MEETING MINUTES December 1, 2005 at Inn Marin, Ignacio

Submitted by Garry Gast

President Tony opened the meeting at 12:35pm – the fastest club in the west!

Jim Picchi led us in the Pledge and Pastor Stan had the word for the day, “Attitude is like a flat tire; you won’t get very far if you don’t change it.”  Is Stan on an auto roll, or what?!

Visiting Rotarians

Pauline Stuber introduced the visiting Rotarians:

            1.  Herb Schwarz, and engineer from the Terra Linda club.

2.  Dan Keen, Novato City Manager.

Guests

There were no guests in attendance.

Announcements

1.  Larry Curtis:

The Ignacio Rotary Foundation Board has one seat open.

            The Ignacio Rotary Board nominated Art Wasserman. 

            There was a nomination from the floor for Pauline Stuber.

            Art is a CPA and past president of the club.

            Pauline is a past president and chair of the Wulbern Scholarship.

            Ballots were passed out to the members.

2. Greg Chidlaw gave an update on Monte Carlo.  Fireman’s Fund will be a corporate sponsor for the first time, with a $2,500 sponsorship and a skybox donation for over $5,000 total.  Regular corporate sponsors are $1,500 along with 6 tickets to the event.  Tickets will be $75 – up $25 from last year, but you will get more for your buck!

To eliminate the back-up at the front door, the club is looking into purchasing or leasing 4-6 laptop computers ($500 each to purchase).

Kirk Hyland says that it is important that we pre-register people at the door.  Matt Pavone announced that the donor forms need to be filled out and turned in ASAP.

3.  Roland Fuette, Youth Chair, says that the Interact Club will be having a Music Lovers fundraiser December 17^th, 8:00-11:00pm at the Druids Hall.  Some of your favorite bands will be playing:  Mouth-to-Mouth, Grimorium, Brockly Tacos, Soulpie, and Machines of Loving Grace.  Let’s support the Interactors!

4.  Club Service Chair Fred Pfeifer gave the run-down on the Holiday Party.

            When:               Thursday, December 8^th

            Where:             The Marin Country Club

            Time:                6:00-7:00pm Cocktails.    7:00pm Dinner. 

                                    Wine will be on the tables, and there will also be a cash bar.

            Dress Code:    No Levis, denims, or shorts.  Hawaiian shirts OK!

Thursday, December 15^th is our Christmas lunch at the Novato Youth Center.  Try to get there early (11:15) because lunch will be served at 11:30 (due to the kids’ naptime).  Bring an unwrapped toy.  Levis and denims are OK.

5.  Stan Dennison announced that the B to B (business to breakfast) workshops will have six workshops next year.  The first presenter will be City Manager, Dan Keen.  More info on this later.

6.  Rotary Foundation Chair Jerry Ghirardo gave a report on a matching grant project to provide wheelchairs in Mexico.  Rotarians Ted and Alexia Krushia will provide $100,000 and Rotary International another $462,000 for 6,160 wheelchairs.  If a Rotarian donates $100, you will get $200 towards your Paul Harris.  This project expires Christmas Day.  Write your checks to “Rotary Foundation” and send to Jerry.

7.  John Tanko announced that Mackey Terrace Senior Home will have their Holiday dinner at Christopher’s Café in Bel Marin Keys on December 6^th from 6-7pm.  $25 covers the cost of your dinner and a senior, too.

8.  Wendy Irving said that Rick Ronsheimer is doing much better and will be re-joining us soon.

9.  Art Wasserman passed a sign-up sheet for the Marin Food Bank’s “Boxing for Food” night on Sunday, December 18^th.  There will be two shifts:  5-6pm and 6-7pm with pizza afterwards.  This is always a fun event, so sign up soon!

VOTE RESULTS:  Pauline Stuber won a close vote for the spot on the Foundation Board.  Congrats, Pauline!

Fine Time

The Griz was put on hold for 3 weeks due to time constraints.

Speaker/Program

President Tony introduced the speaker, Mark Garwood, President/CEO of Tamalpais Bank.  He is Chairman of The Marin Workforce Housing Trust Board of Directors and was founding organizer of the Major Employer Housing Group, which was created to establish a workforce housing trust in Marin County through a public-private partnership.  Their mission was to create a county-wide funding initiative to finance workforce housing projects to attract and retain quality employees.  In 2004, the Marin Workforce Housing Trust was launched to provide housing for police, teachers, librarians, etc. due to the high cost of housing in Marin.  ½ of all employees cannot afford to live here and are enduring long commutes from Sonoma, Solano, and Contra Costa counties.

MWHT objectives are:

            1.  Support housing for working families.

            2.  Provide funding for profit and non-profit developers.

            3.  Coordinate efforts of businesses, non-profit developers, cities and county to provide low cost housing.

            4.  Provide a streamlined process for loan applications.

The MWHT helps provide zero and low interest rate loans.  For each dollar from corporate and private donations, Marin Community Foundation donates $1 and the County of Marin $1.  They have raised over $1.1 million to date.  Mark says, “Investing in MWHT is a good business decision.”

You can participate by:

                                                1.  Picking up a brochure.

                                                2.  Donating.

                                                3.  Applying for a Workforce Housing Loan.

                                                4.  Spreading the word.

Raffle

Bruce Moeller pulled out a white marble.  Better luck next time, Bruce!

Next week (December 8^th) will be dark, due to the holiday party.

Meeting adjourned at 1:30pm.

Upcoming Meetings

December 15         Lunch at the Youth Center

All Rotarians are encouraged to think about speakers for meetings. If you have a suggestion, please contact Dave Pitchford at 382-8150.

Board Meetings

Ignacio Rotary Board meetings are the 2^nd Wednesday of the month.  They meet at the Bank of Marin located at 378 Bel Marin Keys Blvd.  They begin at 5 pm.

Upcoming Firesides

Upcoming Events/Activities/Projects:

December 8                        Holiday Party at the Marin Country Club in the evening

December 15                        Toy Drive at the Youth Center

December 18                        Food drive

December 22  

December 29  

District 5150 Newsletter and Information

For more information all you need to do is log on to the District Web Site at:

http://www.rotary5150.org/newsletter.htm

Need to make up a missed meeting?  Now you know where and when:

Day of the Week             Name of Club                  Time of Mtg.    Location of Meeting