TED BOWS OUT - BEFORE his DEMOTION, WVRC on June 26th We began with the very sad and totally unexpected news of the passing of PP ROY BELOSIC. PP DAVE WHITEHEAD reported that ROY died of heart disease earlier this week. ROY was only fifty seven, and while many of us knew that he hadn't been well, no one suspected that he was critically ill. He was a long-time member of WVRC, President in 1983-84, a great contributor to many Demotions and any special humorous occasions, and will be sorely missed. His Memorial Mass will be at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 1536 Selby Avenue in Westwood, at 9 a.m. on this Saturday, June 28th. LENNY FRIEDMAN got us back into our routine by leading the Pledge. He then combined with JACK HARRIS for God Bless America - and JACK complained on his way to the piano that with GREGG ELLIOTT not being present, we "had to go to the well". JACK, that's not being fair to yourself - we needed you, and you were there! As a matter of fact, this was one of our better renditions, so there…Since he was already up there, JACK then introduced two Visiting Rotarians, both former members of WVRC. DICK LITTLESTONE now belongs to the Palisades Club, and DAN HIRSCH is with LA 5. SLOSS VIAU was accompanied by Marge, and his son, Skip, who is in town from Seattle. Since it was Skip's birthday, Prexy TED presented him with a crisp new one Yuan bill - possibly to compensate for the reference to his resemblance to our L.A. Mayor James Hahn. RALPH SMITH introduced Tony Deryan, who is on the cusp of WVRC membership. And, sneaking in late to preserve a degree of secrecy as to announcements, Sheila YOUSEM and Karen WHITEHEAD were seated at the back table. Prexy TED asked the same question he had asked at his first meeting, "Why did the chewing gum cross the road?" The obvious answer, "It was stuck to the chicken's foot". This led to our lining up to enjoy the buffet, which was set up in the anteroom, along the wall. The three entrees were roast beef, chicken, and fish, plus beans and corn, salad makings, and dessert - a good repast, but we should have been serving from both sides of the table, probably... As we started to line up, someone at my table complained that I should have been able to arrange for US to be first in line, with all the pull I have…but then DAN PRICE pointed out that, had this occurred, it would have looked like "the fix was in". Anyway, it was an excellent lunch, enjoyed by all. When the meeting resumed, those with perfect attendance were named. 1 year, RALPH BEASOM, LILLIAN KLIEWER, and CHARLES MAGNUSON. 6 years, PETER MORE and DAN PRICE. 9 years, SALLY BRANT. 10 years, CLAWSON BLEAK.  11 years, LEO TSENG. 14 years, DICK LIVERMORE and PP RALPH WOODWORTH. 16 years, PP STEVE SCHERER. 17 years, PP RON LYSTER and BILL MICHAEL. 18 years, HARLAN LEWIS and PP HOMER NEWMAN. 19 years, RUDY ALVAREZ. 20 years, JACK HARRIS and GLENN SANDERSON. 22 years, BRUCE ROLF, TERRY M. WHITE, TERRY R. WHITE and PP ERNIE WOLFE. 23 years, FLOYD DEWHIRST and DICK ROBINSON - and the Champion, PP JIM DOWNIE with FORTY NINE YEARS! Proxy TED, after noting all those years, then christened PP JIM as King of the Hill. JIM does so many things for this club - lugging his keyboards, setting microphones, maker of Rotary directional signs, shinning the brass bell, Sergeant of Arms - you won't find anyone who is close to his contributions, and he does it, year after year! And YOE, in the interest of historical accuracy, also notes that PP HOWIE HENKES, who joined WVRC in 1952, had many, many years of perfect attendance interrupted by his annual summer hike in the Sierras, while recent retiree, PP BOB LUSK, who joined WVRC in 1955, also had many years of perfect attendance. Congratulations to all, but especially to PP JIM DOWNIE! MIKE YOUSEM, the 5th year Rotarian of the Year, came forward to announce this year's winner. The committee is composed of the last five honorees, including PP STEVE SCHERER, HENRY TSENG, RALPH BEASOM, and PP RON LYSTER. This year, the award went to a member who was first introduced as having two kids and two grandchildren - which prompted a comment from the audience, "Gee, he really must be OLD". Further historical attributes included his early construction of an Electric Chair, which seemed a perfect place for his sister to sit. Spent time at several colleges, served time in the Air Force, and became involved in the Air Conditioning Business. This all could only apply to - who else - but PP DAVE WHITEHEAD, Westwood Village Rotarian of the Year for 2002-03! Karen was there, as noted earlier, and she confirmed that he did, indeed, like to be known as King David, based on his father's pleasure at having a son. The applause at his selection was loud and long - and certainly, well-deserved. Asked to speak, he came forward to point out that you get out of Rotary what you put in, and DAVE, you are a great example of Service Above Self. Congratulations! As one of our Meals on Wheels volunteers, I hope you will forgive me for a quick commercial. On Saturday, July 12th at 2 p.m. MOW is sponsoring the wonderful musical, Sweet Charity. It will be at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico in Santa Monica, and the tickets are $25.00. It's all deductible, and BRUCE and Marie ROLF are going, with JACK and Pauline HARRIS probably joining them - I have six more tickets, and would appreciate your helping the cause, please. I'm at (310) 277-3910, OK? Prexy TED displayed our WVRC Charter, a lovely framed document, which has been signed on the reverse side by almost all our Past Presidents. This Charter resides with the serving President, and PP JIM DOWNIE was asked to provide a brief history. It was initiated in 1972, and PP LOWELL LAUSEN came up with the idea. JIM'S family was also responsible for the Rotary Wheel which is attached to the front of our Podium. It came from his grandfather in Salt Lake City, and was cast before 1922. The family members who have been associated with Rotary have over TWO HUNDRED years of Rotary attendance between them! KEN LEVER came forward, announcing with some sadness that this was his last regular meeting - he and Beverly have moved to Calabasas, and the commute is just too long, , he finds. KEN transferred to WVRC from Woodland Hills over ten years ago, and his time here has been full of pleasurable associations. KEN, we will miss you - and if, as you suggested, you were to come by occasionally with your cup in your hand, YOE is certain that some kindly friend will step forward to ante up the cost of your lunch. Seriously, KEN, we will miss you. See you all at the Demotion this Saturday evening - YOE, Ernie Wolfe