Rotary Club of Santa Monica

"2001/2002 - A Rotary Odyssey"

Rota-Monica

www.RotaryClubofSantaMonica.org

Len Wasserstein

WHY IS A DISTRICT GOVERNOR?

Viewed from the grass roots, being governor of a Rotary district would seem to be mainly honorary and ceremonial.  We club members may see our governor only once during the year, when he pays his official visit.  (He’ll do so this Friday at our club.)

But he’s more than just a visiting speaker.  At 10 o’clock Friday morning, our board members and committee chairs will meet him, and each will report.  He’ll comment on their reports if he sees fit. 

He certainly doesn’t “govern” any clubs.  We Rotarians know that our club plans and runs its own operations.  Do we need a governor?  Or even a district? 

We really do, behind the scenes.  Rotary is an all-volunteer social force at work continuously in 162 countries.  Each of about 30,000 clubs adds impetus to the massed power of the 1, 188,492 members.  Our clubs are like oarsmen who pull together.

What keeps us pulling together?  There’s only a skeleton secretariat, an office in Evanston, Illinois.  The sole link between Rotary International and the local clubs is that district governor.  He takes 13 days of training, then devotes himself, virtually every day for a year, to RI’s goals.

Our district governor this year, Leonard Wasserstein, is notable.  He is a senior vice president of the City National Bank.  He has been a Rotarian for eleven years, serving in four positions before being elected president of his club.  More remarkably, he has been chief fund-raiser on eight club projects.  He’s also served as president of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce.  He’ll tell us about challenging new plans for our district.

COST OF DOING WHAT CAME NATURALLY:  $580

TAXES ASSESSED THROUGH OCTOBER 19:   $9,415

Mike Rosenthal was welcomed to the club.  Part of the welcome was a $150 tax for writing a “fine” article about several achieving Rotarians in his Santa Monica Mirror.  We thank Mike for the financial community service.

Dee and Jim Menzies paid $150 as an “enjoyment tax” for their Michigan vacation trip.  We hope they had a great R&R despite all the rain.  Welcome home!

George Collins, vice-president and program chairman, has moved his law offices to the Santa Monica Airport Park, 2716 Ocean Park Boulevard, Suite 1064, Santa Monica, 90405.  His new office phone number is 310-392-6667, fax 310-392-6527.  Incidentally George, the club likes your programs.  Keep them coming. 

President Hal charged Dr. Dave Rogers $105 for attending his 35-year high school class reunion at Bakersfield.  Dave hardly appears old enough.  Maybe he calls this Keeping Up Youthful Appearances, or Enjoying Your Youth.

Harris Levey has rounded up 30 cell phones to be reworked for families in need.  He paid a $75 fine for his noble efforts.

Lorraine Jossel was praised without a fine for her superb work as chair of the immunization program at St. John’s Hospital.  We thank her on behalf of the youngsters whom the Rotary program keeps healthy. 

                                                          -- Lionel Ruhman                                                                              

APPAREL ADVISE FOR NOVEMBER 9 

Our meeting on Friday, November 9, will be our annual program observing Veterans Day.  Chairman Jack Siegal reminds all our veterans to wear their military uniforms, even if they can’t be buttoned.  This extra week’s advance memo allows time for dry-cleaning service if need be. 

WE HONORED THESE VISITORS OCTOBER 19 

Catherine Ortman was Karim Jaude’s guest.  Kai-li Quigley and Tom McFerson were President Hal’s guests.

READING THE FUTURE

Our November 30 meeting will be a gala one to talk about Rotary International plans.  Speakers will be Len Wasserstein, district governor; John Colville, assistant district governor; Garbis Der Yeghian, past district governor.  Jack Siegal, in charge of plans for this day, is arranging for the Rotary clubs of Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Westside Sunrise to attend.

WHERE TROUBLED MINDS FIND FRIENDS 

To be elderly, and seriously worried, can be a deadly plight.  Unless relatives extend a helping hand, such folks may outlive their savings, perhaps become homeless.  They can fall prey to deep depression or other mental ailments. 

But in our community there’s an organization ready to help them – Step Up On Second, directed by a new member of Rotary, Tod Lipka.

Open 365 days a year, this non-profit agency has a staff of 28 trained case workers, social workers and psychologist, and three psychiatrists, who become person “case managers” for anyone with a mental illness.  On any given day they work with out about a hundred oldsters.  In a year they “manage” a total of about a thousand. 

Their proteges are provided with showers and places to sleep; laundry and clean clothes; help in finding work; and – most important – the guidance of friendly advisers who arrange medication and treatment if needed, and training for better jobs if they might qualify.

Lately the agency has extended its services to help 18 to 30 year olds who become mentally ill but can benefit mightily from help in early stages of their trouble.  The agency sends a steady flow of prospective new employees to the Farmers’ Market, Starbucks, and many other businesses that need janitors, cashiers, and other workers who can start with little training.  The agency also serves two meals daily to all its customers in need.

Tod Lipka knew from youth that he wanted to help the ailing oldsters he saw shuffling along streets of Boston, his birthplace.  He studied gerontological programs as an undergraduate at University of Hartford.  Then, judging that the University of Southern California offered better training in counsel ling the elderly than any schools in the east, he took two advanced degrees there.

In 1982 he went to work as a professional – first managing an organization called Second Careers, then becoming executive director of the Professional and Human Resources Agency, a 4,000 member association of personnel executives rather like the bar associations for attorneys.  Last February he took charge of Step Up, and joined Rotary in August.  Our club, which includes executives of most of Santa Monica’s social agencies, is delighted to welcome Tod to our list.

BIG DATES AHEAD!

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