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John F. Germ
2016-2017 
President Rotary International
Our President
The African Queen
Kathy Gailey
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Speakers
Sep 15, 2016
 
Sep 22, 2016
 
Oct 06, 2016
 
Oct 13, 2016
 
Oct 20, 2016
 
Oct 27, 2016
 
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Schedule of Greeters
September 15
Riopelle, Garth
 
September 22
Sandhu, Lucky
 
September 29
Sloan, Gary
 
October 6
Sramek, John
 
October 13
Tatum, John
 
October 20
Thames, Fletcher
 
Greeter Protocol
 
When you are assigned the duty of being our greeter, you should remember the following:

1. You should be at the meeting by 11:45 AM in order to greet everyone as they come to the meeting.

2. You should bring a "Greeter's Gift" for the raffle. The gift should be approximately $20.00 in value.

3. You will be leading the giving the inspiration of the day, leading the salute to the flag, and introducing the visiting Rotarians. It is a good idea to watch the visiting Rotarians sign in, so that you can ask them about any complicated names or classifications.

4. If you cannot attend, it is your responsibility to find a replacement.
 
 
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
Sage
Welcome to the Rotary Club of San Ramon
Service Above Self
We meet Thursdays at 12:00 PM
Crow Canyon Country Club
711 Silver Lake Dr.
Danville, CA  94526
United States
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Meeting Notes For September 8, 2016
Gailey, “The President Kathy, 'The African Queen,” called the meeting to order, advising that the R.I. President is John F. Germ and his theme for the year is “Rotary Serving Humanity.”
 
Our Greeter, Tom Port, led us in the Salute to the Flag and offered the following  Thought of the Day, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” Henry David Thoreau
 
This Scribe led the group in singing of “My Country Tis of Thee!”
 
Visiting Rotarians: None
 
 
Other Visitors:  Our Speaker and his wife, Eberhard and Josefine Luetjohann, Deborah Colby, from Patelco, one of our sponsors of the Online Auction for Education, and Matt Jackson.
 
 
Rotary Moments:  That which was to replace the Medicine Man’s jokes, were once again MIA!  Oh well!  So we had Sloan’s Moment (or two):
 
God's Plan for Aging
 
Most seniors never get enough exercise. In His wisdom God decreed that seniors become forgetful so they would have to search for their glasses, keys and other things thus doing more walking. And God looked down and saw that it was good.
 
Then God saw there was another need. In His wisdom He made seniors lose coordination so they would drop things requiring them to bend, reach & stretch. And God looked down and saw that it was good.
 
Then God considered the function of bladders and decided seniors would have additional calls of nature requiring more trips to the bathroom, thus providing more exercise.  God looked down and saw that it was good.
 
So if you find as you age, you are getting up and down more, remember it’s God’s will. It is all in your best interest even though you mutter under your breath.  
 
Additionally  --  he couldn’t stop himself!  --  he recounted Nine Important Facts To Remember As We Grow Older:
 
#9  Death is the number 1 killer in the world.
 
#8  Life is sexually transmitted.
 
#7  Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
 
#6   Men have 2 motivations: hunger and hanky panky, and they can't tell them apart. If you see a gleam in his eyes, make him a sandwich.
 
#5  Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks, months, maybe years.
 
#4  Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital, dying of nothing.
 
#3  All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
 
#2  In the 60's, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird, and people take Prozac to make it normal.
 
#1  Life is like a jar of jalapeno peppers. What you do today may be a burning issue tomorrow.  
 
 
Announcements:
 
Chris Gayler noted that tonight’s Mixer for the Danville Chamber of Commerce will be held at the Gayler Design Build, Inc. offices.
 
PP Dennis Harvey was looking for some Rotary promotional posters that we had fashioned some years ago; one of the Rotarians present thinks they may be at his place.
 
The African Queen will be out of town for three meetings in October; Gary Sloan, Dennis Harvey and Lucky Sandhu volunteered to handle her Thursday duties.
 
Jerry Marrs announced that he has a supply of window decals for our Auction sponsors.  Please pick up some and use them as part of soliciting donations.  Let the businesses know that they will noted on the various local “Nextdoor” blogs.
 
Karen McNamara is trying to get clarification on what our club’s role is expected to be at the Trinity Center’s Thanksgiving Lunch.
Good News/Fine Free:  None
 
 
Recognitions:  None.
 
 
Pre-Program Program:  Kathy Gailey read out a list of Auction Items we had gotten last year but have not yet been secured for this year.  Many of these “open” items were adopted by members present.
 
 
Program:   
Eberhard Luetjohann, a semi-retired attorney with extensive experience in the German government, specializing in environmental issue, including energy from waste, presented his opinions on the impending departure of the UK from the European Union (“EU”) and the possible consequences for the rest of Europe and the United States.
 
Today, no one is talking about “Brexit,” yet talks are going on; he believes that Britain will end up not leaving.  The vote was, however, a wake up call to the leadership of the EU, located in Brussels.  The popular sentiment in other countries strongly favors their departure as well.  Much of it has to do with the bureaucratic interference with local affairs by an ever-growing, anonymous staff in Brussels.   They regulate whether a toll may be charged on the German Autobahn, how states must treat refugees, environmental criteria, that foreign workers must receive the same benefits as national citizens, and down to the level of what the strength characteristics of toilet paper must be.   Many of the younger generation which suffers from high unemployment, even for the well-educated, blames their problems on Brussels interference, and, in the olive-belt-countries, on Brussels’ austerity policy.
 
The EU must change!  It must be less bureaucratic, more democratic, practice the principle of subsidiarity and, most importantly, respect the rule of law!
 
In addition, there is a lot of anger about the EU bailing out and ungrateful Greece for the umpteenth time and the huge mess brought about by the handling of the Middle Eastern refugee problem.  Germany has become the magnet for both refugees and economic migrants with its so-called “welcome-culture” and that has caused considerable political backlash in recent State elections.  Angela Merkel’s policies are not at all popular.  She and her minions claim there was no way to prevent these migrations;  one cannot close the border, was the assertion.  But the little country of Macedonia showed Europe that it can indeed be done!
 
As for the EU’s involvement in the various crises in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, they need the USA’s support, particularly through the vehicle of NATO.  But the will isn’t really there.  Much of Europe’s population  --  the younger people  --  have lived their entire life in prosperity, without any wars.   The connection between distant unrest and local peace and prosperity is lost on them.
 
Lastly, Eberhard spoke about the a new, as yet incalculable issue, of Turkey.  President Erdogan seems to be planning to change this long-time secular country into something like a Caliphate, perhaps dreaming of a new Great Turkish Empire.  He is flirting with the Islamic State as well as maintaining good relations with Hamas, which the EU classifies as a terrorist organization.
 
Mr. Lurtjohann acknowledges that much of what he has presented here is not politically correct.  He is OK with that, reminding us that President Harry Truman, in 1945, defined political correctness as, “a doctrine, recently fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and promoted by a sick mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is possible to pick up a piece of $#!% by the clean end!”
 
Raffle:   The Greeter’s Gift of $20.00 was won by Gerry Marrs; the chance to roll the dice for boxcars or snake-eyes was won by Garth Riopelle, who promptly won the $50.00!
 
Next Week:  The next meeting will be a legislative update by Assemblywoman Catherine Baker.  Our Greeter will be Garth Riopelle, who will somehow make his appearance prior to the start of the meeting!  (Has anyone calculated the odds on that?)
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