FEBRUARY 21, 2012

NEXT MEETING, FEBRUARY 28 PROGRAM: Jack the Ripper, Part II, by Chris Lardge Invocation & Greeter: TBD
~~ COMING UP ~

February 28 at 5:00 pm at Holy Trinity Hall. All are welcome . . .Ron Mucovich announced that the Serbian Church Crab feed is This Saturday for $37.50 pp, and that youd better contact him pronto to get tickets to attend. . . . Rich Render mentioned that our TEN Odyssey of the Mind teams will be competing this Saturday, and that he will reveal the location and schedule in a forthcoming e-mail blast. Watch out! . .Russ Aubry, our speaker, had a Happy Buck for his 9 year old grandson who is a genius with the Rubiks cube. . . .Doug Damaschino won the raffle for $10, but missed the white marble.

Confessions, High Fives, Happy Bucks: Bill Korn and Sue McCaffrey spent a week
on the Big Island and a week on Maui, and the wheel recognized him for a $35 donation. . . .Angelo Costanza had a Happy Buck for a reminiscence about a previous Reno train trip where he met a friendly retired boxer who slugged him in the shoulder. Good thing his bocce arm didnt get hit. The rest of the story may be revealed in a future program. . . Al Simonsen spun the wheel for $10 in honor of the Campolindo Boys, and both Miramonte basketball teams, and for his trip to Las Vegas, ostensibly to watch his talented granddaughters on the UCSB volleyball team play well, losing only to the team that eventually won the tournament.. . .Gary Irwin gave a Happy Buck in anticipation of the visit of his four grandchildren, ages 4-8, and promised he would be even happier (for the benefit of the Club) if fellow Rotarians would lend him some bicycles, scooters, etc. for their visit.

Mar. 6 After Katrina Rotarys Role in Restoring New Orleanss Historic Warren Easton High School Pate Thomson and Grier Graff of Berkeley Rotary. *Mar. 13 Program: To Be Announced. *Mar 20 Kit Ohlman of Central San *April 3 Moragas Chamber of Commerce Frank Melon, CEO Moraga Country Club and Pres. Chamber of Commerce
*Indicates a regular Tuesday noon luncheon meeting

GUESTS
John Fazel Visiting Rotarian from Lamorinda Sunrise Russ Aubry Speaker

PROGRAM
Ron Mucovich introduced our speaker, Russ Aubry, an Oakland Kiwanian who lives in the Berkeley Hills above the Claremont Hotel. He was born in San Francisco, grew up living in Hawaii, and graduated from Fresno State. Russ has had several unusual experiences in his life: 1. He saw the re-ignition of the previous days fire that turned into the Oakland Firestorm in the late 1980s; 2. he directed firemen to save his house, the only one saved in the neighborhood; 3. As a seven-year-old child living in Pearl City, Oahu, Hawaii, he saw the attack on Pearl Harbor and saw an attacking pilot smile at him. Russs program was about his recent safari to Kenya and Tanzaniya, where he could meet and talk with Masaai and other tribal warriors. He even had a competition involving bow and arrow shooting with a local chief, whose tribe was known for killing prey with poison-tipped arrows. Hmmmm. His other wildlife experiences included: Having a young bull elephant charge the vehicle; having a 20 Rock Python lunge at him, not being satisfied with the small antelope he (the python) had recently swallowed; taking a hot air balloon ride in the early morning where the light breeze took them over the

The presiding officer this week, in the absence of President Nora, was someone who seemed vaguely familiar and comfortable in the job, although he needs some remedial classes in bell ringing. After a while, he introduced himself as Colin Barnard, and that he was just warming up to his job as Master of Ceremonies at A Nite at the Races for the umpteenth time. Angelo Costanzas Thought for the Day reminded us that we are affected by people we encounter, and are richer for it.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Colin reminded us that this weekend, our PresidentElect Frank May will attend President-Elects Training Session and learn the tricks of the Rotary Club President trade. They also have quite a few social activities there too, I seem to remember. Nite At the Races Meeting on Tuesday February 28 at 5:00 pm at the Dochtermans home. You dont have to be a member of the committee to come and join in the discussions and planning. Moraga Rotary Board meeting is changed to Monday

river where they could see lots of animals who had come to drink. The bulk of the program was a collection of excellent game photos he had taken with his trusty Canon 20x zoom lens camera. He decided against taking the typical full load of camera bodies, long and longer lenses, tripods, etc. in favor of convenience and the ability to always have his camera ready.

TRAVEL OF THE WEEK

We understand that President Nora, Debbie & Lou Roessler, Louise & Ron Schopke, John & Mary Sue Erickson, Cliff and Mary Elena Dochterman, and Frank May embarked this morning on the Reno Train Trip, which is resuming this year after a two year absence. Perhaps the gambling will be successful and the Club will get some significant Hang Ten revenue.

SPORTS PAGE The SMC Mens Rugby team played a tough team from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and came out on the short end of the 31-14 score. Carol and Gary Irwin, your sports reporters, covered the story yesterday, mainly because their son is on the UBC faculty. (This is worth a future High Five). When Flor Huart was our exchange student, she became a real rugby fan in general and SMC in particular, and she attended a few games with Carol. I sent her some photos of the Gaels, and got this reply from her:
I came back from my summer holidays yesterday afternoon, and i am now at work with 200 emails ahead of me! Ahaha So glad to hear from you both, and to see the pictures. I am still fully involved in rugby, but only coaching at the moment since im taking a full course load, plus my full-time job, and thus i have no time to train. Im doing really well, i am working for a videogame company is a marketing area, and im really happy. I actually just started working here in November of 2011. Flor

ROTARY DISASTER PREPAREDNESS CONFERENCE MARCH 16-17

How prepared are you if a disaster hits our area or your th home? Rotary is hosting the 6 Annual Emergency Disaster Initiative Conference at the Marina Doubletree Inn in Berkeley on March 16 and 17. This event is sponsored by Rotary International, and our District 5160 is serving as host, under the leadership of Past District Governor Karl Diekman. The purpose of the Conference is to develop and encourage preparation for the multiple hazards that result from disasters. Rotarians from around the nation and other countries are expected to attend. All Rotarians are welcome to attend. For more information go to www.rediconference.org or talk with Debbie Roessler.

CALENDAR OF FUTURE EVENTS (Please mark your calendar)

Mar. 10 Annual Nite at the Races Fundraiser Mar. 16-17 Disaster Preparedness Conference Berkeley Marina Doubletree Inn Apr. 21 E-Waste Collection Day May 12 Moraga Community Faire TBD: Moraga Rotary Field Day June 16 Bocce Ball Tournament, Martinez June 26 Annual Demotion Dinner and Recognitions. Aug. 3-5 OMPA Swim Meet Food Booth
Watch for these dates to come: Moraga Rotary Field Day for Grade School Children Barbecue for Rotaract and Interact

MORAGA ROTARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2011-12 President..Nora Avelar President-elect..... Frank May Past President .....Tony Schoemehl Secretary.........Kevin Reneau Treasurer..Louise Schopke Community Service Chair.Barbara Bruner New Generations....Rich Render International Service Chair..Colin Barnard MembershipFrank May Rotary Foundation...... Lad Lynch Public Relations Gary Irwin Director at LargeDebbie Roessler Director at Large..Mary Elena Dochterman Director at Large...Cliff Dochterman President, Rotary International...Kalyan Banerjee District Governor, 5160 ...David Dacus Assistant District Governor.Debbie Roessler
Acting Substitute Temporary Newsletter Editor Honore de Balzac

Rotary International Theme for 2011-12 REACH WITHIN TO EMBRACE HUMANITY