Club Update
Rotary Meeting - Wednesday, March 2, 2011
No…Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club did not travel forward in a time machine…you were actually stuck with me as your fill-in President this week (a small taste of things to come!). President Armando missed our meeting due to what was initially a 5-car traffic accident on the 405 freeway. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to commence my fundraising efforts with a gigantic fine for lack of listening to the news (TV or radio) but then we learned that he became PART of the problem when he encountered car problems en-route to the meeting. Feeling sympathetic for him because we don’t YET have an auto mechanic in our club, I decided to pardon him knowing that he probably paid out all of his money on his car. Seriously Armando, you were missed!
We had a wonderful meeting with great fellowship during our breakfast with several visitors, including Marie-Paul Baxiux, a “special guest” and Ed Jackson, President-elect of Westwood Village Rotary Club. We also enjoyed our speaker Susanna Spies, Founder of Comedy Playground, LLC. She spoke about her founding of comedy workshops for teens and how it increases their confidence and ability to communicate with others. She spoke about her work with teens near skid row and how they had an opportunity to see beyond their immediate surroundings and make friends with others outside of their community. She also spoke about her work with seniors in her workshops and how she is bringing comedy to retirement homes, hospitals and communities for the 55+ (I wonder if I could qualify at 52?). Susanna and her work was inspiring as it helps so many who struggle with identity and confidence issues and provides a means to vocalize their struggles and break out of their environments.
Next week we will be having a Club Assembly meeting, but not just ANY Club Assembly meeting. I will be taking the helm again for a report from my PETS training (good news, I graduated), a roundtable/brain-storming session on our schedule of events for 2011-12 and an opportunity to discuss what we would like to plan and accomplish during my year as President. This will be the perfect time to make suggestions for new hands-on projects, fund raising activities, social events, district and international participation and anything else that you would like to see incorporated into our calendar during the coming fiscal year. I am hoping that each of you come with exciting, innovative, dreams (BIG DREAMS) of what we can do together to bring us closer as Rotarians and provide greater service to those in our community and throughout the world. Remember, I will have a “gift” for all in attendance from my trip to PETS as well as the introduction to “Gail’s Gifts” to give you a taste of things to come!
Yours in Rotary,
Gail