Program Chairs:
  
Kevin Badkoubehi
February 28, 2008   

March 6


March 11


March 13

Next Week...
March 6
Next Level Marketing
Deborah Rodney and Don Spector

Upcoming Meetings...
March 13
Aging
Dr. Gary Small, head of the Center on Aging at UCLA

Upcoming Events...
March 11, 11:30am
Auction of Treasures

World famous auctioneer Don Nelson will get the ladies bidding against each other for treasures when the Westwood Village Rotary Auxiliary holds its traditional Treasures Auction at the home of Don and Roz Nelson.

Make your reservation with Marjory Downie, 310.394.4827.  The auction will follow lunch at 12 noon.  Members are urged to bring treasures to auction off, with the proceeds helping to finance the group's Summertime Fun Party.  Popular items to auction include baked goods, antiques and gifts that could not be used by the recipient.

This Week...
TWO OUTSTANDING CRAFT TALKS at WVRC on Feb 28th.
PP MIKE GINTZ started us off with the Pledge.  LENNY bravely came forward to lead us in Dixie, and we done better than might have been expected…MARK KRAUSE provided a short Invocation – “Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console: to be understood, as to understand:  to be loved, as to love: for it is giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life”  Well done, MARK.

We had a Visiting Rotarian, Ada Kahn, who belongs to the Evanston Club.  Her classification is Health Education.  LENNY brought Sunny, and PP STEVE SCHERER had two Special Guests. Lorrie Minkel is in Human Resources, at UCLA.  Linda Newcomb is the principal trainer for Human Resources at UCLA – keep those Bruins coming!


Steve Scheer and Guests

PP JIM COLLINS was called to explain if he recognized what happened to him 55 years ago today.  PP JIM allowed as how that was the day he became a Rotarian – a day he remembers well.  His sponsor was JOE VALENTINE, the Permanent Manager for Desmonds in the Village, and he was next asked why he joined.  “My father-in-law (BOB LEONARD Sr) told me to.!” There was some sparring between President CHRIS and PP JIM as to what would be appropriate fine for such an auspicious occasion.  While several numbers were cast about, it was finally resolved that a dollar a year would be appropriate.

MARK KRAUSE had another story for our edification (I like to use these long words to test whether you are paying attention…) Among his tasks when he arrived at Westwood Hills Christian Church was to hire a new Secretary.  Several people were interviewed, and the last candidate didn’t really seem like her elevator went to the top floor.  However, MARK persisted with her interview.  His last question was, “What is your first name?” The young lady spent some time over this, seeming to be humming a little tune over and over again., and finally answered “Mandy”.  “That’s right”, said Mark, “But what took you so long to answer?”  “Well, I had to sing the Birthday Song several times to be sure I had it right”

This may be an appropriate time to bring you the Westwood Village Rotary Club Auxiliary’s message on how to keep your brains young and intelligent even as your age increases.  In general, brain aging is affected by genetic factors, how you take care of yourself, your education (the more, the better), your stress level (less is better) and your mental and physical activity.  Daily mental activities keep your brain young.  These can include reading, jigsaw puzzles, woodworking, painting, knitting, board games, crossword puzzles, learning new languages and playing a musical instrument.

And your diet should include lots of fruits, vegetables, whole cereals, legumes and fish. A low intake of saturated fatty acids, a low to moderate intake of dairy products, low intake of meat, and only a moderate intake of alcohol, preferably as wine with meals. And finally, 30 minutes of exercise three times a week is a good target. These words of wisdom also provide a good lead in to a reminder that the DON NELSON auction will soon be visiting a home in your area. Specifically, the date is March 11th, Tuesday, at the NELSON’s  and many treasures will go on the auction block.

Our first Craft Talk was given by LORIN RUTTENBURG, who was sponsored by PP STEVE SCHERER.LORIN grew up in New Jersey, and early on was attracted to the Theatre.  She attended Mason Gross School of the Arts, which is part of Rutgers. During this time she met Bambi, and they got along well, traveling across the country by car.  Wanting to see – and be shown - his roots, they flew to India, where they were married in a Hindu ceremony.  They spent two months trekking in India, and then LORIN returned to the US – Los Angeles, to be exact.

She returned to her first love – the movies, and worked as a writer and in production.  LORIN graduated from Cal State LA, with a degree in Theatre.  About this time she met Sean, and they were married nine years ago. They have two children, a boy who is two and a girl who is five. As her interest in film continued, she decided she wanted to make her own short movie. So she wrote the screenplay, found actors and directed them, produced it – and nothing happened!  This was such a devastating and abrupt ending to her ‘dream’ that she “Crashed and burned”. Real Estate came along at the right time, and she is with Nourmand & Associates, has a partner Monica Grilli, and email is Lorin@savvyduo.com.

Next up was ALY SHOJI, and her sponsor is PEGGY BLOOMFIELD.  ALY has had a varied career starting with Northrop Grumman as an Environmental Engineer.  She became an Associate, then transferred to Finance.  In the meantime, she earned two degrees from UCLA. She transferred to the commercial brokerage field, but decided to strike out in an entirely new field – medical school!

Once at Columbia she began to feel that this really wasn’t where she ought to be. So she returned to LA, and identified three major areas of interest; Women, the environment, and the elderly.  This led to work with the YWCA – but that was in Pasadena, and when UCLA called, that seemed a better commute. She noted that UCLA was where AIDS was originally described. And today her job title is staffing the UCLA AIDS Institute, plus the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Center.

It’s no surprise that her primary interest remains women and the elderly.  Some surprising stats on AIDS:  UCLA has 200 faculty members that are dedicated to researching, treating and combating this disease. A recent report indicates that 1 in 9 new infections are in women over 50 -  it’s not just a young person’s disease or isolated in the gay community.  While she will not likely encounter most of our members (because they are male), still our paths will cross in other ways.  She counts meeting PP JIM COLLINS and PP STEVE SCHERER, for example, as major plusses in her networking endeavors. She appreciates our Rotary commitment to things and the hard work and dedication it takes. And we would respond, I’m sure, by welcoming these two new members to our fellowship.

Thought for the Day:
The average child laughts 400 times a day.  The average adult laughs 15 times a day. So maybe you don’t stop laughing because you get old.  Rather, you get old because you stop laughing.
.

—YOE, Ernie Wolfe



WESTWOOD VILLAGE ROTARY CLUB 2007 - 2008

OFFICERS:
President 
Christopher Bradford

President Elect
Sean McMillan

Vice President
Ed Gauld

Treasurer
Mark Block

Exec. Treasurer
Don Nelson

Secretary
Shane Waarbroek

Executive Secretary
Ernie Wolfe

Past President
Michael Gintz

DIRECTORS:
Community Service Chair
Mark Rogo

International Service Chair
Elliott Turner

Membership Chair
Steve Scherer

Vocational Service Chair
Sherry Dewane

Youth Service Chair
Ann Samson

.....

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
PRESIDENT:

Wilfrid J. Wilkinson

DISTRICT 5280 GOVERNOR:
    David Moyers
Palos Verdes Sunset Rotary


NEARBY MAKEUP SITES
Monday, Beverly Hills, BH Hotel, 9641 Sunset
Tuesday, WLA/Brentwood, Chez Mimi, 246 26th St, Santa Monica
Wednesday, Century City, La Cuchette Restaurant, 10506 Santa Monica Blvd.
    Culver City, Wyndham Hotel, 6333 Bristol Parkway, CC, or
    Wilshire, The Ebell, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd, LA
Friday, Santa Monica, Riviera Country Club, 1250 Capri Dr, Pacific Palisades