Meeting Notes and Club News Wednesday, September 5, 2001
Volume 61, Issue 8		Written and reported by Art Levine

The Myhre-Blackburn-Young-Savage-Ashcroft quintet (next time aligned in alphabetical order) led us in "My Country Tis of Thee," and "Smile," after which Prez Bill Peloquin led us in the invocation.  After lunch, during which Mike Oates tickled the ivory with tunes of the "Fab Four," Dan Kiernan introduced the following visitors and guests:

Linda Ross, Esq. (Julie Kemp), Bill Dunton, Bob Hathaway, Don Means, Barbara Kilponen (Mike Escalante), Minard Duncan, Sydney Verry Scarborough (Mike Oates), Vickie and Rob Hite (Bill Hite), Jean Fulton (Leroy Fulton), John Kunau (Scott Dowds), Josephine McCauley (Lee Myhre), Juergen Milczewsky, Don McBride (Brea Club), Dale Madsen (Yorba Linda Sunrise Club)

Jim Young received Rotarian of the Week honors for his recent "Casey at the Bat" rendition, as well as for his prodigious ongoing efforts to support our club.

Ed Little's ticket was selected for the Opportunity Drawing, and Ed knew that the world's population is 6 Billion!  For that knowledge, Ed received $75.

Bill Peloquin announced that an opening exists for District Governor; all past club presidents are invited to apply.  Alan Atwell reminded us of the upcoming golf tournament; flyers with details were available on the tables. Bob Jahncke announced that Paul Harris fellowship commitment letters have just been mailed to members.  The money is invested, with sixty percent returned to our district.  The forty percent retained by Rotary International funds worldwide humanitarian projects, so Bill encouraged all of us to "be generous" in responding to the letters.

Despite Alabama's second consecutive dismal showing against the mighty UCLA Bruin football team (this reporter being, of course, completely objective notwithstanding his blue-and-gold diploma), Dr. Jim Blackburn deigned to take the podium and fine Bruin alumni Levine, Jahncke, and Bagne $25.  Good luck to 'Bama on the rest of the season, Jim; it will help UCLA's BCS rating.

The following birthdays and anniversaries were recognized: Bob Sattler-B47; Allyn Lean-A28; Gordon Bagne-A45, Jim Vanderburg -unspecified spousal birthday plus $10 late fee; Ken Kaisch-B53 and A32; Art Levine-A27; Bill Camp B78 and A57; Dan Fisk-B54; Jon West-A37; Bill Peloquin-A4; Leroy Fulton-A50!

For the program, Bill Hite and Dick Mathewson gave craft talks.

Bill, a nine-month member of our club, having been sponsored by Winston Creel, was born in LA and grew up in Azusa.  His first sales job was selling a local farmer's cantaloupe and cabbage door-to-door.  Bill was an avid surfer in high school and even owned a Woody.  (Youngest club members who might not know what a "Woody" was might ask an older member, or listen to Jan & Dean/Beach Boy records - assuming they know what a "record" is!)  Entering the Army in 1967, Bill learned radio repair and was sent to Korea for a 13-month tour of duty.  Upon his return, he attended Long Beach City College by day and worked the night shift at Douglas Aircraft building DC10s.  He graduated from Citrus College in 1971. Bill moved to Fullerton in 1979 and married Vicki, who now manages the Costco in Industry Hills, in 1981.  Bill loves hot rods, one of which he owns jointly with son, Rob.  Bill has been selling industrial paint and powder coatings since 1978, the past six years with the firm of Continental Coating.  Bill briefly educated us on some of the finer points of these materials, including the advantage of powder over paint (no solvent problems).

Dick Mathewson was born in New Jersey in 1932. His mother was deaf, making it necessary to get her attention in more creative ways than crying!  He also has vivid memories of his mother's look of terror as his Dad wrote out for her what he was hearing on the radio on December 7, 1941. Dad was Superintendent of Parks, and while growing up Dick helped his Dad do some of the work. During WWII, Dick lived on a Navy training base in Illinois, where his Dad ran the recreation program. Dick had the opportunity to meet and witness the capabilities of many of the country's greatest athletes, including such notables as Bob Feller, Jim Brown and Mel Ott. Dick was himself an athlete, running track both in high school and at Cornell, from which he graduated as an agriculture major. This led Dick into the meat merchandising business, and he moved all over the Mid-West before coming to California in 1972. Two years later he switched to the real estate business and began working for McGarvey-Clark. At that time, only one-half a page of paperwork was needed to sell a home; now, it's 48 pages! All five of Dick's kids are involved in the computer industry in some form. Speaking of family, Dick can trace his roots back to the Mayflower (and even, he says, to Lady Godiva). Fortuitously (and of particular interest to certain historically-minded club members), family notables have written accounts of their lives, including eight family members who fought in the Revolution and another who served as a Civil War bugler. Undoubtedly, Dick's own life history will be of equal interest to future historians.

In closing, Bill joined the list of luminaries including Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, Confucius, George Eliot, and the author of Proverbs 17:28, who have observed that it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt.

Coming Up:

September 12th: Jim Muller, speaking on effective communications. (Motivational Speaker)

September 19th: The Conflict in the Middle East -- Professor from CSUF