President's Message

Rose’s Ruminations

THE DEMOTION- What a great night! The Social Committee led by our own PP Lisa Lorenz, including Kimberly McFarland, Tammi Souza, Jeff Schinkel, Cyndy Mozzetti, Dirk Lorenz, Wendy Mills (obtainer of the plastic butts), Bruce Prescott, Mary Contois, Manohar Reddy, Sandra Young and Kathy Laidlaw, really “kicked this one up!” Their plan was to move Angus out in grand tartan, bag pipe, scotch tape, plastic butt style. Mission accomplished. Thank you to the Youngs for again letting us invade their home. Daren and Sandy – you both are always so gracious and I know everyone in the club appreciates it and loves evenings at your beautiful home. Then there was the Scotch Tape Band! Great job Jeff Schinkel, Bruce Prescott, Ray Pederson, PE Brian Hughes, PP Steve Landon, and John Dutra for great kazoo piping entertainment and the mooning!! Please keep the club informed on your next gig. As most of you know we have enjoyed a RICH history of roasting over the years with Dick McKay and Mark Crutcher followed by Angus and Randy Hees stepping in for a few roasting years. This year we were in Roasting Transition; Angus’s roasting team was none other than Stephen Allen, Dan Smith, Dirk Lorenz and Jeff Schinkel with BIG shoes to fill or should we say a BIG SEAT to sit on? The roasting hearts are the same with the roasting styles all different and fun; GREAT JOB to our year 1 Roasters. Congratulations to Don Cole as the 2016-2017 Rotarian of the year – soooooo well deserved, and thank you for ALL you do for us Don! Several Rotarians commented that “their cheeks hurt when they got home from laughing so much,” – so did mine! That’s the night it was –your year may not be remembered Angus (JK) but your demotion will live on in Niles Rotary demotion history as the highlight of the 2016-2017 Presidential year. My favorite moment of the evening was when Angus’s son Cosmos very politely, with the excitement only a 13 year old has, interrupted his father to ASK him, “ DAD can we have a kitten, Mom already said yes?” Really, I got a little teary as Cosmos pulled his father away for kitten overview and selection. Angus, being the Family First guy that he is, dutifully followed his very excited son. Kitten due in the home as soon as they can leave the litter! It was a perfect end to a wonderful night.

The year began with decorating the Area 3 float for the 4^th of July Parade. We had about 20-25 people present alllllll with their special gifts of decorating, and as Chuck would say “We got’er done!” Early morning on the 4^th of July about 60 Rotarians, Interactors and Rotoractors turned out to ride the float and make Area 3 clubs known. They did this by singing the Four Way Test as we marched or rode (in my case) the parade route. I floated back to Fremont Flowers with my fellow Mission San Jose Club President Linda Anderson and PP Larry Anderson. Let me just say things came down much faster than they went up. It was a fun day followed by a “ya all come now ya hear” invitation by PP Chuck Canada and PP Carol Smith at Chuck’s place. We relaxed with wonderful food and fabulous fellowship. As dusk began to hit, off we went to Larry Bowen’s to watch the fireworks. GREAT WAY to begin our NEW ROTARY YEAR!

It is with genuine tears that I write this Thank You to MY ENTIRE club for the amazing welcome and first meeting. Everyone was so warm and encouraging upon arrival – I was very nervous but with so much love and true encouragement the nerves began to leave. THE OPENING – I have no idea what you all were watching while I was in the hall but when the doors opened and the SONG began all I could do was smile – my afterthought was I should have done something witty BUT– too late! I am humbled and so appreciative of our club’s enthusiasm and energy. THEN came the HAPPY CUP – I will NEVER forget the club’s kindness and expressions of appreciation shown towards my Father!   He raised me, empowered me, always believed in me, loved me, held me when I cried, picked me up when I was down, and is my biggest cheer leader.   He is our families’ ROCK! Now our roles are a little reversed – but he prays for me daily, still encourages me, and thanks me every day for simplest things. He is my heart and I could not have begun my year without him. Your kindness to him means more than you will ever know. Thank you -Thank you from the bottom of my heart. MY first question in July was how does one follow Angus? With KRAZY GEORGE of course, banging his drum, making us cheer and YES!!!! WE GOT TO DO THE WAVE! BIG shout out to Sandi and Dick Pantages, Seals fans, for connecting us with Krazy George. He started our year off with a BIG BANG and A WAVE!!! I’m hoping now that my first meeting is over I can relax a little and just talk with you all as if we were one on one in the hall.

Best day ever for me – I will work hard to be a good steward of your club this next year.

My second club meeting was our very own Richard D. King. I was truly the most nervous of all. I messed up my intro, messed up my Agenda, totally blew off announcements, and forgot to give RICK his speaker gift! With all of that confusion we were able to honor Manuel Franco, Sandy Stabile and Cyndy Mozzetti with their Paul Harris Fellow pins. Thank you for your generosity and commitment to Rotary International. Next up were 3 very moving Interactors from Washington, Robertson and Alsion. They talked about their time at RYLA. They all began their week not expecting much and ended forever changed. What a privilege to have a front row seat to see the students impacted in such a way. I am honored to be a part of a club that can support 3 high schools and give THIS opportunity to the future leaders in our world. Thank you to the RYLA drink team of Steve Landon, Adam Moura, Angus Cochran, and of course the Ambassadors of Fun Mary Lynn Pelican and twin sister Carol Goedde. Mission hydrating-the-youth accomplished!

Following the RYLA kids, Daren Young introduced Rick King like only Daren can – with fun, honor, respect and love. HOW does he do it?   We have heard Rick King speak so many times and yet he continues to deliver a message of inspiration, hope, and encouragement always with humor and yes tears. He is loved by the nations but I think it safe to say our Niles Family loves and appreciates him the most. He came to the meeting with a brief case full of about 10 flags, a scarf, a tie, and a big piece of wood that he bestowed on Daren – I’m still not sure what that was, something to do with wine (Cherie cleaned out a drawer at home). While he noted that he had an Eagle pin with him, that little trinket didn’t make it out of his brief case. NO WORRIES. I sent him the gift card left in my purse and he blessed me with my, Cherie designed, Eagle pin. I’m a pin girl so my Eagle pin is now my very favorite! Thank you for everything you do for our club Cherie and Rick King. We are truly the luckiest club in OVER 35,000 worldwide clubs.

My 3^rd meeting began by honoring Bill Arvoy, Dolores Viano, and Gary Basrai as Rotary International Major Donors. This means they have all donated at least $10,000 to the Rotary International Foundation. Congratulations and thank you so much for your generosity. Our speaker turned out to be a big surprise of fun. Dan Kamin is a mime and a magician. He worked with Robert Downey Jr to prepare for his role as Charlie Chaplin in a movie about Charlie’s life. I think I speak for the whole club when I say we had no idea when he began where his talk was going – he started by discussing a book called Stressbusters – things were looking pretty grim until almost all of his clothes fell off and he fled the room. He returned with amazing stories about Charlie Chaplain, magic, and jokes. He had us all smiling, laughing, amazed and fascinated by stories from the Charlie Chaplain past. What a surprise, what a great meeting.

4^th Meeting done – Only 46 more to go J! We again had a packed house filled with our club and friends. Upon their return from Alaska it was noted by Harry Avila that our own Heather Boudames was the best fisherwoman in Alaska! Girl Power!

Paul Iannaccone is on a roll let me tell you!!! This week he honored 3 more Paul Harris Society members (PHSM) Dolores Viano, Bill Arvoy, and Sam Forbes. Paul Harris Society members commit to donating to Rotary International a $1000 a year. We ended Angus’s year with 9 PHSM and now have 12. Great work Paul. We enjoyed an interesting presentation from the International Service Chair of Castro Valley Rotary, Obse Lubo, who talked about her home of Ethiopia and her passion for the Breath of Life project. This project has been in the works for about 3 years and will bring the ability to produce oxygen for many hospitals which will assist in saving many lives. Thank you Obse for you work with Rotary International.

Friendship Friday continues to be a lovely way to spend Friday evenings with Family and Friends. Thank you to Steven Lloyd, Sandi & Dick Pantages, Terri & Steve Landon, Dana & Rick Jones, Chuck Canada for opening their homes, yards and fire pits. And we have more scheduled for August/September, plus more from people who want to host. If you have not attended please do – they are open to all and a great way to get to know each other in a relaxed setting.

August is looking like it will be a very friendly way to end the summer – We will have one last Music in the Park on the 3^rd with the best cover band East Bay Mudd. I am a LONG time Tower of Power girl (yes I know all the words to ALL their songs), followed by Friendship Friday at the Kearns on the 4^th and then dinner at Mission Coffee and Footloose at the Smith Center produced by Star Struck on the 5^th. We are giving you Sunday to rest!

We will also enjoy 2 community service projects – LEAF on August 19 at 1:30 pm, and Feed the Hungry at the Centerville Free Dining Room on the 31^st of August from 3:50-6:00. We have several other Friendship Fridays planned with homes to be announced. It looks like August will be a fun and productive month.

ONE SHORT NOTE – Washington Hospital is undergoing major work in their kitchen. They have had to have the floors torn up in order to replace very old pipes. The staff is working hard to provide us with quality lunches but are at the mercy of the surrounding restaurants. What appeared to be simple fix is ending up not so simple. They continue to discuss ways to serve the club with both regular and vegetarian meals. Please be patient with the staff. If all goes well we should have our kitchen back in a month or so.

Fondly,

President Rose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From President Rose

Oh MY!! It’s here, the beginning of my year as President of our club. How does one follow Angus? This has been such a great year for me under his leadership. He is CALM, insightful, funny and a pleasure to spend time with. He is a patient listener and a voice of reason. He has helped me to STAY Calm and Serve On as I prepare anxiously for this next year. Thank you Angus but you’re not going far!! I’m excited about OUR year ahead.

I want to start my first Pinion with thoughts about my President Elect (PE) year. It has been a year of growing, learning and stretching. It began in January 2016 (when I was the President Elect Nominee – PEN) with weekly meetings of our Presidents Club. For those of you that do not know we have a group of 4 that meets weekly to ensure we are moving our club forward together. My Presidents Club included (for my first 6 month) Past President (Steve), President and then Past President (Lisa), and President (Angus), President Elect (Me J) and now Steve has stepped away and PEN (Brian) has joined us. This is a rotating committee as we change seats. Starting as a PEN, the first 60 days I really got a sense of what I had said yes to and I was nervous. Because of these meetings I was very prepared to get the most out of the President Elect Training (PETS) in March of 2017. Communication is always a challenge with larger clubs. When I got to PETS I realized what an impact the time and attention given me by our Presidents Club had made. The Presidents Club is a group most other clubs only dream of. It requires extra time of already busy people. The mentoring, time and patience gifted to me by Steven Landon, Lisa Lorenz, and Angus Cochran is so appreciated; I hope I can be of as much value to those coming next. Thank you so much for explaining things several times and being patient with my learning curve. You are all the best. And Brian we are just getting started – I truly look forward to the next three years with you!

The next big challenge was the PE’s responsibility for the Reverse Raffle. I know most of you think I do this every year! It’s not true; my job has been to support the PE’s vision for the event. Being the decision maker was a very different role for me. We had the best team ever and together with a lot of hard work, knocking on doors for donations, working with new venue staff, increased ticket prices, and the BEST ROTARIAN TICKET SELLERS EVER (IT TAKES A CLUB) – we sold out – had a great evening, and made lots of money to give away to our community. Thank you to all of you in my Rotary Family for your amazing continued support of the Reverse Raffle. PEN Brian already has a vision for our next Reverse Raffle and it will include some big changes that will be fun and full of Aloha!

LEADERSHIP—- I had to plan my first ever Leadership Retreat. 14 of us met for an all day Saturday training session lead by our club trainer Jack Rogers. It was a great day of understanding what makes Niles Rotary tick. Each leader in the room shared their ideas and vision for the next year. It was a very valuable day with a great lunch and yes we did have fun. Thank you all for your time, participation, enthusiasm and great ideas for our 2017-2018 year.

THEN there was Atlanta!!! I am going to be really honest – I did not want to go to the RI Convention in Atlanta! Yes, you heard right I really did not want to go. Of course our fearless leader told me I didn’t have to but he and several others really encouraged me to go and noted I would not be sorry! WELLLLLL they were right – Randy and I truly enjoyed ourselves, getting to know people in our club better, inspired by amazing speakers (UN Ambassador Andrew Young and Jack Nicklaus to name two) and amazed at the magnitude of Rotary International. There were only about 45,000 people there. We met people from ALLL over the world and I must admit I had to look up some countries once back in our room. It was A PETS on steroids— Imagine 45,000 people all with a Service Above Self attitude – wanting to serve humanity and excited about Making a Difference in the year ahead. It is a trip that will not be forgotten. I plan on writing a little more about our trip later.

This next year I want to focus on our membership. TOTAL membership! Increasing yes!!! But Rotary is what we do with our private, quality, and sometimes even family time. Everyone chooses to be involved with what gives them joy, satisfaction or as Kimberly said what “Fosters our Passion.” That’s why we attend meetings, volunteer for projects, and choose to play together. The song is right – “We are a friendly happy band and the GREATEST in the Land” – this is what makes our club so strong, rewarding, and fun to be a part of. With this positive bond we do make a difference in our community and the world. I want to keep that going with great projects, upbeat meetings, different socials, increased membership, while valuing every member of our club.

By the reading of this Pinion you will already know the International Theme for the year is “Rotary: Making a Difference,” and my theme this year is … [it will be revealed at my first meeting – there are a few clues in my article]. I think our club can meet all of our membership goals, gifting goals, project goals, and fun goals as a club family! I look forward to the year ahead and details about our goals will be presented at our club assembly. I hope you all enjoy CRAZY GEORGE on July 6! I have no idea what to expect but at least I hope we get to do the WAVE!

SO READY OR NOT LET THE YEAR BEGIN!!!

Fondly,

President Rose

From President Angus:

Well, my term as president of Niles Rotary is wrapping up. It’s a bittersweet moment. Looking back over the past Rotary year, I am proud of everything we accomplished together. Thanks to Sandra Young and Manuel Franco, we are wrapping up our international project to bring fresh drinking water to Segera Mission in rural Kenya. Thanks to Audrey Kearns and Geeta Kadambi, we have a great new international project taking flight with SightNow. Thanks to Paul Andrus and the Community Service leads, we held several successful service projects in conjunction with Fremont Unified and LEAF. Thanks to our sergeant-at-arms, Dana Jones, and board secretary, Tammi Souza, club operations have run like clockwork all year long under the leadership of Sandy Stabile. Thanks to President Elect Rose and the Reverse Raffle Committee, we had one of the most enjoyable and successful Reverse Raffle evenings in memory. Thanks to Past President Lisa, we kept busy socially all year long. Thanks to the Membership Committee and the mentoring team, we have added five new members this year, and have a strong mentoring program in place to support new members going through the red-badge process. Thanks to club and foundation treasurers, Don Cole and Larry Bowen, we know exactly where the money is and where it is going. Thanks to Paul Iannaccone, we have a solid grasp of contributions to the Rotary Foundation. And thanks to Dirk Lorenz and the Youth Services Team, we continue to enjoy a strong connection with the three Interact clubs we sponsor, as well as the Rotaract Club of Greater Fremont.

Despite the pain of relinquishing the gavel to the incoming president, I am extremely excited about President Elect Rose’s presidential year. For many years, Rose’s commitment to Rotary service at our club has breathed the life into vital community programs such as Feed the Hungry and Pizza with Santa.   And we all know how important her work is to the Reverse Raffle event. So it is only fitting that she will now be the formal leader of Niles Rotary, since she has for a long time been one of its informal leaders. I am keenly anticipating what your year will bring, Rose.

The bottom line is that change is good for organizations. New people step into leadership roles, and they bring new ideas and new perspectives to the work that needs to be accomplished. At every level in the club, we have strong leadership. This is especially true for the Board of Directors. With their terms coming to an end, we owe a debt of gratitude to Dirk Lorenz and Audrey Kearns for serving so ably on the Board for the last two years. Dirk managed our Youth Services portfolio of activities with aplomb and skill. It’s not easy cajoling high-school students into showing up for the speech contest or registering to attend RYLA. But Dirk transformed himself into a champion communicator with the Interact leaders, and is now a text-message ninja. Audrey has successfully seen the Segera Mission Water Project to its conclusion and has helped launch SightNow as an Area Three international project. As our club representative on the World Community Service Committee, Audrey skillfully advocated for Niles Rotary projects and priorities as the clubs of Area Three chose which projects to support. I am looking forward to seeing how incoming board members, Adam Moura (Youth Services) and Rich Godfrey (International Service) will shape their areas of responsibility as they settle into the board. Thank you, Adam and Rich, for stepping up.

As I gaze out from the podium before gaveling the meeting to order and as I watch club members having lunch together, I am often struck by the fellowship and camaraderie in the room. When a group of talented, committed people gathers weekly to break bread and plan service projects and social events, it’s amazing how much we can get done together. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to serve as president of Niles Rotary this year. All I can say is thank you for the opportunity. As I have declared all year long, Niles Rotary is undoubtedly the best Rotary Club in the world!

April was a busy Niles month for service in the community. The month began at Cabrillo Elementary School in the rain, where a group of intrepid Niles Rotarians braved the elements to beautify a student garden and install a work bench. At this event, I discovered two talents in the club. The first came as no surprise: Steve Landon can build a work bench out of wood. I have no idea how he did it. I helped get the roughed-out piece off his truck, and then Steve set up a makeshift outdoor workshop in which he finished the piece off.   Before you knew it, people were sanding the work bench and it was nailed to the side of a building at the school, ready for duty. Not being a handy person, I have never built anything larger than a chicken pot pie. So this work bench was truly a wonder to me. I take my hat off to Steve and the handymen and handywomen of Niles Rotary

The second talent I discovered was the love of tan bark that resides in the club. Niles Rotarians love to shovel tan bark, transport it a wheel barrow, spread it around, make patterns in it, and argue about whether it is distributed perfectly in all areas. Again, I had no idea. By the end of the day, tan bark was exactly two-a-half inches deep throughout the school garden, and the sense of satisfaction was palpable. It was a great morning of work and cheerfulness, sustained by breakfast sandwiches from the Depot Café. Thank you everyone who joined the work party, and especially Paul Andrus, the Service Chair of the club, for coordinating everything and keeping us fed.

At the end of April, on Arbor Day, our second service outing of the month, again organized by Paul Andrus, took place at Rancho Arroyo Park in Niles and at the Stone Garden, a community garden owned by Local Ecology and Agriculture in Fremont (LEAF). After lashings of breakfast sandwiches, this time from Joe’s Corner (thank you, Melissa!), one group took off to the Stone Garden to build planter boxes, maintain the community garden and erect a fence. At the Rancho Arroyo Park . . . yup, you guessed it . . . we spread tan bark. Given all the practice we had earlier this month, it turned out we got pretty fast at distributing tan bark around the base of the mature trees in the park. But the main thrust of our project at the park was the planting of several trees, which occurred under the watchful eye of a couple of employees from the City of Fremont Parks and Recreation Department. Again, I want to express my appreciation to everyone in the club who spent a glorious spring morning improving a local park for our friends and neighbors. And thank you, Rich Godfrey, for involving LEAF in the project too.

Even though it rained on the Cabrillo School project and the sun shone brightly at the Arbor Day project, the two events shared one special feature – a ton of laughter. As I looked up from my little pile of tan bark, all I could see was Rotarians having fun, working together and enjoying each other’s company. As much as I like to think my shenanigans at the podium each Thursday define our club this year, it is really the generous spirit and camaraderie of community service that makes the Niles Rotary Club so unique. With the contributions of time, talent and treasure offered by the hundred members of Niles Rotary, there is nothing we can’t do together. Especially when it comes to tan bark.

President’s Column for April Pinion

First, I would like to begin with a word of thanks to Niles Rotary. Last fall, Barbara Orth, the First Lady of Rotary District 5170, announced that the Governor’s Partner’s Project would be a fundraiser called “Read Me a Picture,” which aimed to buy books promoting visual literacy for elementary-school students throughout the District. With the help of all our generous club members and the cooperation of Fremont Unified School District, the members of Niles Rotary Club contributed $4,100 to buy books for second-grade students in FUSD. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you all for your generosity. I am particularly grateful to Sam Forbes, the champion of this project, who steered the ship safely into the fund-raising harbor after I dithered and procrastinated for several months. Thank you, Sam!

While I am on the subject of thanking people, I would like to take my hat off to President Elect Rose and the entire Reverse Raffle Committee for pulling off a fabulous event in March. What an evening to remember. The banquet room looked beautiful; I felt right at home in all that tartan and heather. The dinner was delicious. The wait staff was attentive and friendly.

Best of all, the auctions generated tremendous activity to support non-profits in our community. The fund-a-need auction resulted in more than $10,000 for SAVE’s Community Oriented Prevention Services program, which trains advocates to help domestic-violence victims at the Fremont Police Department and establish longer-term relationships with clients. Conservatively, I am going to say that from ticket sales and auction income we will provide the Gifting Committee more than $90,000 to distribute among the charities that submit grant applications this spring. This contribution is really at the heart of all the hard work that club members contribute to the event. Rotarians get the ball rolling by serving on the committee. Rotarians drive attendance by selling tickets. Rotarians make the silent and live auctions attractive by donating unique items and experiences. And Rotarians generate income for the event by bidding on those items throughout the evening. I couldn’t be prouder of all that Niles Rotary contributes to the community than I was on the evening of the Reverse Raffle.

Did you notice, by the way, that everyone had a great evening? There was so much laughter in the audience, that I could barely hear the auctioneer at times. As Past President Chuck always points out, the first rule of Rotary is “Have Fun.” And who has more fun than Bruce Prescott, the winner of the Elimination Raffle $5,000 prize? In true Karmic fashion, Bruce’s boat finally came in. All he had to do was lead the charge with ticket sales for more than five years and dress up as Cher. Bruce, you earned every penny of that prize money. Thank you for all your hard work and for your generous donation of a portion of the winnings. Keep it up.

Now we are into the final quarter of my presidency. Soon President Elect Rose will be ringing the bell and helping the club thrive. Before then, though, we have two service projects, a District Assembly and Conference, a Day at the A’s, and the event whose name must not be spoken. I look forward to seeing you at the club each Thursday and at many of these co-curricular events. Thank you, everyone, for making our club such a success.

In Rotary,

President Angus

We are now more than half-way through the Rotary year, and the Club is gearing up for the many activities planned for the winter and spring. President Elect Rose is organizing the Reverse Raffle Fund Raiser and an outing to a rugby game; Past President Lisa Lorenz and Chuck Canada are setting their sights on the annual Paso Robles wine adventure; Paul Andrus has three service projects in planning stages; Dirk Lorenz is helping the Interactors register for RYLA and the speech contest; Jeff Falk can’t wait for our annual Day at the A’s; Sandra Young and Manuel Franco are facilitating the digging of a well in Kenya; and Geeta Kadambi is in India as I write this column promoting her Sight Now eye-care project in India.

That’s just a sample of all the activity that the Niles club generates through our shared commitment to the ideals of Rotary International. I haven’t even touched on the work that goes on keeping the operations of the club running smoothly. Sandy Stabile manages club service with aplomb; Audrey Kearns is a persuasive voice for us on the Area 3 international service committee; Paul Iannaccone drums up support for the Rotary Foundation and recognizes our Paul Harris fellows; Tammi Souza cheerfully takes minutes for the monthly board meetings and does so much more; Don Cole runs the numbers and keeps a wary eye on our finances; Larry Bowen safeguards the Niles Foundation funds; Dana Jones cracks the whip (with a smile) at our weekly meetings; Rick Hood and Chuck Canada drive our membership efforts; Adam Moura oversees mentoring and on-boarding of our new members; Margo Hood makes sure we send our best wishes to members under the weather; Rosemary Ashley makes our weekly deposits at the bank; Steve Barnett does his best to inject some levity into the club with the Bad Joke Contest; Josh Carlson cranks out our e-Bulletin every week; Scott Chambers engages lively and engaging speakers; Mary Lynn Pelican and Aggie Freeman support our local Rotaract Club; and Sandi Pantages writes, edits, and publishes the monthly Pinion and cajoles me into writing this column most months. (Sorry I am frequently late with my submission, Sandi.)

I know I must have left off the names of some members from this litany. I apologize for any omissions. The larger point I am trying to make is that the collective energy expended on the behalf of this club is nothing short of awesome. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the people listed above, for helping to make Niles Rotary the best Rotary club in the world. For newer members, level of activity indicated by the roll-call of announcements made each week must seem overwhelming. But the best way to overcome that feeling is to dive in and volunteer on a committee or attend a service event or come to a social. Jump in!

Before I end, I would like to mention a couple of highlights from the past month. On January 3, 2017, Rotary International President John Germ came to dinner in San Jose. Hundreds of Rotarians from all over our Zone were there. But which table did Rick King introduce to John Germ? You guessed it – the Niles Rotary table. Thank you, Rick, for bringing President John Germ over to meet us. It was a thrill.

I also wanted to thank Sam Forbes for kicking off the fundraising last week for the District Governor’s spouse, Barbara Orth’s “Read Me a Picture” project. We are well on our way to meeting our goal of giving a book to every second-grade student in the Title 1 schools of Fremont Unified School District. My personal thanks go out to everyone who has contributed to this effort so far. If you haven’t given yet, please consider making a donation to support Barbara and our students.

In Rotary,

President Angus