DISTRICT GOVERNOR INGO WERK at WESTWOOD, November 3rd

JANICE KOYAMA, President of our Rotary Auxiliary, led the Pledge.  LENNY FRIEDMAN and RICK CULLEN took us through America the Beautiful – preceded by an attempted insurrection from that famous table in the back of the room. Where, somehow PP ERIC LOBERG always sits.  Is this coincidence?  MYRON TAYLOR gave the Invocation, and as usual it was beautifully done.  “We come to you today, believing that there is mind… purpose, meaning, and destiny in our Universe, all of which is possible because we are people of Faith…Help us to find a faith to live by, a self fit to live with, and work fit to live for.”  MYRON, that’s poetry – thanks.

MADAME WU brought another of her God daughters, Dorinne Lee, and PP GEORGE DEA escorted his wife, Janice Koyama. MIKE YOUSEM spoke about the Holiday Shopping Spree, which will take place the evening of Thursday, December 8th.  We will pick up children from the Salvation Army Transitional Housing unit on Sepulveda just south of Wilshire, take them to dinner at Islands, and then to Big Lots.  WVRC provides each child with $35.00, and they buy presents for their parents and friends – not for themselves.  I’ve done this, and it’s fun if their families sometime grow when they spot a particularly appealing gift!  If they go over the $35, you as a host can handle the difference – and it’s wonderful to be a part of this lovely evening.  Note that FLOYD DESHIRST is again picking up the bus costs – and while not sometimes known, MIKE handles dinner for the kids.  Please RSVP with MIKE.

PP HOWIE HENKES came forward to remind us of the Braille Institute Holiday Luncheon, which will be held on Friday, December 9th.We have always provided members to help with the luncheon – it is indeed a rewarding experience, and a lovely introduction to the coming Holiday season While there is a minor conflict with our joint meeting that same day with Santa Monica Rotary, not to worry – your attendance at Braille will count as a makeup!  And one final announcement – The Essay Contest sponsored by PP GEORGE DEA is closing on November 30th.  The subject is the Four Way Test, and there is a prize of $500 for the best essay!  For all details, check the following, please:  Bruinrotaract.org, or call CANDICE at (310) 780-6412.

President DON found a Jonathan Club pin at the last meeting – and it turns out that our only joint member of WVRC and the Jonathan is TERRY M. WHITE - who wasn’t present today to defend himself.  When he does return, the pin will be returned – but bring money, since there will be an appropriate fine for such careless handling of jewelry.

By the way, there were several suggestions as to how to assess the fine, with TERRY being on the Jonathan Board of Directors, etc.  Stay tuned. 

With District Governor Ingo Werk in attendance, it seemed appropriate to induct our newest members.  They were called forward – RICK CULLEN, sponsored by GORDON FELL, REZA BUNDY, with SEAN McMILLIAN sitting in for KACY ROZELLE, MARK ROGO with ED GAULD, WARREN DODSON, with President DON sitting in for PP JIM COLLINS, and PETER TOMARKEN, who was sponsored by SHANE WAARBROEK.  DG INGO did an excellent job, introducing the subject with a remonstrance by MAX LICHTENBERG that apparently had something to do with the excellent menu we all enjoyed – since this was all in German there were those of us who didn’t quite understand what MAX said, however. Anyway, moving right along, DG INGO gave us a bit of history – WVRC is one of 45 Clubs in District 5280, covering greater Los Angeles.  There are 529 Rotary Districts all over the world, with 32,000 clubs in some 158 countries, and a membership of over 1.2 million. He was delighted to induct our five newest members into WVRC, District 5280, and Rotary International.

President DON’S story was about “The Ring”.  This very elderly gentleman, accompanied by a beautiful young girl, made his way into a jewelry store, late on Saturday afternoon. The owner asked what he could do for them, and the man said he wanted to buy a lovely ring for his girlfriend.  The owner brought out a $5,000 item, but the man immediately said, “No, that won’t do.  I want something really special.”   With that, the owner returned to his vault, and came back with a stunning $40,000 ring. The girls’ eyes sparkled, and the man said, “We’ll take it”.  When the owner inquired as to how he planned to pay, the man replied, “I’ll write you a check.  Monday morning you can call my bank, and I’ll come by Monday afternoon to pick up the ring.   When the owner checked, he called the old man, saying, “You old fraud – there’s no money in that account!” “I know, but you can imagine what a fantastic weekend I had.”

District Governor Ingo Werk began by thanking us for our hospitality, noting that we had a rich history and a promising future.  He noted long-standing relationships with several of our members, including PP RON LYSTER (and his motorcycle), PP MIKE NEMAN, President DON, PP PETER MORE (particularly for his sponsorship of Tori Hettinger to enable her to attend the Rotaract International Convention in Europe) and of course PP RUDY ALVAREZ, who is his Executive Aide.  He repeated the statistics about Rotary worldwide, and that we are the leading NGO (that’s Non Government Organization) in the world.  There is a new Rotary Magazine, Rotary 360, and he brought along some copies – it is designed as a recruiting tool.

Rotary Eye Rescue was explained.  There are between 40 and 45 million people in the world who are blind.  80% are treatable or preventable.  The WHO states that 9 out of 10 live in developing countries.  Some 9 million people have diseased corneas, which can be replaced by healthy ones.  DG Ingo is putting District 5280 in the fight to restore vision to these people.  He kept repeating a phrase, “With a little help from my friends”, first adding that we are on the way to making this happen.

Columbia has been chosen as the place to implement his vision.  Once known only for its record drug production and civil war, it has turned the corner and is now one of the better places to be in our Southern Hemisphere.  He presented President DON with a chivas, which represents hope for this chosen country – noting that it had nothing to do with the other Chivas we have all heard of.  While DG Ingo may be a dreamer, he is not the only one.  Unfortunately, it is dead last in the whole world in receiving help from worldwide charities.  Columbia is certainly in need, and his goal is for Rotary to lead the world into giving them a change for the better.  His strategy is to work with one new country each year, in order to get the most effective world notice. He does not believe in a forever continuing relationship with a given country, since needs and opportunities change.

He made a pitch for us to attend the Paul Harris Celebration aboard the Queen Mary, noting that all the proceeds go to the Rotary Foundation.  That’s where our funds for Ambassadorial Scholarships, Matching Grants and the Group Study Exchanges come from – we need to support this wonderful source.  This year, the Group Study Exchange will come from Canada, and the focus will be on Homeland Security.

Rotary International President Carl Wilhelm Stenhammer is focused on two topics – literacy and clean water.  We in District 5280 have done, and continue to do, well on literacy – but we haven’t held up our end on clean water.  However, our wonderful support for those so devastated by Hurricane Katrina is a major step forward in helping to return clean water to that area.  The coincidence that DR Ingo knows the District Governor in that area allowed us to almost immediately implement a plan already in place.  The District Goal was to raise $100K during October, and we raised over $201K!

He then quizzed President DON with three questions: l. What is the Official Color of Rotary District 5280?  Yellow – Right!  2. What is the Official Beverage of District 5280?  (I assume it would be lemonaide, but apparently DON’S answer of Heinekins was correct)  3.  What is the Official Car of RI District 5280?  Yes, you probably guessed it, too – the Corvette (yellow in color, of course).  Anyway, he got a perfect score – and DON, we are proud of leadership like that!

Q&A – LILLIAN KLIEWER, Who determines who gets the benefit of cornea transplants?  It will be determined by a council of the three Rotary Districts in
Columbia. There are very clear screening processes in effect.  Someone asked, How much can we help? The District plans to raise $100K – already we have $50 K from LA Five alone, and we will be seeking a grant from RI.  PP HOWIE HENKES, How many persons can you treat?  The cost is about $2000 per transplant, and the number will depend upon how much we raise.  What effect will this program have on our US tissue bank?  None, since we have an overabundance of tissue. PP JIM DOWNIE, What are the results of our help in Louisiana?  Their District Governor visited DG Ingo recently, and his report was very positive.

District Governor Ingo Werk, thank you for an excellent visit and report.

To Ponder – If you don’t at first succeed, you probably shouldn’t be trying parachute jumping.