Greetings, Felicitations and Salutations,

 

Returning to our normal room at the Clubhouse, we had quite a full house this evening. 3 full tables + a few extra place settings on the side. Remember when McInnis used to put out 4 tables for us every week ? It's a lot easier to have a few empty spots at each table than to have to scurry around to add place settings - invariably forgetting things along the way. Maybe someone can gently suggest to Erich that we return to the 4 table set.

 

So, anyway, scrunched as we were, the ebullient John Tanko called us to order and asked Larry to lead us in the pledge. Which he did. Followed by a thought for the day on not forgetting our soldiers some of whom are stationed far, far away from home.

 

Next came the introduction of visiting Rotarians, of whom there were several. Kim from San Bruno, who just could be nudged into joining us on a regular basis - as in becoming a member. There was Jim Becker from Petaluma, who brought along with him a Rotarian from Thailand, with whom the Petaluma Rotary had done several joint projects. Following these Rotarians, regular guests were introduced, of which there was but one, the lovely Barbara, guest of Malcolm. Though I think there was actually one other guest, as sitting next to me was Gene Duffy, who, unless I'm mistaken, has yet to take the oath of office of our Club. You can fine me next week if I'm wrong.

 

On to announcements, and the first one up was Allen Ng who discussed with us the upcoming Nicholas Green award ceremony at Bolinas School, where 3 students will each be awarded a $50 gift certificate and have their names engraved on a perpetual plaque at the school. The ceremony out in Bolinas, in a quite attractive setting, will take place on June 9, and Allen is soliciting a volunteer or two from the Club to make the presentation.

 

Eiko recapped our activity for this coming Saturday night, where a group of us shall attend the Novato Theater Company's production of Cactus Flower, starring our own Malcolm Cohen as Senor Sanchez. Eiko told us more about the arrangements, but seeing as Saturday will have passed by the time you read this, that's all pretty much irrelevant. Let us hope that Malcolm performed admirably and that a good time was had by all.

 

Patty then gave us a pitch for the Rotary Foundation (TRF), suggesting that contributions weren't coming in as they had in the past. At this point Keith chimed in and reminded us all of the importance of the Foundation to the purposes of Rotary, and before one could even say Attention K-Mart Shoppers ! at least two checks appeared and were given to Patty. Thank you folks. Can we count on there being more to come ?

 

Jayne arose and reminded us of the Tanko Roast, which will take place on Tuesday, June 29. A special meal will be offered, special pricing will be effect, and a fabuloso time will be had by all. Except perhaps by John, who will undoubtedly be humiliated and exorcised throughout the evening. Still on the subject of Marin celebrations, Don alerted us to the Boy Scouts of America breakfast on June 24, which will be held somewhere in Marin.

 

As for Good Times, Jayne expressed delight at the good attendance and participation at the Planning Meeting at Al Shirley's house on Saturday. Over half of the Club was there ! In another good time, Keith told us that he and Holly had attended a fundraiser for the Greater Mission Rotary, and had walked away with a one week's stay in Kauai for 4 for a mere $300.  While there must have been more good times to talk about, we were all pretty worn down by that point, so we moved onto our raffle, a $50 gift certificate to the Club donated by Larry Burnworth. Well, the value of the raffle item really brought out the wallets, and we nearly ran out of raffle tickets. But when the smoke cleared the winner was - who else, but - Holly Axtell.

 

So with that business taken care of, we were introduced to Brad Smith, who spoke to us of One Block Off the Grid, a company which organizes group purchases of solar panels to lower the cost of solar energy on your home. Brad's talk was short, as we'd left him with little time, but he did manage to explain to us some of costs and benefits of going solar. According to Brad the greatest savings accrue to people who use gobs of electricity, such as the amounts consumed by air conditioning and/or a swimming pool. As one who enjoys neither of those home accessories, I doubt that I'll be in the market for solar, but for others it could apparently offer real cost savings.

 

Next week we will have the opportunity to learn about the Nabataeans and their capital city of Petra, located within what is now the country of Jordan. Our lecturers and slide show operators for the evening will be that well traveled couple from the North Bay - and the Marin Evening Rotary - Holly and Keith Axtell, who visited this region just a few months ago. If you've always felt that you needed to know the difference between a burqua and a chador, perhaps Holly will show us. Holly ?

 

Hasta luego,

 

Your respectful editor