Newsletter - Archive  Mar 17, 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                                                                               March 17th 2010

7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Wednesday with breakfast by Encore Performance Catering, fellowship, project updates and an interesting speaker from the community.  Guild Hall, Woodside Village Church, 3154 Woodside Road, Woodside, California  Guests are not only welcome but encouraged!

This Week's Program:  Healthcare  Bring your questions.  Our speaker will be

Lee Michelson of the Sequoia Health District. 

Last  Week's Program:   (courtesy of Last Week Editor, Dean Babcock) President David Hyman introduced PDG Brian McCleran of the Rotary Club of Larkspur.  Brian was born in Rome, Italy. He moved with his family to California at an early age.  He graduated from College of Marin, has a charming wife, Laura, two kids and lives now in Larkspur.  He works at being a roofing contractor in between his Rotary duties. 

    First, Brian brought us up to date on the dictionary project.  In just a few years it has grown to a total of 27,000 dictionaries, 74 tons!  Now 35 out of 39 district clubs participate.  Brian is frequently referred to as the “Dictionary Dude.”  His wife Laura designed the western style shirt with multi-colored letters on it that the volunteer teams wear when they visit schools. 

   Brian’s other subject was the Rotaplast project trip he will soon be taking with a group of volunteer cosmetic surgeons and support workers to Vietnam.  These trips were started by the San Francisco #2 Rotary Club about 20 years ago.  Brian has made 5 trips and now is a “Quartermaster” for support groups and knows the ins and outs of getting supplies and instruments through customs and how to deal with passport problems.  He also has learned how to deal with the motor scooters in Vietnam – “Just pretend they are water and let them flow around you.”  Security is a problem in the hospitals, only one is new, the rest were built by the French before they were driven out of Viet Nam.  Brian knows where and how to keep mission supplies secure.  A vital part of the team in Viet Nam is a native girl named Dao,  she is about 23 years old,  She was severely burned when her village was torched and lost one hand and survived 13 surgeries.  She serves as guide and translator for the teams.  For further information on Rotaplast, to volunteer or to make a tax deductible contribution, go to www.rotaplast.org.

Next Week's Program:  Citizen Holdship 

Our own Alan Holdship will give his new member introduction combined with tales of the process of becoming a US citizen.

Coming Events:

Next Board Meeting:  Tuesday, April 6th, 7:30am, Church Library 

Rotary Means Business:  Wednesday, April 7th, 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:  Saturday, April 24th 2010

Pancake Breakfast:  Saturday, May 1st 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