Special thanks to Peter Webb, our photographer extraordinaire.
Bob Mendoza gave the pledge and Nicole Cherok stood in at the last minute with the Thought of the Day.
Ro Bianchi gave the news, which was actually a hilarious account of how he was drafted during the Korean War and kept getting off the ship in the wrong ports for his assignments, only to find after two years of boredom living throughout Japan and Korea, that his original commanding officer had been looking for him for two years. (I had a page of notes on this, but decided to give you the Readers’ Digest version.)
When he finally returned to the states to get his discharge from Fort Ord, he walked out with the uniform on his back and, to this day, has never received his honorable discharge plaque. With all of his meanderings, he was afraid to make any inquiries, for fear they’d accuse him of having been AWOL for two years. You had to be there—it was Ro at his best.
Cheryl Angeles gave the Sunshine Report, reminding all of the service for Bob Campbell’s wife Sandy and the celebration of life for Aron Hoffman, both of which will have passed by the time this newsletter gets to you. Our deepest sympathies go out to you and your family, Bob, and to Linda Hoffman and Aron’s family.
Cheryl said that John deRussy’s wife Joyce has had some complications and may need additional surgery.
Bob Mendoza introduced visiting Rotarians, including Craig Judy.
Steve Parker introduced Frank Ramirez, a Farmers Insurance district manager, and was nearly fined $500 for Frank’s infomercial. Prez Chris showed mercy and fined him only $50.
Raffle Results:
Mike Peterson stepped up with the raffle update:
*622 tickets sold
*77.3% of club participated by buying or selling tickets
He thanked his committee members (I’m sure I’m leaving someone out here!): Jeff Lowenstein, Shawn DeLuna, Yvonne Shiu, Rosemary Azem, Margaret Taylor, Bernie Mellott, Michelle Privitera, Nancy Stanton, Dick Bennett and Lee Osborne as well as prize donors Paul Rogerville, Joy Rudkin and Diane Christensen, Larry Ivich and Laura Porter. He also thanked Frank Espina for donating a case of his wine for the party and bartenders Jim Engel, John Barrett, Gary Hunt and Rich Orr. In addition, Mike acknowledged top ticket sellers:
*Nancy Stanton—67 tickets
*Yours truly—17 tickets
*Dick DeLuna—11 ½ tickets
*Bruce Bean, Bob Binn and Rich Orr all at 11 Tickets
* Jeff Lowenstein, Shawn DeLuna, Paul Rogerville, Tom Huening and Margaret Taylor—all at 10 tickets.
Let’s go for 100% participation next year!! For anyone who didn’t buy or sell any tickets, it’s not too late to make a contribution to the SM Rotary Foundation to benefit students needing scholarships. Let your conscience be your guide, as they say...
Of course, the winners were: Margaret Taylor (big money), Steve Fick (second prize) and Amy Cook (third prize).
Announcements:
Heather Cleary announced Peninsula Family Service’s upcoming Financial Empowerment workshop. Please contact Heather with any questions. Flyers have been on the tables. She went unscathed in terms of fines, because Chris was out of time. (Good thing Ro didn’t do a second tour of duty…LOL)
The only victim for whom Prez Chris had time was Luther Izmirian, shown on the big screen in a lobster bib. Luther was given an apron with “I’ve Got Crabs” emblazoned on it and paid $25 for the humiliation.
Reminders:
Mystery Night is Saturday, June 9. Cost is $100 per person. You may pay on the website or at the club anytime between now and the event if you have already RSVP’ed to
AnneL@smccvb.com.
Sunday, June 24 will be Rotary Day at ATT Park, Club Level seats. Please let Laura Porter know ASAP if you’ll make it and pay either at the club meeting or give Laura your check. (Five dollars from each ticket will benefit our SM Rotary Foundation.) It will be a lot of fun—you don’t want to miss it!
On with the Show….
Walt McCullough introduced Claire Day, Chief Program Officer for the Northern California and Northern Nevada Chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association. Day delivers community social service in the form of education, support, advocacy and care management to people with dementia and their families.
(Ed. note: She did not sing her speech--just got caught at an odd moment!)
Among the points she made:
- Normal or typical age-related changes involve making a bad decision once in a while, missing an occasional monthly payment, forgetting which day it is, only to remember it later, sometimes forgetting a word to use and/or losing things from time to time.
- This is in contrast to these problematic changes that could mean possible Alzheimer’s:
*Memory Changes that disrupt daily life
*Challenges in planning or solving problems
*Difficulty in completing familiar tasks
*Confusion with time and place
*Trouble with visual images and spatial relationships
*New problems with words in speaking or writing
*Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace space
*Decreased or poor judgment
*Withdrawal from work or social activities
*Changes in mood and personality
- Dementia describes over 100 different conditions that impact our thinking
- Among conditions that can mimic Alzheimer’s, the sixth leading cause of death: metabolic disorders; brain tumors, dehydration, emotional disorders, sensory loss, vitamin deficiencies (e.g. B12), infections and alcohol, drug or medication interactions.
- Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease with no cure.
- The disease affects over five million Americans.
- One in nine people over the age of 65 will get Alzheimer’s.
- One in three people over the age of 80 will get the disease.
- The study of Alzheimer’s has been grossly underfunded, but that is starting to change, as of 2017.
- To effectively combat and study the disease, $2 billion a year is needed.
- 99% of people with Down’s syndrome will come down with Alzheimer’s.
- It is the only disease in the top 10 without effective treatment or cure.
Great talk! ###
AL
