JUNE 16, 2015 NEXT MEETING: June 23, 2015

Speaker: Tom Lindemeuth

“Desalinization – the Water of our Future”

Greeter/Invocation: Dianne Wilson

~~CLUB MEETINGS COMING UP ~ June 20 – District Bocce Ball Tournament in Martinez June 23 – Moraga Rotary Board Meeting – Trinity Hall 5PM (Library Room) **June 30 – The Demotion of Debbie, (Evening Dinner meeting - bring guests – lots of FUN) *July 7 – Roger Gregory “A Once In A Lifetime Experience – The International Rotary Convention.” ** July 14 -- Evening Dinner Meeting *July 21 -- Lighthouse Professional Placement *July 28 -- Contra Costa Food Bank Report *Regular Noon Meeting ** Second Tuesday Evening

GUESTS Mark Roberts – Assnt.Gov. and Lamorinda Sunrise Rotarian

Mark McCluer – Guest of the Club Sam Sperry – Guest Speaker

BUSINESS ACTIVITY Tony Schoemehl opened the meeting with several very appropriate quotes about Father’s Day, coming on Sunday. President Debbie announced that the Board meeting next Tuesday will be held in the library of Holy Trinity Hall at 5:00. Our Assistant District Governor, Mark Roberts, expressed great appreciation for the leadership which Debbie Roessler has given to our Club and the Fab 5 Clubs of the District. Way to go, Debbie!!

HAPPY BUCKS AND OTHER STUFF Gary Irwin was extremely happy to celebrate yesterday as the 800

th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta,

which created the foundation of thousands of legal systems of the world. (Cliff Dochterman thought that he was in attendance on that date, June 15, 1215.) Assistant Governor Mark & Claire Roberts celebrated their 30

th anniversary and had a “fiver” to show their pleasure.

John Erickson had some happy bucks to show his appreciation for the bocce ball coaching session which was conducted by Angelo Costanza last Friday! Donuts were available, as usual, too!. Our speaker, Sam Sperry, had a big $5 to recognize that Cliff Dochterman’s book, “As I Was Saying” was also useful for Kiwanis Club leaders. Cliff Dochterman had a couple very happy bucks for the accomplishments of his grandson and granddaughter, who both graduated from high school this past week! The green ticket was held by Al Simonsen, but alas, there was no white marble!

GUEST SPEAKER

The speaker, Sam Sperry, shared his expertise on a very interesting topic of the local Sacramento Northern Railroad and its influence on our Moraga Community. The rail system tied Oakland to Chico during the years 1913 to 1957. (And later with the Key System across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco.) The whole system was 185 miles long and you could travel from Oakland to Chico in 5 ½ hours for $5.00 one way or $6.80 round trip. The passenger service, which served Moraga, ended in 1941. It was an interurban system which operated on electric current. An interesting series of pictures described the historic story of the train system; cargo of farm produce and passenger transportation. The train was a significant factor in serving the Moraga community and St. Mary’s College for many years. It was an interesting program and highly relevant to Moraga residents who have an interest in the historic life of the community.

BOCCE BALL NEWS Don’t forget -- the big District-wide Bocce Ball Bash Tournament is this coming Saturday, June 20 at 9:30 am at the Martinez Bocce courts. It is REALLY a fun-day! Even if you are not on one of the three Moraga Rotary Teams, come out and watch. Teams from throughout our Rotary District will be participating!

NEW COMMUNITY FOUNDATION IS BEING CONSIDERED

It was announced that a group of Moraga community leaders are considering establishing a Moraga Foundation to secure funds for worthy activities in the community. The initial meeting will be on Tuesday, June 23 at 7:00 pm in Holy Trinity Hall. Rotarians are cordially invited to attend and learn more about the proposal.

TGIF SOCIAL ON JUNE 26 The next TGIF Club Social will be held at the “Roesslers Summer Moraga Residence” on Friday, June 26 at 6:00 pm. The location is 754 Crossbrook Dr. Moraga. Plan to attend for a great evening of fellowship!

EDITORIAL COMMENTS Occasionally people say to me, “You have been involved in Rotary so many years and have gone to meetings every week – what do you actually get out of Rotary?” That is certainly a fair question? What does one really get out of their Rotary membership? Frankly, it is a rather difficult question to give a definitive answer. You see, Rotary is a service organization. So, you never know what you will get out of Rotary until you actually begin to discover how much you can put into Rotary service. In Rotary, what you really “get out” is almost directly proportional to what you “put in.” The real rewards you receive from Rotary will come from the changes you may discover in your personal life as you help build a better community; by touching lives of people who need you; and from a kind of satisfaction and happiness you experience in helping others. On top of this, Rotary will expand your personal circle of interesting friends in a way you may have never before experienced. What will you get from Rotary? You will receive intangible returns which can be found in no other way. Rotary gives you an opportunity to give something back to the community and the world in return for all we receive. There is so much more to Rotary than just meeting and eating once a week. Rotary can add a rewarding and satisfying new dimension to your life. When someone asks this question, your one sentence answer might be along this line: “Rotary and my Rotary friends help me become a little better person and makes the quality of our lives just a little richer and a lot more meaningful.” Someone gave you this rare opportunity. Why not share the values of Rotary with a friend? They, too, could “get some-thing out of Rotary.”

MORAGA ROTARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2014-15

President……………………………………… Debbie Roessler President-elect …………………….………......Roger Gregory Past President………………………………Nora Avelar-Martin

Secretary…………………………………….........Kevin Reneau Treasurer……………………………………………....Lad Lynch

Community Service Chair………………….. .Barbara Bruner New Generations.………………………………….Rich Render International Service Chair…………………Tony Schoemehl Rotary Foundation………………..……….Nora Avelar-Martin Public Relations ……………………………… …… Gary Irwin Membership……………………………………......... Frank May Director at Large…………………………….… John Erickson Director at Large ……………………………….Marv Ellenberg Director at Large……………………………..Cliff Dochterman Director at Large ……………………………………..Linda May

President, Rotary International………Gary Huang District Governor…………………….……Pam Gray

Assistant District Governor…………Mark Roberts

Newsletter Editor for June -- Cliff Dochterman

KIDS DAY BENEFITS SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Last Sunday, Moraga Rotary joined the Moraga Police Department in sponsoring Kids Day for a great cause – The Special Olympics. Events included a special movie in the Rheem Theater, a jump house, petting zoo, face painting, and various games. Police Chief Bob Priebe, Sergeant Brian South, and other officers were on hand to help the kids have a great time.

CALENDAR OF FUTURE EVENTS

June 20 – Rotary Bocce Bash in Martinez

June 23 – Board Meeting 5:00 pm @ Trinity Hall

June 30 – Demotion of Queen Debbie! July 1 -- The new year of Rotary! July 11 – District Awards Dinner in Woodland July 18 -- USO Show At the Reservoir July 31 -- TGIF Club Social Aug 7-9 – OMPA Swim meet food booth

THE LAST WORD Having a bad day? Read On….. Two animal rights defenders were protesting the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn, Germany. All of a sudden, two thousand pigs broke loose and escaped through a broken fence, stampeding madly. The two helpless protesters were trampled to death. Still having a bad day? Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet didn’t pay enough postage on a letter bomb. The post office sent it back with “Return to Sender” stamped on it. Forgetting it was the bomb; he opened it and was blown to bits. Still having a bad day? A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with an electric wire running down his arm towards an electric kettle. Suspecting him to be in shock, and intending to jolt him away from the deadly current; she ran outside and grabbed a 2x4 plank of wood and smacked him with it. His arm was broken in two places. Up to that moment, he had been happily listening to his iPod. There now, feeling better?