Newsletter - Archive  Feb 24, 2010

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P.O. Box 620700                                                   Riki Intner                                                                   Dave Hyman 

Woodside CA 94062-0700                                District Governor                                                       Club President

                                                      http://wpvrotary.org                                          

Regular Meeting                                                                                February 24th 2010

7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Wednesday with breakfast by Encore Performance Catering, fellowship, project updates and an interesting speaker from the community.  The last Wednesday of some months we meet at 6:00pm at a local restaurant for hors d'oeuvres and a no host bar and meeting new people.  Please check our website calendar for details. 

Morning meetings:  Guild Hall, Woodside Village Church, 3154 Woodside Road, Woodside, California  Guests are not only welcome but encouraged!

This Week's Program:  Vacationing in Mexico

Rotarian, Ken Hayes, will talk about and show photos of his recent family vacation trip to Mexico.  

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

President David Hyman introduced our speaker, Fred LaCosse - 20 minutes early - to tell us how we got our unique American Freedoms. And what a tale it was! Fred is a real pro.  He was a director, producer and TV show host.  Fred was born in South Bend Indiana, graduated from Wabash College and got an MA from Northwestern Then he did two years of “graduate work” in the Army.  With that background he went to work for KNTV and then KRON-TV from 1973 to 1981. In the ‘80s he co-hosted the talk show “AM-San Francisco” with his wife Terry Lowry.  His final act was as anchor of ”Silicon Valley Business This Week” from 1995 to 2001.  Fred was a member of the West San Jose and Downtown San Francisco Rotary clubs n the ’70s and ‘80s.  In 2003 he became concerned with the quality of the American History education his granddaughters were getting.  He spent 3 years in research and development of a powerful presentation “Your American Freedoms; Protect Them or Lose Them.”  Fred’s presentation technique is big time – he introduced us to 10 of the most important movers and shakers of the American Revolution. He called on Sam Adams for comments on the Stamp Act, the Tea Act – and of course - the Boston Tea Party. Then Patrick Henry for his declaration at the Virginia House of Burgesses which ended with a ringing “Give me Liberty, or give me Death!’  He asked Gen. George Washington for his description of the sorry condition of the soldiers and their equipment.  Fred did his magic and asked Thomas Paine, born a Brit, why he risked a treason charge by his treatise “Common Sense” Then John Adams told us how he got Thomas Jefferson to be the author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson gave us his motives on “Consent of the governed”, on the equality of all men, our inalienable rights and the right to form our own government and the right to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”  Fred asked Ben Franklin for his reaction to signing the Declaration  of Independence –He said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately!”  The war for independence started in 1776 at Lexington and went on for 7 long years. General Washington led the Army against the world’s finest army and navy and wore them down. Finally in 1783 Gen. Cornwallis’ army surrendered at Yorktown. Then came 6 years of negotiation for a Constitution that protected the rights of citizens in large states and in small states. And a Bill of Rights that guaranteed specific rights explicitly.  1789 and we were AMERICANS!  But we must work to preserve this remarkable freedom – to nurture it, defend it and sustain it for our children and their children.  We must be sure our offspring are educated to know that they must do more than enjoy it – they must work, volunteer and create programs that will ensure its future viability.

Next Week's Program:  Jane Ganahl on Jane Ganahl Jane Ganahl (Bob Buelteman's daughter) has been a journalist, humorist, author, consultant, editor, and community organizer in San Francisco for twenty-five years. She is the author of the novelized memoir, Naked on the Page: The Misadventures of My Unmarried Midlife, which is in development for a TV series. 

Coming Events:

Next Board Meeting:  Tuesday, March 2nd, 7:30am, Church Library 

Rotary Means Business:  Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010, 5:30 pm Encore Performance Catering

5150 District Assembly:  Saturday, March 27th 2010, Redwood High School, Larkspur

District Conference:  San Francisco, April 16-17, 2010, www.rotary5150.org

Rebuilding Together:  Sunday, April 25th 2010

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