Submitted by Marie Borders

President Tony Elshout opened the meeting at 12:35 pm.

The pledge was led by Stan Dennison and Pastor Stan gave us the invocation.

Visiting Rotarians

There were none.

Guests

There were no guests either.

Announcements

Just a reminder that the Club's Holiday Party will be held on Thursday, December 8th at the Marin Country Club.

Dean Moser announced the "Day Al Fresco" to be held at Inn Marin, benefiting the Miss Marin County Scholarship Program, on Sunday September 18th from 1-3 pm.  The admission is $35 per person -- please support this worthwhile program. 

Hold on to your hats -- Stan Dennison now has email!!!  (stan.dennison@edwardjones.com) 

Shelly Klaner announced the Novato Chamber's annual Business Showcase to be held this Thursday at Margaret Todd Senior Center from 4-7 pm.  She requested support for our Ignacio Rotary booth. 

There will be a mixer to be hosted by the three Petaluma clubs, to which all Rotarians are invited, on Thursday, September 22 from 5:30-7:30, at the Great Petaluma Mill, 6 Petaluma Blvd South, on the second floor. All are encouraged to attend, and enjoy some fellowship with our neighbors to the North. 

Matt Pavone will have our Monte Carlo Night Auction item-gathering team assignments out to the Club by next week -- our teams will have aggressive goals to achieve over a relatively short time frame, so get ready to hit the ground running.  It is strongly suggested that we solicit "get-away" or "escape"-type items, such as trips, spa packages, etc., and other desirable items such as wines and collectibles.  Please delicately decline offers for professional services, consultations, and the like since they historically do not fare well at our auction. 

Rotoract is collecting ink cartridges as a fundraiser, says Roland Fuette, and is holding a garage sale (October dateTBA,) for which Roland will gladly come by our members' homes to collect items they wish to donate. Thanks for your service, Roland!

Fine Time

Rob "the Bear" Sundberg roared into the fining session, swiping $1 from each member whose Rotary pins were missing...(Please remember to wear your pins, not just at the meetings, but everywhere you can, so that we may show our pride in service to the community, and perhaps have an opportunity to respond to inquiries about our organization.  If you require a replacement, please let one of our Club Service committee members know.) 

Jerry Ghirardo celebrated his September 5th birthday with family in Sonoma, and Laura's on September 13th was feted Chez Ghirardo in sumptuous Italian style -- homemade tiramisu -- bellissimo!!! 

Suzanne Bales, although she did not make much ado about her wedding anniversary with her husband, she certainly had an eventful summer nonetheless.  She travelled to Portugal, and most momentously, dropped off her LAST child at college last week after only 27 years of childrearing...halleluiah, halleluiah! 

"The Bear" fined Stan Dennison for his induction date of September 9, 2002, and Matt Pavone, whose induction fell on the memorable date of 9/9/99 (the club seems to have a different date, but Matt remembers it correctly, says he.) 

Our apologies to John Tanko for enduring our rendition of "Happy Birthday to You..."  Hope you were able to recover and make it a happy birthday after all... 

Marie Borders' husband Jeff's birthday fell on 9/13, and although they hadn't had a chance to celebrate it yet, Jeff will enjoy watching his 9 year old son Erik make punishing tackles and sacks on Saturday, after which he'll go out with his family for a nice dinner. 

Bruce Moeller had to pay for an unfortunate occurrence during the Rotary Club of Novato Foundation Golf Classic...On the 6th tee, he got a "birdie" -- no...this one was in flight.  Might have tasted better than the steaks served that night... 

Phil Snell sang the praises of his team, who scored 11 under par.  He also won the raffle grand prize -- a TV -- which Greg Chidlaw suggested could be donated immediately as a Monte Carlo auction prize, since he probably hadn't even opened it up yet; he wouldn't even miss it.  Way to hustle, Chidlaw, I want to be on your team... 

John Marshall's trip to Kansas was wonderful -- okay, but come on, was it really?  Yes, he said, it was.  Don't tell Dana he said so, but they made the trip to attend her 30th high school class reunion...and you didn't hear it from me, either, got it?!? 

Shelly Klaner went back to Ohio for a wedding, which inconceivably fell on the same day as a big Ohio State football game, so what is a family of rabid fans to do?  Well, you commandeer 6 TV's for the reception so as not to miss any of the action, silly!  Priorities, priorities... 

Dick O'Brien's 70th surprise birthday party at MGCC really was a surprise to him, since he'd been feted previously, but this proved to be the topper.

Speaker

Our presenter today, Dietrich Stroeh, discussed his group's proposal for the commission of public sculptures commemorating Novato's history and cultural heritage.  He was inspired while visiting his daughter Jody, who lives in Kirkland, Wa., similar in population to Novato, whose community initiated its sculpture program 20 or so years ago.  It will definitely take years to implement, but it's time to get started.  Diet's photographs of whimsical pieces as well as commemorative ones demonstrated how such a program can foster spirit, cultural and historical identity, and pride among a city's inhabitants.  His request of us as a club would be that we act as the non-profit intermediary through which to funnel donations, since the project will primarily be funded by private organizations and citizens themselves.  This proposal is on Novato City Council's agenda for September 27th, and Diet doesn't expect any opposition or politicization to arise... 

The lucky ticket, drawn by our esteemed guest, yielded Greg Call the wrong marble... 

Meeting adjourned at 1:30 pm. 

Upcoming Meetings

September 22       Bill Cope - Bay Model

September 29       Lewis & Clark Expedition, Pat Ravicz

December 18         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

December 15                      Toy Drive at the Youth Center

District 5150 Newsletter and Information

For more information all you need to do is to 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: