June is upon us - the 6th, that is, at WVRC

LEO TSENG led the Pledge, preceding it with a very nice 'history' lesson about the first time he ever said the Pledge. - it was when he took the Oath of Citizenship at the INS in downtown Los Angeles. He reminded us that being foreign-born, he CHOSE to become an American citizen. While we are on these little known facts, it should also be known that LEO is a Past President of the Hollywood Club. Quality usually comes to the fore. GREGG ELLIOTT and LENNY FRIEDMAN led us in God Bless America, after a slightly shaky start. At they say, the good news is that we all finished together. PP STEVE SCHERER stepped forward for the Invocation. But before he began, he said something to Pres. GEORGE that every member of Westwood Village Rotary feels deeply about - he warmly thanked Pres. GEORGE for his hard work and dedication to Rotary during this, his Presidential Year. Well done, STEVE.

We had a number of guests. TED IHNEN brought his Special Guest Chris Lancey who is in TV and film distribution. He lives in the Palisades, and we shouldn't hold it against him that he is also a friend of PP Chris Gaynor. GEORGE M.COX had with him his son, George H. Cox, who is in the insurance business. George H. has four kids -his two girls are twins, and they are graduating from High School this week. YOE had a guest, David Helfman, who some of you may remember as being a big help in our earlier sponsorship of Fire Station #37. PP RALPH WOODWORTH brought along his neighbor and friend, Guy Panno, who is a big UCLA fan. PP JIM COLLINS was with his Special Guest, his Special Wife, Carol. LENORE MULRYAN introduced her son-in-law, Laurie Pane, and her grandson, Ryan. The family has just concluded A SIX-YEAR sailing trip around the world - an amazing adventure, and we must have Laurie - whom we've met before - back to tell us more about the trip. Ryan, who is 14, has been educated 'at home' during this entire period, and will now be entering high school, so he is taking a battery of tests to place him in the proper grade. He's a tall young man, and I understand the only time he isn't hungry is when he's eating! PP JIM COLLINS introduced his Special Guest, his Special Wife, Carol.

Next week will be Pres. GEORGE'S last meeting, since he will be in Barcelona for the International Convention. Standing in for him on the 20th will be PP DAVE WHITEHEAD (and PP RON WANGLIN is the speaker - this combo probably shouldn't be missed). Our last meeting of this Rotary year, the 27th, will be an indoor barbecue (with margaritas, yet) and PP DOUG DESCH will be the host. Note this is a Spouses Day, so be sure to bring yours along. And speaking of spouses, PP HOWIE HENKES reminded us that the Summer Luau will be reprised again this year - the date is August 10th, at LEO and MARION TSENG'S, and those who attended last year will remember it as the best party of the year! As of this writing, there are about ten openings left - and note, you really cannot attend without a prior paid reservation, OK? This created a minor problem last year, so get your checks in to Petey HENKES right away, please.

HANK HEUER (the Lawyer - and it does rhyme) introduced Lt. Ian MacDiarmid of the UCLA Naval ROTC unit.  He in turn told us about the Outstanding Cadet for this year, Midshipman Robert Rowden. who was presented with a very nice Ship's Clock in recognition of his excellent contributions to the program at UCLA. Midshipman Rowden responded by thanking us for our continuing support of the ROTC programs there - and again, demonstrated the high quality of cadets this program attracts.  PP STEVE DAY reminded us of the upcoming Paul Harris Dinner on November 2nd  It will be held at the new Our Lady of Angels Cathedral downtown, in their Ballroom -  which in itself is a reason to attend!  Those signed up so far include PDG ANDY ANDERSON, RUDY ALVAREZ, MARK BLOCK, GEORGE COX, DENNIS CORNWELL, PP STEVE DAY, by then, PP GEORGE DEA, PP JIM DOWNIE, PP CHRIS GAYNOR, TED IHNEN, ED JACKSON, HENRIETTA LIAN, LENORE MULRYAN, both NEWMAN'S, DAN PRICE, CATHY REZOS, BRUCE ROLF, PP HOWARD SISKEL, BOB THOM, LEO TSENG, SLOS VIAU, BOB WESSLING, YOE, and RAY ZICKFELD. (editorial comment -With a few exceptions, these are all people you would enjoy spending the evening with, so TELL PP STEVE YOU'LL BE THERE, please!)

KEN LEVER first asked those with birthdays in June to step forward.  This having failed, he then called them by name, to which most of them responded…GENE PRINDLE arrived on the 2nd, in Los Angeles.  Next arrival was Pres.GEORGE, on the 4th in Hong Kong.  RAY ZICKFELD came along on the 8th in Chicago, followed closely on the 9th by PP STEVE ADLER.  (Important note here, please: STEVE, we MISS you!  Please get back on schedule -we promise not to hold your being born in the Bronx against you any longer.) - and while we are making suggestions, note that a few encouraging phone calls from friends would be OK, too. GREGG ELLIOTT slipped in from Santa Monica on the 11th, while PP STEVE SCHERER (referred to as Rabbi by Rev. LEVER) chose the 21st, in Rochelle. Of course everyone knows that is in Illinois. From that same state came FLOYD DEWHIRST, his town being Harvard, and the date, the 25th. There was a bit of minor confusion about Birthday Presents at this point - KEN LEVER, apparently hoping to catch Coach Toledo with his own form of a surprise play, allowed as how Coach BOB was going to provide two Season Tickets to all the Bruin games for all these June birthday types. However, saner heads prevailed, and this reward was somewhat reduced to two tickets to the Washington State game. Take this copy of the Windmill to the UCLA ticket office to receive your prize.

BILL PIERCE was then fined for planning a motorcycle trip to the four corners of the U.S. of A, this voyage to be accomplished in two weeks elapsed time. Methinks this would set some sort of land speed record, but it cost BILL a hundred clams, regardless Note, if you will, PP JIM SUMNER'S new address - 10112 Empyrean Way, LA 90067 - phone (310) 284-8508. Fax is (310) 284-8627, effective now. AND, I just got this update of Polio Plus from Herb Pigman. In the full year of 2001, 575 million children in 94 countries received TWO BILLION doses of oral polio vaccine through some 300 national immunization days. This effort involved  ten million volunteers. Please, I beg you - let's get the word out on this,- we LED the process, and it's almost complete! To personalize this, let's all make a liar out of PP BOB WESSLING, who regularly contends that Rotary is the best kept secret in the whole world. 

PP JIM COLLINS was pleased to introduce UCLA Football Coach Bob Toledo. Coach Toledo was an outstanding quarterback at San Francisco State, and went directly into coaching, with stints as an assistant at UC Riverside, USC (no, that ISN'T the University of South Carolina ), Oregon, Head Coach at University of The Pacific, and just before UCLA, six years at Texas A&M. He enjoyed a 20 game winning streak here, and 15 of his UCLA players have sojourned in the National Football League.

Coach Toledo first spoke about goals. They are important, and before last season, with 23 seniors on the team - the most he has ever had - he and the team set some high goals. These included winning the national championship, winning the PAC 10, going undefeated, beating USC, and developing real team unity. We started the season strongly, beating Alabama and Ohio State - had six wins in a row, and ranked 3rd. The first loss came at Stanford, where we had our first two interceptions of the season, fumbled, and our defense collapsed. This loss really hurt, and was the beginning of our downfall. At Washington State, we were on their fifteen yard line, behind by six points - and we fumbled again. They picked up the fumble and went 85 yards to score, and of course we lost again. At Oregon, we contained their offense pretty well and had 600 yards in total offense. But we tried to block a punt, roughed their kicker, and they went on to score on that possession. Later, a holding penalty on their two yard line set us back - and on the next play, we threw an interception and ended up losing by one point. About this time DeShawn Foster, our outstanding tailback, was cited for having an agent, and using someone else's car. He was suspended for the rest of the season. By the time we played SC, the coaches learned that Cory Paus had a DUI on his record, so he played sparingly, and we lost that game, also. I would have to agree with the Coach when he said it was a really terrible game - I've been a UCLA season ticket holder for almost fifty years, and this was the first time in all those years that I ever left a game early - at the end of the 3rd quarter, actually. We ended up seven and four - but for everyone, there was a sour taste left over. This season we have fifteen seniors, with six returning offensive starters, and five starters coming back on defense. We will play twelve games - the most ever - and hope to play a thirteenth, in a bowl, of course. The schedule includes Colorado State, Oklahoma State, Colorado (who beat Nebraska and Texas last year) and San Diego State, plus all the Pac10 teams except Arizona State. (As you may know, we skip one PAC 10 team from the Arizona's, the Oregon's, and the Washington's - but every year we play home and home with Cal, Stanford, and SC).

Among names mentioned as key players are the following: Akili Harris and Emanuel White at tailback - and White comes in at a svelte 245 lbs! Toledo will try to play them both at the same time - which could create a problem for our opponents, of course. Tab Perry returns at defensive back, while Brandon Chiles is at linebacker, and Ricky Manning will hold down a defensive back spot. Nate Fixe returns as perhaps the best punter in the PAC 10. The exciting Matt Ware will be a sophomore, and get this about an incoming freshman - Marcedes (yes, that's spelled right) Lewis is 6'7", weighs 245, and is just 17 years old. He also will play basketball The new recruiting class is rated #5 in the nation - and they have some work to do. (editorial comment - As Do The Coaches).

Some Q&A - Do college players use steroids. We test every ten days, and the NCAA tests once a year, so the players know they are being monitored. Who will be tough this year. Washington State will be the favorite, with the most returning starters. We will also have our hands full with Washington. SC still has Carson Palmer, plus great defense, which makes them a contender. Oregon may be down a bit, having graduated Joey Harrington, their fine QB.(actually, Oregon has the lowest graduation rate in the PAC 10, so it may be more accurate to say that he left after four years of competition ). Graduation rates - they have to graduate in six years, which skews the stats, particularly if they go into the Pros. Bob used the figure of 75%, which seems a bit high to YOE - but we must be doing better on this, since SC had more graduating than we did, per last report.

Bob, we enjoy hearing from you. The proof is still ahead of us.

YOE, Ernie Wolfe