The Flywheel
Archive issue

NEXT MEETING: December 14, 2012

Richmond/El Cerrito Police & Fire Departments Toy Drive

Two events today! Bring an unwrapped children’s toy for the Richmond/El Cerrito Police & Fire Toy Drive. Santa will be present to help accept the toys and find out if you’ve been naught or nice, children first. Then Deputy Chief Ed Medina will discuss the Police Department’s community outreach programs.

It falls upon you, responsible Rotarian, to choose a gift to bring on this day. Pam Jones has said that the older kids get considered last so you might want to spend a little time thinking about gifts for adolescents. Look in the arts and crafts section at Target for ‘Alex’ products, which are particularly nice for girls. Also check out art supplies, like markers, glue, colored construction paper, and good drawing paper. This is also a great event for your grand kids!

MEETING OF December 7, 2012

Welcome

A celebratory throng of Rotarians and their guests filled the Richmond Country Club for the Annual Holiday Auction. The dining room seemed barely big enough to contain us all, adding to the feeling of fun and festivity. People sipped Sid’s egg-nog, perused silent auction items arrayed along side tables, filled their plates with food, and greeted familiar guests. After a few minutes President Jim Young clinked a glass to quiet the crowd, spoke with apparently little effect into the microphone, and clinked a glass again. It was going to be one of those days.

Finally managing to hush the crowd, Jim welcomed all, announced the one “business item” of the day—”We’re voting for new board officers today, so fill out your ballots” (see below)—and handed off the mike to our capable auctioneering duo: Don Lau and Josh Surowitz. And we were off. See PROGRAM, below.

Announcements

The results of the Annual Election, conducted at this meeting, were as follows.

Forty-four (71%) of the members present cast 42 ballots in a landslide victory for:
Stoney Stonework, President Elect Designate 2014-15

The Board of Directors slate of Pam Jones, David Keystone and Mike Winter, begin their new term in July of 2013.

In a notable nuance, 8 write-in votes were cast, 1 for Heather Kulp, 1 for Tom Butt and 6 were blank.(Not sure what that means but we suspect the egg-nog may have had something to do with this.) These results and the ballots will be passed on to Secretary Alan Baer for the club records.

Recognitions

Happy and Sad Dollars

Norm’s Nonsense

A police dog responds to an ad for work with the FBI. “Well,” says the personnel director, “You’ll have to meet some strict requirements. First, you must type at least 60 words per minute.”
Sitting down at the typewriter, the dog types out 80 words per minute.
“Also, says the director, “You must pass a physical and complete obstacle course.”
This perfect canine specimen finishes the course in record time.
“There is one last requirement,” the director continues, “you must be bilingual.”
With confidence, the dog looks up at him and says, “Meow!”

PROGRAM

Going once, going twice…” Bidding was fast, fun and, as it turned out, extraordinarily generous. Topping all previous annual Holiday Auctions by a significant margin, Richmond Rotarians and their guests contributed over $27,000 in this fundraising event.

Great thanks to must go out to all Rotarians, both for donating an impressive variety of gifts and, days later, turning around and buying them all back, often at many times their original value. What a concept!

Alan Blavins recorded our event for posterity. Here are a few of his pictures. Thanks, Alan.