Spinnings SERVICE ABOVE SELF

Spinnings
Rotary Club of San Mateo 2007-2008
SERVICE ABOVE SELF
Welcome to the Electronic Version of Rotary Club of San Mateo’s Weekly Newsletter
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SANMATEOROTARY.ORG
UPCOMING MEETINGS
JULY 26 - Tom Holtzer — “Down the Colorado River”
Holtzer is with the United States Geological Survey
AUG. 2 - Gene Gonzalo — “What’s Happening with Bay Area Roads?”
Gonzalo represents the California Department of Transportation
THE WEEK OF JULY 19, 2007
PLEDGE
John Lee performed the duty with
aplomb.
THOUGHT
Lory Lawson gave newbie Sgt. at Arms
Brian Sullivan a refresher course in how to
turn on the microphone (hint: The microphone, as it has been for the past three
years, is always ON) and asked everyone
to send a good thought to Brian. Brian
tried to retire from the job, but his resignation was refused by acclamation.
WELCOME TO THE CASBAH
President (Tr)avelar suggested a Middle
Eastern motif for the meeting when he
absented himself behind gauzy white
fabric festooning the wall behind the
podium and urged everyone to be glad
they had a lunch setup and lunch to eat.
“That’s a veiled threat,” he punned. For
those who missed his first meeting,
Poplar Creek had been told we weren’t
coming, no one told Mark or the membership that the servers thought there would
be no one to lunch and Rotarians arrived
to a dark hall without tables or chairs.
scholarship fund. President Mark urged
the club to dig deeply and match the
donation, but all the checks were made
out to the “Home for Retired Italian
Accountants” and had to be returned.
Actually, a little more than $1,000 has
been raised already for a Don Hanson
memorial scholarship and it will only take
a few more generous Rotarians with open
checkbooks to match the Bohannons’
magnificent gift.
President Mark thanked the Bohannon
Foundation profusely, and we repeat the
praise here in black and white for posterity.
SMART AND TALL SAYS IT ALL
Tom Thompson, Don Leydig and all the
hard-working members of the San Mateo
Academic Rotary Team were honored
with a plaque and certificate from the San
Mateo/Foster City School District. Tom
accepted for the group.
NEWS
John Lee said he and his wife had words
this morning, but he didn’t get to use his.
SUNSHINE
Abdominal cavities have been acting up.
Barrett Anderson, following the lead of
past-president Margaret Taylor, recently
had an emergency appendectomy.
Barrett later showed up for the DeLuna
barbecue looking well, so we assume the
operation was a success, meaning it
didn’t go so well for the appendix.
VISITING ROTARIANS
Jim “One More Meeting and I’ll Have
Perfect Attendance in San Mateo as Well
as Belmont” McGovern, former member
Hans Eide and Tom Jackstell were
welcomed.
ROTARY MINUTE
President Mark My Words recessed the
business of the day for a “Rotary Minute,”
consumed by Frank Baldanzi, to
announce the official payee line donors
should use when they give taxdeductible donation checks to the
Foundation. Make them out to the “Home
for Retired Italian Accountants,” he said.
The Home will split them with “The
Rotary Service Foundation of San Mateo,”
which is the real payee for the “pay to”
line. Just in case you got confused and
started immediately to make out a check
to Frank’s personal slush fund.
Still confused? Ask for the microphone at
the next meeting, see if Brian gives it to
you right-side up and ask for a show of
hands by those who wrote checks to the
Italian accountants — besides you.
DON HANSON SCHOLARSHIP
Significant of the esteem in which he was
held, the late Don Hanson was honored
by a $5,000 contribution by the Bohannon Foundation in his name to our
That’s President Mark Avelar at left in
photo overtopping the temporarily
shortened Tall Tom Thompson. Tom
accepted a commendation and plaque
from the San Mateo/Foster City School
District for the activities of the SMART
program.
BAG ‘O DISKS AND A KISS
Past-president Margaret cleaned up the
last of her 2007 business, we hope, with a
present of a “bag of disks” and a “little
something” to Jim Murray for the fabulous and fastidious job he did during her
term — and continues to do — photographing our club’s activities.
HBD
Loni Locketz said it would cost July
birthday celebrants $10 or $20 to mark
the event, depending upon a formula she
did not share with the assembly. First up:
Ro Bianchi. “Ro,” Loni said, “your birthday
is July 1, which I’m sure you know.”
Thanks, Loni. Now everyone knows.
RAT PACK
Sean DeLuna damned with faint praise
the quality of the wine selection he won
in last Thursday’s Chamber of Commerce
Taste of San Mateo event — but, hey, he
wasn’t even there! The wine barrel passed
through many hands before it got to
Sean, so the Chamber’s not responsible. It
still cost him $100.
PETER “THE WHIPPET” WEBB
Peter Webb confessed he won the recent
Redwood City Fourth of July footrace,
which confession earned him the attention of President I’ve-a-lot-to-Ask-Har-Har.
Peter offered the share the prize money,
which would have netted the President’s
Club a big, fat zero. Peter gamely admitted that he didn’t get a swelled head
defeating the field in the over-60 age
group.
PROVIDING UNCONVENTIONAL
HELP FOR CHILDREN WITH CANCER
Speaker Ed Mattson described the
globe-girdling activities of the Linda
Mattson Cancer Foundation, which
honors his wife by setting up aid
programs in association with various
National Guard units from states around
the country.
Mr. Mattson was a speed-talking firebrand
who admonished everyone in attendance
to take stock of the probability that he or
she or his or hear family or friends might
be afflicted with cancer. He urged everyone to dive into the subject and learn its
aspects, because, “If you’re not learned,
you’ll not survive because there is so
much out there.” He and his slide presentation whizzed through cord blood
transfusions, neuroblastoma treatment,
the participation of the Flying Rotarians
in the Mattson effort, the “orphan drug”
program and Rotary Action Groups
(RAGs), or semi-endorsed International
programs that focus the disparate activities of hundreds and thousands of Rotary
chapters world-wide.
Offering the assistance of his foundation,
Mr. Mattson said he’s open to a call any
time from any one: “I’m pretty good at
these things,” he said.
And so he seemed to be.
— Don Shoecraft, Ed.
REGULAR COMMITTEE
MEETING SCHEDULE
Board — 2nd Thursday, 7:30 a.m.
Program — 4th Friday, 7:30 a.m.
(Board and Program meet
at Park Towers, 700 Laurel Ave.)
COG — 1st Thursday, 7:30 a.m.
(Nick Rogers’ office, 400 S. El Camino Real,
Suite 900)
MAKEUP SCHEDULE
Subject to change — visit http:/www.rotary5150.org for
latest information
Monday
Belmont, 12:15, Van’s Restaurant
Burlingame, 12:15, Sheraton Gateway
Tuesday
Millbrae, 12:15, Green Hills CC
Pacifica, 7:15 am, Sharp Park GC
Peninsula Sunrise, 7:30 a.m., Harbor House Rest.
Redwood City, 12:15, Sequoia Club
San Francisco, Noon, Marine’s Memorial
San Francisco Greater Mission, 7:45 am, Double
Play Restaurant
Wednesday
Daly City, 12:15, Marie Callendar’s Restaurant
Foster City, 12:15, Crowne Plaza
Menlo Park, 12:15, Menlo Park Rec Center
San Bruno, 12:15, El Rancho Inn
San Francisco Bayview, 6 pm, So. Seafood Village
SFO Airport, 12:00, Firewood Café, Int’l Terminal
Woodside/Portola Valley, 7:30 am, Woodside
Village Church
Thursday
Fisherman’s Wharf, 7:30 am, Franciscan Restaurant
Half Moon Bay, 12:15, United Methodist Chuch
So. San Francisco, 12:15, Basque Cultural Center
Friday
San Carlos, 12:15, Piaceri Restaurant
San Mateo Sunrise, 7:30 am, Poplar Creek GC