Niles Rotary Club of Fremont

Official website of the Niles Rotary Club of Fremont, California

Archives for July 2018

From President Brian

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Hello Niles Rotarians,

WOW!!!  What a start to the year.  My very own parade with Mouseketeers, FASTPASS to the Teacup, and Mickey and Minnie too!  Very cool! Who said this is a Mickey Mouse operation?  I don’t know, but we are certainly Goofy!  Haha. Thank you all for the nice Welcome that ONLY Niles Rotarians know how to do.  It was a special day that I will never forget. Thank you all for such a wonderful induction ceremony into the Presidency.

So, how about that second meeting! Oh, Boy!  Nothing like getting ready for a great day then you find out your speaker had a different date.  Oops! The one thing I do know how to do is PANIC!!  Well, just a little.  I drew inspiration for my theme of “Let the Good Times Roll!” and therefore we did. It was wonderful to hear all about the great things Niles Rotarians are doing in our community.  Thank you for sharing.

People have asked me about my theme. The phrase is very powerful when you look at it as a whole.  My Grandmother and Mom are from Louisiana where this is a very popular phrase.  My Grandmother mainly spoke French when she was little and eventually learned English in elementary school.  She always had a slight French accent her whole life. The French version of the phrase is “Laissez les bon temps rouler” (Lay-zEh lay bAwn tawm rOO-lay).  I figured it would be too hard to get y’all to say it, so I went with the translation “Let the Good Times Roll.”    The spirit of New Orleans lives in the phrase. No matter what happens, “Laissez les bon temps rouler” was applied.  It reminds you to celebrate life in good times and move on from the bad. Celebrate success and don’t dwell on failures.  It’s always there to remind you to enjoy and celebrate life.

President Brian

The more you celebrate your life, the more there is IN LIFE to Celebrate. – Oprah Winfrey

Remembering Harvey Ulijohn (1936-2018)

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Harvey joined Niles Rotary in July 1987 and had the classification of Electronic Manufacturing. Harvey was president of Niles Rotary in 1999-2000. Harvey’s term was the year of culture and esoteric words, sending us to the dictionary to understand Harvey’s “Hyperbole & Homilies from Harvey” articles in The Pinion. Harvey had the honor and privilege of signing the official papers nominating Richard King to be President of Rotary International, and later that year Rick was elected as RI President for the year 2001-2002. Harvey’s droll sense of humor was prominent in all that he said and did!

Among Harvey’s service highlights in Niles Rotary (in addition to club president) was his being the editor of The Pinion, where his wit and erudition were prominent. Harvey also worked with Niles School on Rotary community service projects, including the restoration of a 1935 nine foot grand piano that had been donated to Niles School. Harvey also worked with the club to properly landscape the front of Niles School. Harvey’s love of cars was evident in his collection of a classic Sunbeam Alpine and classic Volkswagen, and a Mercedes Benz. Harvey’s demotion included a reenactment of the Yosemite Bracebridge Dinner, with content to properly reflect Harvey’s year a club president. When Harvey moved to Lincoln Hills, he became a member of the Lincoln Rotary Club in 2005 where he served as president two times; the last time was 2015 – 2016.

From President Brian – July 2018

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Hello fellow Rotarians,

Welcome to a new Rotary year and the beginning of our time together.  It’s with great pride and honor I have accepted the role of President for 2018-2019! I’m super excited for this year.  We have a great RI theme “Be the Inspiration,” outstanding club theme, and the most wonderful and dedicated Rotarians in our club I have ever met. I cannot wait to get this party started!  But first, a few thoughts…

I want to thank Past President Rose for her insight, mentoring, humor and kindness she bestowed upon me as her President Elect.  Thank you so much and I’m looking forward to your social events.  I’m also thankful to Bruce Prescott, our President Elect. Many years ago someone said “Hell will freeze over” before Bruce would be President.  Just to let everyone know….there is NO global warming, just Hell is starting to freeze.  We all have 365 days until it is frozen solid.  Haha Bruce, it is a privilege to have you as my PE.

My main goal for this year is to not screw up!  I have been told this has been the primary goal of new presidents for YEARS, so why break from tradition!  Here is my vision – At the end of my presidential year, I would like to look back and see all of the fun and laughter we had over the year. I want to see new Niles Rotarians in the room. I want to reflect back on all of our speakers and how they enriched our knowledge about the people and services in our community.  I want to congratulate Bruce on another successful Elimination Raffle, which will have raised more money than ever before.  I want to see that all Rotarians and guests participated in wonderful events filled with smiles and laughter.  I want to see the successful community service results of our work, and to see the wonderful international service work we did. I want to see that we were the inspiration for new ideas, encouragement, and thoughtfulness.  I believe if we will have achieved those vision statements, it will have been an AWESOME year! Don’t you think so?  This best part is….We can do ALL of it!  It is just up to us to “Be the Inspiration” and make it happen.

In my first Pinion I felt it would be nice to re-introduce myself to the club.  It has been 10 years since my ice-breaker and we have several new members since then. I am a third generation Niles Rotarian. My Mom, Hattie Hughes, and Grandfather, Morris Hyman, are my predecessors.  I hope during my year I honor and cherish their legacy as Niles Rotarians.  They left some big shoes for me to fill.  Lucky for me I wear a size 12 ½. (tehehe).  I was born and raised here in Fremont.  I’m married to my wife Theresa and we have 2 daughters (Jessika and Heather) and 2 grandkids (Isabella and Joel Jr.).  I attended AND graduated from American High, and received my AA in Criminal Justice at Ohlone.  My first career job was with BART Police.  My biggest moment with the police was in 1989 with the collapse of the Cypress Freeway from the Loma Prieta earthquake.  It is something I will never forget.  After being laid-off in 1990 due to budget cuts, I needed a job so I went to my Grandfather.  Little did I know that 28 years later I would still be with Fremont Bank.  Currently I’m the vice president overseeing our Nonprofit Group and executive director of the Fremont Bank Foundation.  In my spare time I love being with my family, spending a day on the water, or traveling to my favorite places –  Disney parks and New Orleans!  Well….that is me a nutshell.

Thank you all and let’s have a great year!

President Brian

“All of your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them” – Walt Disney

 

Remembering Steve Barnett (1941-2018)

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Written by President Rose

This year our club lost our Gentle Giant Steve Barnett. Steve Loved Rotary, he was a Past President 1997 -1998. He and his wife Lynn went on an international trip to Guyana to give polio drops to the children and he was the leader of our bad joke contest. Steve and I share a Birthday, June 4th but soon after I joined Rotary I realized we shared something else, a heart for people, especially people in the shadows of our community. The first community service project we did together was “Feed the Hungry.” Our club would purchase meat loaf gravy and all the fixin’s from then Lucia’s and take it to the Free dining room. Our guests ranged from families that were struggling or just need a hot meal before the end of the month to the homeless and marginal adults. Steve and Lynn were always there. On December 29, 2016 Steve and Lynn celebrated their 55th Wedding anniversary at the Free Dining Room with their Rotary Family serving others.

Steve was instrumental in organizing our Pizza with Santa project. Long story short, we created a party for families in need and called it Pizza with Santa. Guess who our Santa was? Selected families arrive at the Free dining room in Fremont and began the day with crafting, a bounce house, and horseback rides. While this was going on Steve would move through our guests talking with all the kids, asking questions. He always had a pen and as he would move from one child to another you would see him writing on his hand. Steve would disappear about 11:30 and Santa showed up. The kids would jump up especially the little ones and run up to hug him and he would hug them back and call them all by name as he peeked at his hand! They just knew he was the real deal. One year we had a little girl named Gianna. She wrote a note to Santa saying that she wanted a unicorn bike and drew a picture of it. Her mother passed the note to us and, we in turn passed it to Steve. We called the family up and Gianna with wide eyes approached Santa. Steve looks at her and said, “Hey aren’t you Gianna?” Gianna anxiously said YES, I am! As she jumped onto his lap, Steve said I think you wrote me a letter. Shaking her head rapidly she said, “Yes I did.” Steve reached into a pocket and said, “Is this the letter?” With the biggest smile she said, “YES, it is.” Steve then yells “Where are my elves, bring Gianna her gift” and yes you know it, it was the purple Unicorn bike she had drawn a picture of. There was not a dry eye in the place. Pizza with Santa has been going for about 18 years now and Steve has been our Santa most of those years. He had such a unique way of touching parents, bored teens, that were not bored after talking to Steve, and especially the little ones. I will miss his jokes, his laughter, his friendship, and his amazing prayers. Steve and Lynn will always be a treasure to our club and in my Life.