Meeting Notes for June 27, 2019

 

To everyone’s confusion, Ray Giles, (Mr. Rotary) called the meeting to order at 12:15 p.m. but quickly relinquished the podium to John (Copy Cat) Milich to conduct his last official meeting of the year. Past Presidents recalled that this is the happiest day in one’s presidency term having successfully completed one year of extraordinary service.  John was even able to recite this year’s Rotary Theme “Be the Inspiration” without reading it from a script or referring to his notes.  He also remembered that Barry Rassin was the R.I. President.  Excitement was in the air as Ray Giles, our Greeter shared that Marie Galbo commented that she had never seen Ray in bright red, the color of his shirt.  In honor of that comment, Ray’s thought for the day was:

“Speak softly and wear a loud colored shirt”.

 

Excitement was in the air when Teri Milich, the brains behind the President, was introduced for this Awards Luncheon.  John shared that it was an “honor and privilege” to be a part of Rotary and serve as our President for the past year.  He thanked the club for the opportunity to be exposed to the Rotary world and the amazing moments he has experienced during the past 365 days.

 

Today, John announced that he would be recognizing selected Rotarians for their work in the past year.  Mr. Harvey, Jones and Crawford sent their regrets for not being able to attend the meeting today but wanted to congratulate John on a job well done.

Edgardo reminded everyone that there would be an August 25 Rotary members day out at the Oakland-San Francisco baseball game.  He also shared that “being a Rotarian is a privilege and being a Rotary President is an honor”.  Edgardo echoed the sentiments of the club that John had done a great job this year.

To start things off, John introduced and thanked his Board Members who “made him look good”:

 

President Elect:         Colette Lay

Past President:          Lucky Sandhu

Treasurer:                 Geoff Disch

Secretary:                   Julie Fiedler

Community Svc.         Karen McNamara

Club Admin.               Chris Gallagher

Youth Services           Gary Sloan

International Svc       Guy Greco

Vocational Svc           Edgardo Carrillo

Public Relations         Priya Jhingan

Foundation                Ray Giles

Sgt. At Arms               Naim Katiby

Programs                   Marv Remmich

A lovely award was given to each Board member with John’s heartfelt appreciation

 

John introduced the “Mayor of the Art and Wind Festival”, Norbert Walz who asked John if he should give back some of the funds that he may have misplaced.  Actually, Norbert said that if it were not for the remarkable participation of fellow Rotarians, the event would not have been as successful as it was.

Jerry Marrs was also recognized for his herculean work toward managing a successful Auction for Education.  Jerry was off to New York to watch his son play baseball so he was unable to be in attendance.

 

Cathy Opila was recognized as the outstanding new member of the year.  Cathy jumped right into high levels of participation in local and international projects.  John joined the club in recognizing Cathy as a great new addition to the club.

 

It takes a lot to surprise Geoff Disch but that is exactly what John Milich accomplished in awarding the Hammer Award to Geoff Disch.  He referred to Geoff as the Rotarian who arrives early and leaves late.  When John did not know what to do he called Geoff.  Upon receipt of the award, Geoff confessed that when he got the call asking him what John should do Geoff called Chris Gallagher.

Speaking of surprises, John Milich broke tradition by naming two (2) members to the Hall of Fame:  Brent Tucker and Edgardo Carrillo.   John was impressed by Brent’s Rotary legacy.  Brent’s great grandfather was a Charter Member of the S.F. Club in 1907.  There are four generations of Tucker’s that span more than a century of service.  Brent presented John with gift for the “hair challenged” Rotarian, a hat from the infamous Wicked Eye.  Brent’s son-in-law gave it to him and now Brent is passing it onto John.  Brent has been a member since 1971 and regaled the club with a few stories that cannot be published for the sake of decency.

Edgardo appeared truly touched by the award as evidenced by his surprise and how succinct he was in his acceptance thoughts.  He shared that he loved working with John who always wore Rotary on his sleeve and consistently promoted the Club.  Edgardo loves the San Ramon Rotary Club because it is a group of individuals who DO, not just talk about making a difference in the lives of others.  As an example, he pointed to the $6,000 raised by our club to assist the Paradise Fire victims.

Lifeline Award (also known as the Chris Gallagher Award)

No surprise here.  Chris Gallagher was given the Lifeline Award for coming to the aid of the President on more than one occasion (and probably more than 3).  Chris said he was worried about John at the beginning of the year because you can’t lose control until you have it.  But Chris was reassured by the end of the year that John’s authenticity and love of Rotary overcame all obstacles.

 

This award is given to a Rotarian who demonstrated a life long adherence to Rotary Service above self-ideals.  Everyone agreed and positively responded to this award going to Jay Tonz.  Guy Greco who saw Jay yesterday indicated that he was in good spirits and seemed more engaged in his community.  Brent Tucker said that Jay was one of the smartest guys he knew.  He has known Jay for over 50 years and everyone remembers the highlight of our Rotary year when Jay Tonz would give his economic forecast.

Brent shared how intertwined Rotarians lives are.   It seems that Brent and Jay were together in a white Thunderbird in the 1960s when they ran out of gas.  In trying to refuel, the car caught on fire and Jay tried to move the car out of the gasoline to avoid further damage but by then the tires caught fire.  As luck would have it they had run out of gas in front of John Simms house who put the fire out with an extinguisher.  Two years later, Jay hired John to teach at Cal State Hayward.  All three, Brent, Jay and John became Rotarians years later and eventually were reunited at the San Ramon Rotary Club.  Jay was Edgardo’s sponsor to Rotary.

 

It was suggested that since Jay’s Birthday was July, this award should be presented to his lovely wife, Ann and that we should invite her to club as our guest.

 

The most prestigious award of the year was presented to Marie Galbo for her unwavering commitment to the club and community.  Marie was at a loss for words but finally expressed that it was an honor to be a Rotary member.  She sincerely hoped that more people would get involved to know the amazing opportunities available through membership in our Rotary Club in fighting the negativity in the world and discovering the love of people who care.

Dr. Glenn Weber presented John with a citation. 

Whereas John Milich:

            -Has not upheld perfect attendance

            -Has missed or shortened Board meetings

            -Failed to comply with Roberts Rules of Order

            -Accepted invitations to ski with another Rotarian on a Thursday at noon

            -Used poor judgments in trying to emulate other presidents with bad jokes

-Failed to report his entry back to the U.S. from Canada to ICE authorities

 

Let it now be known that he will be removed as President of the San Ramon Rotary Club for being too damn nice.  He will be hence forth known as a hard working, nice guy who we are all proud to call friend, fellow-Rotarian and PAST President in perpetuity.

 

Be it resolved that John’s punishment will be a five on one,  ½ court basketball game following the meeting.

 

Lucky Sandhu announced that the Demotion Dinner would be held at the Crow Canyon Country Club at 6 pm.

 

Guy announced his 52^nd anniversary to his lovely wife, Mary.

 

Teri Milich won the raffle for the greeter’s gift ($20) and Chris Gallagher drew the blue marble ($10) missing the chance for $270.

 

Submitted by Gary Sloan, Scribe.