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Bret Bradigan, Editor |
December 4th, 2009
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December is Family Month
Upcoming Programs and Events
Presented by Program Chairman, Leland Hammerschmitt and his crew.
December 11th-Dr. Bob Skankey & Leslie Clark-Niger Report, Club Contribution, and Our Nomads
December 18th-Club Holiday Party
December 25th-Merry Christmas!-No Meeting
January 1st-Happy New Year!-No Meeting
In the Beginning....
Yet another smiling day in Ojai was made brighter by the gathering herd of Rotarians at Soule Park this past Friday, warmly greeted by Dave Brubaker and Jeff Loebl. Dave got us going with his stirring recitation of the pledge and Jeff narrated the Four-Way Test.
Guests and Visiting Rotarians
Guest included Darcy Gamble and John Zeretzke, about whom much more was quite literally heard later.
Announcements. . .
Laura Whitney roved the room with the microphone as the following announcements were made:
New member induction: Greg Gamble, executive director of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, was inducted into the club, accompanied by his lovely wife Darcy, who also serves as the OVLC's development director. Greg was eyed hungrily by several committee chairs, and was given a rousing welcome into the club.
Bruce Brockman, after making light of Tiger Woods ' recent travails, said he had a couple of extra tickets to the eponymous golf tournament at Lake Sherwood, and that he was going to auction them off to the highest bidder to raise money for the club.
Maggie Cerminaro urged people to buy tickets for the Dec. 22 performance of "A Christmas Carol" at Matilija Auditorium , which will feature the club's own song-and-dance sensation Dr. Carl Gross. Proceeds will go to the Fit Kids, Fit Ojai program under the club's auspices, raising awareness of health issues among youth. Maggie said the club hoped to raise as much as $10,000, making it one of the club's most important events of the year.
President and chief instigator Scott Smith reminded members that the club would be dark both Dec. 18 and, of course, Dec. 25, with the Christmas Party on Dec. 18 at The Gables. Tickets are $35 each and check with Andi Bloom for more information. That leaves Dec. 11 as the club's final regular meeting of 2009.
Judy Gabriel, club secretary, making the pitch for perfect attendance, sweetened the offer considerably. She said she would prepare a gourmet dessert for any club member who made up a meeting in December, be it visiting another club, helping out with Rotary's Interact at Nordhoff High School , or going on-line. The idea, she said, "was to give us some extra incentive this month."
Bret Bradigan announced that, after nine years, he was no longer editor and publisher of the Ojai Valley News . "A community is nothing more than a bunch of people looking out for each other," he said. "Thanks for looking out for me."
All club members are reminded to visit the web site http://www.rotarydistrict5240.org/ for dates and times of upcoming RI events; June 20-23 2010 is RI Annual Meeting in Montreal, NID for India is Nov. 8 and again in Jan. 2010.
Upcoming Programs:
Dec 11 - Dr. Bob Skankey & Leslie Clark
"Niger report, club contribution & our Nomads " Bob & Leslie on our Niger Nomads!
Fining:
Kelly Randall, headed to the lectern to pick up some extra cash on the club's behalf, scoring confessions from the following ...
Randy Roth, Larry Wilde (who made a pitch for refi with low interest rates), Jane McCarthy (who, along with fellow angler and husband Dennis, bought their dream vacation home in Montana), Jerry Kaplan (who wished Bret well and also for his club anniversary), Amani Hishmeh (who has a son recovering from surgery and another who was recently elected president of the Key Club), Nic Frank (urging attendance at the Poverty Conference), Bob Davis (celebrating a series of December milestones - his mother's birthday, who lived to the age of 91, and his 44th wedding anniversary), Bill Hatch (anticipating a double dose of grandfatherhood now that he recently found that two of his daughters were pregnant).
Kelly then asked Ojai-related fun facts to the following ...
Cari Guerrero, who correctly answered that Ojai was once home to a roller skating elephant.
And the following who were stumped ...
Duane Boccali and Bruce Brockman.
The Program:
Maggie Cerminaro, with her trademark exuberance and eloquence, introduced musician John Zeretzke, to talk about his Flutes Across the World project. This project, which received an award from the United Nations , has been supported by the club.
Zeretzke opened with a mesmerizing percussion performance, using ancient and exotic instruments, including antlers and rattles, which looped in and around each other, one track at a time.
He said that he conceived the Flutes Across the World project after seeing the documentary "Beyond the Call" at the Ojai Film Festival, featuring Ed Artis, who brings relief to strife-torn regions directly, without government interference. Zeretzke, with Maggie's Help, proposed the project to Artis, and so it was born. This year, Ojai elementary school students are making hundreds of flutes. Each flute, he explained, is one of a pair. One flute stays with the students, the others are sent to these strife-torn areas to provide a measure of musical magic.
Zeretzke accompanied a shipment of the flutes, made simply from a length of PVC pipe and decorated by the students, to a very poor and remote area of the Philippine Islands last year, and showed a slides of the visit. He said soldiers told him that this sort of project, direct and inspired, humble and personal, was much more effective than military interventions in winning hearts and minds.
He also gave us a show on several instruments, forming a symphony of strange and pleasing sounds, closing out with a lion's roar, which he created on a Hawaiian nose flute . That flute is played through the nose, the Hawaiians believe, where that air is more pure "because it doesn't mix with words."
President Scott concluded the meeting by reminding us that the Dec. 11 meet would be the year's final regular meeting, and to show up and make merry on Dec. 18 for the Christmas Party ... Happy Holidays!
Final Thoughts
Validation
"Validation" is a fable about the magic of free parking. Starring TJ Thyne & Vicki Davis. Writer/Director/Composer - Kurt Kuenne. Winner - Best Narrative Short, Cleveland Int'l Film Festival. It is 16 1/2 minutes and well worth viewing.
