Oct 30
Avoiding Pitfalls
of California Employment Law
Nov 20
Stem Cell Research
at UCLA
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Next Week...
October 9
Iris Kaplan
League of Women Voters on November Propositions
Upcoming Programs...
October 16
Vivian Siegal
CEO, Jewish Vocational Services
October 30
Margaret Rosenthal
"Avoiding the Pitfalls of California Employment Law"
November 6
Craft Talks
Marcia and Rick Brous
November 20
Dr. Owen Witte
Stem Cell Research Chief at UCLA
Activities...
October 12
Paul Harris Celebration at Medieval Times
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This Week...
Westwood Village Rotary Club Meeting
Thursday, October 2, 2008 - UCLA Faculty Club
Call Meeting to Order
President Sean McMillan called the meeting to order at precisely 12:28 in the afternoon.
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by our very own Peggy Bloomfield, who did it with pride and class, as she always does.
Invocation
The Invocation was led by Sally Brant with moving words about being humble and our position in life.
Song
Once again, the wonderful and flamboyant Lenny Friedman led all of us in three verses of Clementine. Lenny came well prepared with pre-printed versions of the verse and chorus for all to enjoy. Way to go Lenny! Today, Westwood Village Rotary, tomorrow the Grand ‘ole Opry!
Head Table
Pres. Sean introduced Rotarians sitting at the head table, and allowed each one a short time to extol their own virtues, without the threat of a fine. First came Homer Newman, who initially declined. When asked what he believed in, Homer mentioned the G.I. Bill and the effect it had on many veterans returning from WWII. He also mentioned he was an estate planning attorney when asked by Pres. Sean.
Second came Sally Brandt who mentioned the real estate market on the Westside was still in excellent shape, asking Mark Rogo to confirm.
Third came new member Rick Brous who mentioned New Jersey and apologized for missing next Thursday’s meeting in anticipation of Yom Kippur services, wishing everyone Shona Tova (Happy New Year).
Fourth came new member Ron Klepetar, who declined.
Guests of Rotarians
Elliott Turner introduced his entire table as his guest … since he was sitting all alone. (he was later joined by Sherry DeWayne.)
Nikkole Valdez introduced Haesue Jo, new Rotaract secretary. Chris Bradford introduced Yevette Peterson, who is the Director of Stewardship for the UCLA College of Letters and Sciences.
Paul Harris Foundation
Homer Newman was welcomed to the podium by Pres. Sean to speak on the topic of the Paul Harris Scholarships and Paul Harris Foundation. Thanks to the generosity of a past Rotarian, our club is able to offer matching funds to anyone making the commitment to become a Paul Harris Fellow., which is normally a $1,000 donation. There is also the Paul Harris Society, which a member may join by committing to $1,000/year donation. WVRC members can become Paul Harris Fellows or Society members at half the price.
Inspirational Moment
Pres. Sean offered Lorin Ruttenberg an extension of her time needed for rebuttal for a minimal fine. But before continuing, Jack Harris kept us all attentive with a great political joke for the day. It seems that McCain and Obama were boring the American public with their campaign antics, and decided to have a different kind of competition. The goal was to go to an ice covered lake and to see which candidate can pull out the most number of fish in the matter of a few days. On day one, McCain went out on the lake and came back with 10 fish. Obama went out and came back with zero. On the second day, McCain went out and brought back 15 fish, and Obama once again came back with zero. Recognizing he was losing this competition, Obama decided to sneak out and observe how McCain was able to do this so well. So the next day, McCain went out on the lake and came back with 15 fish. Obama watched carefully, went back out on the lake and again came back with no fish. When asked by the Press what he attributed to McCain’s success, he answered, “McCain cuts a whole in the ice.” A rebuttal was invited for the next week.
Rotarian Pinsafter carefully checking, Pres. Sean proclaimed the room 100% attendance with Rotary pins.
District Breakfast
Mark Block mentioned the District breakfast, next Tuesday at 7:00am at the LAX Westin Hotel. We will have a full table, and attendees are encouraged to bring small toys and books for a District donation to Tecate. And let’s not forget the Paul Harris event at the Medieval Times in Anaheim, scheduled for Sunday, October 12th and open to the entire District.
International Services Committee
Mark Rogo announced his committee would have its first meeting on Monday, October 6th, at 9:00am at Hillcrest Country Club. All interested members are invited. RSVPs are a “must” to his assistant at 777-6213.
Rotary Auxiliary Event
PDG Andy Anderson announced an event at the home of Peggy Bloomfield, on Tuesday October 14th. Dr. Edward Hu of the UCLA East West Medical Clinic will be there to talk about differences in medical approaches, acupuncture and geriatrics. Pres. Sean will be there to discuss upcoming Auxiliary plans and events. All Auxiliary and Rotary members are invited for the minimal cost of $5.00 each. Interested members should RSVP to Marjorie Downie. Shirley Moore and Pat Anderson are program chairmen for the event.
Treaty of Limerick
Pres. Sean exercised his prerogatives and gave a history lesson on the Treaty of Limerick, signed this week in 1691. Patrick Sarsfield of Ireland and his Irish Army had kept the British soldiers, sent in by William of Orange, at bay for months. To defuse the situation and to allow Sarsfield and his army to leave to fight for Jacobites on the Continent, the Treaty of Limerick was negotiated and signed by a representative of William of Orange and Patrick Sarsfield. The Treaty granted to the Irish Catholics near equality with the Irish Anglo-Protestants. Sarsfield then left with his 20,000 troops to join the Jacobites in France in their fight supporting the claim of the Stewarts to the throne. With the Sarsfield troops gone from Ireland, the Irish (Anglo-Protestant) Parliament then rejected the Treaty of Limerick and passed the infamous Penal laws which confiscated and prohibited ownership of all land by the Catholics, and took away almost all of their rights (economic, religious, voting, etc.). It is said that the infamous Penal Laws caused generations of the best of the Irish to leave Ireland (the so-called “Wild Geese”).
Jazz Festival
Loren Ruttenberg was fined $5.00 but allowed to continue and make a short pitch for the Jazz Festival taking place on October 11th at son’s elementary school, Community Magnet Elementary School.
Another Inspirational Moment
Bob Wessling demanded access to the podium, to explain the reason for his exasperation. It seems our Rotaract President, Nikkole Valdez did not have any knowledge of DePaul University, and Bob felt it incumbent upon him to educate her.
Table Talk
Pres Sean adjourned for a five minute session of table talk. Lots of gossip at Don Nelson’s table.
Guest Speaker
New member Ron Klepetar introduced Cliff Numark, Director of Donor Recruitment for the Southern California Region of the American Red Cross. It seems Cliff has enough education and degrees to choke a horse, including three years as a Rotary Ambassador of Goodwill in the U.K.
The objective of the Red Cross is to Prevent, Prepare for and Respond to medical emergencies, such as hurricanes or mass accidents. The Armed forces have their own blood supply system, but the Red Cross is in a position to supplement their supply in times of emergency. Their services include a number of community activities such as Meals on Wheels, CPR training and water safety.
There is an on-going blood shortage throughout the United States, but especially in California where a smaller percentage of eligible donors (2% to 3%) make regular donations than the rest of the country (estimated at 5%). At any given time, only 7% of eligible donors chose to donate blood, which was described as a very “personal” process. Currently the supply of O negative blood in Los Angeles is in short supply. Five years ago the country ran completely out of O type blood, causing hospitals to reschedule crucial operations.
The Red Cross collects nearly 50% of the blood donations in the United States through 220,000 volunteers, and distributes that to over 3,000 hospitals. Every day 1,100 pints of blood are needed to be donated, which is an elusive goal, especially in summer and winter when donations from college students drop off. In fact, 20% of all donations come from college students, as against a quoted figure of 45% of all blood donations coming from past donors. Organizations make up 55% of the blood drives, compared to 45% for individuals. Blood drives are easy to organize, but harder to get a minimal participation level in. At least 50 people are needed to hold a blood drive, along with participants, beds and trained volunteers. The age limit has been lowered to 16, but requires parental consent.
Cliff next opened the floor to questions.
Question – any upper age limit? The answer was clearly “no.” Donors must be in good physical condition, though.
Question – what is the processing time for the donated blood? The answer was 3 days, during which the Red Cross follows a specific set of procedures required by the FDA to insure the safety of the country’s blood supply.
Question – what are the conditions that would prohibit someone from being a donor? Answer is high blood pressure, iron levels in the blood, any abnormal temperature, specific medications in the system and a history of specific diseases.
Question – did the speaker read the article in Parade Magazine, which seemed to indicate that donating blood can be healthy to the human system? The answer was yes, but since there is no scientific evidence to back up this conjecture, the Red Cross cannot claim it.
Question – How often can donors make a donation? The answer is 56 days, even though the blood supply replenishes itself in 30 to 40 days. But new technology does allow two week periods when a donor makes a donation of platelets only.
Question – can they eliminate the embarrassing questions that are asked prior to making a donation? Answer is “no”, because it is required by the FDA.
Question – are any areas of the world off limits for donations? The answer is yes, because of Malaria or Mad Cow Disease. The UK, parts of Africa, parts of South America, northern Europe are among the areas that blood cannot be donated from. All of this can be found at the home page of the Red Cross.
Question – can Cancer patients donate? The answer is yes, after 5 years. Transfusions from a hospital prohibit donations for one year.
Question - What are hospitals charged for the donated blood? The answer is that blood and body parts are prohibited from being sold in any transaction. Instead, the Red Cross charges fees to cover its costs, which range from $200 to $300/per pint.
numarkc@usa.redcross.org
1-800-GIVELIFE
President Sean thanked our speaker for his informative and fascinating discussion about the Red Cross, and presented him with a Westwood Village Rotary Club folder and pocket calculator.
Final Comments of Pres. Sean
Pres. Sean offered us some of his final “Words of Thought”. First related to the difference between “perception” and “reality”. It seems a young Irish (of course) lad walked up to his father and asked the question, “What is the difference between perception and reality. The father offered his son a little task to understand the difference. He suggested to his son that he ask his mother if she would sleep with Robert Redford for 1.0 Million pounds, and his sister if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for 1.0 Million pounds. The mother was hesitant at first when asked, but admitted she would. The daughter jumped at the question, answering she would do it all night long with Brad for 1.0 Million pounds. The son walked back into the living room and told his father that he understood the difference. The perception is that we are sitting on 2.0 million quid, but in reality we’re living with a couple of sluts.”
Second, Sean McMillan posed the question; “if a second marriage is a triumph of hope over experience, then what is the third marriage?
Next Meeting
Thursday, October 9th with Iris Kaplan and the League of Women Voters to explain the various ballot propositions coming up in November.
Important Date
Tuesday, November 4th, Remember to Vote! Full information on voting, the ballot measures and instructions on how to obtain an absentee ballot can be obtained at www.lavote.net.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Rogo for Ernie Wolf.
