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Phil Toohey
Club President |
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Meeting #6 of President Phil Toohey's Administration held on August 5th opened with Guest introductions by Miles Metzger
of his personal PGA professional Jonathon Briano. Alan Fowler then introduced his friend John Runnels who owns the Shady Oaks and Ambrose Bierce House B&Bs, and Hendrik Smeding
his friend Ron Sculatti, who is a native St. Helenan, and who owns Mario's clothing store and Amelia Claire shoe store. President Phil then briefly introduced Guest Speaker Bob Russell
and thanked Wendell Dinwiddie for bringing a box of his famous peaches.
President Phil high-fived Don Scully for moving in our new piano in Miles Metzger's truck and the
welcome singers rose to the occasion. When Jeff Epps asked the make of the truck he was told loudly it was a Chevy.President Phil thanked the membership for the strong
welcome given District Governor Norm Owen and his wife Beverly. Then when he reminded new members of their responsibility to get 50 member business cards, John Herrington
collected his last four to become perhaps the first member for some time to reach the goal and avoid his fine. Well done, John. Announcements began with Jeff Epps inviting members
interested in golf tournaments on August 18 and 28 to see him. Andy Bartlett followed with a reminder that Exchange Student Keri Ann arrives August 18 and after a first weekend rafting
trip will attend her first Rotary meeting August 26, and asked for members to sign up with him for Sunday dinners for Keri Ann when she gets settled. THIS IS FUN -- you get to know
the student and will learn something about another country. Joice Beatty reminded members to bring their two gifts valued at $25 each
for raffle prizes SOON, or risk the wrath of Nick Bermudez (and we all know his profession). Lisa Marie Anderson invited members to come to any Winter Ball meeting
and especially to bring their ideas for live auction items. She wants ideas more than commitments to deliver them. Kathleen Patterson reported the Christmas Party will be December 11
at Markham and Gary Jaffe told members that Mars will be closer to Earth than it has been for 60,000 years from August 20-27 and invited us to reserve times at his observatory for a
look (963-5792 but don't tell Pam where you got the number). |
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Morris Minton asked for 2-3 volunteers to help him tear
down the old roof at the Red Cross building.Mark Terrell won the raffle (after President Phil graciously drew another ticket after choosing his own number) but no black marble, followed by
Dick Rogers and Paul Krsek.
PEACE ON EARTH AND GOODWILL TO ALL Guest Speaker Bob Russell was introduced by President Phil as a former White House Congressional Liaison in the Carter
Administration and a 60s student idealist who was serious then about making a difference in the world and still is. Bob began his presentation on the planned Padmasambhava Peace Institute at
Black Mountain Preserve by telling us that the Buddhist principles on which the Institute will be founded comprise more a philosophy than a religion. The Institute will be dedicated to promoting Peace
, Love and Compassion. He acknowledged that peace training faces many challenging obstacles but the potential return justifies the effort and commitment.
A prime focus will be on at-risk youth, who will be taught peaceful living skills, all the while recognizing that they can be very difficult to manage. As Bob said, perhaps the most
important teacher credential for this group is physical fitness, and they acknowledge the risks and realities of fights. There is a good portion of idealism in the venture, but the people behind it
have long time horizons, and we are fortunate to have members of society who reach out constructively to down and out people. Beyond peace training the center will offer Environmental
Stewardship training, Health and Stress Reduction workshops and Hospice and Elder Care training to a broad range of volunteers and community-minded persons with the expectation
they will go home and serve the communities in which they live with the skills they have learned. The promoters have managed to negotiate favorable terms on the
485 acre Black Mountain Preserve property, reducing the original asking price of $2.9 million to a sale price of $2.2 million, on a property with improvements that they estimate would have a
replacement cost of $6-8 million. Summarizing the current Financial Campaign, Bob closed by telling us they have secured a loan of $1.5 million and therefore
now are searching for $700,000 to complete the purchase in the next three months. He handed out brochures on the project and invited members to visit the web site at www.padmapeace.org for further information. |
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