Rose’s Ruminations

WOW – September began with a BANG! On September 7, we inducted our second member of the year Padma Magadala.  Padma attended the meeting with her mother and daughter – three generations of Magadala women. It was a great induction and very moving for me as Padma thanked her mother for the years and time spent preparing Padma to dance in India for Rotary Project Celebrations; it brought an awareness of Rotary to Padma at a very young age. Welcome Padma – as Padma said, she has come full circle, and we look forward to your Rotary journey. Today is the DAY – The HOT, HOT, HOT Chili Pepper Challenge. Our own Daren Young challenged all in the club to GET to the web site and donate or a Hot Chili could be in your future. That could come in the form of a Hot vodka shot or a chili pepper filled with Tequila following Sophia Ahmad’s Tequila Kick Off.   Following the fining of PP Tony and his beautiful wife PFL Heather Boudames for 25 years of marriage, Harry took over the Podium. Harry prepared an historical look at Niles Rotary by involving several Rotarians asking the question “What does Rotary mean to me?” This will be a 4 part series meant to look at Niles Rotary’s history, purpose, and character.  Thank you Rick King, Sam Forbes, Sandi Pantages, Craig Steckler, and Gary Basrai for sharing not only why they joined Rotary but why they stay. I had to smile, with Family by Choice being my motto this year, most everyone mentioned that Niles Rotary has become their extended family.   Thank you Harry – it was a GREAT program with heartfelt passionate speakers, and we really look forward to part 2.

IT’s that time of year again –My favorite thing about this time of year is it’s time for all things Pumpkin!!! My second favorite thing about this time of year is it’s time to bust out the Ghost House. Niles Rotarians partnered with the Candle Lighters again to begin the 49^th year of the Candle Lighters Ghost house in Fremont. Great Ghost House memories back 49 years ago as I got to be one of the witches riding on the float with a really scary play house that looked haunted and huge papier-mâché vultures that I helped my mom and Joan Massey construct. Thirteen Rotarians added to the energetic group of volunteers from our community to throw open the doors, unpack the big trucks, construct the kitchen, put up fencing and took the beginning props into the house as the Ghost House imaginators shift into high gear. Thank you to our own Jeff Schinkel for inviting us yet again to assist with his project. A BIG shout out to Dana and Rick Jones, Audrey Kearns and grandsons, PP Sandi and Dick Pantages, PP Lisa and Dirk Lorenz, Steven Springer and his son Nick, Margo Hood, PP Chuck Canada, and Gael Stewart. Not only did we get a lot done we had fun doing it! Some needed more Advil than others but the TO DO List was all checked off. See you all on November 4 for tear down!

On to the 2^nd meeting of September – I must admit I was very excited about our speaker. He was Mitty Chang. The meeting began with a couple of recognitions. First the Rotarian of the Month for August was named. Chuck Canada got the pin for his tireless work on the Membership Development Committee, and keeping our Mentoring Committee happy, personal, focused, relational, and so relevant! Chuck – your commitment to the committee is one reason we are growing, and is a HUGE part of club family member retention. It’s all about how you make people feel, and Chuck your leadership exemplifies that! Thank you from the whole club! Next our own Aziz Akbari asked to buy back an article recognizing him for the Alameda County Water District Transparency Certificate of Excellence. Transparency in Government is a passion of Aziz – congratulations on making your passion a reality for the ACWD. We are excited about your accomplishments and what the future holds for you.

Some fining began with anniversaries. Angus and Annie for 19 years of happiness and Paul Parhiala for his Birthday and Anniversary; Paul reported that next year will be a big year for him as he celebrates his 50^th Anniversary and his 75^th Birthday – take notes PE Brian Cha Ching!   Although both men are very happily married, Angus never did remember what he did for his anniversary, and it took Paul about 5 minutes to remember – a sign of the times I am afraid.

Our own RIPP Rick King introduced Mitty Chang. Mitty gave a very passionate talk about the future of Rotary encouraging inclusion, embracing change, and calling everyone to be Dragon Slayers!! Mitty, you are an amazing young man with a very relevant message that should be heard and embraced by all clubs. I am happy to report that Niles Rotary is on the move and investigating some changes that will make our club stronger with millennials as our target.

If you were not at the club meeting, Daren’s Chili Pepper Challenge video with Audrey Kearns is a must see on Facebook.

This year the Area 3 Presidents are attending each other’s meetings together. August 30 we attended the Fremont Club at Spin a Yarn and on the 21^st of Sept we all attended the FUN club at the Crowne Plaza. It is really fun to see other Rotarians and see the personality of each club. I am really enjoying these meetings – great idea Jim Bell.

THE DISTRICT GOVENOR’S Visit – District 5170 Governor Orrin Mahoney attended our club on September 21, 2017. We met for an hour and a half before the club meeting discussing the many successes of Niles Rotary. Our membership is on the rise with active outreach to young professionals, with a solid membership team and mentoring program; our RI giving is up; and we were proud to review the outcome of the 2017 Reverse Raffle. We have a Niles Rotarian sponsored Area 3 Global grant, along with several idea for International Service including reaching out to the Peace Corps. We covered Community Service projects as well as the necessity to keep our social media presence current and relevant, which we do so well. We had 5 Rotarians at the Membership Seminar, and we have a minimum of 20 Rotarians attending the Avenues of Service meeting on October 5.  Our club meeting began with Richard King introducing Orrin to the club. Orrin and Rick King both handed out our Paul Harris pins and certificates. Congratulations Brad Louie, Kathy Laidlaw, Richard Lucero, Larry Bowen, and Raj Salwan (our 12th Paul Harris Society Member, which is a $1000 contribution to the Rotary Foundation every year).

Oh MY, it’s the last meeting of the 1st quarter – time flies! We began by introducing our visiting Rotarians who included Mike and Sunny from the Rotary Club of Anchorage South, Alaska who had bid and won our Rotary Exchange at their fundraiser. Welcome to Sunny California. Paul Iannacconi took the mike and honored Mary Florio as our newest Paul Harris Fellow. Congratulations Mary and thank you for your generosity. Next Raj Salwan was honored for becoming a Grand Donor to the RI Foundation. Thank you Raj! Our program for the day was the PRASAD Project, with board member Thomas Korula and executive director Dr. Cecilia Escarra. They are a nonprofit organization committed to improving the quality of life of economically disadvantaged people around the world. This includes India, several other countries and dental care in New York. It was a fascinating presentation.

This month also began the planning for our Millennial Outreach with Sophia Ahmad leading the charge with Aziz Akbari, Maggie Chambers, Chuck Canada, and assorted Membership Committee members. I cannot wait to attend the first get together. I was also honored to be included in the Bet Paying off of PP Angus as he threw the Haggispalooza Dinner. It was a great evening, and I must say a very special thank you to Annie, Angus, Tobey, and Cosmos for including Randy and me even though we weren’t a part of the bet. ONE of the perks of being President! The Haggis was GREAT – never thought I’d say that but it was! Color me very happy!!!

Roll and Stroll this weekend – detail on that next month.

 

Rose’s Ruminations – August in Review

August 3, 2017 – Month 2 – only 10 left!! But who’s counting? During May and June of this year Paul Andrus and I put together my first Survey Monkey. We had 57 responses from the club – over half the members responded! I took a minute at the club meeting to review the results of the Survey Monkey. (See slides and comments further on in the Pinion). Our program this afternoon was Paul Andrus reviewing our Web Site and informing club members how and what they can do on our site. Paul also had forms available for you to customize your log in information. If you were not at the club, shoot him an email or catch him at a meeting. He can make access to Club Runner through the Web Site really easy.

Following a relaxing Friendship Friday hosted by the Kearns (thank you Audrey and Mike for opening your home and yard), it was off to Angus’s first social of the year. On Saturday night Rotarians attended Star Struck Theater’s play Footloose. About 20-28 club members enjoyed a lovely dinner at Gael Stewart’s Mission Coffee and then met with a few additional Rotarians at the Smith Center for the play. Reports are that the play was great as always but the fellowship at all three events was the highlight.

Monday August 7 was our quarterly mentoring meeting hosted in the lovely home of Geeta Kadambi. Thank you so much for hosting, Geeta. A great group of committee members, mentors and mentees gather for a bonding evening of good wine, good food, good fellowship, and great club information shared with all. The Membership Development Committee is on a roll and starting the year strong. Thank you all especially for making this a priority and for your many hours of work to make membership development happen.

Our Club Assembly was on August 10 – What do you do when MOST of your Board blow off Club Assembly? (Not really – they all had solid reasons they could not attend). You STAY CALM with one of the funniest people I know – PP Angus. Angus and I wore many hats as we sped through everyone’s goals with MY GOAL met – Club Assembly in one meeting. The main goals reviewed were Membership (9 new Rotarians), Rotary Foundation Goals ($18,000), continued strong relationships with our Interactors and Rotaractors, diverse speakers, and hands on with the Sight Now International project. (Editor’s note: I plan to have the PowerPoint slides from the Club Assembly in a future Pinion).

The August 17 meeting was an agenda packed meeting. Chief Rich Lucero gave his highly anticipated icebreaker – thank you Rich for all you bring to our club, and it was so much fun hearing about your beautiful family and meeting your AMAZING wife. Right on the heels of Rich’s icebreaker we exchanged not 1 but 2 Red Badges for Blue. That was Rich’s last to do on his Red Badge list, and Martin Herter’s badge had been waiting for a week or so. Both were given their Blues and the club celebrated them in song.

The BIG announcement was that the 17^th marks the beginning of 11 weeks of animated announcements about the Hot Chili Pepper Challenge by our spirited Daren Young. A new aspect was added to this year’s challenge. Last year we could eat a hot chili pepper or take a shot of hot chili vodka. This year our Hot Vodka connoisseur Margaret Thornberry found??? Are you ready??? Hot Chili Tequila – WHO KNEW that even existed? Well, it was not wasted as Daren and Margo Hood took the first official shots of Hot Tequila, and the Challenge is off and running. Daren’s challenge to the club is that EVERYONE donates – the goal is to raise $40,000.00 that will be split among 8 LOCAL charities. Niles Rotary’s recipient will be Life ElderCare. WE can do this!! We enjoyed a great program about Successful Aging. Our speaker was Penny Vittoria from Acacia Creek. She was very interesting, and gave information we all could use. Primarily – be Positive, seek socialization – MOVE, any exercise – Spiritual – Seek Balance through your church, meditation or quiet time, and last but not least use your Brain – read, brain games. Great information for us all, no matter what age. Thank you Penny!

We swooped into the weekend with a District Membership Conference that was the best I have ever been to with Branding being a main topic. Niles Rotary was very present at this meeting with 5 Rotarians in attendance. Thank you to Chuck Canada, Rick Hood, Sophia Ahmad, and Maggie Guilbeaux-Chambers for giving up your Saturday morning. It should be noted that as they were discussing the value of the Web, three sites were highlighted and our site was one. Very proud that our membership team is so far ahead of most clubs, but we came back with some more great ideas.

On the same day another group of our Niles Rotarians was hard at work building a fence for LEAF. This project was headed by Manuel Franco and Paul Andrus. Ten Rotarians were present to assist in various jobs but most of all to get the fence up. They spent collectively about 55.5 hours in the hot noon day sun. Thank you Manuel, Rich Godfrey, Paul Andrus, Steve Cho, Jeff Schinkel, Almos Adorjan, and Rakesh Sharma. We also had some non-Rotarians join the group – Guillermo Martinez, Bill Magoon and Steve Legraffe; it’s always great working with folks with likeminded hearts.

On August 24, the Family Fun Meeting kicked off on a high note as we inducted our first Niles Rotarian of the year. Linda Anderson and her husband Curtis were called to the podium – we all got to meet Curtis and hear a little about Linda and her family. I am her sponsor and have known her to be a leader and a giver with a special heart for kids. I have told her for years she should join Rotary. I’m so excited for you all to get to know her better. Congratulations Linda – welcome to our club. Linda is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Fremont Unified School District – Curtis is a professional photographer. Following Linda’s induction, I named my July Rotarian of the month – Paul Iannaccone – for his amazing work with the Rotary Foundation giving. Paul is one with Evanston and our District, and we are reaping the benefits. He is cleaning up, organizing, and most important, teaching us about the Rotary Foundation and our giving opportunities.

Thank you Paul for your hours of hard work and commitment to our club. Paul awarded a Paul Harris Plus 2 pin to Rich Godfrey, a Plus 3 pin to Rosemary Ashley, and a Plus 4 pin to Sandra Young. The rest of the meeting was dedicated to ice breaker candy fun games and fun fining using random facts. There was a lot of laughing either because people were having fun or everyone was on a sugar high!

To keep the fun going a large group of Rotarians met at the home of Gary & Jean Basrai for Fellowship Friday on August 25. As usual it was a pleasant evening for all that attended.

Welcome Teacher Day on August 22 began with 40 grade school students in line before 9:00 AM. Students came from all the schools in Fremont to receive a flower to give their teacher on the first day of school. The Partners Project launched last year by District 5170’s Governor Jeff Orth was completed. Mission San Jose Rotary Club’s Past President Ruth Wenzel, Linda Anderson from FUSD, Cabrillo School Principal David Thornley, Mayor Lily Mei and I were on hand to formally present the FUSD and 5 schools with book selections made by Jeff Orth’s wife. Each 5^th grader will get a book of their own to take home. The schools include Durham, Cabrillo, Blacow, Brier and Grimmer. A formal presentation was filmed; Rose and Ruth will work with the principals at these schools to formally distribute the books at school assemblies. Of course on hand to facilitate the day were the Niles Rotary shining stars Dirk and Lisa Lorenz, as well as many Niles Rotary volunteers to check in the students and give them their flowers. We saw a consistent flow of about 1,400 children all very excited with their flowers and their first day of school. Teachers also stopped in to pick up donated school supplies for their rooms.

The last meeting of the month was coupled with my favorite Rotary project, Feed the Hungry. We had a great meeting that began with an icebreaker from our new soon-to-be Blue Badger Maggie Guilbeaux-Chambers. Maggie has quite a story and has spent most of her career in healthcare along with her husband at Washington Hospital. Maggie had completed her Food Handlers Certificate, so she joined us at Feed the Hungry and completed her last TO DO on her Red Badge list. Good Job Maggie! PRIP Richard King was on hand as we honored Mary Lynn Pelican and Paul Andrus as Paul Harris Society members, as well as an already Paul Harris Society member Sam Forbes with his first Paul Harris. Our speaker was Dr. Gari Browning President/Superintendent of the Ohlone Community College District. She gave us a very interesting view of where Ohlone has been and its amazing growth and great expectations for the future.

Following the meeting a group of us headed over to the Centerville Free Dining room to prepare and serve dinner to the hungry residents of Fremont. Thank you Orlando Tavares, Mary Contois , and Maggie Guilbeaux-Chambers for your help with pre dinner prep and dinner service. We were joined for dinner service by Stephen Allen, Terri Landon, Sandi Pantages Sophia Ahmad, Martin Herter, Rakesh Sharma, Steve Cho, Kimberly McFarland, Merna Morse, Mary Lynn Pelican; at the door was John Dutra, and taking the census was Margo Hood. Thank you all for your service – we served 134 people over 225 meals.

Well that’s all folks – On we go to our 3rd Rotary Month!

Fondly

Rose

Rose’s Ruminations

THE DEMOTION- What a great night! The Social Committee led by our own PP Lisa Lorenz, including Kimberly McFarland, Tammi Souza, Jeff Schinkel, Cyndy Mozzetti, Dirk Lorenz, Wendy Mills (obtainer of the plastic butts), Bruce Prescott, Mary Contois, Manohar Reddy, Sandra Young and Kathy Laidlaw, really “kicked this one up!” Their plan was to move Angus out in grand tartan, bag pipe, scotch tape, plastic butt style. Mission accomplished. Thank you to the Youngs for again letting us invade their home. Daren and Sandy – you both are always so gracious and I know everyone in the club appreciates it and loves evenings at your beautiful home. Then there was the Scotch Tape Band! Great job Jeff Schinkel, Bruce Prescott, Ray Pederson, PE Brian Hughes, PP Steve Landon, and John Dutra for great kazoo piping entertainment and the mooning!! Please keep the club informed on your next gig. As most of you know we have enjoyed a RICH history of roasting over the years with Dick McKay and Mark Crutcher followed by Angus and Randy Hees stepping in for a few roasting years. This year we were in Roasting Transition; Angus’s roasting team was none other than Stephen Allen, Dan Smith, Dirk Lorenz and Jeff Schinkel with BIG shoes to fill or should we say a BIG SEAT to sit on? The roasting hearts are the same with the roasting styles all different and fun; GREAT JOB to our year 1 Roasters. Congratulations to Don Cole as the 2016-2017 Rotarian of the year – soooooo well deserved, and thank you for ALL you do for us Don! Several Rotarians commented that “their cheeks hurt when they got home from laughing so much,” – so did mine! That’s the night it was –your year may not be remembered Angus (JK) but your demotion will live on in Niles Rotary demotion history as the highlight of the 2016-2017 Presidential year. My favorite moment of the evening was when Angus’s son Cosmos very politely, with the excitement only a 13 year old has, interrupted his father to ASK him, “ DAD can we have a kitten, Mom already said yes?” Really, I got a little teary as Cosmos pulled his father away for kitten overview and selection. Angus, being the Family First guy that he is, dutifully followed his very excited son. Kitten due in the home as soon as they can leave the litter! It was a perfect end to a wonderful night.

The year began with decorating the Area 3 float for the 4^th of July Parade. We had about 20-25 people present alllllll with their special gifts of decorating, and as Chuck would say “We got’er done!” Early morning on the 4^th of July about 60 Rotarians, Interactors and Rotoractors turned out to ride the float and make Area 3 clubs known. They did this by singing the Four Way Test as we marched or rode (in my case) the parade route. I floated back to Fremont Flowers with my fellow Mission San Jose Club President Linda Anderson and PP Larry Anderson. Let me just say things came down much faster than they went up. It was a fun day followed by a “ya all come now ya hear” invitation by PP Chuck Canada and PP Carol Smith at Chuck’s place. We relaxed with wonderful food and fabulous fellowship. As dusk began to hit, off we went to Larry Bowen’s to watch the fireworks. GREAT WAY to begin our NEW ROTARY YEAR!

It is with genuine tears that I write this Thank You to MY ENTIRE club for the amazing welcome and first meeting. Everyone was so warm and encouraging upon arrival – I was very nervous but with so much love and true encouragement the nerves began to leave. THE OPENING – I have no idea what you all were watching while I was in the hall but when the doors opened and the SONG began all I could do was smile – my afterthought was I should have done something witty BUT– too late! I am humbled and so appreciative of our club’s enthusiasm and energy. THEN came the HAPPY CUP – I will NEVER forget the club’s kindness and expressions of appreciation shown towards my Father!   He raised me, empowered me, always believed in me, loved me, held me when I cried, picked me up when I was down, and is my biggest cheer leader.   He is our families’ ROCK! Now our roles are a little reversed – but he prays for me daily, still encourages me, and thanks me every day for simplest things. He is my heart and I could not have begun my year without him. Your kindness to him means more than you will ever know. Thank you -Thank you from the bottom of my heart. MY first question in July was how does one follow Angus? With KRAZY GEORGE of course, banging his drum, making us cheer and YES!!!! WE GOT TO DO THE WAVE! BIG shout out to Sandi and Dick Pantages, Seals fans, for connecting us with Krazy George. He started our year off with a BIG BANG and A WAVE!!! I’m hoping now that my first meeting is over I can relax a little and just talk with you all as if we were one on one in the hall.

Best day ever for me – I will work hard to be a good steward of your club this next year.

My second club meeting was our very own Richard D. King. I was truly the most nervous of all. I messed up my intro, messed up my Agenda, totally blew off announcements, and forgot to give RICK his speaker gift! With all of that confusion we were able to honor Manuel Franco, Sandy Stabile and Cyndy Mozzetti with their Paul Harris Fellow pins. Thank you for your generosity and commitment to Rotary International. Next up were 3 very moving Interactors from Washington, Robertson and Alsion. They talked about their time at RYLA. They all began their week not expecting much and ended forever changed. What a privilege to have a front row seat to see the students impacted in such a way. I am honored to be a part of a club that can support 3 high schools and give THIS opportunity to the future leaders in our world. Thank you to the RYLA drink team of Steve Landon, Adam Moura, Angus Cochran, and of course the Ambassadors of Fun Mary Lynn Pelican and twin sister Carol Goedde. Mission hydrating-the-youth accomplished!

Following the RYLA kids, Daren Young introduced Rick King like only Daren can – with fun, honor, respect and love. HOW does he do it?   We have heard Rick King speak so many times and yet he continues to deliver a message of inspiration, hope, and encouragement always with humor and yes tears. He is loved by the nations but I think it safe to say our Niles Family loves and appreciates him the most. He came to the meeting with a brief case full of about 10 flags, a scarf, a tie, and a big piece of wood that he bestowed on Daren – I’m still not sure what that was, something to do with wine (Cherie cleaned out a drawer at home). While he noted that he had an Eagle pin with him, that little trinket didn’t make it out of his brief case. NO WORRIES. I sent him the gift card left in my purse and he blessed me with my, Cherie designed, Eagle pin. I’m a pin girl so my Eagle pin is now my very favorite! Thank you for everything you do for our club Cherie and Rick King. We are truly the luckiest club in OVER 35,000 worldwide clubs.

My 3^rd meeting began by honoring Bill Arvoy, Dolores Viano, and Gary Basrai as Rotary International Major Donors. This means they have all donated at least $10,000 to the Rotary International Foundation. Congratulations and thank you so much for your generosity. Our speaker turned out to be a big surprise of fun. Dan Kamin is a mime and a magician. He worked with Robert Downey Jr to prepare for his role as Charlie Chaplin in a movie about Charlie’s life. I think I speak for the whole club when I say we had no idea when he began where his talk was going – he started by discussing a book called Stressbusters – things were looking pretty grim until almost all of his clothes fell off and he fled the room. He returned with amazing stories about Charlie Chaplain, magic, and jokes. He had us all smiling, laughing, amazed and fascinated by stories from the Charlie Chaplain past. What a surprise, what a great meeting.

4^th Meeting done – Only 46 more to go J! We again had a packed house filled with our club and friends. Upon their return from Alaska it was noted by Harry Avila that our own Heather Boudames was the best fisherwoman in Alaska! Girl Power!

Paul Iannaccone is on a roll let me tell you!!! This week he honored 3 more Paul Harris Society members (PHSM) Dolores Viano, Bill Arvoy, and Sam Forbes. Paul Harris Society members commit to donating to Rotary International a $1000 a year. We ended Angus’s year with 9 PHSM and now have 12. Great work Paul. We enjoyed an interesting presentation from the International Service Chair of Castro Valley Rotary, Obse Lubo, who talked about her home of Ethiopia and her passion for the Breath of Life project. This project has been in the works for about 3 years and will bring the ability to produce oxygen for many hospitals which will assist in saving many lives. Thank you Obse for you work with Rotary International.

Friendship Friday continues to be a lovely way to spend Friday evenings with Family and Friends. Thank you to Steven Lloyd, Sandi & Dick Pantages, Terri & Steve Landon, Dana & Rick Jones, Chuck Canada for opening their homes, yards and fire pits. And we have more scheduled for August/September, plus more from people who want to host. If you have not attended please do – they are open to all and a great way to get to know each other in a relaxed setting.

August is looking like it will be a very friendly way to end the summer – We will have one last Music in the Park on the 3^rd with the best cover band East Bay Mudd. I am a LONG time Tower of Power girl (yes I know all the words to ALL their songs), followed by Friendship Friday at the Kearns on the 4^th and then dinner at Mission Coffee and Footloose at the Smith Center produced by Star Struck on the 5^th. We are giving you Sunday to rest!

We will also enjoy 2 community service projects – LEAF on August 19 at 1:30 pm, and Feed the Hungry at the Centerville Free Dining Room on the 31^st of August from 3:50-6:00. We have several other Friendship Fridays planned with homes to be announced. It looks like August will be a fun and productive month.

ONE SHORT NOTE – Washington Hospital is undergoing major work in their kitchen. They have had to have the floors torn up in order to replace very old pipes. The staff is working hard to provide us with quality lunches but are at the mercy of the surrounding restaurants. What appeared to be simple fix is ending up not so simple. They continue to discuss ways to serve the club with both regular and vegetarian meals. Please be patient with the staff. If all goes well we should have our kitchen back in a month or so.

Fondly,

President Rose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From President Rose

Oh MY!! It’s here, the beginning of my year as President of our club. How does one follow Angus? This has been such a great year for me under his leadership. He is CALM, insightful, funny and a pleasure to spend time with. He is a patient listener and a voice of reason. He has helped me to STAY Calm and Serve On as I prepare anxiously for this next year. Thank you Angus but you’re not going far!! I’m excited about OUR year ahead.

I want to start my first Pinion with thoughts about my President Elect (PE) year. It has been a year of growing, learning and stretching. It began in January 2016 (when I was the President Elect Nominee – PEN) with weekly meetings of our Presidents Club. For those of you that do not know we have a group of 4 that meets weekly to ensure we are moving our club forward together. My Presidents Club included (for my first 6 month) Past President (Steve), President and then Past President (Lisa), and President (Angus), President Elect (Me J) and now Steve has stepped away and PEN (Brian) has joined us. This is a rotating committee as we change seats. Starting as a PEN, the first 60 days I really got a sense of what I had said yes to and I was nervous. Because of these meetings I was very prepared to get the most out of the President Elect Training (PETS) in March of 2017. Communication is always a challenge with larger clubs. When I got to PETS I realized what an impact the time and attention given me by our Presidents Club had made. The Presidents Club is a group most other clubs only dream of. It requires extra time of already busy people. The mentoring, time and patience gifted to me by Steven Landon, Lisa Lorenz, and Angus Cochran is so appreciated; I hope I can be of as much value to those coming next. Thank you so much for explaining things several times and being patient with my learning curve. You are all the best. And Brian we are just getting started – I truly look forward to the next three years with you!

The next big challenge was the PE’s responsibility for the Reverse Raffle. I know most of you think I do this every year! It’s not true; my job has been to support the PE’s vision for the event. Being the decision maker was a very different role for me. We had the best team ever and together with a lot of hard work, knocking on doors for donations, working with new venue staff, increased ticket prices, and the BEST ROTARIAN TICKET SELLERS EVER (IT TAKES A CLUB) – we sold out – had a great evening, and made lots of money to give away to our community. Thank you to all of you in my Rotary Family for your amazing continued support of the Reverse Raffle. PEN Brian already has a vision for our next Reverse Raffle and it will include some big changes that will be fun and full of Aloha!

LEADERSHIP—- I had to plan my first ever Leadership Retreat. 14 of us met for an all day Saturday training session lead by our club trainer Jack Rogers. It was a great day of understanding what makes Niles Rotary tick. Each leader in the room shared their ideas and vision for the next year. It was a very valuable day with a great lunch and yes we did have fun. Thank you all for your time, participation, enthusiasm and great ideas for our 2017-2018 year.

THEN there was Atlanta!!! I am going to be really honest – I did not want to go to the RI Convention in Atlanta! Yes, you heard right I really did not want to go. Of course our fearless leader told me I didn’t have to but he and several others really encouraged me to go and noted I would not be sorry! WELLLLLL they were right – Randy and I truly enjoyed ourselves, getting to know people in our club better, inspired by amazing speakers (UN Ambassador Andrew Young and Jack Nicklaus to name two) and amazed at the magnitude of Rotary International. There were only about 45,000 people there. We met people from ALLL over the world and I must admit I had to look up some countries once back in our room. It was A PETS on steroids— Imagine 45,000 people all with a Service Above Self attitude – wanting to serve humanity and excited about Making a Difference in the year ahead. It is a trip that will not be forgotten. I plan on writing a little more about our trip later.

This next year I want to focus on our membership. TOTAL membership! Increasing yes!!! But Rotary is what we do with our private, quality, and sometimes even family time. Everyone chooses to be involved with what gives them joy, satisfaction or as Kimberly said what “Fosters our Passion.” That’s why we attend meetings, volunteer for projects, and choose to play together. The song is right – “We are a friendly happy band and the GREATEST in the Land” – this is what makes our club so strong, rewarding, and fun to be a part of. With this positive bond we do make a difference in our community and the world. I want to keep that going with great projects, upbeat meetings, different socials, increased membership, while valuing every member of our club.

By the reading of this Pinion you will already know the International Theme for the year is “Rotary: Making a Difference,” and my theme this year is … [it will be revealed at my first meeting – there are a few clues in my article]. I think our club can meet all of our membership goals, gifting goals, project goals, and fun goals as a club family! I look forward to the year ahead and details about our goals will be presented at our club assembly. I hope you all enjoy CRAZY GEORGE on July 6! I have no idea what to expect but at least I hope we get to do the WAVE!

SO READY OR NOT LET THE YEAR BEGIN!!!

Fondly,

President Rose

From President Angus:

Well, my term as president of Niles Rotary is wrapping up. It’s a bittersweet moment. Looking back over the past Rotary year, I am proud of everything we accomplished together. Thanks to Sandra Young and Manuel Franco, we are wrapping up our international project to bring fresh drinking water to Segera Mission in rural Kenya. Thanks to Audrey Kearns and Geeta Kadambi, we have a great new international project taking flight with SightNow. Thanks to Paul Andrus and the Community Service leads, we held several successful service projects in conjunction with Fremont Unified and LEAF. Thanks to our sergeant-at-arms, Dana Jones, and board secretary, Tammi Souza, club operations have run like clockwork all year long under the leadership of Sandy Stabile. Thanks to President Elect Rose and the Reverse Raffle Committee, we had one of the most enjoyable and successful Reverse Raffle evenings in memory. Thanks to Past President Lisa, we kept busy socially all year long. Thanks to the Membership Committee and the mentoring team, we have added five new members this year, and have a strong mentoring program in place to support new members going through the red-badge process. Thanks to club and foundation treasurers, Don Cole and Larry Bowen, we know exactly where the money is and where it is going. Thanks to Paul Iannaccone, we have a solid grasp of contributions to the Rotary Foundation. And thanks to Dirk Lorenz and the Youth Services Team, we continue to enjoy a strong connection with the three Interact clubs we sponsor, as well as the Rotaract Club of Greater Fremont.

Despite the pain of relinquishing the gavel to the incoming president, I am extremely excited about President Elect Rose’s presidential year. For many years, Rose’s commitment to Rotary service at our club has breathed the life into vital community programs such as Feed the Hungry and Pizza with Santa.   And we all know how important her work is to the Reverse Raffle event. So it is only fitting that she will now be the formal leader of Niles Rotary, since she has for a long time been one of its informal leaders. I am keenly anticipating what your year will bring, Rose.

The bottom line is that change is good for organizations. New people step into leadership roles, and they bring new ideas and new perspectives to the work that needs to be accomplished. At every level in the club, we have strong leadership. This is especially true for the Board of Directors. With their terms coming to an end, we owe a debt of gratitude to Dirk Lorenz and Audrey Kearns for serving so ably on the Board for the last two years. Dirk managed our Youth Services portfolio of activities with aplomb and skill. It’s not easy cajoling high-school students into showing up for the speech contest or registering to attend RYLA. But Dirk transformed himself into a champion communicator with the Interact leaders, and is now a text-message ninja. Audrey has successfully seen the Segera Mission Water Project to its conclusion and has helped launch SightNow as an Area Three international project. As our club representative on the World Community Service Committee, Audrey skillfully advocated for Niles Rotary projects and priorities as the clubs of Area Three chose which projects to support. I am looking forward to seeing how incoming board members, Adam Moura (Youth Services) and Rich Godfrey (International Service) will shape their areas of responsibility as they settle into the board. Thank you, Adam and Rich, for stepping up.

As I gaze out from the podium before gaveling the meeting to order and as I watch club members having lunch together, I am often struck by the fellowship and camaraderie in the room. When a group of talented, committed people gathers weekly to break bread and plan service projects and social events, it’s amazing how much we can get done together. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to serve as president of Niles Rotary this year. All I can say is thank you for the opportunity. As I have declared all year long, Niles Rotary is undoubtedly the best Rotary Club in the world!