Woodside/Portola Valley Rotary - Newsletter

The club will be presenting an award for hours of volunteerism to Karen Peterson of the Woodside Elementary School. Following the presentation there will be a discussion on ways to recruit new members for the club. Volunteers are needed after this meeting to hand out dictionaries.

Last Week's Program: (courtesy of Last Week Editor, Dean Babcock)

Past President, Webmaster, Newsletter Editor and importer of homeless pups Joan Fuetsch, accompanied by Tonya, shared her Christmas and New Year visit to Antiqua, Guatemala with us by way of her delightful slide show. First she showed us a shot of the local volcano with a mushroom* cloud on top. This was apparently to satisfy our members who have enjoyed her Casa sin Dolor and were disappointed that the volcano showed no signs of activity.

The Casa has been recently painted green to celebrate Christmas. But the big celebration was the annual procession in which the children dress in indigenous costumes such as Mixtecan and even Mayan! Joan’s staff brought a pine tree in from the garden and decorated it with lights and all. After cleaning up Joan decided in future years they will decorate it in the garden. Another jolly event was the Christmas market, if you don’t mind scads of LED light strings playing “Jingle Bells” in an assortment of undefined keys.

The best part of the show was the story of Carlos who was very impressed with the gringa’s casa. He wanted to tell his friends about eating there but he was afraid they wouldn’t believe him. When Joan told him that his name in America is Charlie he changed his name at once and insisted that everyone call him Charlie. He is a very friendly kid and the gringos are going to see that Charlie who lives on the ground under plastic garbage bags will get to return to school, which is his dream. His beautiful smile showed us just how happy he was!

* Mushroom as in Button, not Portobello.

Next Week's Program: Clinical Trials, Do You Want to Participate?

Doris Davis will discuss the pros and cons of clinical drug trials and what you can expect if you participate in one. Volunteers are needed after this meeting to hand out dictionaries.

Club News: Your editor has had multiple requests to add photos and other information to the website but, surprise, surprise .... your editor doesn't receive any photos or information to add to the website. Can YOU help?

Coming Events:

Next Board Meeting: Tuesday, February 3rd, 7:30am, Church Library

Rotary Means Business: Wednesday, February 4th, 5:30 pm Encore Performance Catering

District Assembly: Saturday, March 28th, 8:00 - 1:30, San Mateo Community College

District Conference: April 17th - 19th, Portola Plaza, Monterrey, www.rotary5150.org

Announcements: Have you had a look at the Rotary International website lately for what is going on in Rotary's world? www.rotary.org How about finding out about what is going on in the district? www.rotary5150.org