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Rotary News
Rotary Meeting
More pictures can be seen here: Click to Open Web Page The 97th oldest, the tenth largest, and the friendliest Rotary Club in the world gathered once again at the Radisson hotel. President "Top-gun Tim" Pinkney had a thoughtful invocation, noting that in our Club alone we have 352 different classifications, and that each of us is a source of wisdom. We were then led in the pledge of the flag, made possible through a diminutive color guard led by Steve Heath. As a tribute to our Olympians, the club then celebrated with a rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Neil Paschall presented the Rotary Minute, and more than one Rotarian was surprised to learn the Paul Harris didn't write the four-way test! It was written by Herbert Taylor in 1932- and was adopted by the Rotary Club of Chicago. Herb later dedicated the copyright on the four-way test to Rotary International, when he was RI President in 1954. After a few minutes of conversation time, we were introduced to Prospective Members, Guests of Roatarians, our new RCS exchange student, and a visiting Rotarian, who had traveled from Points West- no, not THAT Point West- Matt Sobhani is from District 2670, which is on the Shikoku Island in Japan. We may see more of this visitor, as his nephew is a UC Davis graduate looking forward to learning more about Rotary. Sgt-At-Arms Dave Higdon was quickly able to produce a club flag to our visitor and guest. The formalities out of the way, Past Emperor Wes Yee seized the podium once again to thank the club for his vacation trip, and he brought Top-gun Tim a baseball cap from the Beijing Olympics, and another cap from the Rotary Club of Maui. Wes commented that he had to retreat to Maui, as he couldn't get any sleep from Michael Phelps swimming laps around his imperial yacht. Uh-huh. Doug Kraft than came forward to note that the Court of Dreams had again managed to sell 5,200 Monarchs tickets, which won St. John's Shelter a reading and learning center. This is the fourth time that Doug has led the club in capturing the Court of Dreams contest. John Buck spoke passionately about the Vietnam Vet stand-down, to be held at Comp Pollock on 9/12 and Past President Rob Scherer captured the microphone to note the 60th birthday of another Past President- Fred Teichert. Fred was honored in much the same way his programs ended each week- with a well-deserved standing ovation. Today's program was Vocations Day, our club had the pleasure of hearing from two of our own, as they each spoke about their respective careers. Our speakers described how the choices they made early on affected the path that they followed, showing a persistence of vision and a quest for knowledge. We first heard from Yelena Mayboroda, a commercial real estate broker with Grubb & Ellis. Yelena is a CSUS graduate, and at first pursued a career in law, following the limited choices given by her family ("ballerina, medicine, or law"). But after a few years in that business, after an oft-chance interview with former club member Ken Turton at CB Richard Ellis, she was encouraged when Ken told her that she could have a future as a Commercial Real Estate broker. She dedicated her studies to this vocation, and eventually joined Grubb & Ellis. She credits her success to "discipline" and "persistence"- and quoting "Silent Cal" Coolidge, she reminded the club how "Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." We next heard from Wornel Simpson (Business-Financial Management). Wornel grew up in Oakland, and graduated from UC Davis. One of his first jobs after college was selling Life Insurance, and within his first eight months he had sold over $1 million in new policies. But life changes directions, and Wornel ended up moving back to Oakland, and working out of the family home. His persistence and discipline- and there are those words again- led him to start writing insurance for sports and entertainment personalities. It was the connections that he had made through life and business that presented the opportunity, but it was a knowledge that propelled him forward. "The more you learn, the more you don't know, and that's what creates a thirst for learning"- a thirst, apparently, that Wornel has yet to slake. A vocation can be defined as having a strong inclination to a particular course of action. It was a pleasure to hear from two of our own, as they spoke with passion and well-placed pride about the path they had followed, so far, in business, and in life. After a few not-so-well-chosen words from President "Tail-hook Tim" that "packaged" up the meeting, we departed into the afternoon sun, contemplating our own choices, our own persistence, and the passions found in the fellowship of Rotary. Until September 8th- BDM Golf 4 Kids - September 29, 2008 by Staff, RCS You make a difference in children's lives. Your generous donation supports physical and health impaired children in our area. Funds provide water therapy, adaptive equipment and materials, and much more. Some of these helpful programs would not exist if it were not for this Rotary club. Please consider a sponsorship today. Call Jenifer at 929-2992 for more information. Sponsorship Opportunities |
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