Friday,
May 4 – Organ donor awareness
Friday,
May 11 – Public Servants are honored
Friday,
May 18 – Esther Johnson dinner tribute*
Friday,
May 25 – DARK FOR MEMORIAL DAY – NO MEETING
ISSUE
NO. 38
APRIL 27, 2001
OUR 80th YEAR
http://RotaryClubofSantaMonica.org
TACTICS FOR TIGHT SPOTS
What
should you do if a criminal points a gun at your head and says, “Get in the
car”?
If
you plan to take a bus, do you know the best ways to get to and from the bus
stop safely? Or to walk through a parking structure?
If
you’re accosted in a stairwell or elevator, what should you do?
How
does a criminal pick a house to burglarize?
We’ll
hear time-tested answers to these and many similar questions at our meeting
Friday. Byron Walls has been speaking on crime safety for 16 years – first
in Nashville, Tennessee for four years, then for twelve years as regional
director of Citizens Against Crime in Portland and Seattle. Then in 1996 he
moved to Los Angeles and started his own company, California Crimefight,
offering employee seminars for companies in this area.
The
amazing thing about his California Crimefight seminars is that they’re full
of laughs. Byron and his speakers are stand-up comedians with years of
experience as actors and singers. Their seminars are fast-moving, with
audience participation to keep everyone alert. Byron polished his art of
instilling information by earning a master’s degree at San Francisco State.
This
Friday is our club’s annual program to honor our members’ secretaries and
administrative assistants. It’s full of information we’ll all be glad to
get. To make sure there’ll be room for your valued aide, make reservations
with Ray Corvan at (310) 394-3773 or Barbara Hopper at (310) 434-9992.
LOOKING
BACK
In
May each year our club awards a series of scholarships to deserving high school
and community college students. Each of these is named in honor of a special
former member of our club.
A
young man and woman from Samohi are awarded scholarships in honor of our 1929-30
president, Russell Hart. Russ owned a feed store (not many of them around any
more) and was Santa Monica mayor in 1957-59.
A
Saint Monica’s High student receives the Tom Fox scholarship. Tom, an
immigrant from Ireland, was our president in 1955-56 and was the long-time owner
of Fisher Lumber.
A
student at Olympic High is presented a scholarship in honor of past-president
John English. John served two terms as District Governor in the late 50’s.
Two
scholarships are presented to SMC students. One honors Nick Holt, an outstanding
young man destined to be our president, who died prematurely at age 38. The
second is presented to a vocational student in honor of Archie Morrison,
president in 1982-83 and District Governor in 1988-89.
We
are proud of these Rotarians and are pleased to honor their memory with these
annual scholarships.
Bill Fritzsche,
Club Historian
COMING UP…
|
Friday,
May 4 – Organ donor awareness |
|
Friday,
May 11 – Public Servants are honored |
|
Friday,
May 18 – Esther Johnson dinner tribute* |
|
Friday,
May 25 – DARK FOR MEMORIAL DAY – NO MEETING |
*NOTE:
Although the location and time has been changed, this still counts as a regular
meeting.
OUR MAN FROM SAN SALVADOR
Can
a kid from Central America, speaking no English, work his way in seventeen years
to become a sort of roving envoy for a California college?
Not
likely, you’d think. But Marvin Martinez, one of our club’s new members, did
just this. He became a dean at Santa Monica College in 1996. Last August he
moved up to a newly-created SMC post that requires him to spend part of each
month in Washington, D.C., advising and urging officials, and other time
circulating around Santa Monica with employers, exploring for ways to fit SMC
students into future local jobs.
Marvin
was one of six children in an ambitious family in San Salvador, the hot and
crowded capital of El Salvador. His father drove a truck; his mother ran a
grocery. They knew that there were few chances to climb in El Salvador, so when
Marvin was 10 the family moved to the United States.
They
lived for six years on Long Island, but hated the cold winters. Hearing about
Southern California’s climate and opportunities, they pulled up stakes again
and settled in Long Beach, California, where the family home is to this day.
Marvin’s father, understanding the inner workings of cars and trucks, had no
trouble finding a position with a Volkswagen dealer. In 1978 Marvin entered
junior high in Long Beach. By then he was fluent in English.
It
took a while to decide what sort of career he wanted. At UCLA he majored in
English literature. Then he picked up a year’s research fellowship,
investigating problems of immigrants in public schools, and realized that urban
planning suited him. He went back to graduate school at UCLA, but couldn’t
make ends meet with the limited help his parents could give. So he doubled up,
working in the economic development office at Cerritos College from 7:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m., then taking classes and studying until midnight.
By
1996 he had his master’s degree in urban planning and was bumping against a
job ceiling at Cerritos. He heard of an opening at Santa Monica College,
applied, and was accepted. He found the SMC atmosphere congenial. “The
students are aiming for white-collar careers, and the administrators are
receptive to ideas that will improve preparation,” he says. “Almost
everything I suggest, they say, ‘Great! Let’s go!’”
Apparently
his goal is to make sure that future business needs match up with student
preparation. It’s a unique task. Students, faculty, and employers are glad he
is tackling it. So Marvin may be here a long time. We welcome him to the club.