MEETING MINUTES February 22, 2007 at Inn Marin, Ignacio

Submitted by Daryl Weinroth

President Larry Curtis opened the meeting at 12:20 pm by welcoming everyone.

Bill Doughty led the pledge.  Larry Levy (the incarnation of Stan Warner) gave the invocation.

President Larry also shared a thought for the day.

Visiting Rotarians

·         Richard Bolles – Insurance from Mission San Rafael

·         Cindy Dumon – Medical Lasers from Novato

• Gary Gonzer – Theater from Novato

were introduced by Art Wasserman.

Guests

Our only guest was our guest speaker, John Busterude.

Announcements

1)       Marie Borders – Dues are Due – NOW. They are $75

2)       Wendy – Take event books to give to ticket buyers and sponsors

3)       Fran – Let her know if you are going to the dine around and which restaurant you will patronize

4)       Jerry – Silent auction is doing well. We have 165 items now and are shooting for 200. The total retail value is about $60,000. Keep Trying!

5)       Larry C. – We still need help with the sets for Monte Carlo Night at Hamilton work parties.

6)       Steve Minutoli – Please sign up for the blood drive on March 29.

7)       Roland – We have two more Friday afternoon Club meetings. We need a host for March 30

8)       Larry L. – We need volunteers to talk to Marin Oaks HS students on job skills. Please contact Larry to sign up.

9)       Fran – Gave a 5 minute (or 8) vocational talk on the travel agency business.  Since much business is over the telephone many physical locations are closing.  Why do you still need a travel agent?  Concierge services and expertise.  Eclectic locations not known to many people.  Best prices not always found on line.  Fran also gave us many good travel tips as well as do’s and don’ts of travel.

10)   We then watched a portion of MSNBC news on a Rotarian volunteer.

Fine Time

Rob fined himself for the Article in the Advance on his Mother (whose name was confusing to this author as either Talley or Natalie).  He also fessed up to his 45^th birthday.  It seemed that his birthday celebration lasted about 1 week and involved much imbibing.

Phil Snell recounted Ellen’s birthday celebration which involved taking her on a hike at night with no witnesses around.  Enough said.

Fran’s word of the week was terpsichorean.  It involves dancing.

Speaker/Program

Our guest speaker was John Busterud. John is a retired Lt. Colonel in the Army Reserve and a former SF attorney.  He also served in the California legislature as an Assemblyman and later became a Deputy Asst Secretary of Defense and served as the Chairperson of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality.  John is past member and president of the University Rotary Club of Palo Alto.

John spoke on his experiences in WWII especially with the 90^th Division in Germany and the recovery of plundered treasure hidden by the Nazi’s in a salt mine.  John wrote a book about his experiences titled, “Below the Salt”.

John joined the ROTC while at the University of Oregon and upon graduation in 1943 he went to OCS which eventually led him to the European Theater.  While there his Division (known as TO for Texas Oklahoma) joined up with Patton’s 3^rd Army after the landing at Utah Beach.

John tracked the Battle Route of the 90^th Division before launching into the meat of his talk on finding looted gold and art treasures and hidden currency in a salt mine in Germany.  It was discovered through a tip by two French “Slaves”.

Most of Germany’s gold reserve was located in the mine.  The soldiers also discovered valuable works of art by most of the master, including Renoir, Rembrandt and Titian.

John had some fascinating historical photos of Generals Eisenhower, Bradley and Patton in the salt mine inspecting the loot.

The mines are currently opened as a tourist attraction.

After the war the gold from the mines was given to the Americans and English to use for war reparations by the Germans and the works of art went back to German museums in West Berlin.

Raffle

Tony Elshout won the raffle however since there was not loud hooray than we will assume he did not pick the correct marble.

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Do the right thing

Do the thing right

Having FUN doing it!

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Member Spotlight –  

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Upcoming Meetings

March 1              Richard Geno, "The Balanced Life Experience"

March 8              Col. Michael L. Herman, "Rebuilding Baghdad" calling from Iraq

March 15            Lyndsay Hughes, Amigos de los Americas

March 22            "The Truth About Real Estate in Marin County" by Marin Association of Realtors 

March 29            Dr. Najifi-Tagol - Glaucoma and Other Eye Diseases

 

All Rotarians are encouraged to think about speakers for meetings. If you have a suggestion, please contact Catheryne DiPrete at "Catheryne DiPrete" <Catheryne.diprete@morganstanley.com>.

Board Meetings

Ignacio Rotary Board meetings are the 3^nd Wednesday of the month.  They meet at the Circle Bank on Grant Avenue in Novato.  They begin at 4:30 pm.

Upcoming Firesides

May 10                        6 pm – location to be determined

Upcoming Events/Activities/Projects:

March 30                        Friday Afternoon Club – 5:30 pm, Home to be determined

April 27                        Friday Afternoon Club – 5:30 pm, John Marshall’s home

May 6                        Family Day at Miwok Park

June 29                        Debunking – 6 pm

District Foundation Information

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

 The Four Way Test

Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"

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