Rotary Club of Santa Monica!

Past Events - The Year in Review

January Through February 2003

2/28/03 will be another memorable day, as Rotary International Past President, Richard D. King, will be our featured speaker. It will be the first time this dynamo will address our Rotary Club, and his special interest, the Wheelchair Foundation, will be emphasized to us in a video entitled, “I Want To Live”. Make a reservation to bring a guest to this important presentation.
Members of our Club can donate a wheelchair for $75 (a matching donation of $75 will be made by the Wheelchair Foundation, because each wheelchair costs $150.) Rotarians worldwide have already donated 40,000 wheelchairs in 40 countries, but nonetheless, more are needed. Make a difference and make your checks payable to The Wheelchair Foundation in multiples of $75 so that our legacy continues to thrive. If you include your address with your donation, you’ll receive a photo of the grateful recipient of “your” wheelchair. Giving our past RI president a huge check for this worthy endeavor will be a gift fit for a King.

Breaking News!

Our Santa Monica Rotary Club Foundation will be giving $1,500 to the Wheelchair Foundation, which, of course, represents 20 wheelchairs, when matched by the Wheelchair Foundation. Our foundation has issued a challenge to the club membership to match its gift of 20 wheelchairs on a 3 to 1 basis - that is, for club members to individually contribute to the purchase of 60 wheelchairs.

The National Conference for Community and Justice will celebrate its 43rd Annual Humanitarian Awards. Leading the select group of honorees will be our own Bill Crookston. Joining him will be Jean McNeil Wyner and Nort Wyner, Stuart and Heidi Laff, and Father Michael Gutierrez of Saint Anne's Church.
     NCCJ's annual awards dinner is known for its fast-paced program. Join us to salute President Bill and a worthy group of honorees on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2003 6:00 pm, Olympic Collection (corner of Sawtelle and Olympic). Contact Kris Andresen at AndresenAssocs@aol.com or Iao Katagiri at iao@rand.org.

2/21/03 Esther Johnson - Annual Music Competition Awards (Riviera is dark for Nissan Open.   (LOCATION CHANGE: program will be at the SM Methodist Church)\ The First United Methodist Church 1008 11th Street @ Washington - 2 blks. north of Wilshire 3 Levels of parking under Upward Bound House's Senior Villa - across the street from the Church.
We will have our meeting / luncheon buffet in Simkins Hall - enter at the center of the Church on 11th Street through the courtyard.

2/14/03 George Vasquez - Orchid Expert, will talk and bring a large display and selection for Valentine's Day. An anonymous donor has purchased all of the orchids which will be on display, and given them to the Club for the purpose of a SILENT AUCTION to be held before and immediately after Mr. Vasquez' presentation.
     Bring your check books, what a great gift idea for that special Valentine! For more info, click here!

2/7/03 Our speaker this Friday is
John Deasy, Superintendent of Schools, Santa Monica-Malibu School District (and member of our club) he will be speaking on "Our Schools and the Four Way Test"

The next Rotary District breakfast will be held on Tuesday, February 4, 2003. The meeting will be held at the LAX Marriott Hotel, 5855 West Century Blvd., Los Angeles. The meeting runs from 7:10 a.m. until 9:00 a.m.

Our club pays for those members wishing to attend. In addition, attendance at a breakfast counts as a make-up.

The speaker will be Carl L. Chinnery, Governor of District 6040 (Missouri). His topic will be Polio Eradication.

Deadline for ordering tickets is Friday, January 17th. If you wish to attend this breakfast, please let our new Exec. Secretary, Linda Gray, know. Her e-mail address is:
itsalways.teatime@adelphia.net

Feb 1, 2003 - Saturday

Immunization Clinic - St. John's Hospital. Actual clinic is from 10:00 AM to Noon.
     For Rotarians, the first shift starts at 9:00 AM as we have to do setup. Rotarians are not expected to spend three hours at St. John's. We try and arrange for one hour shifts if we have enough volunteers. Even if you can't be there for the whole clinic the hour between 9:00 and 10:00 is critical.
   Free parking courtesy of Monika White behind the Center for Healthy Aging, 2125 Arizona Ave.
(Northwest corner of 22nd and Arizona. Enter lot from 22nd St.
Contact Chair Jim Reidy for more details.

1/31/03 Former Democratic Presidential Candidate Michael Dukakis - "Public Transportation: Where is Amtrak Going? Is it On Track?"

1/24/03 Craft Talks - Oded Wolf and Kristina Andresen

1/17/03 Robert Tranquada, M.D. - Former Dean, USC School of Medicine; "The State of Medical Care in the State of California."

1/10/03 Gary Small, M.D. - Author of "The Memory Bible," Director of the UCLA Center on Aging. Dr. Small's talk is titled " Strategies
for Memory Improvement and Brain Fitness". He has authored over 400 scientific publications, and has been listed in Best Doctors in America since its inception. His latest book, The Memory Bible, introduces the latest research on preventing memory loss, improving memory performance, and maintaining brain health. Click here for more info. on Dr. Small

Don't forget to be here Friday!

On Friday, January 10, 2003 the Riviera County Club is joining forces with the Red Cross to conduct a blood drive. If you would care to participate, please contact Carolyn O'Brien at 310-454-6591, ext. 301, to schedule an appointment. The location will be the ballroom at the Riviera -- and you are instructed to bring some form of ID with you.

As our members know, the Red Cross is represented in Rotary. Our own Tom Miskimen serves the Santa Monica Red Cross as its Executive Director. If you aren't able to give blood on January 10th, Tom wants you to know you can always call the Santa Monica Red Cross and make an appointment to donate. His chapter collects blood every Monday. Just phone 310-394-3773.

Tom also pointed out that the Red Cross supplies one-half of the blood that the nation uses on an annual basis. In this country, someone every two seconds needs a blood transfusion.

1/3/03 Dark New Year

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