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March 13
"Aging"
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March 20
Naomi Jones
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March 27
Eric M. Latham
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Next Week...
March 13
Aging
Dr. Gary Small, head of the Center on Aging at UCLA
Gary Small, MD, is Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Parlow-Solomon Professor on Aging at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he is also Founding Director of the UCLA Memory Clinic and Director of the UCLA Center on Aging.
Upcoming Meetings...
March 20
Naomi Jones
American Cancer Society
March 27
Eric M. Latham
He’s walked across the country. He’s written a book. He’s working on a second. He’s a motivational speaker, who raises money for cancer research and awareness. Eric M. Latham is only 26.
April 3
"A River Runs Through It"
Meg Sullivan - A river running through Westwood?
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This Week...
A PITCH FOR NEXT LEVEL MARKETING, at WVRC on March 6th
Our incoming Prexy, SEAN MCMILLAN, took over for President CHRIS, who decided he was needed in New Orleans instead of LA. SEAN started out with some general comments, among them that Shaquelle O’Neill was born on this day. This helped the Lakers for awhile, but most of us are too young to remember that far back… Claiming that he had checked with LEE DUNAYER, who gave him permission, he just went ahead and led the Pledge all by hisself.
Who else but LENNY stepped forward for the song? We provided a spirited rendition of Daisy, Daisy, and at the risk of pointing fingers, the only one I saw who didn’t seem to know the words was our newest member, DR SAROOSH MOTIVALA! It’s only fair to speculate that this gap in his upbringing will not create any serious obstacle to his becoming a fully functioning WVRC member.
All of the above was overshadowed (read ‘saved’) by SEAN’S Invocation – but before we get to that, the following story appeared:
The new Minister in town was riding the bus downtown, and after he sat down, he realized that the Bus Driver had given him 25 cents too much in change. This provided a bit of a problem, but as he turned it over in his mind, he sort of said to himself, “Oh, forget it – it’s only a quarter”. As he ruminated further on the matter, he recalled that the bus company probably gets too much fare anyway – they’ll never miss it. But when his stop came up, he handed the quarter to the driver, telling him, “Here, you gave me too much change”. The driver, with a smile, asked, “Aren’t you the new preacher in town? I’ve been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship, and I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I’ll see you at church on Sunday.” As the preacher stepped off the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole for support, saying to himself, “Oh God, I almost sold you out for a quarter”.
This was followed by some lines we have heard before – but which bear repeating – Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become action. Watch your actions, they become habit. Watch your habits , they become character. And watch your character – it becomes your destiny. The audience all agreed – Well Done, SEAN!
SEAN then called LORIN RUTTENBURG forward – When she gave her craft talk last week, she had to leave before the meeting was ended, so SEAN presented her with her Speakers Gift. This was well received. He next explained the need we have for a family to host the returning Japanese students, since our outbound student cannot be the host due to a work ruling. PP STEVE DAY expects his son to be involved, and the Day family will provide the extra housing as needed. J.R. DUZBAK will be the backup on this. Our Thanks to all the DAYS and DUZBAKS.
But the stories were not ended! (Some may wonder if the following is the true Invocation – but never mind, it’s great stuff, whatever the title or category). According to SEAN, this list contains some of the differences between men and women, and each statement is a stand-alone:
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man. To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little. To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all. Married men live longer than single men – but married men are a lot more willing to die. A married man can forget his mistakes – there is no use in two people remembering the same thing. Men are as good looking as when they went to bed – women, somehow, deteriorate during the night. A woman marries a man expecting he will change, and he doesn’t – a man marries a woman expecting her not to change, and she does. A woman has the last word in any argument – anything said after that is the beginning of a new argument. And lastly, there are two times a man doesn’t understand a woman – before marriage, and after marriage. Again, SEAN – well done!
PEGGY BLOOMFIELD introduced our two speakers. Don Spector is President of their firm, and Deborah Rodney is Vice-President, and their topic is Next Level Marketing. You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the name of their firm is – Next Level Marketing! They both have over 25 years experience in all aspects of Advertising, and they will be challenging us to come up with some unexpected solutions.
Their subject today, really, is creativity. They want us to participate – and it’s OK to talk with food in your mouth! Deborah first made a mark on her board, and then asked anyone to say what they thought it was. Suggestions included a belly button, an eyeball, and a black egg This same exercise was given to some Kindergarteners, and they came up with 27 different names. High school seniors only came up with 20. When Don was in the 5th grade, the class was asked what the meaning of Carrying Coals to Newcastle was. He knew the answer – but said nothing, and the person seated next to him provided the answer and got the credit. He still hates him.
Deborah showed a board with a couple of lines on it, and asked what could be done to turn it into a six, using only one line. Getting no answer, she simply put a large S on the board, alongside the lines – and voila – six! And most of us assumed it had to be a straight line, of course. Thus, how you see things really affects creativity. They showed the FedEx logo, and asked who could see the arrow that was imbedded. Sure enough, there was a white arrow.
They asked for some synonyms for the word Creativity. Inspiration, innovation, spark, and different were all offered. This brought out a reference to Guttenberg. While everyone else saw a machine that produced a hole, Gutenberg saw that the pressure applied could be used to make an imprint! If boredom could lead to creative thought, that should be called progress. And remember, whatever you do, if you are creative in your performance, you will be successful.
They pointed out that each of us can be creative. In an earlier job, Don was Creative Director. He didn’t like the title, since it assumed that the only creative people in the agency worked for him! They asked us where we were physically when we got our best ideas? In the shower, while jogging, driving, during a boring meeting – but interestingly enough, being in the office didn’t score in the top ten! Don and Deborah thought that one of their best creative venues was while walking the halls of the office.
We were then asked what were the barriers to creativity? An unidentified volunteer suggested marriage. Telephone interruptions were named, and criticism has a deadening effect. If you are not feeling well, that is detrimental. Certainly, a positive attitude helps, and the reverse is always true – if you don’t think you can do it, you probably won’t. Do not be judgmental early in the process – and there are no wrong answers. It always helps if you write everything down!
An example was given. The Sports Section of a local newspaper was just not getting any readership—it was dragging the whole paper down. After a day of brainstorming, the one idea that survived was, “Print the photos upside down”. This was the basis of what could be done, and they began offering contests. Circulation doubled – but starting with an idea that wouldn’t work.
Yes, it really was a creative time at WVRC – thanks to our Speakers.
