edited by
JOHN GRELCK
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The 100 Year R.I. Convention is being held in Chicago on June 18-22, 2005. This should be a fantastic party for Rotary and I encourage as many members that can to attend. The Rotarian Magazine for August and September will have many of the details of things to do and see. We are currently forming a membership committee to assist in increasing our membership. I would like to encourage each of our members to bring guests to our club. The guests could be a friend, relative, neighbor, or business associate. This past week, our fellow Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow, Tom Barnard, passed away. A "Celebration of His Life" will be held this Sunday, August 22, at 3:30 pm in the garden at his house on Alamo Pintado. We will surely miss Tom and all the work that he has done for the club. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. In other news, the Board has approved a one-year leave of absence to Fred Van Leuven. Greetings from the Philippines. It is good to be back "home" again. While in the US we were able to accomplish quite a bit, it still seems like I spent too much time away from the projects here in Negros. Esther has remained in Florida to help our daughter and grandson while Danny is out on sea duty. She will join me later. The last couple of weeks in Solvang were somewhat hectic. We finished wrapping 20 pallets for shipment, transported everything across the freeway to Siegel of California's loading facility using Norm William's flatbed truck and Sven Olsen's forklift. Kris Kersten and Greg Pensa were a great help with this ordeal. The next morning José, from DRI, arrived to load the container. While we could most likely have managed this task ourselves, we were able to get the job done in a little over an hour and a half with José's expert driving and stuffing skills. The total weight of the shipment came in at 23,325 lbs. No wonder my back is sore. Just after my return here, District Governor Arnie, his wife Maria and Incoming President for Rotary Club of Montecito, Cindy Enderby stopped by for a visit on their way back from the International Conference in Osaka. We spent a couple days in Manila and visited a school for street children, took a tour of Tagaytay (a volcano within a volcano), ate a non-stop Chinese meal hosted by Past Dist. Gov. Danny Yu and had a wonderful visit with Maria's sister, Almerinda. We then flew to Bacolod where a contingent of local Rotarians greeted us at the airport. After lunch we visited some low-cost housing projects for squatter families. Maria and Cindy were somewhat overtaken with emotion when they met the families. Arnie was also, but that is nothing new for him. One of the highlights of the visit was the turn over some software designed to assist blind people who use the computer. The "JAWS" programs (2) were donated by RC Montecito. We will be installing them on computers donated by Christiansen and Drake CPAs from Solvang. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; They just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Maybe... You should try to live your life so that when you die, you are the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying. Coming Programs Wednesday, August 25, 2004 @ 12:10PM Chip Orton. Vietnam Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2004 @ 12:10PM Tea Ceremony and Tea Preparation By Kyoko Kasai Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004 @ 12:10PM Elverhoy Museum. Esther Jacobsen Bates, Executive Director |
