Volume XXII
Number 8

Tuesday
May 16, 2006

Coming Programs Every Tuesday May 16 TBD Coming Events May 19-21 District Conference Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa Kelseyville, CA Birthdays May 13 Jonathan Briano May 14 Polly Keegan May 14 Wendell Laidley May 14 John Sales May 22 Mark Terrell May 26 Natalie Klug May 29 Alston Hayne May 30 Ed Beard Wedding Anniversaries May 6 Craig Anderson (Barbara) May 6 Norm Mitroff (Patti A.) May 10 Diane Dillon (Bill M.) May 10 Alston Hayne (Lisa) May 14 Ortwin Krueger (Pat) May 18 Phil Toohey (Denise) May 20 Hendrik Smeding (Lettie) May 21 David Brotemarkle (Kathi) Club Anniversaries May 1, 1987 Charles Bell May 1, 1987 Don Scully May 3, 1994 Rudy Papale May 5, 2004 Kathy Zelazny May 7, 1996 Bert Johansson May 11, 1999 Alan Fowler May 14, 2002 Wendell Laidley May 14, 2002 Chuck Meibeyer May 15, 2001 Jake Scheideman

BOARD DELIBERATIONS
By Donn Black
 

BILL WORD Club President 2005-2006

CAROL SOBZCAK

CHUCK MEIBEYER

April 20, 2006.  The opening gavel hit the table at 12:04 and sat idle until the closing rap at 1:40. President Word and Directors Sobczak, Yost, John, Adams, Toohey, Meibeyer, Mitroff and Rada, present. Directors Haslip, Sales, Keegan, Patterson, Armstead, Scheidemann, Crane and Bylund, away.

Following normal reports, several funding requests came in for serious discussion:

1. Terry Messmer's student trip to Costa Rica spanish immersion program and soccer camp requests $10,000. A motion by Phil Toohey to approve $1,250 and forward to Foundation for consideration was approved.
    
2. California Cadet Academy request $5,000 for their summer camps for student re career development in such field as fire fighting, EMT, police. Their total cost is $80,000 each summer. After discussion, the request was deferred for more information concerning cost of sponsoring one student to the camp.

Membership. Chuck Meibeyer reported on recruitment and retention seminars at the District Assembly in Fortuna. St. Helena is the only club in the District which doesn't have separate committees for each. There was discussion.

Motion by Norm Mitroff to approve the Red Badger Program worked up by Chuck Meibeyer. Approved. There was discussion of the need to look for more mentor involvement. Kudos to Chuck for a job very well done.

(Continued)

Group Study Exchange Visit From Buenos Aires
By Steve Ebersole

AL ALBRIGHT

05.04.06. Al Albright offered a poem encouraging each one to take action or speak words that might inspire others to words or deeds of substance. You might have absolutely no effect on anyone… "but then again you might"!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Please remember to check Rotary assignments for the regular meetings so as not to forget your scheduled tasks for next meeting. Tasks consist of Set-up, Break down, Invocation or Finemaster.

Rianda House needs 100k to reach its goal in order to move forward with remodeling.

Suzan Rada is encouraging everyone to read the May issue of Rotarian magazine. It contains several articles on fitness.

President Bill Word with a reminder to attend Rotary International District Conference May 19^th- 21^st

JIM HASLIP

Jim Haslip needs people to sign up for the Farmers Market food program. Simply Pick up food from St. Helena's Farmers Market on Friday's and deliver to the Catholic Church. The program runs for 5-6 months. Look for a sign up sheet coming down the table at the next meeting.

President Bill wants to know if you'd like to go to a Giants game on August 25^th were they will take on the Reds. The night is open to all Rotary personnel with a deep desire for hot dogs and cold beer. Each ticket costs $25 but $9 of it will go back to the club. The hot dogs and cold beer cost extra, however.
 

RAFFLE:

Rob Andreae won 1^st choice of 3 top prizes. Jim Haslip wasn't even paying any attention to the fact that his number was being called and almost missed out completely. Yes, his number was going…going… and almost gone because he was busy getting each person coffee at his table. What a guy! Dale Smith was the final winner.

GENE ARMSTEAD

ROB ANDREAE

BELL RINGERS:

Gene Armstead – gave a hearty thanks, kudos and general good job report for Tony Albright and Mike Thomas for their hard work at Rianda House.

Rob Andreae – is pleased that his daughter Whitney was accepted to a university in Cape Town, South Africa and that his other daughter survived spring break in Zimbabwe (also at school in S. Africa) without breaking her neck skydiving from 9000 ft.

Chuck Meibeyer – was happy to see Barry Bonds get a pinch hit homer.
 

FINE MASTER – BILL WORD:

Will Mike Smith please stand up?

• What is the difference between a village and a hamlet? Mike hazarded no guess. A village has a church and a hamlet has no church.
• What is the difference between a town and a city? Again Mike was stumped. A town has no cathedral and a city has a cathedral.

(Continued)

Measure A Analyzed By St. Helena Lawyer
By Doug Ernst

May 9, 2006. St. Helena lawyer, former city councilmember and former grape grower Lester Hardy warned Rotarians about the pitfalls of Measure A on the June 6 ballot.

Measure A would require county government compensation for any land use decision affecting property values. Hardy said the measure is poorly conceived and would result in undesirable consequences for Napa County taxpayers and landowners.

• First, he said, the cost of litigation that would arise due to Measure A would be borne by county taxpayers. The budget battle that would ensue would most likely hurt public safety departments – sheriff and fire prevention – along with human services, Hardy told the club.
• Secondly, he said, the measure does not define "nuisance," which would result in more neighbors producing more nuisances, with the county being less likely to enact remedies for fear of costly lawsuits.
• Third, Hardy said Measure A would preclude the county from enacting land use rules that could increase property values over time. Take the Agricultural Preserve, for example, enacted in 1968. "That landmark legislation would not have been adopted, because Measure A ties the (county) board's hands."
• Fourth, he said Measure A creates a new industry for lawyers looking to get rich off county taxpayers. "Property values are so high," said Hardy. "The economic incentive by lawyers to find loopholes is tremendous." On the other side, he said "it will be impossible for the county board to quickly close the loopholes."
• Fifth, he said property values have been increasing steadily without Measure A. He compared the 1978 assessed value of Napa County land ($1.855 billion) to the 2005 figure of $20.948 billion. Even if the 1978 figure is adjusted for inflation, to $5.843 billion, it compares to nearly four times as much in a span of only 27 years. By limiting new zoning restrictions, Measure A "overlooks a 100-year history of community-based zoning that enhances property values," Hardy said.
• Sixth, Hardy said although Measure A only affects the county board of supervisors deciding land use decisions in the unincorporated areas, its financial costs will be felt by all taxpayers in all of the county's cities. City-dwellers who receive no benefit from Measure A will nevertheless be required to share its cost, Hardy said

Hardy warned that a state measure being prepared for the November ballot would extend such costs to cities, too. The so-called McClintock Initiative would limit cities – except in cases of public health and safety – from enacting laws restricting land use. "That would cripple St. Helena's ability to renew, revisit or rewrite its general plan," Hardy told the club.

Answering questions from club members, Hardy said Measure A would force the county board to meet in secret and decide land use matters behind closed doors. Furthermore, he said that any settlement negotiations between county representatives and landowners would also take place in secret.

Three new members were inducted: Innkeeper Jim Smith, credit card processing specialist Doug Thompson, and restaurant manager Colin Wright.

CRAIG ANDERSON, JONATHAN BRIANO, DOUG THOMPSON, JIM SMITH, COLIN WRIGHT, TONY ALBRIGHT

Jim Smith, a native of Orinda, came to St. Helena 41 years ago at the age of 11. His father was in the real estate business. Jim attended junior high and high school in St. Helena, and helped build Wine Country Inn in 1975. He and his wife, Lorinda, have three children – two in college and one in preschool. He has been part-owner of the Wine Country Inn (www.winecountryinn.com) on Lodi Lane for 31 years. "I appreciate what the club does and everything it's involved in," said Smith, who was introduced to the club by Tony Albright.

Doug Thompson, a native of Tucson, thanked the man who introduced him to the club, his future brother-in-law, golf professional Jonathan Briano. Thompson spoke highly of the most recent Rotary Club fundraiser, featuring a 5-kilometer walk. "It was a warm and inspirational experience, a wonderful introduction to the club," he told the membership. He said he believes in "the four Fs – family, friends, football and fantastic barbecues."

Colin Wright said he woke up in the Bay Area one day five years ago and decided he wanted to live and work in the Napa Valley. "I wanted to feel at home, with familiar faces and have a family." Wright's boss, Silverado Brewing Company owner and chef Michael Fradelizio, told club members a few things about his business, which has been serving Rotary Club lunches for the past four years. Since the restaurant opened seven years ago, Fradelizio has adopted a healthy policy of preparing food without hydrogenated oil.

Jake Scheideman reminded the club that a fundraiser walk on behalf of ALS victims will be held May 20 at Kennedy Park.

Jim Haslip asked for volunteers to help deliver food to the food bank on Fridays from 11:30 to noon.

Joice Beatty asked the club to remember their moms by contributing to the Rianda House senior center.

(Continued)

711
By Steve Yost
 

On Wednesday April 26, a group of Rotarians and guests went on a fellowship outing to the Giants vs. Mets baseball game held in the newly renamed ATT Park in San Francisco.

The 29 of us traveled by land and sea (remember Paul Revere) – in this case by car to the Vallejo ferry  for the ride across the bay. The journey turned out to be very enjoyable. The ferry took us to the Ferry Building dock and then we walked down the Embarcadero to the ball park. The weather was the best any of us had seen in months – sunny and about 70.

When the announcer gave the starting line up we were somewhat disappointed to learn Barry Bonds was not included. However, we were enjoying our "view" seats high up in the second deck, munching our hot dogs, and some getting a suntan. And the Giants took the lead early in the game.

However, by the bottom of the 9^th they were trailing 7-4 so it seemed they were going to lose. But they got a run and with 2 out and a man on base guess what happened? Barry Bonds came up to pinch hit and we all screamed with joy when he hit the ball out of the park for his 711 ^th career homerun –  3 short of Babe Ruth's 714.

Unfortunately, the New York Mets finally won the game in the 11^th inning 9-7. Nonetheless, we were all happy Rotarians as we looked forward to our ferry ride home and fond memories of the day's outing.

Board Deliberations ... Continued

Resignations of Steve Rivas and Linda Alioto regretfully accepted. New member applications of Doug Thompson, Colin Wright and Jim Smith approved with enthusiasm.

Discussion of problem of members leaving before the speaker is finished. President Word will discuss with members.

Roger Adams announced that our Camp RYLA students this year are Scott Ferrell and Desirae Skadel. They will be introduced to the Club.

Elaine John reported that to date the Club has sent $14,464 ($158 per member) to Rotary Foundation.

Suzan Rada passed out a draft proposal for the direction of the IFRFR. Idea is to develop a prototype to give all other Rotary clubs for education on health and fitness.

Discussion of Strategic Planning Questionnaire to go to members re Club issue. More later.

Motion to adjourn approved.

GSE Visit ... Continued

PROGRAM – GSE FROM BUENOS AIRES

GSE or Group Study Exchange from Buenos Aires, Argentina gave us the pleasure of their company on Thursday instead of the usual Tuesday meeting date. This adjustment on our part allowed them to introduce themselves, their friends and families and their country to us. District 4850 in Argentina is home base for these travelers part way into a trip of California Rotary District 5130 Estados Unidos.

Their names?

1. Leticia Fiori	Architect
2. Melisa Cruzat	Lawyer/ English Teacher
3. Maria Agustina Sarlo	Speech Therapist
4. Maria Laura Acerbo	English Teacher
5. Mariano Manenti	Pharmacist

Leticia was first up and introduced herself as being an Architect. She led us through a Powerpoint presentation entitled, "Our Country Argentina". Argentina is full of mountains with glaciers, huge waterfalls similar to Niagra falls in the US, also grasslands, coastlands and big cities. The Peso is the currency with a 3-1 ratio against the US dollar, which has made their trip on the pricy side. The government has functioned as a democracy since 1983. Polo is a popular sport in Argentina but nothing deserves a good stampede of enthusiastic fans like futbol (that's soccer for you folks from the mid west). For music they like a good tango on guitar. For food they like Locro Empanadas unless otherwise tempted by Mate. (Please don't ask me what I'm talking about.) For the rich and famous they lay claim to NBA player Manu Ginobili and of course the unforgettable Evita; "Don't cry for me, Argentina."

Each member had their moment under the bright lights of St. Helena Rotary and presented in similar fashion their daily lives, friends, families and fellow Rotary members. But the finale was a stirring solo by Maria Agustina Sarlo in a beautiful upper alto voice singing a well known song from Argentina.

Measure A ... Continued

Phil Toohey thanked the club – especially members Miles Metzger and Bonnie Schoch – for providing a grand experience for the GSE team from Argentina on May 4. He also thanked club members for supporting the Rotary Association  Barbecue at Crane Park in May 7, attended by 100 Rotarians from throughout Napa County. He gave special thanks to Joice Beatty for organizing the event.

Suzan Rada thanked the 26 club members who signed up to join a fitness fellowship, but said she needs at least half of the club's membership to sign up. A one-year fellowship is only $25.

Jonathan Briano, golf professional, commended his fellow team members who won the top prize at the annual Valley Men Who Cook competition. His team members included Servaas Mes, Doug Thompson, Tony Albright and Jim Haslip.

Norm Mitroff introduced Beau Van Deren as his guest. Beau has been in St. Helena for a year and is thinking about joining the club.

David and Grace Hemsley of Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England, were introduced by Roger Adams. David is incoming president-elect of the 28-member Rotary Club 1560 in Buckingham. The Hemsleys were in St. Helena visiting their daughter, Claire Clark, executive pastry chef at the French Laundry restaurant in Yountville. "We are indescribably, excessively proud of her," said David. Claire was named "Pastry chef of the year" by the famous English food magazine, "The Restaurant."

Lisa Marie Anderson introduced her guest, daughter Olivia Anderson.

The club sang happy birthday to several club members, including Jonathan Briano, golf professional, who turned 40 this week.

District Conference
Hotel News

Please do not call Konocti Resort for rooms
(They do not have a Rotary rate anymore)

District 5130 has a few rooms available,
 and there may be rooms at nearby casinos

Does anyone want to share a room?
Does anyone have extra space?
We will attempt to put you together,
just let us know what you want/have.

Contact AG Ted Hester at
tedahester@juno.com