August 23 Russ Parsons – Food Editor, LA Times
August 30 Dark – Labor Day Weekend
September 6 Steven Sample, President of University of Southern California
September 13 Bruce Hoffman, VP, Rand, Expert on Terrorism, “One Year Post 9-11”
ISSUE NO. 5 August 16, 2002 OUR 81st YEAR
www.RotaryClubofSantaMonica.org
Coming Our Way
He really puts his money where his mouth is. As the Food Editor for the Los Angeles Times, Russ Parsons will go through the buffet line and lunch with us on August 23rd before dishing out the inside scoop. He should know. Mr. Parsons has been writing about food for 20 years and is the author of a cookbook entitled “How to Read A French Fry”. In addition to the Times, his experience includes food editorships at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and Albuquerque Tribune. His words have twice won James Beard Awards, and he was given the Bert Greene award for outstanding food journalism from the International Association of Culinary Professionals. With prose like that, it should be easy to wake up, read his column, and use his imagery to smell the coffee.
The Importance of Being Humble
Despite having no former association with the labor movement in the United States, no more perfect Under Secretary of Labor than Jim Hodgson could have been selected by the Nixon Administration. The qualities he brought to the job…sharp intellect, business acumen and defacing sense of self, were precisely those needed to create harmony between labor unions and business interests. Ambassador Hodgson cites economic globalization as the key reason for the current lessening influence of labor unions. Declining union membership and the ability of businesses to move across state and international lines have transformed unions into yet another ‘self interest group’. Years later, humility played another major life role as Hodgson was identified to serve as Ambassador to Japan. That he had no prior foreign service experience, was a successful businessman, acquainted with government officials, and was sensitive to people clinched the deal. The rise of the post-war Japanese economy was a product of their self-determination, and its subseqent fall a result of no longer having an urgent goal for which to sacrifice. Ambassador Hodgson’s ruminations were an endearing and ironic perspective of how much can happen when you do nothing to make it so.
Heads Up
Lending distinction to the head table were Phil Whiting to introduce visiting Rotarians and guests; Dave Rimer, MD, to introduce Ambassador Jim Hodgson; Andrew Parker, and Clyde Smith to give the invocation.
Of Significance
File your fingerpads in preparation for an evening of playing cards, games, Trivial Pursuit, or whatever game hits your jackpot. On August 28th, fellow Rotarians, guests and friends are encouraged to show up at 5:30 PM at the Red Cross, located at 1450 – 11th St., for a razzle dazzle evening playing your game of choice. Reservations are needed to save your space. The $20 fee includes dinner and drinks. Call Barbara Hopper at 434-9992 or Harris Levey at 822-9067.
Kudos to Shirley Dowling for orchestrating a successful Literacy Breakfast featuring key speaker Caprice Young. The meeting was well attended by Rotarians, including Norma Barnes and Susan Dawson, and it achieved its goal of enhancing knowledge of educational needs in our community.
Another fruitful year was celebrated in August by Jim Butts, Clarence Davis, Kathy Dodson, Fred Dutton, Jay Gross, MD, Esther Johnson, Tod Lipka, Gene Miller, Keith Monroe, Graham Pope, Myles Pritchard, Jim Reidy Jr, Dave Rimer, MD, Piedad Robertson, PhD, Robert Segal, Jay Smith III, Oded Wolf.
A Rotary Board meeting will be convened at 5:15 pm on August 21st at the office of Tom Loo. Members are welcome to attend.
The Welcome Mat
New member David Pissara was given a rousing Rotarian salute.
There was a local interchange because visiting Rotarians came from our neighboring communities: Bill Michael and M. Sean McMillan from Westwood and Dick Winchester from Pacific Palisades.
Guests were warmly welcomed: Dave Cagle, Linda Tisherman, David Molloy, and Michelle Schrader.
Fine Time
Reading is reading, but money is money. For their participation in the Literacy Breakfast, $25 will be collected from Shirley Dowling, Norma Barnes and Susan Dawson.
$50 is the tab Lionel Ruhman will have to pay for getting a mention in the Santa Monica Star. Notoriety ain’t what it’s cracked up to be.
Gene Shank should have returned home with at least a few traveler’s checks, because his trip to Scotland and England put him back $200 American dollars.
A reprieve was granted to Gee-Shin Lee and colleagues Bill Crookston, George Collins, Paul Leoni, Marv Levin, Jim Cayton, Hal Quigley, Jim Halgin, John McIntire, Iao Katagiri, Diane Margolin, Phil Whiting, and Dick Lawrence. They were each going to have to pay a hefty one for attending the Endowment Committee meeting, but class act Nat Trives picked up the tab of $250 for the group.
The More Things Change…
New e-mail address for Karen & Bob Baker is: kb.baker@verizon.net.
On The Agenda
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August 23 Russ Parsons – Food Editor, LA Times |
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August 30 Dark – Labor Day Weekend |
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September 6 Steven Sample, President of University of Southern California |
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September 13 Bruce Hoffman, VP, Rand, Expert on Terrorism, “One Year Post 9-11” |
The Senility Prayer: God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.