Volume XXI
Number 3

Tuesday
Feb. 1, 2005

Coming Programs Every Tuesday Feb 1 Lisa Marie Andersen Rotary Winter Ball Feb 8 Valentine's Day Luncheon Feb 15 Del Britton St. Helena Public Schools Foundation Feb 22 Fran Miller Creating Balance in Life Coming Events Feb 26 St. Helena Rotary Club Winter Ball St. Helena, CA May 19 Centennial Celebration Doubletree Hotel Rohnert Park, CA Birthdays Feb 1 Jake Scheideman Feb 6 Rudolph Papale Feb 7 Andy Bartlett Feb 7 Nick Bermudez Feb 22 Joel Toller Feb 26 Mike Smith Wedding Anniversaries Feb 2 Ed Beard (Janice) Feb 18 Rudolph Papale (Catherine) Club Anniversaries Feb 1, 1980 Robert Gregory Feb 1, 1990 Hendrik Smeding Feb 2, 1993 Linda Beard-Delucchi Feb 12, 2002 Dick Osborn Feb 12, 2002 Mike Smith Feb 17, 2004 Willis Blakewell Feb 22, 2000 Gary Jaffe Feb 26, 1991 Louis Trinchero Feb 26, 2000 Joel Toller Feb 26, 2002 Miles Metzger

The Importance of Ritual
By Dick Osborn

Americans enjoy rituals whether they are going to a July 4 parade, joining family members for a Thanksgiving dinner, supporting our kids in Little League play, taking communion at church, staying up late on New Year's Eve to watch the ball in New York City's Times Square descend with Dick Clark doing the count down, or attending a World Series or Super Bowl party.

Rotarians in St. Helena like thousands of fellow club members throughout America enjoy the rituals of a weekly chapter meeting – the bantering and greeting of each other before the meeting begins, the placement of name buttons, the ringing of the bell to bring the meeting to order, the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag, and the invocation of prayer or meditational thoughts. I'm told that the food we enjoy catered by the Silverado Brewery can't be beaten at any other Rotary chapter. The "Welcome Singer" song once evoked this reaction from a seatmate – "I just love that song. It's my favorite!" I'm not sure it was the actual song or the ritual behind the song. Singing "Happy Birthday" to celebrate birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and club anniversaries helps continue this theme of ritual. The meeting proceeds with announcements of a wide variety followed by the finemaster's call for "bell ringers," the process of fining, and then often ridiculously silly questions that bring humor to the meeting. A guest speaker talks about issues of importance, a gift is given, and the bell is rung to end the meeting. My guess is that aside from the Pledge these rituals might typify many Rotary meetings in the world.

These are the important rituals we Rotarians enjoy at each meeting which brings some order and stability out of the chaotic world most of us live in as we work.

The January 25 meeting contained all of these elements of ritual which help bring meaning to our lives.

KATHLEEN PATTERSON Club President 2004-2005

Kathleen Patterson's reading of stories from the Rotary world illustrates the power of helping serve the needs of others. Announcements about the Winter Ball with a call for volunteers and gifts illustrates the importance of members raising money to serve the community. Ice skating to be held at the Snoopy Home Ice in Santa Rosa on Saturday, January 26 from 12:30 – 2:30 PM illustrates the commitment of Rotary members to physical wellbeing. News about the improvement of John Sales shows how Rotary members really care for each other as a family. The ritual of buying tickets paid off for Hendrik Smeding who drew the right marble winning $100 in the process. Good natured groans from the audience as Jim Wright begins the fining process illustrates the fun enjoyed each meeting while raising considerable money on a weekly basis that goes for important Rotary projects in the community.

The Importance of Rituals ... Continued
 

PROGRAM: Bill Conklin, a former district governor, speaks about the importance of the Rotary Foundation, founded in the 1920s when Rotary had a surplus of $23 in their treasury and wondered what to do. Every year $50 million is given for Rotary Foundation projects with another $50 million being sought as a goal for a total of $100 million. Another important goal is for Rotary to increase its endowment to $1 billion.

Conklin highlighted the many special programs funded by the Rotary Foundation illustrating that service is at the core of our mission. He mentioned the many scholarship programs offered by Rotary—more than the total of the better known Fulbright and Rhodes Scholars. Even in our own audience sat a Rotarian who had once served as an exchange student. He movingly focused on the problem of "crawlers" in Malawi who are unable to walk because of polio. The Rotary Foundation stepped in with wheelchairs and other devices to help these young people. Conklin's own club has focused on adopting an orphanage in Malawi with many AIDS victims. Another example was help given to perform 250 cataract surgeries in a ten day period in Nigeria. The Foundation helps match the efforts of local Rotary chapters to meet these needs.

Further examples of how the Foundation helps would be Rotary Peace Programs to see if problem areas of the world can be helped by mediation and negotiation. The Polio Plus Program exceeded its goal of $100 million achieving $220 million.

How does the Foundation get funded? Through the contributions of local members. Conklin urged members to think about planned giving through charitable gifts, life insurance policies, estate planning, and regular contributions such as the Paul Harris Fellowship program.

The meeting concluded with the ringing of the bell and members exchanging greetings upon departure while not forgetting to put their name buttons back in the box.

These rituals are one of the reasons Rotary is such an important part of the weekly routine of community leaders in St. Helena and throughout the world.

Ball To Be Filmed, Cheered
By Donn Black

LISA MARIE ANDERSEN

Fully fourteen Winter Ball Committee members, plus a passer-by from the street, gathered an hour before Rotary on their customary frigid seats to muscle through the mountain of detail generated by the February 26 event. Most of the discussion centered on the amazing array of live auction lots falling into place. Chairwoman Lisa Marie Andersen emphasized that the list must be "ready for print" by 2/3 in order to meet printing deadlines for the newly formatted auction lot catalog.

In a burst of enthusiasm, the Committee voted to pay for having the Ball filmed this year. The film will be especially useful for promotion and invitations in the future. Maybe contributing to the desire to film, and maybe not, was Andersen's lead up announcement that at least four and up to eight of the '49er cheerleaders will be on hand at the ball, performing various helpful, noticeable and even mysterious chores to enhance the big event.

Lisa Marie again called for volunteers to help the day before, day of and day after the Ball. There will be much to do.

We Meet In The Native Son's Hall Again
By Steve Yost
 

President Kathleen Patterson presided over our January 18^th meeting in the almost 100 year old historic Native Son's Hall where countless events have been held over the years—if only the walls could talk!!

By the time you read this newsletter, dictionaries will have been given to local 3^rd grade students—the program is a 50/50 project with the Soroptimist Club. Missy Doran, wife of Tim Doran and a Soroptimist, designed the name plate—each kid has their own name in the dictionary given to them.

Kathleen explained funds donated for the relief effort in the Far East would not go directly there if designated for Paul Harris. Monies donated to District 5130, Red Cross, or other organizations will go direct for relief of the people involved and to repair facilities destroyed when the waves hit structures on shore.

DON SCULLY

Don Scully reported several members enjoyed an 18-mile bike ride through the valley a week ago—part of our ongoing physical fitness program. Keep fit—live longer and enjoy life more!

SICK BAY:  Jim Lider and John Sales.

THE MARBLE:  Polly Keegan won the chance to fish for the black marble but couldn't find it.

BELLRINGERS:

• Norm Alumbaugh celebrated a wonderful family get together.
• Rob Andreae will host a radio broadcast on a local Napa station.
• Jeff Epps has a brand new Tahoe out in front of the building.

FINEMASTER:  Tim Coon had Ron Scullati and Steve Ebersol fly paper airplanes, and fined Miles Metzger for returning to the club after a bit of absence.

PROGRAM:  FISH AND WILDLIFE IN OUR AREA

JONATHAN KOEHLER

Our speaker, Jonathan Koehler, Biologist for the Napa County Resource Conservation District, explained how complex our eco system is and how animals, birds, fish, and man all depend on each other in one way or another. His agency is collecting information, studying wetlands, and overseeing volunteer opportunities. He pointed out the Napa River is home to 27 different species of fish.

Jonathan can be reached at 707-252-4188.

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