Oct 30
Avoiding Pitfalls
of California Employment Law
Nov 20
Stem Cell Research
at UCLA
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Next Week...
October 23
Money Matters
Elliott Turner, Mark Rogo and Lee Dunayer
Upcoming Programs...
October 30
Margaret Rosenthal
"Avoiding the Pitfalls of California Employment Law"
November 6
Craft Talks
Marcia and Rick Brous
November 20
Dr. Owen Witte
Stem Cell Research Chief at UCLA
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This Week...
CLAUDIA FINKEL at WVRC on October 16th
Before we begin, an important note about last week – the elections are coming up on November 4th, and Proposition 11 was described. However, the League of Women’s Voters failed to announce their support for this measure on Redistricting. One of the main reasons for PEGGY BLOOMFIELD inviting the League was because they strongly support Proposition 11, as she does. I would add my voice in support – this is a non-partisan issue, and we certainly need to end the Gerrymandering that now goes on. So, please be sure to vote, and please support Proposition 11.
PP RON LYSTER led the Pledge. ED WRIGHT followed with the Invocation, which was a story about Change, by Spencer Johnson. A summary – Change happens, and they keep moving the Cheese (that is what we want to have in life). Anticipate Change – Get ready for the Cheese to move. Monitor Change. Smell the Cheese often so you know when it’s getting old. Adapt to Change quickly…Change - move with the Cheese. Enjoy Change. Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new Cheese. Be ready to Change quickly and enjoy it again. And, remember they keep moving the Cheese.
ED, well done, as usual. Thanks.
It was Birthday Time. Those who arrived in October were all called forward. PP BOB WESSLING made the first claim, on the 10th, in Chicago (and let’s allow a moment of respectful silence in memory of failed hopes, again). BILL EDWARDS stepped forward on the 11th, as did PP MIKE GINTZ. BILL claimed Bloomsburg, PA, while PP MIKE preferred Northridge, CA. FLORENCE SAMPSON chose the 17th, in Brooklyn. PP STEVE DAY, along with SHANE WAARBROEK liked the 25th –
PP STEVE in Sacramento and SHANE in West Covina. BOB THOM was next to last, on the 30th, and he preferred Detroit. And last, but never least, was the 31st – and there was PP PETER MORE, in (surprise) Shanghai!
There were several guests. John Heidt was the Special Guest of PP STEVE SCHERER. John is in the Property Management business, and has visited us before. JR DZUBAK had a Special Guest, Julie Ware, who is a Health Practitioner, working with Doctors. And while we are talking about JR, please correct his cell phone to (310)710-8952. PEGGY BLOOMFIELD introduced the 2nd attendee from JVS, Greg Krentzman – he was invited by RON KLEPETAR, who had to leave early. Our Visiting Rotarian was Patricia Young, from Ventura – her Classification is Spiritual Enlightenment.
There were the usual Distinguished Members at the Head Table. TONY MARRONE expounded on the delights of a Pedicure. PP JIM COLLINS suggested that everyone support UCLA against Stanford this weekend – and it turned out that there weren’t none of those present who either attended or favored the Cardinal (and by the way, that’s a bird!). PEGGY BLOOMFIELD reiterated her strong support for Proposition 11.
This brought up LORIN RUTTENBERG, who began by pointing out that she had not volunteered for the Rebuttal Slot, but was selected by others…LORIN nicely pointed out that she, along with others, had sometimes been embarrassed when they had guests if the subject veered off too far into sexism, or other doubtful topics. As she concluded, these constraints are simply the result of women being bigger people…
President SEAN moved us to the Inspirational portion of his programs. He first pointed out that our best jokes should include satire, or parody – we must, after all, be able to laugh at ourselves. They cannot be mean-spirited, and above all, they must be funny.
His example was a touching tale involving a hundred poor souls (all men, somehow) who were tested after consuming six ounces of beer within an hour. The testing results were uniformly sad, showing the subjects to have become talkative to the point of babbling, unable to drive, forgetful, argumentative, and generally just not very nice. These characteristics were blamed on the ignition of too many hormones by the aforementioned beer. But I would not be following my dedication, as YOE, to telling the truth, and nothing but the truth, if I did not mention that fairness may perhaps require someone to defend (poor) beer!
There were apparently no missing Rotary pins today (thus proving that fines do work!) RALPH BEASOM was called forward and given the opportunity of defending his good luck in winning a recent $650 vacation package. RALPH’S story was touching, but fell on deaf ears, apparently – so it cost him a 10% fine, or 65 bucks. TONY MARRONE offered his four tickets for the UCLA-Stanford game this weekend to the highest bidder. They are on the 40-yard line, and cost $49 each – but SEAN picked them up for a total donation to the Club of a hundred big ones. You may have heard that PP JIM DOWNIE is still at St. John’s Hospital. He has a blood disorder that requires transfusions, and that keeps him there. With luck, he’ll be out sometime next week, and cards (no phone calls, please) would be welcome.
Our last pre-lunch ritual was some more Irish history (and a bit of self-puffery here, if I may). The early editions of these facts also contained some whoppers, which YOE innocently recorded – but my strenuous protests have now resulted in what appear to be more legitimate facts. As sure as I take this credit, I suspect that President SEAN may yet slip in some further tests, so let us all be alert to any such devious attempts, OK?
But back to history. On this very day, October 16th, but in 1854, Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin. Despite what most of us thought, Oscar only wrote one book, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” – the majority of his wit and humor came out in shorter articles and plays.
And skipping ahead to 16 October 1890, Michael Collins was born in Clonakilty, Co. Cork. He rose to fame during the East Rising in 1916, which was led by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a secret, oath-bound society dedicated to achieving Irish independence.
PEGGY BLOOMFIELD did her usual good job of introducing our Speaker, Claudia Finkel. Ms Siegel is the CEO of JVS (Jewish Vocational Service), a non-profit, non-sectarian agency serving 24,000 individuals annually. They have over 200 on staff, and their goal is to help people achieve self-sufficiency through job creation and training. Founded in 1930, the agency operates more than 20 programs in 18 locations in Southern California. Ms Finkel holds an MS in Career Development and Human Resources, and teaches courses at Cal State Northridge in their Graduate School of Education.
She began with an excellent Video. One of their profiles was of Melissa Hebrard, who lived in Foster Care homes, until she reached high school. After an extended period dealing with drugs, she was referred to JVS by the Juvenile Probation Dept, and entered the internship program of Los Angeles County. She now works for the County Department of Children and Family Services. The next subject was Joseph Workman, who was born in 1945, and grew up with a violent, alcoholic father. He was in and out of prison, and in 2001 he affiliated with JVS West Hollywood WorkSource Center. Today he works there part time, helping others find their way to employment and stability. The last subject was Danitra Turner, who grew up in a loving family in Watts. She had dreams of entering the financial industry – but in April 2004 she was shot while driving her car, and became a paraplegic. She enrolled in JVS’ BankWorks program and is now working as a bank teller for Wells Fargo. She, as the others above, inspires others to pursue their dreams.
Their major fundraising event is an annual luncheon, which will attract 750 supporters. It will be held next year on May 20th, and is sponsored by Wells Fargo, among others. The list of their programs is both long and impressive, including six Career and Training services, ten Youth Services, three Disability and Assessment services, four Recovery and Low Income services, plus a Refugee and Immigrant Service and Donor Directed Programs. These are coordinated by the WorkSouce centers in West Hollywood and Marina del Rey. Their headquarters are 2505 Wilshire Blvd, #200, LA 90048 (323) 761-8888 and 22622 Vanowen Street, West Hills 91307 (818) 464-3222. Ms Finkel’s direct number is (323) 761-8897.
There was a Q&A session: Are you only in Southern California? No, there are 29 JVS programs nationally. ANDY asked what she expected the current economic problem to do to their activities? They have a full expectation of employment being available for trained applicants. Do you train those in manufacturing for new jobs? They now train many for white-collar positions. How are you funded? 70% of their budget comes from the various government agencies they work with, and the rest is from Donations. Their annual target for private fundraising is ten million dollars. What is your current focus on training? Customer Service, Tellers, and Nurses are presently our focus. Each class consists of 100 trainees. One overall objective is to change the way doctors work, where possible. They are not an Employment Agency, but they will list your resume at no cost.
Claudia Finkel, we thank you for your informative program.
Closing Words of Wisdom –
Learn from the mistakes of others. You won’t live long enough to make all of them yourself.
