MARCH IS UPON US - the 3rd at WVRC
We will be meeting the next two weeks at the Luxe. Our Speaker next week (on the 10th will be Gregg Patterson, Manager of the Beach Club. He has only been there for twenty three years (he values loyalty) –and his resume is impressive. He was Valedictorian of his high school class, and graduated from Colgate University – with a major in British Imperial History! He began as a bus boy at the Bel Air Country Club, worked up to Captain, and then attended the Cornell Hotel School. Returning to the Bel Air as Assistant Manager in 1979, he became General Manager of the Beach Club in 1982. He has spoken all over the world, and was an Adjunct Professor at Pomona. His subject will be “The Soul of a Club Manager” You have to say that our Program Committee is bringing us some fresh perspectives – so please BE THERE to hear Gregg, OK?
CLAWSON BLAKE led the Pledge, and PP JIM DOWNIE, PP STEVE SCHERER, and – somewhat reluctantly – GORDON FELL, accompanied us in You’re a Grand Old Flag
PP RON LYSTER gave the Invocation, beginning by announcing the passing of Mary Ann, wife of DON PARK. MADAME WU had a guest, Jeanette Griver, who is a published author – and more importantly, currently a member of the Palisades Lions’ Club – which makes her a prime prospect for joining WVRC, right? PP ERIC LOBERG suggested this advertising should be worth at least a twenty buck fine, but apparently it slipped through, free. Also present was Susan Evans, an associate of our Speaker, who is the Community Development Director for Culver City.
Teri Hettinger, President of our Retract Club, introduced her three compatriots –
V.P. Candice Daneshva, Webmaster William Simon, and Publicity Chair Michele Lee.
The Club was involved in a recent, very successful fundraiser – There ensued an exchange between Senor RUDY and PP HOMER NEWMAN, apparently focusing on 1952 or ’53, at which time PP MIKE NEWMAN arrived on the scene. This eventually led to a fine, the amount suggested by Fine Master GEORGE COX – a buck a year, or about $52. total.
WHAT’S HAPPENING –
March 9th – Westwood Village Auxiliary meeting, at the home of Shirley and PETER MORE. Starts at 11:30, and MIKE GINTZ will not only be the Speaker but will bring along his cello!
April 10th – Magic Castle Brunch and Show, starting at 11 a.m. ED GAULD is contact
April 12th, Spring Tea of the Auxiliary, at the COLLIN’S home. Speaker will be UCLA Professor Irwin Ziment, “The History and Mystery of Spices”.
April 28th to May 1st – District Conference at the Doral Desert Princess Resort in Palm Springs. Good program, excellent fellowship – and we have applications.
May 7th – the Westwood Branch of the Library opens. We are planning a meeting there before the opening, and they need our support. Stay tuned.
June 18th to 22nd, Chicago International Convention, our 100th Anniversary!
June 27th to July 30th – the annual Japan Youth Exchange, ages 15 to 21. It’s a winner!
The March birthdays were announced. Two on the 3rd – PP MIKE NEWMAN and WALLY FISCHMAN, today is the 3rd, SOMEONE should be fined an extra 25 bucks.
PP MIKE suggested that since WALLY wasn’t present, he should pay the fine – the final resolution of this momentous issue wasn’t clear to YOE. Anyway, the next day, the 4th, TERRY WHITE the Elder came along, in Oceanside. On the 5th, who should appear but BRUCE HARRIS, arriving in far-away Chattanooga. PP CHRIS GAYNOR chose the 11th, in good old LA, while both PP JOHN SINGLETON and Honorary Member URI HERSCHER decided on the 14th – JOHN in Salt Lake City, and URI in Tel Aviv. SHARON RHODES-WICKETT elected the 20th, in La Grande (and you know that’s in Oregon), PDG ANDY ANDERSON focused on the 21st, in far-away Buffalo. MYRON TAYLOR looks back on the 26th, in Goodwill, W.Va, and last is ADELE QUILICO, on the 29th in Glendale. Alas, there were no presents, sad to say…
PP and Program Chair MIKE NEWMAN introduced our Speaker, Steven Rose. He is the Mayor of Culver City, in the 10th month of a one-year term, and was elected by the vote of his fellow City Council Members. He has lived in CC for 57 years, and has been an active member of their Chamber of Commerce for 18 years. When MIKE heard him speak earlier, he asked what his hobbies were – “Being Mayor”.
Steve began by noting that he was well acquainted with two of our members – BRIAN BUMPAS and GORDON FELL. He noted that we should refer to CC as going “UP” there, rather than down to…Culver City was founded in 1917, and Harry Culver was the main mover. He then proceeded to detail the many new projects under development.
At Washington and National, there is a proposed site for the light rail line which will eventually connect downtown LA to Santa Monica.
At the former Helms Bakery, there will soon be a new 72,000 square feet of furniture store, and there are several restaurants, The Beacon, to name one, has been identified by the LA Times as the ‘best’ in all of LA. The east end of the city is the site of many new buildings, and downtown is anchored by the Culver Studios. The new Kirk Douglas Theatre is up and running, in association with The Ahmanson Theatre Group. Sony Studios has been operating for the last 13 years, and they will be building some new space across the street from their present location on Washington.
On Overland is the oldest Shopping Center in Southern California, and it is being completely refurbished. To the far west is Costco, which is the largest grossing Costco in the entire world – its volume is a quarter of a billion a year. To the south, the Westfield Fox Hills Shopping Center was the first major development the city took on – starting 30 years ago, and it continues to prosper. Just to the east of that there is planned a 550K square foot R&D center, by the Norton Anti-Virus people, which will be the largest of its kind in the entire world. As an aside, the median salary expected will be $100,000 for its 2,000 employees!
Q&A – RAY ZICKFELD wanted to know when Culver City would take over the local schools. TONY MARRONE asked what the population was – 40,000. JACK HARRIS asked about WalMart – they have Costco, so don’t need it. RALPH BEASON was concerned about traffic, and the reply was their coming Light Rail connection. He was asked if his job was a paying position – he, along with the other four City Council members, makes $400 a month. PP MIKE NEWMAN asked if it was true that the Post office near Costco, which sorts ALL the mail for the Westside, is closing. Yes, the land has been sold to a Developer – it will create delivery problems for everyone. Someone asked about parking, and they have 2200 spaces downtown. Steve Rose, thank you for all your information.
The Toast, by ART HENRY – May the lonely be loved, and the loved be lonely.
