by Ray Sanford

Gavin Huntley-Fenner, PH.D. and a member of the Irvine Unified School Board, presented us with an update on what's happening with our local schools. While doing so, he gave us some tidbits about why being involved with education is so important to him. He started his education in Guyana where he used a slate to write. From there to the United States and receiving a PH.D. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT, his research in language and mathematics learning, his present focus has been how to best prepare children for future opportunities. The competitive nature of our present world means that children need to prepare earlier than ever in order to succeed.

He stressed that the Irvine schools are near the top nationally in both efficiency of operations as well as scholarship. He lauded the current faculty and administration for their dedication to the children as well as their initiative and creativity in doing more with less.

by Mody Gorsky

Our speaker this Wednesday will be Gavin Huntley-Fenner, Ph.D. from the Irvine Unified School Board. Gavin joined the Irvine Unified School Board in 2005. His doctorate is in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from MIT and his research involves language and mathematics learning. He is the parent of two children, both of whom are currently in the district. He is an accomplished and effective board member and a recognized leader on the local, statewide and national level.

Gavin served as an Irvine Unified school board trustee since 2005. He served as Board President (2008-2009), and Board Clerk/Vice President (2007-2008). Gavin will discuss the "State of the Irvine Schools." He will be speaking about where we are now and some upcoming challenges and plans. Although he is currently running for re-election, he promised to not make it a "campaign" speech.

Our speaker this week will be Katie Oakman from the American Heart Association (AHA). Katie has been with the AHA for almost two years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Studies from Westmont College. She is a Business Development Director for the AHA. Katie works with companies to create a culture of health and wellness in the workplace. She also partners with these companies and individuals in the community to form teams and raise funds through the Start! OC Heart Walk. Currently in its 30th year, the Heart Walk promotes physical activity and celebrates heart disease and stroke survivors while raising critical funds for the AHA.

Our speaker this week is Carlina Thomas — Executive Director from The Women's Cancer Research Foundation (WCRF). WCRF is dedicated to improving the cure rates of women with gynecologic cancer through strategic clinical research and community-based educational outreach.

Carlina came to the WCRF with a proven track record in nonprofit leadership. She has served as president of the California Waste Association, the City of Huntington Beach Neighborhood Watch Program, and the Dr. Ralph E. Hawes Parent Teacher Association (PTA). She also chaired several education related and community-wide committees, ran for school board, and in her free time serves as a dedicated volunteer for both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a Marketing emphasis from California State University, Long Beach. Since that time her professional background includes years of successful environmental consulting sales management and national account development experience with Fortune 500 Companies generating annual sales in the millions.

Michael Fell is a former Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney with over 18 years experience as a prosecutor and over two years experience as a civil litigator who has been dedicated to victims rights his entire career. Mr. Fell has been recognized for his commitment to victims, including, but not limited to the awards listed below:

Ambassador of Peace Award (2003) for his work with victims of hate crimes and in developing a tolerance program for youth (TURN - Teaching Understanding respect and Non-violence)

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Diligent Prosecutor Award (1995, 1996, 2006) for his work with DUI victims and prosecuting DUI cases

Victim Witness Assistance Program Recognition Award for his diligent work with crime victims.

Mr. Fell currently represents the Adenhart, Pearson, Stewart and Wilhite families in the criminal prosecution of the Defendant, Andrew Gallo) under Marsy’s law. (Former Angel MLB pitcher Nick Adenhart, Henry Pearson and Courtney Stewart were killed and Jon Wilhite was seriously injured after they were hit by Mr. Gallo, a drunk driver, on April 9, 2009)

Michael Fell is a former Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney with over 18 years experience as a prosecutor and over two years experience as a civil litigator who has been dedicated to victims rights his entire career. Mr. Fell has been recognized for his commitment to victims, including, but not limited to the awards listed below:

Ambassador of Peace Award (2003) for his work with victims of hate crimes and in developing a tolerance program for youth (TURN - Teaching Understanding respect and Non-violence);

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Diligent Prosecutor Award (1995, 1996, 2006) for his work with DUI victims and prosecuting DUI cases;

Victim Witness Assistance Program Recognition Award for his diligent work with crime victims.

Mr. Fell currently represents the Adenhart, Pearson, Stewart and Wilhite families in the criminal prosecution of the Defendant, Andrew Gallo under Marsy’s law. (Nick Adenhart (former Angels MLB pitcher, Henry Pearson and Courtney Stewart were killed and Jon Wilhite was seriously injured after they were hit by Mr. Gallo, a drunk driver, on April 9, 2009)

Accordingly, he will be speaking about victim advocacy and his work with Marcy's law.

by Gillian Bradshaw

Alex Ureche, a member of the Costa Mesa Rotary club, talked about a project he is championing in rural Romania, to provide a sound education for disadvantaged children, giving them the literacy, English, and communication skills to help them "change the things they can" and present to the world".

Having worked with local workmen, parents and volunteers in the village to build a school, Alex collaborated with Rotary clubs in the US and Romania to obtain a Rotary Matching Grant to create a multi-media center in the school so the children can learn about the world via the internet. He also works with city students to gain leadership skills by interacting and helping to educate the rural children.

Other projects have included dental screenings (much like the ones our Rotary club helps with in Ensenada), Christmas shopping excursions, and a mobile library (that could also serve as a dental van).

It is always interesting to learn about how much difference Rotarians make in the lives of others - thanks Alex!

by Ray Sanford

Anaheim native Steve Faessel gave a fascinating history of Anaheim and Orange County, complete with photos of the early years.

Faessel served on the Orange County Historical Commission until June 2006. Faessel served on the Commission’s Editorial Board for the republishing of the Orange County history, 100 Years of Yesterdays. He has served as the Commission’s Chair for the 2000 and 2001 terms.

He is a volunteer researcher for the Anaheim Public Library in the Elizabeth Schultz Local History Room. In addition to being the Anaheim Public Utility Department’s unofficial Historian, he has written a number of articles on Anaheim including his recently published illustrated local history books for Arcadia Publishing, Early Anaheim, and Anaheim: 1940-2007. In addition to these, Faessel recently completed a large format illustrated history of Anaheim for Turner Publishing: Historic Photos of Anaheim. A new small-format book for Turner Publishing: Recalling Anaheim has just been published.

Tony Murcia gave up his red badge this week in exchange for a blue one from Toni Thomas.

Congratulations, Tony

The U.S. Coast Guard paid a visit to the Irvine Spectrum Rotary Club to inform the members and guests about the potential for terrorism, specifically to the Los Angeles and San Pedro ports. Coast Guard officer, Commander Matlin and Auxiliary Coast Guard member, Captain Jacobs (also the former president of the Whittier Rotary Club) spoke about the importance of civilian vigilance in keeping an eye on the 95,000 miles of shoreline, 300 thousand square miles of waterway, 6,000 bridges and 361 ports of call in the United States.

Captain Jacobs shared the need for everyone out on the water to work as partners in fighting terrorism via small crafts and boats. Captain Jacobs also displayed the primary goals of terrorism: to weaken and disrupt daily life and cause a nation to live in fear. He also stated that since 9/11 many Americans have lived with their heads in the sand, refusing to recognize the threat of terrorism.

America shares three international borders with Canada, Mexico and Russia (via Alaska), making the U.S. a target for small vessels, which provide access to IEDs, weapons of mass destruction, small arms, biological and nuclear weapons. Jacobs stated, “We need to develop the Israeli / British mind-set toward terrorism – it is part of our life.” In addition, the U.S. needs to develop a fast recovery that defeats the terrorist objectives, as terrorists gain power by disrupting our way of life. As we found out this past weekend, there are individuals here who wish to do Americans harm.

“Trust your gut,” says Jacobs. After viewing a short movie and message from the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Jacobs gave the Club the following number to call if anyone sees suspicious activity in the water: 877-24WATCH. However, if you see something very concerning, call 911. For more information on how you can be a partner with the U.S. Coast Guard go to: http://www.uscg.mil/top/missions/M_Security.asp

by Ray Sanford


Ray Benedicktus, Lisa Grajewski and Randy Woods receive their blue badges from Toni and Mody.

Three club members received their blue badges during our club's offsite visit to Fairhaven Memorial hosted by club member Marla Noel.

We all got a tour of both the public and private areas to see just what goes on "behind the scenes." Even though they are busy, they made sure our members didn't see actual cases. [whew!]

What a lot of members didn't know is the huge amount of talented people with very specialized knowledge it takes to run an organization of this size. Fairhaven employes almost 90 full time staff. Their counselors are trained in both the religious and cultural aspects involved in the loss of a loved one and how to honor their life.

Irvine Spectrum Rotary was serenade by the Harmony Partners barbershop quartet. Partners in Harmony, an organization started by Warren Willard, a founding member of our club, is dedicated to supporting youth vocal programs in middle and high schools. The group recently raised money for Tesoro High School to allow for a quartet to compete in the Far Western Competition in Reno.

Following the barbershop quartet the club heard from Naomi Montero, a ten year old 4th grader who raised the roof with her beautiful soprano voice.

Naomi’s family immigrated to the US to realize Naomi’s potential. She currently studies voice lessons with Selma Hayak’s mother and is enrolled in a charter school with an emphasis on the arts.

The Irvine Spectrum Club donated $1,000 to support Partner's in Harmony training and several members of the club presented individual donations to help Naomi.

If you are interested in donating please contact John Alcorn.

According to Randy Wood, everyone has a secret! Randy gave his inaugural Craft Talk on March 3rd. His business: keeping people honest.

Randy helps businesses keep people honest by providing detection and prevention of fraud through education, technology and kinesics interviews and interrogation.

Randy shared that businesses loose up to seven percent (annually) due to fraud and it often goes undetected for years. Small private businesses tend to be the biggest losers due to asset misappropriation. This past year has been especially significant with regard to fraud as financial targets are harder to achieve, people are afraid of loosing jobs, companies are offering fewer bonuses and many employees are doing more work for the same amount of pay.

Thanks to Randy for educating us on how to watch out for deviance in the workplace!

Dan Hoffman, a former Irvine Spectrum Rotary Club member, expressed his desire to run for California State Assembly. Petitioning to put his name on the ballot, Hoffman will run for the 70th District. Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R) currently holds the 70th District seat, which includes Irvine. DeVore is leaving the Assembly due to term limits. After giving a brief review of politics in California, Hoffman shared the procedure of running for office.

Hoffman, who has lived in Irvine in 15 years, states he is the best Republican to take this seat. He expressed his concern for the current state of California and said that is the main reason he is running. Current issues with California include the loss of $16 billion and paying more money for California’s prisons versus education. Tuitions at state universities have increased exponentially across California, wherein salaries for correction officers exceed that of educators. Hoffman went on to share that in 2006 California spent $227 million in overtime to certain groups of corrections officers.

As a result of the economy, according to Hoffman, there have been severe cuts across the state affecting all services. As a result many incumbents are disillusioned and not looking to run for office again. The state’s loss of a substantial amount of its budget is the main reason Hoffman says he is running for office, “I’m looking to raise money and create jobs for the state without raising taxes.” Hoffman also believes it is time to stop passing laws for the sake of passing laws.

John Brainerd spoke about Rotary’s water program in Myanmar. Major activity in Myanmar is agriculture – even orphanages grown gardens. However, due to a lack of infrastructure, children had to walk to a river to fill buckets and carry them quite a distance back to the orphanage garden. Instead of attending school and socializing children were carrying buckets of water back and forth to take care of the garden.

Two and a half billion people lack access to clean water. Each year 1.8 million people die from diarrhea, much of it cause from severe diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. Eighty-eight percent of deaths are due to unsafe water or inadequate sanitation or hygiene, and 1.4 million are children ages five and younger, according to the World Health Organization. Malnutrition- related deaths of children five and under caused by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and insufficient hygiene total 860,000 a year.

When Rotary inquired further as to what Myanmar needed most – physicians in Myanmar stated they needed permanent water projects. Though a daunting project, Rotary agreed and has already designed and built 15 of the 60 requested systems. Working with Save the Children and the Myanmar Compassion Project, the project is serving 200 orphanages. Seventy to eighty percent of the water is used for agriculture, ten percent is used for kitchen use, and ten percent is used for laundry. The children now have time for school and social activities. Newport continues to work with Maesai Rotary to keep the project alive.

To find out more about the Myanmar Water Project, including the project’s entire history and how to make donations go to: http://www.myanmarwater.org/

Laguna College of the Arts & Design student Trevor Christianson presented his junior class artwork to the Spectrum Rotary Club. Introduced by the school’s VP of Development, Patsee Ober, Trevor also thanked the Club and Fairhaven for his scholarship he received.

Laguna College of the Arts and Design, an accredited college, and requires a portfolio from applicants, is home to 110 students and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in two years. Located in the Laguna Canyon, it is a beautiful campus and well designed for art students. The school provides education at the bachelor and master level, creating future artists who express their talent through traditional art, i.e. painting, sculpture, sketching to newer forms of art such as animation and game art. Ninety six percent of the college’s students benefit from financial aid.

Trevor shared the story of his journey to LCAD. Originally from Northern California, Trevor attended community college before being accepted at LCAD. Impressed by the success of the students, Trevor made LCAD his priority. He shared the process of his paintings – from beginning to end – and shared that the best teachers teach them to use their gifts and strengths.

Patsee offered the Club to visit the school to view the students’ artwork on display. The school is at 2222 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651. Please contact Patsse Ober at 949.376.6000 x229 to find out more about the school.

by Lisa Grajewski

Speaker: Maxine Lu—Project Manager, Taiwan Tourism Bureau

National Geographic Travel has described Taiwan as the “best kept secret.” After a stunning presentation by Maxine Lu, it would be hard to disagree with the magazine’s assessment.

The Island, off the South East coast of China, is a 14 hour flight from Los Angles and well wroth the time in the air! Approximately 14,400 square miles, Taiwan is slightly larger than Maryland. It is home to 23 million people, all of whom speak a myriad of languages: from Mandarin and Taiwanese to Hakka and other indigenous languages. English is also a prominent language in Taiwan.

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau has worked hard to market Taiwan, drawing visitors from all walks of life – for all reasons. The new logo for Taiwan:

T = A house
A = the host
I = the guest
W = host & guest shaking hands
A & N = The host is offering tea to the guest

For those participating in the Rotary trip to Taiwan there is a lot to choose from for the traveler. Whether you are interested in art, and decide to visit the National Palace Museum, home to one of the largest collections of Chinese art and one of the top museums in the world or you want to ride on the Alishan, one of three remaining Alpine trains – Taiwan will keep you busy. For the foodies, Din Tai Fung, one of the top 10 gourmet restaurants in the world (according to NY Times) is an opportunity to experience delicate and delectable dumplings. And, as Taiwan encapsulates the best of Chinese cuisine, you will have many other opportunities to temp your taste buds!

Taiwan is also known for its natural beauty, diverse species (a quarter of the world’s animal species are found in Taiwan, as well as exclusive species) and breath taking destinations, such as Sun Moon Lake - Taiwan’s “Lake Tahoe” and a favorite honeymoon destination. Sunrise is particularly favorable as the water changes color with the rising son.

Along side the environmental diversity, Taiwan is diverse in its racial, cultural, and ethnic makeup as well. In addition to the several languages spoken in Taiwan, cultural influences from the Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, English and others can be found in the tiny country. It truly seems there is something for everyone in Taiwan.

By Lisa Grajewski

U.S. Federal judge David O. Carter spoke to the Irvine Spectrum Rotary on Wednesday, December 23. Judge Carter, who has been involved in an Orange County case questioning President Obama’s citizenship, explained that the power to remove a sitting president from office resides with Congress, not the judiciary.

Judge Carter then spoke about his recent visits to Afghanistan and the state of the US military in that region. He stated the Taliban has created a rift with the communities of the region by using the area as shelter. Judge Carter also discussed the precarious situation with the intelligence agency of Pakistan, vis-à-vis possible breaches in security for the U.S. Due to a pending trial, Judge Carter had to make his talk brief, but offered to return and speak about other topics of interest.

Judge Carter received both his bachelor's degree and his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After graduating from college, Carter accepted a commission in the United States Marine Corps and was promptly ordered to Vietnam where he received, among other awards, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his valiant service in Vietnam. In addition to the Obama case, Judge Carter has been involved with other interesting cases such as the Mexican Mafia trials (United States v. Fernandez, et al), Anna Nicole Smith (In re Marshall), Aryan Brotherhood Trials (United States v. Mills, et al) and Gay-Straight Alliance (Colin ex rel. Colin v. Orange Unified School District).

Membership Chair Toni Thomas welcomes three new members to the The Irvine Spectrum Rotary club. From left above, Diane Parriott, Lisa Grajewski, Toni Thomas, and Randy Woods.

Bob Yaap gave his craft talk to the Irvine Spectrum Rotary club last Wednesday. Bob, who was one of the founding members, had the distinction of giving the inaugural craft talk when the club began. An entrepreneur, Bob has owned several businesses, from Burger King franchises to Great Pacific Securities, which he started in 1990.

A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Bob flew helicopters in Vietnam, loosing 19 of his classmates. He has since gone on to support U.S. veterans by getting involved in Run for the Wall, a motorcycle ride from California to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC.

According to the website, “Run For The Wall recognizes the sacrifices and contributions made by all veterans who have served our nation. Veterans of recent conflicts and those currently on active duty are especially welcome to join us as we ride for those who cannot.”

Bob shared pictures and stories of the cross country ride that he took with his good friend, a Vietnam veteran, who lost his leg in the war, and 800 hundred other veterans, friends, family members and supporters of service members involved in past and current conflicts.

by Mody Gorsky

The Spectrum Rotary Club presented a check of $1,000 to Allison Burnigham in support of her walk for breast cancer.

Sarah Swensson and Eileen Padberg from Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA) provided some education on the upcoming Metrolink increase in 2010. The link will increase service between Fullerton and Laguna Niguel.

OCTA is working with cities where enhancements are taking place to allow for safety measures. Cities along the route, such as Irvine, which has two locations to be enhanced, are being informed of details behind the pending construction.

A surprising amount of the public (80%) is unaware of train crossing safety. As a result of the research that came up with this figure, OCTA has teamed up with Operation Life Force to put together an awareness campaign focusing on: education, engineering and enforcement.
OCTA is going to schools to educate children about crossing tracks safely, and working with community leaders to build awareness.

In addition, local law enforcement will issue citations to those not follow train safety laws, emphasizing the importance of safety laws in place. “Forty five percent [of drivers] speed up to get through gates closing; 20% stop on the tracks and 7,000 pedestrians neglect to look both ways when crossing [the tracks]” Says Sarah Swensson.

OCTA is working with communities and businesses near the tracks in order to help them understand how the changes will affect their cities and businesses. One of the strategies will be to institute “Quiet Zones.” No horns will be blown [by the trains], but instead crossing will utilize lights and bells to warn those near the track.

To find out more about the OCTA upgrade, visit the updated website

The website provides information on the new project and a toll free number to lodge concerns and complaints.

by Carmen Szladowski - Club PR Chair


There were several guests from other clubs, as well as others coming back to visit us. We welcomed Namey and her husband from the Rotary Club in Taiwan.

We certainly had an interesting group at our meeting. Among them were three young ladies sponsored by our club to attend the RYLA 2009 event for three days of learning teamwork, meeting new friends, and then some fun-time. They were happy to show us a video of the events offered by the camp, told us about their wonderful experiences, and their gratitude to the Rotary Clubs for sponsoring them.

Events:

The District President's meeting will be at The Double Tree Hotel in Orange, on Tuesday, August 11th at 6PM.

Cisca's beach party will be on Saturday, August 22nd. Don't miss out socializing with your club members and friends; and having cool time!

We have the Angel's baseball game coming up on August 29th; real great seat locations.

The Three District Business Leadership Awards, (2008-09) will be presented on Friday, September 25th. 2009.

On June 6, the Irvine Spectrum Rotary club celebrated a wonderful year of Rotary with Pannkaj Kummar as their club's president (better known to club members as just “Kummar”). He did a great job of leading the club thorough these difficult times.

Club members had a grand time celebrating Kummar's demotion, feasting on club member Diane Braasch's delicious Indian foods and delighting on a ceremonial roast based on the popular “Slumdog Millionaire” game show…complete with incomprehensible questions and answers thought up by incoming president Gillian Bradshaw. The grand prize was a club donation in Kummar's name of 10,000 rupees to Polio Plus.

The Irvine Spectrum club continues to lead the District in per-capita giving of almost $500 per member, and is the second club in the District to achieve the coveted PH+1 status.

Club member Sean McDowell led the club’s effort to help sponsor a New Generation Club of younger folks who desire to improve their community through Rotary. They have met weekly since November and have been involved with many hands-on projects. They now have 14 members and will be chartered when they reach 20 members. Janet Wang led effort to start an Interact Club at Irvine’s Woodbridge High School.

Irvine Spectrum Rotary has grown by 4 members this year, and enjoys a weekly attendance of over 80%. The club supports a wide spectrum of community service projects such as providing dental checkups for kids entering school in Irvine; funding for research into cures for Cystic Fibrosis, Epilepsy, and Juvenile Diabetes; support for battered spouse shelters and homes for pregnant teens; the Irvine Senior Center; Working Wardrobes; RYLA and Reading by 9.

Internationally, Irvine Spectrum is participating with other District grants for fuel-efficient stoves to Central America, a school in Africa, musical instruments to Brazil and emergency equipment to Chile. This past year the club held it’s seventh and eighth international dental clinics in Ensenada, Mexico in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Ensenada Calafia.

This week's meeting was opened, not with a bang, but a splash! The coffee had been set up and ready to go when the table broke and suddenly we had hot coffee all over the floor!

President-elect Gillian ran to get more coffee and saved the day, as our arriving Rotarians pitched in, mopped up the mess and set up tables and chairs on the outside patio for the meeting. As a result we enjoyed our meeting under sunny blue skies overlooking the golf course. Life is good; so are our Rotarians.

The main speaker was Joe Brown, a former Mayor of Laguna Niguel, current council member and past president of the Rotary Club there. He spoke about the Evolution of Conservative Political Thought. His thoughts traced how conservative political thought was originally “less government and lower taxes” in theme. Over the years this has changed. It is now hard to distinguish the conservatives from the liberals. During the last 20 years the Evangelical Christian movement has played a major role in conservative thought and this seemed to have reached its apex during the George W. Bush administration.

Our past president's talk was presented by John Alcorn who, coincidently, was celebrating his birthday that day. He was president during 2005-06. He spoke of the work our club had done during Bob Larsen's term in India, and how many of the members traveled there to see their accomplishments in person during his term. Kris Khurana then lead the group to see other parts of the country. During John's term, our main fund raiser was the Golf Tournament. We worked on many other projects that year, including the Dental Clinic in Ensenada, and our membership increased by 9 members. It was a good year and he very much enjoyed his time as president.

Our guest speaker this week was Jessica Goltermann. She came to tell us about the American Liver Foundation, and the upcoming Liver Walk for Life on June 27, and other fund raising events for their foundation. While there, she invited us to support their many efforts. It was very helpful to have Dr Paul also share some information about how Hepatitis B, a liver disease, can affect people.

The Past President's report today was given by Cisca Stellhorn. President from 2007-2008. Cisca opened her talk in the same manner she opened her meetings as president, by ringing a bell. During her year, each week was celebrated by a different bell and its story. Cisca has collected bells from all over the world in her travels, and we were never lacking for an interesting tale surrounding the collection.

One of the amazing items that year was the amount of grants and matching grants received by our club. This was due to a great deal of work by Ray Sanford and others. The club worked on Habitat for Humanity, Irvine Dental Clinic, Ensenada Dental Clinic, wheel chairs sent to Mexico, Reading by Nine, equipping a dental van for Dr. Tosier and trips to Ensenada. It was with many rewards.

Our fund raisers that year were the Cash Bash and a Golf Tournament. The golf tournament was in May, a month we get little rain. However, that year, there was a hail storm three minutes before the tee off! And then, half way through the game the tournament was stopped because of more rain. All the golfers came back to the club house and waited for it to clear. Something that never happens that time of year!

The International Convention that year was in LA. Cisca rounded up a bus and brought together 110 guests attending the convention from all over the world to a party at her home. It was a great opportunity for club members to meet and spend time with Rotary members from across the world world.

Our first meeting in May was very well-attended by club members, who enthusiastically welcomed, among its other guests, Dr. Pai-Chou Tu, incoming governor of RI District 3500, and past president of our sister club—Taoyuan West.


Meeting highlights

Service:

Toni Thomas talked about the E-Waste collection project that took place at ReMax Realty on Saturday, May 2. On very short notice our club raised $250 by collecting discarded electronic equipment. Another E-Waste collection day is in the planning stages.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Great Strides Walk day held on May 2 in Dana Point was reported to be a success by Ed Hardenburgh. Our club sponsors this worthy cause, and this year Ray Sanford took pictures, and Bret and Natalie Geddes walked in support of Ed’s grandson who has cystic fibrosis.

The Epilepsy Alliance of Orange County held it’s Freedom Walk, Unseize the Day on Saturday, May 2 at Heritage Park. Tom Mahoney’s son’s “Sean’s Stompers,” was a top fundraising team, having raised over $5,500.

Barry Brown presented a check from the Irvine Spectrum Rotary Foundation for $1,000 towards the cancer walk in honor of Victoria Topping.

Announcements:

Al Rosenstein reminded members to continue bringing clothes for Working Wardrobes.

Gillian Bradshaw asked members to save June 8 on their calendars for our outgoing president’s demotion party to be held at the home of Toni Fenton.

Rick Topping gave notice that on June 11, our club will have a fun-filled theater night to raise money for our club. We will enjoy the musical “Footloose” at the Village Musical Theater in Irvine.

Diane Baasch announced the upcoming Casino Night fundraiser to be held at the Village Crean on August 8. More information will soon follow.

Past-president presentation:

Dr. Bob Larsen was club president in 2004-2005 (Rotary’s Centennial Year), and his talk centered on these three specific goals:

Involve more people, and have fun in the service of others. Provide more resources for International Service projects.

Dr. Larsen talked about how as president he allocated one-third of our club’s budget to international projects. He also stressed, because of matching grants, international projects provide the “biggest bang for our bucks.” The trip to India he helped organize was a highlight of his experience as president, even if the actual trip took place soon after his term expired.

Boost contributions to the Rotary Foundation.

During his year in office, our club earned the distinction of becoming a 100% Paul Harris club.

Program – Luther Self (Uncle Luther)

Our speaker, Luther Self is a member of the Mission Viejo Rotary Club. He authored his life’s story in a book “Evolution of a Southern Boy” written and published by Jacquie Hanson, also a member of the Mission Viejo club.

In his presentation Luther provided highlights of his life taken from the book. He is a son of the South, and came from a family of slave owners. He went on to talk about his education in preparation for the ministry, but along the way changed his mind. Instead, Luther found his calling in children’s programming for television. He had his own show, “Uncle Luther,” from 1958 until 1961. The Uncle Luther show was dedicated to teaching children good values, and featured a Wishing Well. Children could write Uncle Luther about their wishes, and they would be read and put in the Wishing Well. Uncle Luther would then give an on-the-air affirmation that the wish might come true. This part of the program was so popular that even patients in a veteran’s hospital sent in their own wishes to Uncle Luther. He had a way of making all people, not only children, feel better.

Our speaker found catharsis in writing the book and telling his story of how he overcame racial prejudice. The turning point in his life, he said, occurred when he was newly married, and his wife wanted to hold a black baby she was admiring. Luther could not permit her to do so, and realized at that moment his deep-seated prejudice towards blacks had not been overcome. Following this incident, Luther said he looked himself in the mirror, and realized that he had to change. The premise of Luther’s book and today’s presentation follows his evolution towards freedom from the bondage of racial prejudice.

Harry Gabriel is now a Paul Harris Fellow +1


Sean McDowell becomes a Paul Harris Fellow


Janet Wang receives her latest Paul Harris Award

Donald R. Kennedy is the newest member of the Irvine Spectrum Rotary Club.

Today we were honored to have our two medical doctors in the club, Dr Paul Strodtbeck MD and Dr. Bob Larsen MD, answer questions from club members. Members could submit questions by email, or ask them at the meeting. It was a fun, exciting meeting. Everything was asked from, "what should I do if my Doctor makes me wait 2 hours?" ( If you don't like it, change Doctors) to… "do vitamin pills really help?" ( You can get the vitamins you need from the food you eat…however if you feel they help, take them.) Members stayed late to ask more questions; many requested we have them give a similar talk every couple of months. It was truly enjoyed by the members.

We had the honor of Suhkee Kang, the mayor of Irvine, speaking at our club. He was a member of Irvine Spectrum Rotary Club about 3 years ago. Since then he has become the Mayor. He is the first Korean mayor of a major city in the United States. He gave us an update on the City of Irvine.

For example, on the subject of econometrics, they have put funds away and with the current sales tax, hotel tax, and property tax how the city should be in good shape. Therefore, there are no planned cuts in the many services to both youth and seniors.

They have planned for a safe city by increasing their police force from 150 to 203 officers. One result is; Irvine has been the safest city for its size in the US for the last 4 years.

They have put money aside for schools so they can continue to maintain their class sizes and educational standards. This should permit their continuation of an exceptional educational system.

Finally, he explained the importance of being a GREEN city. and the steps they are taking in that direction.

Our past president, Richard Milo, also spoke today. He was our president from 2003-04. Being an engineer and the efficient person he is, he came equipped with a spreadsheet showing the accomplishments of his year.

He explained the four arms of Rotary service – Vocational, Club Service, Community Service and International – and what we accomplished in those areas. Also during his year was the largest increase in our membership, from 30 to 40 members, an increase of 25 percent.

During his year, he attended the International convention in Brisbane, Australia. He felt the most important element was his goal of making sure everyone was involved, and, after all, that is what Rotary is all about.

Our speaker for the week was Peter Buffa, Chairman of the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). It was quite timely as there have been a number of newspaper articles about their plans. They are responsible for all ground transportation in Orange County; buses, trains and highways,with exception of the Tollways.

It was no surprise – money is tight. They have been affected and have had to make cutbacks, mostly in the bus system here in Orange county. However, with the stimulus money from the government, they plan to make advances and improvements in our highways, as well as local Metrolink stations to entice more ridership. They look forward to developing a high speed rail system from Anaheim to San Francisco (in about 2 ½ hours) in the near future, as well as someday from Anaheim to Las Vegas. They will be modeled after systems in other countries, and someday even hope to develop an air/rail system. The biggest problem is how to get Orange County people out of their cars!

Woody Jones was our president during 1999-2000. He spoke about what a fun year and a great experience it was for him. The club continued to hold the Golf tournament as well as a Night at the Improv as fund raisers, while again holding the Smiles Dental Clinic.

In addition, members built a house in Tijuana with the Corazon project during his term. He felt it was a fun and worthwhile project. It was such a wonderful experience to see a family receive a home you'd helped to build; something the family wanted and thought they never could obtain. Woody explained how he'd enjoyed traveling to the International Convention that year in Singapore.

We also had the honor of having Ed Hardenburgh's grandson and his mother join us. They extended an invitation to a cystic fibrosis walk on May 2nd. In addition, the club continued its support of the foundation in the form of a check presented to Ed's grandson.

Today's meeting was presented by Greg Plammbeck about “Flying Doctors of Mercy”. He brought their story to us about their work in Mexico.

The program started in 1934 when doctors traveled to Mexico by horseback and mule. After WWII the program began using volunteer pilots to fly doctors to Mexico to save lives and improve the health of people in Mexico. Today they have established five medical sites in Mexico to give medical aid, from surgery to dental work, using doctors from all over the United States.

They help about 1,200 people a month and fly about 100 trips from throughout the United States to Mexico. They are widely supported by Rotary International, and receive help from several clubs in Orange County. Over the last 70 years they have improved the quality of life for the poor and sick in Mexico .

Roger McGonegal, our current District Governor, was our honored guest this week. He presented Mary Mar with an award for her outstanding work in the District this year. He thanked her for all she did to coordinate and make the District conference the successful event it was.

He also presented Jaap Laufer with his Paul Harris +2 award.

Ed Hardenburgh was our past president's speaker this week. He served as our 6th president from 1997-1998. He took over when Rick Topping was unable to serve due to business commitments. His term began by attending the International convention in Scotland with the previous president, Warren Willard, an enticement he couldn't refuse.

Ed reminisced about the good times and fond memories he had, as well as the promotion and continuation of the Dental Clinic and Golf Tournament started the previous year by Warren. Ed is our current treasurer and has served 4 years in that position.

The speaker at today's meeting was Gus Searcy. His field is identity theft, the fastest growing crime today. He told us how easily we could be targeted, and what it could mean to our lives if we were. He offers a program to companies on how to protect themselves and their employees from this risk.

Our Past President speaker today was Warren Willard, a charter member, and President during 1996-1997. He was brought into the club by Dale Ford. It was a very busy year for him both personally and for the club. He spent a great deal of traveling that year on its behalf.

It was the first year for our Golf Tournament fund raiser. It was a great success, and continued to be our main source of supporting the club's various charities until this last year. During that same year the club began to hold its Smiles Dental Clinic. It was also the highest personal contributing club in our district to Rotary International.

The international convention that Year was in England/Scotland. It was the highlight of his term and he will always treasure it. He feels his dearest friends are those from Rotary.

Today's past President, Mary Mar, told us about her time as our club President and her years in Rotary. Like many others, she was brought into the club by Rick Topping. She was also one of our Charter Members. Mary was the sixth President and served as President from 1995-96. She was President the year the Rotary International convention was in France, which she said was a true honor to attend.

There were 30 members at that time. She assured us she was on time every week during the year she was President. (She does have a reputation of arriving just in time to add her contribution to the day's fining.)

Mary has also always been very involved at the District level and over the years has made many friends at both the District and International level. Next year she will be our District Treasurer.

One of her greatest interests has been the RYLA program for high school students. She also takes a large part in the planning and running of our District Conference and District Assembly. Due to the amount of work on the district she has more accrued make-ups than anyone in the club.

Our speaker today was Michael Tye, who spoke on the possibility of universal health insurance in the future and how it could affect each of us.

Sammy Macias and Patsee Ober, from the Laguna College of Art and Design, were our guest speakers. We learned this is a fully accredited private non-profit college located in Laguna Beach. It offers both BFA and MFA degrees in a variety of disciplines.

You may recognize the campus by the statues in front of the campus as you drive down Laguna Canyon Road. The school has 360 students, making for small class size (5 to 15) and the ability for personal attention for the students. The school teaches all forms of fine art, drawing, animation, game art, illustration and design, as well as watercolor, oil, painting, and various art forms. They seek to promote the development of an artist's talent and awareness.

The college encourages visitors to enjoy their student's talents, and offers both individual or scheduled group tours of the college. Call Patsee Ober at 949-230-3774 for more information about visiting the school.

Another former president, Toni Fenton, also spoke to us. She was the 5th president of ISR; only two years after women were able to participate in Rotary International. She served on our Board of Directors for 7 years. Here are some of the key things she shared for future leaders of the club:

• Enlighten everyone; keep members informed on what is happening, and what the club's needs are.
• Engage everyone and give all members a chance to participate. Sometime people just need to be asked; they are willing and happy to step up and be involved.
• Search out talent from people in the Club; be aware of the skills each member brings and how it can benefit the club.
• Talk to former leaders in the club; ask, as they are happy to share from their experiences.

By Peggy Stalter

Jose Ortiz, of the Border Patrol, was our guest speaker. He has been with the Border Patrol for seven years, and shared a few of his experiences during this time. This was great timing in view of our upcoming trip with our Dental project to Ensenada.

We learned many interesting things. For example, by the end of 2008, the federal government had already completed 500 of the 670 miles of congressionally mandated fence between Mexico and the United States. The San Diego sector in which he works has increased their ranks to 2,300 agents. These new agents are part of the reason the Patrol has successfully increased the number of apprehensions of illegal crossings, and substantially increased the amount of seizures of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin coming across the boarder. Their current goal is to curb violent attacks, which recently escalated. With their increased fence infrastructure and dedication of personnel to this, he felt 2009 would lead to further successes in his sector.

In addition, Bob Yaap spoke about his years as president of our club. He was our third president. At that time we had only 35 members. He explained what a great learning experience it was for him and how very much he enjoyed it. He told how great the President Elect Training (PETS) program was and encouraged anyone who is interested to take up the challenge and enjoy an experience of reward; both working the membership and seeing the good that is accomplished in the community and larger world, because of it.

by Peggy Stalter
This morning's speaker, Kyle Shelley, is a member of the Costa Mesa Rotary club. He works with college students and members of the "I Generation", (young people in their 20's), who have gotten themselves into problems due to student loans, over spending, and credit card debts. He is young, and has found they will listen to him when they will not listen to parents or the older generation. He works on college campuses helping students. You can view his efforts at his web site, www.allineducation.com.

Credit card companies come after these young people in the same way cigarette companies did our generation. If you have children or grandchildren in this generation you know how large a problem this is. It can plague them the rest of their lives if they do not learn how to control it.

He would like to work with our club and other Rotary clubs in this area, His goal is to work with high school students, before they get into financial trouble, by educating them on the pitfalls. High school personnel have been open and excited about the program. If young people do not learn to control this area of their life, they will never be able to give back and help the world as Rotarians.

by Peggy Stalter
Today's speaker was Gnaneshwari Mayi, from Nithya Yoga Foundation. Her Guru is Paramalhamsa Nithyananda from Australia. She also comes from Australia and has studied yoga in India and shared with us the many meanings of Yoga. It is a 5,000 year-old science combining the mind and the body; much more than the physical exercise, as most people in the USA believe. She now is touring the country in an attempt to explain more about the concepts of yoga.

We also heard from Sean McDowell, a current member of our club, who talked about his work with the New Generation Club, a younger group of Rotarians who aspire to our goals of helping people. Our club is supporting this effort. The group meets weekly and are trying to attract younger people getting started in the business world. Sean asked us to encourage younger business people we know from family and businesses to join them. They are involved in hands-on projects and meet on Tuesday evenings for drinks and appetizers. He asked us to join them if we wish.

On October 26th we had the pleasure of hearing and learning from Investor's Business Daily Pulitzer Prize Winner editorial cartoonist, Michael Ramirez. A two time Pulitzer winner for editorial cartoons, describes his job of being an editorial cartoonist as the opportunity to get people to really think about the important issues we face. Right from the beginning, and strangely enough, Mr. Ramirez announced that he does not like to draw! He does, however, enjoy being judge and jury by going through the drawing process.

And the process itself is demanding: He explained that in order to be in this line of work, one has to read many newspapers from both sides of the political landscape. One then has to gather the information, process it and only then begin drawing. This is essential, according to Mr. Ramirez, as the mainstream media, so he claims, is doing a very poor job reporting on the current financial situation and vetting our presidential candidates. Mr. Ramirez simply fills a void – as "an equal opportunity offender." His editorial cartoons are essentially drawings that make a political statement. He equated this to advertising – coming up with a precise image in order to "sell" a specific idea.

Describing himself as a member of the "Anti-Stupid" party, he has beamed a spotlight on such notables and ideas as Barak Obama, John McCain, George Bush, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Global Warming, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Oil and Drilling, War on Terror, Immigration, Social Security and Health Care.

Mr. Ramirez is the Editorial Cartoonist and a Senior Editor for Investor's Business Daily. Ramirez is a Lincoln Fellow and has won several awards during his career, including the 2008 and 1994 Pulitzer Prize, the UCI Medal from the University of California, Irvine and the Sigma Delta Chi Awards in 1995 and 1997.

Ramirez was named "Best Editorial Cartoonist 2006" by the National Cartoonists Society, and won the prestigious 2008 John Fischetti Editorial Cartoon Competition.

Mike showed cartoons from his new book "Everyone Has The Right To My Opinion" available from Amazon.com. Mike will sign copies of the book for club members. Simply purchase the book(s) and give them to Stella Cardoza who will take them to Mike for signature.