Leo Tseng gave the pledge and Pres. Dwight provided the invocation.

We had a visiting Rotarian from BH - Dr. Janet Refoa, Paul Aslan's better half

Announcements:

• Oct 2- District Breakfast at the Westin LAX Tuskegee airman will be speaking. Please let Dwight know if you will be attending
• Oct 6 Harvest Fun Party on Leo's Mountain

After Dr. Colby gloated over his auction victory last week (and a fantastic Bruins victory), a bidding war ensued on this Saturday’s football tickets with parking. Marsha Hunt came away a winner for $165. (I guess the price will continue to go up with each Bruin victory!)

Dr. Colby Smith called up Pres. Dwight Heikkila, PP Ed Jackson, and PP Steve Day to induct new members: Paul Aslan and Diane Good. =)

Dick Thompson started our senior craft talks. But before we forge into the past, please keep his wife, JoAnn, in your prayers as she is currently having dialysis in Santa Clarita.

Dick grew up in Canada until his late teens. He told us how he left the farm and grew up a little behind in technology being “a home-schooled, barefoot kid.”

He later joined the Air Force and went and taught survival school because so many pilots were going down in the Korean war but he originally went in as a photographer!

His military records were burned in a historic fire so his photos were his proof to show his experience.

Dick had a fun and varied career from working on the Bob Hope show to another early job where he met JoAnn. They opened Vicente Camera on Wilshire.

He joined Brentwood Rotary for 30 years and started a project in the Dominican Republic over 25 years ago and now there are many Richards there named after him for his godchildren and through their sister club.

Once they closed Vicente camera, Dick started providing traveling notary services and wedding photography on weekends

Steve Day was our 1997-98 past president. His first program speaker about the Hong Kong transition – was Leo Tseng!

One of the funnier memories was of their Guadalajara sister club which, they discovered they were one of many! And they had something our WVRC does not (no not delicious tilapia) Tequila on every table at every meal :)

Rotary provided Steve the opportunity to speak in front of 2000 people for the first time with a translator- a past RI President.

Many people may know or remember that Ray Zigfield is Steve’s FIL and originally asked him to join Rotary.

One of the biggest impressions was when he attended a Yearling breakfast and heard about a program going to Ghana to help with river blindness - Ron Lyster explained the program and Steve went and Ron did not ;)

Both Steve and Marcia’s sons were made Paul Harris fellows -- Jeff is currently a senior at UCSC and Kevin is now a freshman at UC Davis. Marcia works at SunAmerica and he ended with his Steve Day name history from the Battle of Connecticut field in New Jersey led by captain Steven Day!

Don Nelson was raised on a farm in Lakeside, Ca. In 1920, his main chore was to milk cows before school. Don went to Grossmont High and was on the track team. He still holds an unbroken record in high hurdles from 1944! He went to UCLA but because of the war had excelerated classes. Don met a cute brunette in his math major named Roz. They got married 1949 and we all know how that turned out -- still happily married today ;)

An accident during football deferred his war draft so he spent much of his time in the Dark room for a job developing pics of Kerkoff so Don mentioned "he spent most of his school in the dark."

As a math major, Don did not really want to teach and Roz's mom asked if he ever considered accounting? A big 8 firm intro provided first job at $200/month and that firm is now known as Deloitte Touché. He was a Jr accountant which, meant basically doing chores so he passed the CPA test in May 1949.

In 1963 Don was admitted as partner to the firm. In the late 1960's, he was asked to transfer to Paris to be the European liaison but it ended up not working out because he stayed to work on a domestic merger.

Don was active in the CPA society, having received the 1972 President of Los Angeles chapter and then in 1983 he was elected to the prestigious title of President of CA society

Don received the Distinguished Service Award in 1990.

Don originally joined the LA 5 Rotary in 1973 but after he retired started making up in Westwood and then transferred in 1990 to us. Don also shared how he and Ernie had historically taken over certain duties.

PP Doug Desch's passing divided duties between Don and Ernie and he has been our Treasurer ever since :)

Next week Dr. Tony Jackson from the Asia Society for Global Learning

—YYE Aly Shoji