Newsletter March 18, 2008

Newsletter March 18, 2008

Today we were all moving slowly; folks just "dribbled in" (to quote Evie).  Denise was back from Hollywood with tales to tell.

 

Phuoc greeted "The Greatest Club in Berkeley" and called us all to attention.  BobR led us in "GBA"; Evie thanked God for the wonderful weather and asked Him to make us stonger as we do our service work.  Duane had been overseeing the Ticket Table and continued to do so in his precise manner of tossing the money into a pile.  Good luck Stand-In SecJohnP in making that pile balance.

 

VC was missing (later the scribe discovered she was home babysitting the "greatest" grandkid), so it was a bit quiet…until Linda accepted the gauntlet tossed by PrezPhuoc and personally and single handedly livened up our group and the meeting.  VC you have competition!

 

Oh, and there was Frank (aka Respected Past Lt Governor) trying to sneak in a bit late, but he was caught and tossed a dollar into the Fine Fine Box; a Fine Fine Box that immediately became his responsibility.

 

CircleKJoe took the podium and announced this was his last meeting as "chair" and the last general meeting of the officer board was Tuesday evening.  A new slate of officers will soon appear.  Monday and Tuesday of next week they will be working at an HIV charity home that is relocating to San Francisco (and these dedicated kids are taking time from Spring Break to do this!).  District Convention is March 27-29 in Santa Clara.  Alex and Cheriz and Vijay and Linda rounded out the CircleK contingent.

 

Standing-in-for-SecJack, JohnP announced the Kiwanis Club of Berkeley's Annual Meeting on April 8.  This Annual Meeting will also include a Kiwanis Club of Berkeley Foundation meeting.

 

 

 

 

The Foundation part will include:

--Review of Foundation Status

--Voting for By-Laws change

--Voting for 3 Directors

            Duane Leonard, Director/President

            Jeffrey Egeberg, Director

            Tamara Paradis, Director

Additional nominations (in writing) are solicited.  Contact JohnP or Duane before March 28.

 

Activity Updates and Reports were many and varied:

--RIF had a successful distribution last week

--Scholarships are coming in; deadline March 28

--Scholarship awards' luncheon May 27

--St Patrick's Day Feast last Sunday was yummy and fun

--Rumor has it (now the scribe might have misunderstood) that Duane is looking into a "shooting range" social (social?)

--Debra updated us on the collecting of tennis balls (more are needed) to distribute to elementary school classrooms (to put on legs of chairs and desks, thus quieting the room)

--Sandy reminded us of the Cook Tacos and Cookies for YEAH, March 22 from 6-9 (1744 University Ave)

--Phuc is working on the One Day Project slated for April 5

--Board meeting the evening of March 18

--Interclubs:  2 completed--DCM with Phuoc, Bill, Frank, Roberta and VC; and Berkeley High with Denise, Frank, CircleK'ers and Oakland Tech advisor

--At the recent MidYear Convention we received an Honorary Mention for our Interclub participation

--Linda will be proposing a fun quilting project for service work

--Blood Drive at Berkeley High, March 27, 9-3.

 

Phuoc noted two upcoming anniversaries:  BC and VC; Denise, who put money in the Fine Fine Box to note her marital bliss.  (The scribe will not note who immediately asked her how one manages to find marital bliss!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy/Sad dollars were many and involved:

--Linda is happy for a trip to Tahoe with 7 grandkids, a cruise to Sicily for Hubby's birthday and for Sharon Hale's legacy of sewing machines and fabric

--Evie happy to have her foot plastered… (that was it, that is all she said)

--Tamara happy for all the help and assistance for the St Pat's Feast:  Duane/Adele cooking, VC and BC for the yummy desserts, Duane bringing the beer/wine; Duane coming up early to drag tables up flights of stairs; Duane staying late and dragging tables and chairs down flights of stairs; Phuoc also for staying late and dragging tables/chairs, and George too for the same.  Oh, a special thank you for the CircleK dish washers extraordinaire

--JohnP happy SecJack will soon be back and he will be off garbage duty…

--Phuoc was happy for The Feast and for MikeS returning to the Bay Area

--Sandy sad to miss The Feast, but happy to be at Frank's concert

--Frank happy for the wonderful concert he played in

--BobR for recently working with high school kids from the coastal areas.

 

Phuoc then gave a St. Patrick's Day quiz.  Some of the answers were:

--26 chiefs of police

--Gracey Allen

--Market Street

--All Gallic words

 

Denise had the honor of introducing the speakers (Madhvi Venkatesh, Tu Tran, David Liang, Heejae Kang) from the UC Berkeley Chapter of Engineering World Health (EWH). Their charter is to meet the healthcare technology needs of the world's poorest.

 

EWH was founded in 2001; the Berkeley chapter is just a year old.  They harness the energy and expertise of collegiate engineering programs, especially in bioengineering, to improve underprivileged hospitals in developing nations.  They design, build, deliver, and repair equipment, as well as teaching folks how to use these machines.

 

This summer they will focus on Tanzania and Costa Rica.  They will spend a month learning the language and training on the equipment.  Month two will be working in assigned hospitals installing and repairing equipment and training folks.  At the end, all participants will get together for two days to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and discuss possible improvements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current projects include an electrosurgical Unit tester—they want to build 50.  This device tests other equipment to make sure it is working correctly.  A portable non-electric refrigerator is also in the design stage.

 

The Berkeley chapter also wants to take their expertise to Richmond and Skyline high, giving the kids hands on lab experience in integrated circuits and design.

 

Their talk was fascinating and the work they are doing, in so many areas, is noteworthy.

 

Joe was called upon to lead us in the Pledge.

 

We had a fun and wild and happy and enlightening Tuesday meeting:  just what Kiwanis is all about!

 

 

 

 

 

Please Note

The following are the proposed By-Laws changes for the Foundation, to be voted on April 8.

 

Article II  Membership Meetings  Section One

--The annual meeting…..shall be held (delete "the third Tuesday of October of each year") and replace with "a Tuesday in April each year".

 

Article VI Election of Officers and Directors

--Officers...will be elected annually…at their first meeting (delete "of each calendar year") and replace with "following an Annual Membership Meeting"…

 

 

                                    (Respectfully submitted: tjp)

 

 

 

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3/11/08

Yet Another Assault

Well, it certainly is Take-Over Season. We had our third today in little over a month. It was finally Oakland Tech's turn, and although their numbers were small (two, to be exact), the spirit was there! Both Sophia and Bianca, both presidents in their own right, brought plenty to share, not only delicious items to auction but interesting stories of their club's recent pursuits.

The same fearsome threesome (Colonel Piercy (aka "Grumpy"), Captain Rosano (aka "Gimpy"), former Naval Officer Egeberg (aka "Retread") were standing guard, but there was no fear of loss of life.

Business as Usual

Our usually benevolent leader, Prez PK, was allowed to do some brief but important business before the antics began. To start with, there was a marginally capable crew in place to do the basics. V. Carpenter was selling tix, F. Bliss led our vocal tribute (no, not with a fiddle nor even a piano, but with a lot of body language), then the same VC turned around and did a short-but-sweet thankful word, but then in another turnaround, the also-same PK handled the "gaming" fine box for our zealous youth.Then for good measure, LtGov E. Levitch introduced Jessica… and then VJ introduced  
 

himself, as he stormed in the door, as the unusually sole representative from the renowned Cal Circle K. Then there was a P. Barsotti who showed up, but we couldn't figure out whether she was a guest or not (?)

The Lively Lineup

• The annual Mid-Year Conference was held last Saturday at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, and yes, Berkeley was well represented, with the likes of Prez PK, Fruit-Bob, LtGov E. Levitch, Haley, D. Wong, B. Fay, B. Skrak, F&R Bliss, V. Carpenter, Jessica, D. Leonard & Prez-Elect D. Haughin. Berkeley Kiwanis was duly honored with an "honorable mention" Interclub award for last year (what a string!). Since they were not present, IPP J. Egeberg & IC Chair B. Carpenter had to pay dearly for substitute pick-up service by our current Prez (including valet delivery). BUT nobody saw it, so payment was withheld!!

 

• Sign-ups were taken for RIF Distributions this week on Wed-Thur by V. Carpenter.
• S. Hearn took sign-ups for the upcoming YEAH (Youth Emergency Alternative Hostel) event. See Sandy for details.
• The usually festive St. Patty's Day celebration is scheduled for next Sunday, March 16, 6:00 pm social/6:30 pm dinner at its usual location in Paradise (that is, chez Paradis in Lafayette).
• B. Lowman announced a meeting next Tue @ 11:15 for the all-important Community Service Committee – come on out!

 
 

• E.Levitch stood up to announce the next DCM but couldn't remember the simplest things, such as where and when. Jessica, Faithful Assistant ("Girl Friday" comes to mind) provided all the right answers: It's this Thur at 6:00 pm at the San Leandro Hospital. Please arrive on time (but not on a gurney)
• Last and maybe/maybe not least, J. Piercy had a very formal pronouncement as repeated below (that's not to say he was taken very seriously…).

Oh Yes – the Takeover

Jessica & Bianca chatted, and some of us barely heard, that they are doing something very worthwhile with the Salvation Army …. And they are taking the train, with some of the rest of us, to the convention, along with the Berkeley HS Key Club.

J & B proceeded to auction off some very delectable goodies, including some very attractive Easter baskets, to the generous likes of F. (or was it R.) Bliss, J. Piercy, B. Lowman, V (or was it B) Carpenter, J. Egeberg, B. Barnwell, and others. 

HS Dollars

• VC offered big bucks (not hers of course) that a certain Geo Maxe plus the aforementioned Ms Barsotti left early (did we miss them?)
• JR was happy that #1 daughter will be on the aforementioned train with the young folks and is off now for an extended vacation (abdicating his many duties)!
• R. Bliss was sad that she arrived late.
• C. Fitch was proud to have attended the same school (Oakland Tech) a few years earlier.
• J. Egeberg was sad to have tuned in to the PAC 10 women's basketball championship between CAL & Stanford.
• F. Bliss paid enough to save him from the embarrassment of spouting off a lot of unofficial "jibberish."

 
 

• J. Piercy paid big time because he blew it trying to tell a joke that a well-known friend sent on the Internet.

 

KIWANIS CLUB OF BERKELEY FOUNDATION

Post Office Box 323

Berkeley, CA  94701 

MEMBERSHIP MEETING 

      The President of the Kiwanis Club of Berkeley Foundation has called for a Special meeting of the membership for Tuesday, April 8, 2008, concurrent with the regular meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Berkeley.  The agenda for this meeting will be  

1. Call to Order
2. Review of Foundation Status
3. Voting for By-Laws Change 2
4. Voting for Directors (3 positions to be filled)

a.  Members nominated by the Board

      Duane Leonard, Director (President)

      Jeffrey Egeberg, Director

     Tamara Paradis, Director

b.  Additional nominations (in writing) are solicited. Forms are available from President Leonard or Secretary Piercy and must be returned to President Leonard on or before March 28, 2008.

5. Questions from membership.
6. Adjourn

 
/s/ John P. Piercy, Secretary 

3/4/07

What a beautiful, sunny day and what a nice crowd at lunch today.  Bill and Virginia back from their short cruise (and hacking and coughing like mad – the trip didn't help a bit!) and even Haley made it.  Apparently, no class today – "just turn in your essay" – and she claimed no sleep getting it done in time.  Perhaps she took a nap after lunch! 

Well, the description of the crowd as "nice" is somewhat of an error since Duane was with us.  For some reason, he decided the "saucer spin" as practiced by Richmond is a great thing, so he practiced all during Phuoc's "meeting".  Fortunately, he slept thru the program so at least didn't "spin" during the talk.  Ed, too, used the speaker's time to advantage.  Wonder how Haley faired?   

Denise was at the door making sure we all paid for our lunch and rounding up a "staff" for the meeting.  Bill Fay was designated "fine box carrier", and that's a mistake.  It gives him a chance to circulate and talk to everyone (during the meeting) in his huge sermon voice.  He may have paid more fines that Duane, but who knows since Bill was carrying the fine box.   

Frank tried to help from the piano, but Ed insisted on leading us in a funeral dirge.  It had some semblance of God Bless America,  
 

but the way we sang it was not a very good impression of patriotism!  Even so, Roberta invoked a blessing on us. 

Phuoc asked if someone from Circle K wanted to make a report – at that time there were 5 Circle Kers in the house.  That 5 included Joe, so apparently Phuoc was "dissing" Joe, because one really can't miss Joe, even in a crowd. 

Joe had a lot of stuff to report, including the results of their election last week.  Of course Joe delivered the information in his machine gun style, and I didn't get much.  I think there was some mention that Joe is the new UCB Circle K President, but then there was so much noise (and saucer spinning) that I gave up.  Well, not quite.  Did get that they have a Marina Clean-up this Saturday from 9-1, the District Mid-Year in San Jose on the same day (that's OUR Mid-Year, too), a picnic in Walnut Creek (missed date), their Spring Banquet on 10 May, 1^st meeting of "new" year on 1 April (that should be a blast!), and a spaghetti Feed at the Castro Valley Moose Lodge, 20835 Rutledge Rd.,  March 8  at 5:30 PM.  That's a celebration to welcome the new CSU East Bay Circle K and support their installation.  All those details are provided to encourage Kiwanian attendance.  And UCB Circle K gave 10,200 Service Hours, exceeding last year's record. 
 
 
 

At that point I was exhausted from trying to keep my notes up to Joe's rapid fire.  But even though he sat down, there were lots more announcements. 

Tonight is Debra's "other" meeting.  A

    different place tonight.

April 19 is Cazadero work party.

Mar 12 and 13 are RIF starting at 8:30 AM

    on Wednesday and 9 AM on Thursday. 

    VC has the sign up sheet, so check your

    calendar and call her.

Mar 16 is St. Pat's at Chez Paradis.

Mar 22 is "cooking" at YEAH. 

Debra passed a list of Berkeley Elementary schools and asked members to sign up to make contact with the principals to see if we could do anything to be of service to the school.  Boy, there are a lot of elementary schools in Berkeley!! 

Tammy noted that scholarship apps are due on 28 March, and then the Scholarship Committee has to hunker down. 

Just to show you that someone in this club will buy most anything, Phuoc offered up a Java Juice $10 gift card, and two Kiwanis tote bags.  Somehow he scarfed up $22 for those items, but I won't identify the suckers – oops, buyers - to protect their identity. 

And we had a birthday (Borden) but he didn't pay enough so we "sang", and very badly at that.  Serves him right!  Also, mention was made of Duane's 19^th Anniversary last week, which was not celebrated since the Leonards were down with the flu.  Not to be outdone, the Carps celebrate their 26^th next week, and Denise squeaks in with her 19^th.  Sorry, folks, none of those are records in this club. 
 
 

We did get a generous outpouring of H/S $, from the likes of Leo Iodice for being with us, Jack for Leo being able to be with us, and Evie for not being able to make either the meeting next week or DEAR day.  And then I ran out of ink – or something! 

Denise, as program chair, re-introduced us to "Colonel" Piercy – our speaker – who was entranced by her wonderful introduction.  This time there was none of that stuff about our members provide us with the best programs because JP was prepared to talk about the Berkeley Underground.  And, as we soon found out, that means sewer pipes.  Yuck, and right after lunch too. 

But first, Grumpy had to tell us all about the FICA (Social Security) program.  You know the old adage, "The Democrats Giveth and The Democrats Taketh Away."  Duane and Bob B kept guessing that the Republicans were the takers, but were shot down every time.  Everyone seemed to laugh except Bob B!  If you want the whole text, John can give it to you. 

Then, to set the picture on Berkeley's Underground he showed a Public Relations film from San Francisco which was a simple way to familiarize the audience with sewers and sewage treatment.  Great topics for right after lunch.  And did you see those roaches (not the smoking kind) in the sewers?? Then he described the great program Berkeley has to replace all its collection pipes   Receiving no questions, he was replaced at the podium by Pres Phuoc who called on Damitri (a Circle K late-comer) to lead the Pledge and we were "Out of There" about on time. 

Next week is Oak Tech Key Club Takeover.  Bring cash!                                                  jp