Crow’s Call for March 15, 2018 by Tom Port

 

 

Opening: Lucky called the group together with the usual deference to Rotary International President Ian Riseley of Australia. His motto for the year is: “Rotary Making a Difference”.

Patriotic Song: Hermann Welm led us in “My country “Tis of Thee…”

 

Greeter: Kathy Richardson made her debut as Greeter with words of wisdom. “Be a man of values rather than a man of success” a paraphrase from Ablbert Einstein. Also: “ Only with one’s heart can they see clearly”. 9Sorry, I missed the attribution.) Kathy offered a brief biography. She originally hailed from new Jersey where she attended a finishing school through grade 12. She attended university in Boston and began a career in advertising, but had a variety of experiences including work as a bar maid, travel abroad, work at Harvard Medical School for Nobel Prize wining researchers and etc. She ended up in the fashion industry. She also mentioned her second husband was a Former Green Beret and held a PhD in Electrical Engineering.

Visiting Rotarian: Bob, the spouse of our featured speaker, Midge Husta.

 

Club News and Announcements:

Tree Planting: Our club fulfilled its role in the President’s Call to Action by our tree planting at Tahoe.

 

On-Line Auction: Gary Sloan announced the San Ramon Medical Center has pledged $5000 and the physician group has also raised $5000 in support.

 

Club Video: Justin from the Interact Club is preparing video.

 

Incoming President Inauguration: Gary announced the annual baptism of our new president will take place at Gary’s home (and pool) on July 14, 2018.

 

In honor of Stan Smalley: Ray Giles says two of Stan’s daughters will be in attendance next week to help celebrate his Rotary experience.  He requested those Rotarians who knew Stan please come with a fun remembrance of days gone by.

 

Colette Lay was honored with a three sapphire pin. Thanks Colette.

 

Rotary Foundation: Ray Giles reminded the audience that one of the six areas of activity of the Rotary Foundation is health, but it involves more than just polio eradication. A program called Telemedica enables doctors in remote parts of Nigeria to hook up electronically with doctors from around the world to access state-of-the-art medical knowledge.

 

Member Surveys: Thanks were extended to Karen McNamara and Dennis Harvey for their work in collating the member surveys.

 

Rotary Board Meeting: Next Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. at the Blackhawk Conference Room at the S.R. Medical Center. One important topic: “How to communicate with the larger community”.

Fine Free Good News: Guy Greco’s granddaughter is to be inducted into the Cal. High Student Hall of Fame.

 

Golf Game: Next week after lunch. Contact Guy Greco.

 

Fletcher Thames, who was as usual not present, was recognized for $50 bucks.

 

Other member news:  Jeff Johnson is receiving nursing care.

 

Featured Event: Dennis Garrison introduced writer Midge Husta as our speaker for the St. Patrick’s Day event. Midge, who is of Irish, German and Cherokee Indian descent, is the author of a number of books on Irish history and culture that have been recognized by the U.S. Literary Review of Books, most notably: “A Stand for Tir na hÓg”, and “A Stand for Tir na hÓg, the Fenians”.  Tir na hÓg, she explained is a kind of mythical Irish paradise. The phrase is easy to pronounce if you remember, the “g” is silent in Irish. The Fenians were what the earliest Irish revolutionaries were called.

Midge read excerpts from her books and talked about the struggles of the Irish for independence from English oppression, and you sense that the suffering of the Cherokees during the “Trail of Tears”, part of her family’s history, powerfully influences her passionate identification with the Irish experience.

If you look Midge up on Amazon you will see her books receive three and four stars.