As Prez Tony’s time winds down, he gets braver….(Has he forgotten that “Paybacks are Hell”?)
Following the Pledge by Larry Patterson and a deep Thought for the Day by Laura Bent, Ro Bianchi gave us the newscast, or should we say the next fun chapter in his early career. He recapped his father’s career with B of A and his own. He arrived back from Korea in ’55 and went to work for B of A at $350 a month. He joined Rotary in 1960, noting it was a great decision.
Steve Parker introduced visiting Rotarians Sylvia Lopez of the Chamber and Sunrise Rotary and Frank Salinsky of Chico.
Laura Porter, whom we’ve missed greatly, brought her husband Bill as a guest. (Have you ever noticed how much they look alike?) Laura noted that Bill works locally at Ad Hoc and suggested he be recruited as a member. (As this editor was “calling dibs”, it occurred to me that Laura should be his sponsor!) Go get him, Laura!
Prez Tony then acknowledged the Rotary District Award given for Community Service, Membership and Public Relations/Image Building. Under duress, (or, rather, “on top of da dress”), Rachel DelMonte, Kitty Lopez and Yours Truly wore the awards on lanyards. (We are still treating the pinholes these put in our chests…)
Kitty reminded us of the joint Rotary-Chamber mixer to be held at Qube, 4000 El Camino Real, on June 14. All are free to join for drinks. If you plan to stay for dinner afterwards, please contact Kitty.
Maureen Freschet told all of the city’s efforts to educate on and eliminate human trafficking with a series of events. One of those events will be with a parade on June 10 to open the SMC Fair. She asked for Rotarian volunteers to march in the parade, carrying a banner or quit related to the human trafficking project. She said Larry Patterson will be the emcee. All volunteers and the first 500 parade attendees will receive free tickets to the fair.
Mike Peterson and Raffle Committee members Dick DeLuna and Jeff Lowenstein (representing the others) presented Prez Tony with a check for $44,000—the net from the scholarship raffle. GREAT JOB, guys!
Rachel DelMonte and Gerry Bundy presented checks to three organizations: CASA, accepted by Carrie Schartenberg; CORA, represented by Lynn Engle; and PAL, represented by Jennifer Maravillas and Lisa Tartaglia. CASA received $4400, CORA received $4400 and PAL $4000. Schartenberg noted that 350 children in foster homes are served by CASA.
Lynn Engel, better half of Jim, runs CORA and noted that CORA is the only entity in the county helping victims of relationship abuse. She passed on a check from Jim, who was absent. When Prez Tony flashed a pic of Jim as a swim team member of the Bulldogs in 1972, asking Lynn if his old high school nickname of “The Happy Hand Shaker” was accurate, Lynn said no, that Jim wanted to build a Volkswagen out of Bud Light cans in high school. She invited all to drop by the CORA office any weekday from 9 to 5 to see their operations.
Jen Maravillas noted that the PAL donation allows PAL to reach out to over 900 kids, reaching every 6th grader with Gang Resistance, Education and Training.
Philanthropy opportunities were given to Karen Vandenberg and Paul Karson. Karen was hit because her bank, Community Bank of the Bay, was awarded the Chamber’s Green Business Award. She joined the extortion—er—President’s --Club. Cheryl Angeles was called out for appearing in the award presentation photo, along with “Caesar Flickermann” (AKA Chris Eckert). Paul Karson was dunned for the quotations on his website and the clip art photo of two actors.
We’ll Drink to That….
Cheryl Angeles introduced SF Wine School founder David Glancy and COO Kristin Campbell. Among the points they made:
*The SF wine School is th largest wine school in the country.
*David is one of just 12 Master Sommeliers in the world.
*The wine education center is 4,000 square feet and not only offers classes and certificates, but a fun event option. They are located on Grand Ave. in South San Francisco, directly across from City Hall.
*The facility can be divided into three separate rooms.
*Their cellar contains 3,000 bottles of wine with 600 selections.
*Don’t go by the “points” on cards in front of wines, because everyone’s palate is different. Learn what you like and buy that.
*Always double check that the rating shown for a wine is for the vintage displayed, as they are often switched.
*Develop a wine vocabulary so that you can define your wine palate for a sommelier or wine merchant.
*Wine competition ratings are largely skewed because the first wine doesn’t get a score of 100 and the judges often taste about 100 wines, which can greatly affect their palates. (So can meals mid-judging.)
*Don’t go by price a $1,000 bottle may not be great, but a $10 bottle could be very good. (David noted that ordering a very expensive bottle is always as good idea if someone else is paying for it. LOL)
With apologies for this format, but hey, it got done and for using on shoecraft's name--couldn't find mine on the list!
### AL
