7/24/07

Another totally chaotic early SUMMER afternoon in the company of great friends at a meeting of: 

THE ROWDIEST

BERKELEY CLUB ON THE MOVE- 

"Gorgeous" George M. was collecting your money at the ticket table.  He checked in 14 hungry folks + some who brought their own lunch + some who just came for the comraderie of the group.  "Got The Beat" Bob R. led us in a hearty GBA with only two spots that needed assistance!!  "Oh Lordy" John P. gave a short thanks for "the weather, the folks, and Kiwanis" invocation.  "Lively" Leo I. collected your fines… and there were plenty.            

Guests were none.. But Circle K was present in the form of Joe, Anthony, Nga and Cheriz.  They are doing many things during the summer- much of which includes the use of some van.   

Note of interest:

Coming SOON

      Like this Friday- July 27^th…

Joe announced that the monthly K family dinner will be at TUK TUK THAI- 6:30 to 8:00pm…  A sign up sheet went around.  This editor didn't see who signed up… but plan on coming because these dinner events are a ton of fun and laughs.  And… you'll be able to ask the "kids" what they are doing as this editor didn't catch much of what was said due to the noisy "meetings" Ed L. was carrying on much of the time.  Did hear that they will be working at the Berkeley Kite Festival this Sunday, and that some will be going to the Circle K International Convention in Portland next week.  

As noted in the previous week's bulletin, there was a HUGE interclub to San Leandro last Tuesday (13 in all). Duane L. put in a L$ for "forgetting??" to show up for breakfast at Albany El Cerrito as he was expected to be the fourth for an interclub there.  And… there was no interclub at Castro Valley Hayward that evening… we do have fun wherever we go!!!!  Interclub chair Bill C. talked about an interclub tomorrow at Richmond for lunch, but no takers!!!!

 

Bob B. was reminded that today is his birthday.  He received two HB songs… one from Virginia solo, followed by one from the club.  We think he prefered the one from the club.  Bob put in JJ$$ that we "remembered" his birthday.  For three years the Torrence Club did not.  We hope you had a nice day, Bob.      
 

JJJJLLLL$$:  There were lots and lots of happy and sad $$$s… Bettye L. let us know that even though she is retired she is working – doing visiting of the elderly…. (I think that happens a lot to those who retire!!!)  Leo I. had a L$ that Bettye hasn't visited him yet!  Bob R. is J that we sing on key ??? most of the time.  Retread Pres. Egeberger put in 20JJL$ that he will miss District Convention in Reno but will be on vacation with his family in Mexico.  A very J5$ from Denise H. for the freshly made pear/plum jam from Virginia's kitchen.  Sandy H. was L that there was no interclub at Albany El Cerrito.  Circle Ker Joe put in $$$ because he didn't introduce his fellow Circle Kers when he got up to give his report to the club.  He then proceeded to introduce them to us!!           
 

Debra W. put in a very J$ for sitting next to Ed L. while at the San Leandro interclub.  Virginia C. was very J that she and Bill went to see Johnny Mathis with the San Francisco Symphony Saturday night.

John P. was J for something, but we had a hard time hearing because of Ed L. and all his talking!   

Jack R. handed out information to those already signed up for District Convention in Reno.  As usual he assigned specific "seminars" for those of us to attend.  Ed L. will be going to "Hot, Hot, Hot- Salsa Dancing" while Debra W. attends "Hip Action- Arabian Dancing".  Denise H. was heard to say that her dad always gives the fun classes to other folks and makes her attend things like "Basic Board Responsibilities and Risk Management" and "Secrets of Public Speaking".  No one was assigned to "Wine Tasting- Red or White?  Which One Tonight?"  We were advised that Jack R. will have a suite- and an open hospitality room the whole time he is there… Wow!!  I think I saw ten or eleven folks signed up to go.  Leo I. had a L $ that he won't be attending this year- and will really miss it. 

Time for the speaker of the day.  Daniel Kald was introduced by Duane L. as a former Key Clubber from LA some 30 years ago (Daniel told us he is attending his 30^th high school reunion in another month, and he remembers his time in Key Club as a special time.  He applauded Kiwanis for its service to communities and children)  Daniel is a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists and spoke to us about the Global Warming's Impact on California.  No matter your own personal opinion on this topic, the more global warming emissions are reduced, the less severe the consequences will be.  Simple things such as buying a more energy efficient automobile would be a beginning.  The energy choices we make today will influence the climate our children and grandchildren inherit.  Surf the web for more information on AB32: Global Warming Solutions Act passed by the CA State Legislature on August 31, 2006.     
 

And so another 90 minutes had passed.  Retread Pres Jeff, having a difficult time selecting someone to lead the Pledge, asked Circle Ker Joe to select another Circle Ker:  Joe in turn asked Nga (our district publications editor for Circle K) to do the honor.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

If you missed today, know that you were missed.  Lunch is a fun time to catch up with those we don't see at any other time of the week, or it might be a chance to meet and make a new friend, - or just come out and watch some wacky people!!!   
 

SAQOTD:

When you remember how hard it is to change yourself, you begin to understand what little chance we have of changing others.

"Mom" 

SAQOTW:

Birds sing after a storm;

Why shouldn't people

Feel as free to delight in

Whatever remains to them?

Rose Kennedy

 

HAVE AN ABSOLUTELY

FABULOUS WEEK

EDITOR:  VC

7/17/2007

And we were "moving" around for our Tuesday meeting (the City Club unavailable due to pipe upgrading).  A group met at Albany/ElCerrito for their 7:30 breakfast meeting.  Another group met at the San Leandro Club.  Those twelve (VC, BC, Ed, Phuoc, Deborah, Evie, New Bob, JohnP, Charlie, Bill, Linda and Tamara) were a riotous group and represented the Kiwanis of Club of Berkeley appropriately. 

After we were recognized by the San Leandro president, Bill explained why we were attending "en masse"—having been kicked out of the City Club, we had to go somewhere to eat!  Evie followed and explained why our own Lt Gov was absent; Frank and Roberta are in Switzerland on a musical sojourn. 

A large portion of the meeting was devoted to Happy and Sad Dollars; our group made a sizeable contribution to their coffers. Terri Neumann, the designated fine collector, was pleased to collect those Berkeley Dollars.

--VC:  happy to be at San Leandro.

--Phuoc:  whose phone rang loud and clear, apologized, $$ in hand.

--Tamara:  happy to be there, sad she was a bit tardy 'cuz she misread her Mapquest instructions.

--New Bob:  $$ to explain why he moved to our area (public transportation here is so much better than LA's).

--Linda:  A fistful of sad dollars for the worst month ever—lost crown, dead transmission, stolen purse, tenant suit.  But there was also a fistful of happy dollars for the seven grandkids joining her and Bill in Hawaii.

--Ed:  $$ to explain why we were there "en masse". 
 
 

--BC:  $$ to explain why we were there "en masse"; and happy dollars for the completion of a Round Robin (great job, Bill). 

And, yes, a number of San Leandroians started to give $$ to find out WHY we were there.  Hmm, this may be one of those trends you had to be there to appreciate. 

The Talk of the Day was presentations by two folks that had attended the recent International Convention in San Antonio. 

One of the speakers talked about a late night conversation (yep, at a bar) where folks were talking about the moment they went from being a member of Kiwanis to being a Kiwanian (the moment they understood what being a Kiwanian truly meant), that "ah-ha" moment.   

What a wonderful idea (when did I become a "Kiwanian" in the true sense of the word?) for us to explore, perhaps as a round table discussion at a future meeting. 

Other highlights included the results of key amendments:

--voted no on the concept of shared membership with only one paid membership.

--Voted down corporate membership.

--Voted yes on a resolution to explore collaboration with Rotary, Lions and Optimist-- to put the power of all the clubs behind one focused international goal.

--Established the role of CEO for the first time. 
 
 
 
 
 

Convention presentations focused on ways to enliven meetings:

--Try new things!

07/10/2007

Summer time, and the meeting is easy. . . .

Virginia at the table, collecting money and dispensing tickets and smiles. . . . Denise, the City Club staff, and our speaker were all busy trying to make the laptop-and-projector combination work.  [We feared a replay of June 12.]  Seems we didn't have the right connector.  Then Phuoc arrived with the right one, but still it didn't seem to want to work.  Then Debra Wong to the rescue. . . . . The picture "slide show" would play, after all.  Hurrah!!!

Our President, back from the International Convention, declared the meeting OPEN, and the Club ON THE MOVE.

Just to shake things up a bit, Bill and Virginia led our patriotic song from the back of the room.  And, after an uncertain start, we sounded pretty good.  Just goes to show that we can be flexible and adapt to new circumstances.

Bill Fay gave our invocation and Denise (between trying to eat lunch and being Program Chair) took care of the fine box.

We had lots of guests, but I missed most of their names, being too distracted to take notes.  Please, dear readers and hosts, forgive me if I have them wrong.  Bring them back and we'll try to get them right the next time.  There was Karen H. and her nephew John? (A tall fellow who doesn't play basketball, wearing a Cal sweatshirt, but about to head off to a university in Louisiana), Debra's sister Christine, sophomore in high school,( and potential future Circle K'er?).  Alan C. introduced the executive director of the Berkshire, Kathlina ¿Bettis?  

Cheriz was also there to tell us that even during the summer, Circle K keeps on doing service projects.  Next one is the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, to be held in Campbell this year.  They hope to raise at least a hundred for each Circle K'er participating in the event, and to that end, she circulated a pledge form /donation sign up sheet.  Next comes the AIDS walk, and they will be resuming some of their on-going projects, such as Chapperell House.  Also, please remember their "yard" sale fund-raiser to be held in September.  Clear out your attic and closets, and donate the good stuff to their sale.  [Berkeley Key Club will probably be having one about the same time, so you'll have two opportunities.] 

ANNOUNCEMENTS / REMINDERS

Next Week:

No meeting at the City Club.

Interclub at San Leandro Club (noon)

Contact Bill Carpenter if you haven't already signed up.

Alternate meet at Albany/El Cerrito Club

7:30 AM at Carrows, 6120 Potrero (at San Pablo) please call Sandy if you are going. 510-848-6121.

Board Meeting 5:00 PM at Levitch Assoc. 

Blood Drive Assistance July 16, Pauly Ballroom, ASUC Student Union , UC.  Sign-up has gone around, but if you want to help, call Denise. 

Our Secretary reminds us of the District Convention in Reno, August 23-25, to be held at the Silver Legacy Hotel.

Please be ready to let him know by our next meeting (July 24) if you plan to go.  The Club will pay for registration and the InterClub Luncheon.

He will have hotel registration/reservation forms for us then.

Lt. Gov. promises a great Gin Fizz production, perhaps with a secret ingredient.  Our Club has a good history of winning Best Fizz, so we want to keep up our tradition.

H$ / S$

Jane:  H$, H$ for Best western wedding: Michael John & Ivy; and another H$ for honeymoon in Greece.

Jeff:  H$?? Driving thru Sacramento on weekend, his car's external thermometer read 108°.  When he got home to Marin County, it read 59°.  How's that for differing micro-climates!

Phuoc:  $H for Michael John's wedding and for his back from the war zone safely.

Bill Fay: S$ for the news that Libby Wilson passed away.  He doesn't have information about memorial service yet.

      H$ / S$ that he well be away traveling for the next 4 weeks.

Frank: $H  Will be traveling to Switzerland.  

Our Speaker was Ken Kalman, the artist, returning to tell us more about his work.  This time we got the Audio-Visuals to work, and he showed us many examples of his work.

His current series of more realistic sculptures started out with endangered and extinct species.  He works in copper and in aluminum, using both casting and riveted sheet metal.  Some of his larger pieces are mounted on buildings, such as the Oceana tableau on the UC Storage building.  He works on scaffolding, and says it can be peaceful and pleasant up there.  Recently he has installed a dragon fly on a building in Sacramento (20^th & "J").  There the work was hard because of the heat.  The building also has an ostrich sculpture outside.  A smaller scale set of work involves maps bonded to shapes suggested by the map, some examples, a 1910 map of the north Atlantic, bonded and shaped into a whale; a surf board (with what look like shark fins nearby) from a map of Santa Monica. .  And many, many more. 

Lots of questions from the audience about techniques, and weight, and size, etc.  I think we had a great time, as he gave us insight into the life of an artist and the process of art. 

See you in two weeks, if not sooner.

07/03/2007

Where WAS everyone today?  The President, Immediate Past President, Treasurer, LtGuv, and Director Leonard were nowhere to be seen.  We had a great speaker, but very few folks to hear him.  I suspect we had to pay for 5 meals more than we sold. At least Bill Fay brought a guest, as did Bob Skrak. 

Phuoc took over very nicely for the absent Retread, but forgot to name a Secret Greeter.  There were so few in attendance he wouldn't have made any money anyway.  He did announce that all who were absent should be prepared with a good story and a lot of money in the coming weeks. 

George was at the door, complaining about the duty, but doing a good job anyway.  He should do it more often.  He was heard to complain about other things, but I won't blow his cover.  Next year, when he's VP, he can go after all of us.  And two years later – well, we will see about that! 

Don Melandry wandered in (possibly a bit late) with a beautiful bunch of sunflowers and a vase which he placed on the front desk, but with no water.  We all thought he was trying to butter up the Acting President, but no – the flowers were for his exhibition opening tonight at the Claremont.  He explained that he didn't want to leave them  
 

in his hot car.  I don't believe that cost him a fine. 

Bob Rice was recruited to lead us in GBA, and with Ed and George not participating, we did a great job.  Perhaps not all in tune, but close and with "vigor".  Evie asked for blessings, and there we went. 

The previously mentioned guests were Jan Robitcher (and her dog Lorrel) and Joyce Skrak.  Lorrel couldn't be a Kiwanian – too well behaved! 

Bob Skrak was on the fine box.  Now, this is Denise's Month and she had the whole month scheduled as to speakers and members with responsibilities, but one wonders if any of us remember that.  Not to worry, Denise brings along a copy to make sure we do our assignment. 

Speaking of Denise, she announced that we have been asked to provide some "bodies" for blood drives at UCB on the 9^th and 16^th.  Those are both Mondays.  The work list was passed around and is pretty full, but there will be another chance next week.  We need to staff the sign-in desk as well as the snack table: no requirement to give blood but that's acceptable, too. 
 
 
 

Circle K is in a quiet mode (for them) due to the fact that most undergraduates seem to be taking summer vacation.  President Cheriz had a pretty extensive report, though.  They had helped with photography at the graduations and "earned" $800.  The Relay for Life (District Activity) is 24 hours over July 14 & 15, and of course they are in the "collecting" mode for stuff to be sold at their parking lot sale at the end of summer.  I won't mention which Ace Hardware parking lot is the location.  So that Cheriz wouldn't have to brave our group alone, Jenny Su was in the back to support her President. 

There followed a disjointed period of H/S $.  It started off pretty slow, but gained quite a bit of momentum when Phuoc got into a discussion with Bob Rice about age and years of marriage and then noted that he had a birthday this month.  That ended the H/S$ with a spontaneous version of Happy Birthday Phuoc, led by no other than Don Melandry. 

Denise was called upon to introduce our speaker, Scot Field.  His subject was "Challenges & Opportunities in the Middle East".  We knew right from the start that Scot hails from Australia (accent), and he freely admitted that.  It develops, though, that he has been pretty thoroughly educated in the USA.  I have written down that he has a PhD in Ecology (Biology-based) and is now pursuing a double Master's at UCB in International Security and the Middle East.   

There's no way I could take notes – I was too involved in the talk.  Scot pointed out that there is a proxy struggle going on between Fatah (with US support) and Hamas (with Iranian support) and Israel is right in the middle.  The simultaneous "rise" of a political Islam and a local rogue power (Iran) promises a continued "mess" in the  

area and the US will continue to hemorrhage it's reputation and good will in the area due to it's inability to diplomatically face the fact that there's no way raw power can win in such a situation. 

Scot's message was thought provoking and not too encouraging.  It didn't sound like he had much faith in this Country's ability to face the challenges and take advantage of opportunities since our government seems "Hell-bent" to try and use power (force) rather than diplomacy and the Arab League, the UN and other multi-national groups are not stepping up to the plate. 

Phuoc suggested that Scot come back and have lunch with us again, and maybe continue his talk.  Jenny Su was tabbed to lead us in the Pledge, and that was it.