Volume XXI
Number 1

Tuesday
Jan. 4, 2005

Coming Programs Every Tuesday Jan 4 Barry Martin Update on Major Transportation Projects in Napa County Jan 11 Nelson Braby Health & Fitness in the New Year Jan 18 Jonathan Koehler Napa County Resource Conservation District Jan 25 Bill Conklin Rotary Foundation Coming Events Feb 26, 2005 St. Helena Rotary Club Winter Ball St. Helena, CA May 19, 2005 Centennial Celebration Doubletree Hotel Rohnert Park, CA Birthdays Jan 1 Dick Rogers Jan 2 Gary Delucchi Jan 13 David Brotemarkle Jan 13 Stephen Carbone Jan 17 Phil Toohey Jan 27 Bert Johansson Jan 27 Frank Sottile Wedding Anniversaries Jan 1 William Butler (Teresa) Jan 20 Diane Bylund (Bill) Jan 30 Ron McGowan (Seana) Jan 31 Jim Wright (Jane) Club Anniversaries Jan 1, 1978 Dale Smith Jan 1, 1991 Paul Krsek Jan 8, 2002 Bill Word Jan 16, 2001 Roger Adams Jan 16, 2001 Mike Thomas Jan 21, 1972 Ron McGowan Jan 25, 1994 Father Mac Jan 27, 2004 Ortwin Krueger Jan 27, 2004 Dave McLaren

THE LAST MEETING OF 2004
By Father Mac

Our last meeting in '04 came just three days after Christmas. It was drizzling outside and chilly, but the fellowship of the Club was warm and inviting. Chuck Meibeyer led us in the Pledge, and Carol Sobczak offered a prayer that drew attention to the thousands who have died in the wake of the tsunamis in Indonesia, making us all aware of how precious and fragile life really is.

KATHLEEN PATTERSON Club President 2004-2005

Carol Sobczak reminded all new Rotarians of their assignment to help with set-up and clean-up before and after meetings. President Patterson then offered the newbies the opportunity to say a few words about hobbies and activities. Doug Ernst happened not to be present, but Gene Armstead, Coreen Pinney, and Linda Alioto all shared something of themselves.

• Joice Beatty announced that $900 had been raised for the Napa State Hospital. You go, girl!
• Polly reminded everyone of the need that the Winter Ball has for boxes.
• Shawn Whitney, from the Middletown Club, invited all Rotarians to their annual crab feed, which Jerry McQuiddy endorsed enthusiastically. The feed will be on January 15 at the (dare it be said) local Lion's Club. Tickets are available at local Middletown banks or through Shawn.

JERRY MCQUIDDY

In closing, Kathleen drew specific attention to the formal resignation of Jerry from the St. Helena Club. Jeff Epps suggested we make Jerry an honorary member, which we unanimously did. Jerry rose to the occasion and offered a few words of gratitude to the Club. His commitment to Rotary and to the entire community is awesome. We will miss him as he departs soon for San Jose. Prayers and best wishes go with him. Jerry's phone (707-963-3353), fax (707-963-9631), and email (jmc@fcs.net) will remain the same, but his new address is:

Jerry and Inge McQuiddy
8703 Lomas Azules Place
San Jose, CA 95135 

The Last Meeting of 2004 ... Continued

CAROL SOBCZAK

Finemaster Jim Haslip took to the podium after Carol won the black marble in the raffle. Linda Beard Delucchi, Jeff Epps, and Joice Beatty all had bell ringers. Linda for moving into her new home, Jeff for getting the trim work in his new office done, and Joice for the number of days (235) in the gym so far this year! Well done all. Jim then came along with a rapid-fire barrage of fines. It sped by so quickly that I couldn't get names, but I do remember that George Yount was the first pioneer to settle in the Napa Valley because I paid twenty bucks for not saying it on time!

THE PROGRAM

Dr. Lester Hoel
L.A.Lacy Distinguished Professor of Engineering
and
Director, Center for Transportation Studies
at the
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, PA

PERSPECTIVES ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

Dr. Lester Hoel began with his evaluation of who he perceived us to be. In his estimation, our Rotary Club is eclectic, civic-minded, we are a group to whom community matters. We are leaders and generous at that. To top it all off, we have a great sense of humor and there is levity in our gathering. He was right about all of the above and proved his ability to discern right from the start. The son of an immigrant family from Norway, Dr. Hoel has had an incredible pilgrimage from Brooklyn to California and all the globe over perusing his passion for personal growth and public transportation.

Dr. Hoel has spent most of his life in academia, and the last thirty years have been as chair of the Engineering Department at UVA. He currently teaches two courses: One to undergrad students and a second to research graduate students. These classes require different strategies, but both involve keeping students interested and awake, which is not easy, especially if you are talking about rudimentary engineering principles. I am sure he does it very effectively. I was especially intrigued by his approach to the graduate students. The students themselves do the lecturing and it has to be on a subject new to everyone, including professor Hoel. They also have to get involved with a semester project, which takes them to depth in the profession and requires the students to speak and write with effectiveness. In other words, he is honing their professional skills for work in the field, training them take technical concepts and apply them in a variety of settings with creativity. I'd take his class anytime.

Finally, he feels he is there not only to teach academic excellence, but emotional intelligence as well. He encourages the study of history, especially the history of transportation, and self-help, including the great Dale Carnegie and his work on confidence building.

Dr. Hoel closed his talk drawing attention to his recent book, "I'll have to remember that." It includes these ten very interesting proverbs:

1. winners never quit and quitters never win
2. anything worth doing is worth doing well
3. pay now or pay later
4. if you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there
5. nothing ventured nothing gained
6. if you want a friend, you have to be a friend
7. to err is human, to forgive divine
8. a soft answer turn away anger
9. fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me
10. live each day one day at a time.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Pax, MAC+ 

ROTARY CENTENNIAL www.rotary.org

ROTARY FITNESS SCHEDULE
 

The Rotary Fitness Committee, headed by Don Scully (963-1937) and Suzan Rada (292-1707) met on December 21, 2004 in Don Scully's Office. Decisions include:

• Meet every Saturday
   
• Meet at 9:30 am (although there will be exceptions)
   
• 1^st Sat – Hiking (although in January it will be on January 8^th)
   
• 2^nd Sat – Bicycling
   
• 3^rd Sat – A 3 or 6-mile walk or run
   
• 4^th Sat – Skiing/kayaking/ice skating

Other discussion included bicycling workshops on safety, types of bikes, repairs, etc., and possibly a used bike sale. Phil Toohey is promoting a cross-country ski trip, his trip to Nepal in October, and hiking in Yosemite. Ken Stanton will be available for 2-3 hour hiking trips in the Napa Valley. David Rice will be available for cross-country skiing trips.
 

Fitness Event Schedule:

• Jan 8 – Hike to the top of Mt. St. Helena to celebrate the New Year. Either the 10-mile route or the 6-mile south peak. Weather permitting. Meet in the parking lot of La Prima Pizza in Calistoga (corner of Highway 29 and Silverado Trail) at 9:30 am.
• Jan 15 – Bicycling - Total ride approximately 20 miles, about 2 hours* (see note below). Meet at the Napa Valley College parking lot at 9:30 am. The ride will be down Silverado Trail to Rutherford Road to Skellenger back to Silverado Trail down the Oakville Crossroads north on Highway 29 up Rutherford Road to Silverado Trail and back to Napa Valley College.
• Jan 22 – Walking a 3-mile or 6-mile loop at Grayson. Meet at Suzan Rada's house, at 9:30am.
• Jan 29 – Ice Skating at Redwood Empire Skating Rink in Santa Rosa. Meet at Vintage Hall at 11:00 for skating beginning at noon.
• Feb 5 – Hike Lawley Toll Road (Palisades Walk). Meet at 9:30 am at the corner of Highway 29 and Silverado Trail in Calistoga.
• Feb 12 – Bicycling - tbd
• Feb 19 – Run or Walk - tbd
• Feb 26 – Skiing or skating or kayaking - tbd
• Mar 5 – Hiking - tbd
• Mar 12 – Bicycling - tbd
• March 19 – Run or walk - tbd
• Mar 26 – Skiing or skating or kayaking - tbd

*BICYCLING – SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2005 at 9:30 am. Although the ride is not a race it is meant to be exercise and to work off a few calories. Riders should bring water or Gatorade and perhaps a power bar or whatever for a snack at the break. If this ride is too long for some then you may want to return sooner.

At this first ride we will have the opportunity to judge the interest of those participating based on their bicycling ability and degree of excercise they want to achieve. We might consider forming two groups at each event with rides differing in difficulty. We might also consider future rides outside of the immediate area. In any case we are open to suggestions by those wishing to participate.

Rotarians are encouraged to bring spouses, significant others or friends and let's have fun in the process of getting our bodies in shape. Questions, call Mike Thomas or Jim Meehan.

ROTOPLAST WORKS WONDERS FOR THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN
By Polly Keegan
 

JOICE BEATTY

December 21st – Today is the winter Solstice, and Joice Beatty, former president presided today while current President Patterson took her grandchildren to the Nutcracker. The only guest was Jim Haslip's daughter Brooke who talked a little about her stay in Guatemala where she worked with Rotary doing community service in Midwifery.

Announcements included a thank you with applause to Bill Word for organizing the wonderful Christmas Party. Jake Scheideman had wine bags to sell for $10 apiece, made by a woman's group in Nicaragua. Lisa Marie Andersen is working on the Junior Achievement program, Jim Haslip announced that the Readalong Program still needs volunteers, and the Dictionary handout to third graders is ready to go and he will alert us to the exact dates. The Dictionary Program is executed each year with the Soroptomist Club, and Tim Doran as usual gives mightily. Also, Jerry McQuiddy has sold his home and will be moving to San Jose by January 20^th. The lunch group was sad to hear the news, but happy that Jerry is happy.

The Finemaster was Gene Armstead. Bellringers included Jake Scheideman who announced that the 10 additional homes under construction in Nicaragua were assigned to 10 families, chosen by lottery two weeks ago. Also, Jake delivered the $3500 collected from the Rotary members to Anna's family to help with her medical expenses. Also he noted that Beverly Mes has offered to give therapy treatments to Anna.

Joice Beatty announced that she collected $900 from Rotary members this year again for the Napa State Hospital to help purchase presents for patients.

THE PROGRAM

Pete Lagarias

ROTARY AND ROTOPLAST AROUND THE WORLD

The Rotary involvement in Rotoplast surgery began in San Francisco in 1993. Usually, in a location, the local doctors, the Ministry of Health, a team of U.S. medical surgeons, nurses and anesthetists and a team of Rotarians combine to donate services to approximately 150 young patients with cleft and palate problems. The surgery takes about 1 ½ to 3 hours, and changes the lives of the children who receive it. Dentists and orthodontists are also on hand particularly for follow-up. Nutritionists and geneticists also frequently attend. The Rotarians help the medical teams and children in any of a

JOHN SALES

number of logistical and recovery room situations. Teams perform in approximately a dozen different countries per year.

On this day, Pete Lagarias spoke more specifically about his trip to Vietnam and his photos were of course very inspiring.

For additional information, see John Sales of the St. Helena Rotary.

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