morning. Fun was had by all as lots of beer, hot dogs, and sodas were sold at the special Dollar Days concession near Winners’ Circle just off the track. Some Rotaract Club members from UC Berkeley also joined in. Because there were at least 10 Richmond Rotary volunteers on hand, Golden Gate Fields will contribute $1,000 to Richmond Rotary’s treasury. Plus, we earned $75 in tips, which will also go into Club funds. Thanks to Lynn Martin for coordinating.
• The Rotary District 5160 Conference (“Celebrate the Adventure”) also took place over the weekend in Chico, CA. We’ll learn more about it at the upcoming Club meeting.
• Hank Covell announced that a special fund-raising event will be held for the Salesian Boys and Girls Club on Saturday, November 2, starting at 6pm. The original Untouchables rock-n-roll band will be performing at this 2013 Benefit Dance. These are the guys who have been part of the Bay Area music scene since the 1960s. Remember the songs, “It’s Alright” and “Poison Ivy”? Even if you can’t remember, this is for a good cause and you’ll be swinging your hips before you know it (or at least tapping your toes). Purchase tickets in advance for $25 ($40 at the door) by mailing a check with a self-addressed stamped envelope to West Contra Costa Salesian Boys & Girls Club, P.O. Box 6120, San Pablo, CA 94806. You can also contact Steve Alameda at 510.215.4648, email spalameda@yahoo.com.
• Tom Waller encouraged everyone to come be a part of a Richmond Rotary volunteer work crew on Saturday morning, October 26, at 9am to do some interior wall painting at the National Institute of Arts and Disabilities (NIAD) on 23rd Street, one block north of Barrett Avenue. NIAD is getting ready for a public open house in mid-November so they’re really appreciative of Richmond Rotarians once again giving of their time and talents to help them out. If ten or so volunteers assemble on Saturday, October 26, it looks to be a 2-3 hour painting job.
• Liliane Koziol again reminded everyone that on Friday, November 1, representatives from several offices in the San Francisco-based foreign Consular Corps will be visiting Richmond Rotary. This is the first time for such a visit in the East Bay. There will be a pre-Rotary-meeting reception at the Richmond Country Club at 11:30am and the meeting will then begin at 12-noon. Jon Lawlis graciously offered to donate a case of Champagne for the visit. The program speaker that day will be Bruce Campbell, Vice-Chair of the Peace Centers Committee for the Rotary Foundation.
• Pam Jones urged everyone to purchase their tickets ($35 per person) for Rotary Foundation Day at the Races to be held at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday, November 16. About 30 Rotary Clubs have already signed up and more than 500 Rotarians are expected. The deadline for ticket purchase is October 29. Give checks made to Richmond Rotary to David Brown.
• Mark your calendars for December 6. That’s the annual Holiday Auction at noon and the Annual Holiday Party that evening (in conjunction with the local Kiwanis Club). Both events are at the Richmond Country Club. Kudos to Don Lau for leading the Holiday Auction Committee again this year. Being a Club of over-achievers, we’re naturally looking to break last-year’s records for Auction attendance (over 80 people) and dollars taken in (multiple thousands!). So get your creative juices flowing for auction item ideas.
• Speaking of the holidays, don’t forget to give a $47 check (or multiples thereof) to David Brown for the YMCA end-of-year bicycle-gift program (the $47 is for one bike and one helmet; put “bikes” in the memo line of your check). But don’t wait until Christmas – the money is needed NOW. And the Club is matching funds up to another 100 bikes.
• In case you’d like to encourage folks in your place of work to donate for the bike program, here’s a flyer you can download, print and use to rally the troops.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

They begin the evening news with “Good Evening,” then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.

Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.

PROGRAM

The New Bay Bridge

Liliane introduced the program speaker, Victor Gauthier from the Bay Bridge Public Information Office in Oakland. Victor took us on a fast-paced presentation tour of the new East Span of the bay bridge and how it was constructed. He did a terrific job narrating a 20-minute video, which included time-lapse sequences along with fascinating animations and graphics.

As it says on the bay bridge web site, “… the new span is more than just an upgrade of one of the country’s busiest bridges – it is an epic transformation of the bridge into a global icon.”

The new East Span of the bay bridge has set two Guinness World Records.

• World’s widest bridge, with a total deck width of almost 259 feet, including ten lanes of roadway, a 15.5-feet bike path and a gap where the central tower supports the two bridge deck sections.
• Longest self-anchored suspension bridge in the world with a length of 2,047 feet.

As Victor explained it, “self-anchored suspension” means the bridge is anchored to itself. The key is the system of mile-long strands of 5-millimeter steel wires (127 strands per bundle and 137 total bundles making up one seriously massive cable). The cable system runs west-to-east, then loops under the bridge and runs back east-to-west, ultimately supporting the bridge decking after the vertical connection elements were installed.

We learned about seismic innovations, giant shims, shear link beams, hinge pipe beams, huge quantities of materials (less than 25% foreign steel and a new floatable cement), new expansion joint designs, steel saddles that more than make up for any functional loss from broken bolts (which are not part of holding deck plates in place), a specially formulated bay-bridge white paint, the distinctive 40,000 LED lights that “float and glow”, and giant support pylons that are pounded 300-feet into bay mud.

Although the opening was way over budget and long past the originally estimated completion date, the new East Span of the bay bridge is truly an amazing engineering achievement. Victor told your Scribe that, within the next few weeks, he plans to post on the bay bridge web site the same video that he showed us at the meeting along with his voice-over narration. Even those of us who attended the meeting will probably want to see it again and refer others to the site.

NEXT MEETING: October 18, 2013

We now return to the Richmond Country Club for our meetings
The New Bay Bridge

The seismic retrofit of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is more than an upgrade to one of the country’s busiest bridges; it is an epic transformation into a global icon, featuring some of the most cutting-edge and innovative engineering, construction and seismic technology. The presentation will be provided by Victor Gauthier, the Public Information Officer, San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge Seismic Safety Project, California Department of Transportation and will provide insight into the rich history of the Bay Bridge as well as close-up exploration of the construction site of the largest infrastructure project in California history. (Photo by Thomas Hawk.)

MEETING OF October 11, 2013

Welcome

President Liliane called the meeting to order at La Strada Restaurant. Bob Dabney led the pledge of allegiance and Herb Cole asked for a moment of silence for freedom, peace, and justice on earth. As he was warmly welcomed back from recent travels, Sid Chauvin had this thought for the day: if people like you, they will listen to you but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

• Jeff Mulvihill, a Rotarian who’s moving to our area from Redding, CA, is looking for a new Club. Jeff was assured that he can’t do better than Richmond Rotary.
• Bob Dabney introduced his guest, Antwon Cloird, Chief Operations Officer for Men and Women of Purpose, a Richmond organization.
• Jerry Feagley introduced his wife, Jan.
• Tom Waller introduced his guest, Steven Campbell, a Rohnert Park Rotarian and program speaker for this meeting.

Announcements

• Flywheel correction. In the last issue, there was an inadvertent misspelling of the John Nicol Scholarship Fund.
• Tree planting is on Saturday morning, October 19, as part of Richmond Arbor Day in conjunction with Groundwork Richmond, Richmond Trees, and our special tree-planting partner, The Watershed Project. Our own Felix Hunziker is coordinating things and a special Scribe outreach to him confirmed the following information.
  • Rendezvous location is Lucas Park in Richmond, 10^th Street (aka Harbour Way, north of Barrett) and Lucas Avenue.
  • Gather at 8am to set up the Rotary Booth (thanks, Alan Blavin) and 8:30am to register for tree planting.
  • Holes will have been pre-drilled by the City for planting 15 redwoods (no, not fully grown).
  • The event is over by 1pm, preceded by a few speakers and box lunches for planting volunteers.
  • This is not to be missed (even by “non-manly-man” tree-planting supporters)! There are quite a few family activities involved. Check out the PressRelease-2013-ArborDay.
• After planting trees on Saturday, come serve hot dogs and beer at Golden Gate Fields on the next day Sunday, October 20. Having at least 10 volunteers on hand from our Club will enable a $1000 contribution to the Club Treasury from Golden Gate Fields. According to Lynn Martin, who will have more details at the upcoming Friday meeting, all volunteers will assemble at 9:30am in order to work a four-hour shift from 10am – 2pm.
• Dan Tanita reminded us that, under a “New Generations” program in conjunction with the St. Petersburg Rotary Club in Russia, a young, recently graduated Russian male dentist is coming from St. Petersburg for a four-week visit to learn more about American dental practices. Dan will be hosting the young dentist at his home from October 21 to November 9 and is looking for one or two other Rotarians to be a home host from November 10 to November 22 (perhaps broken up in two one-week segments). Please contact Dan if you can help out.
• Liliane Koziol also asked Dan Tanita to comment on another recent award for the Peres School Dental Clinic that Dan and Richmond Rotary made happen. The Peres Dental Clinic is one of the finalists for the 34^th annual Golden Bell Award, issued by the California School Board Association, which oversees more than 1000 school districts in the state.
• For those not planting trees or selling hot dogs and beer this weekend, the Rotary District 5160 Conference (“Celebrate the Adventure”) will be held Saturday-Sunday, October 19-20, at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico, CA. A pre-conference golf tournament is on Thursday and fun-day activities happen on Friday. Check out the District web site.
• Liliane reminded everyone that on Friday, November 1, representatives from several offices in the San Francisco-based foreign Consular Corps will be visiting Richmond Rotary. This is a big deal, the first time for such a visit in the East Bay. There will be a pre-Rotary-meeting reception at the Richmond Country Club at 11:30am and the meeting will then begin at 12-noon. The program speaker that day will be Bruce Campbell, Vice-Chair of the Peace Centers Committee for the Rotary Foundation.
• Pam Jones urged everyone to purchase their tickets ($35 per person) for Rotary Day at the Races to be held at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday, November 16. No need to sell beer and hot dogs that day (but feel free to buy some). About 30 Rotary Clubs have already signed up and more than 500 Rotarians are expected. The deadline for ticket purchase is November 1.
• Mark your calendars for December 6. That’s the annual Holiday Auction at noon and the Annual Holiday Party that evening (in conjunction with the local Kiwanis Club). Both events are at the Richmond Country Club. Kudos to Don Lau for leading the Holiday Auction Committee again this year.
• Speaking of the holidays, don’t forget to give a $45 check (or multiples thereof) to David Brown for the YMCA end-of-year bicycle-gift program. But don’t wait until Christmas – the money is needed NOW.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

Television sets are becoming very popular in automobiles these days. My uncle has a television set in his automobile but it led to a little trouble. You see,he was sitting in the car watching television, while his wife was driving on the highway at sixty miles per hour. Then the commercial came on and he stepped out to go to the bathroom.

PROGRAM

Making Your Mind Your Mentor

Tom Waller introduced Steven Campbell, an educator in cognitive psychology. The presentation highlighted some of the remarkable things that have been learned about the brain over the last 50 years. For example, did you know that there are about 100 billion neurons in the adult brain and that each neuron ends up having connections with upwards of 15 thousand other neurons? That leads to a total number of connections that is, well, quite exponential.

But, the important thing, according to what Steven told us, is that all this brain research is helping us understand how we can rather simply improve the quality of our thoughts and our lives. It’s about more than just “the power of positive thinking”.

In his book, “Making Your Mind Magnificent: Flourishing At Any Age”, Steven reviews a variety of principles that he says can be applied immediately. During this presentation, he emphasized the following two.

• The brain accepts and believes what we tell it. If we tell ourselves, “This is too hard”, then our brain says, “Ok” and proceeds to make it seem hard. When we say, “I can do this”, then our brain not only agrees with us (“Ok”) but endeavors to find a way to do it, providing energy and creativity to get it done.

• The brain locks on to what we deem is important. We too often tell ourselves what we do NOT want to do or be or have happen instead of what we want. Then, bingo, like a homing torpedo, we “achieve” what we don’t want. Because self-images are the brain’s strongest pictures and, since our brains have known these vivid pictures all our lives, change can be very challenging but not impossible. [Scribe’s bonus comment: Einstein supposedly said, “If it is impossible, then we better get started right away.”]

Steven closed with two other helpful suggestions. When we make mistakes, use self-talk that emphasizes, “Next time, I’ll….” Also, when we are given a compliment, simply say “thank you” and, as he put it, “wallow in the success like a pig in slop!”

NEXT MEETING: October 11, 2013

NOTE: The club meets at La Stada Restaurant this Friday!
Making Your Mind Your Mentor

Steven Campbell, a former college professor, is now a nationwide speaker. His third book, Making Your Mind Magnificent – Flourishing at Any Age, is based on cognitive psychology and explains how our brain can think, learn, and grow in new ways at any age.

The basic idea is that our brain believes, accepts, and records whatever our self-talk tells it. The brain can be our greatest champion for change or our greatest adversary. Come learn about straightforward principles that can be applied immediately to improve the quality of your thoughts and, therefore, your life.

MEETING OF October 4th, 2013

Welcome

Liliane Koziol welcomed everyone. Connie Tritt led us in the pledge of allegiance and Herb Cole gave the invocation and provided a thought for the day inspired by Leo Buscaglia – enjoy the season!

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Guests included Ethan Heinrick and Miguel O’Hara, both guests of David Brown; and Art Swenson, Guest of George Egan.

Announcements

• Liliane reported that we received thank you notes from two teachers at Peres Elementary School for donating funds for classroom supplies.
• Henry Moe asked for assistance to help his Salesian Interact Club raise $200 for a donation to the district as they do each year.
• Hank Covell announced that the John Nichols Scholarship Fund has exceeded $1,000 now and that he has 2.5 cases of liquor and a 49ers necktie autographed by R.C. Owens for the upcoming auction, the proceeds of which will also go into the fund.
• Lynn Martin asked for volunteers for the Dollar Days event at Golden Gate Fields on Sunday, October 20^th. The event is from 10-2. If we are able to muster 10 volunteers that day, we will earn $1,000 for the club’s coffers.
• Alan Blavins and Felix Hunziker announced a tree planting day on October 19^th at Lucas Park. Fifty trees will be planted and volunteers are needed. The park is located at the corner of 7^th and Lucas.
• David Brown noted that it is time for the holiday bike drive again. Please make donations to David so lots of kids can have bikes this year. Bikes may be purchased for $45 each.
• On November 1^st the diplomatic consular corps of San Francisco will be visiting (so be on your best behavior!).

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

Many years ago I worked as a claims adjuster for a large auto insurance company in Berkeley. One of my friends there quit the company to study for the priesthood. After a couple of years he was ordained a priest and assigned to a parish in Oakland. One day he stopped by our office to say hello to his old friends. He told us that his duties included locating former parishioners and bringing them back into the fold and, therefore, saving them.

I asked him, “Do you save bad girls?” When he acknowledged that they did, I then asked, “Could you save a couple of them for me for Saturday night?” He didn’t think that was very funny.

PROGRAM

How the Affordable Care Act will affect you

Our very own George Egan, licensed insurance broker and real estate agent, and certified financial planner gave us the pros and cons of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. The program was designed to help get America’s uninsured citizens, insured at a reasonable cost. One of the program’s principles is that health insurance premiums should not exceed 9.7% of income for higher income people, and should not exceed 2% of income for low-income families. California’s plan provides subsidies for people up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level. One of the possible downsides is that if your income goes up and you originally qualified for subsidies at a lower income, you may have to refund part of the subsidy. Benefits of the plans include no lifetime limit; no exclusions for pre-existing conditions are allowed; and insurance companies can no longer rescind previously approved coverage based on technicalities in the application.