Rotary Club of Arcadia, CA

There were no announcements on 02/05/10 due to Day at the Races.

Pat Barnes

WHO WAS DAN STOVER AND WHY IS THIS SCHOLARSHIP NAMED AFTER HIM?

The worlds of education and music transected in the life of Dan Stover, a secondary education professional whose musical talents were shared with his family, his community, and certainly with Rotary, at both the local and District levels.

Dan Stover was an educator who always placed the student first, and his obvious respect for his students transformed the lives of countless young people.  He shared his love of learning with the young, providing them with a positive role model for structuring their studies and their lives.

And Dan Stover was an accomplished musician, both as a vocalist and an instrumentalist.  He was as much at home in the finals of Barber Shop Quartet competition as he was at the keyboard of his famous “Rotary” organ, serenading Club meetings and District Conferences with his unique musical wizardry.

Dan Stover passed away shortly following the 1987 District Conference at which his friend and follow Alhambra Rotarian, Dr. Tim Keen Siu, became District Governor.  Dan was noticeably ill at the conference, but he played out his heart for Dr. Tim and others, knowing that the show must go on.

The Rotary Club of Alhambra, in the year following Dan Stover’s death, established a Music Scholarship Program and Competition in Dan’s name.  The program was proposed, organized, and championed by new Rotarian Christine Montan who, as Alhambra’s first woman Rotarian, quickly recognized and appreciated the talent and effectiveness of Dan Stover as a Rotarian and as a person.

Under Rotarian Montan’s leadership, the Dan Stover Memorial Music Scholarship “graduated” into a District program in the following year, and the rest is history.  A whole generation of talented, young musicians have had the opportunity, in the name of Dan Stover, to compete against their peers, and earn funds to further their musical education.

If you want to know more, ask Dave Stover who is Dan’s son.

On February 5, 2009, Arcadia Rotary celebrated its annual Day at the Races.  Instead of the Embassy Suites, this Friday the meeting was in Santa Anita’s Frontrunner Restaurant overlooking the race track.

Santa Anita Park is the oldest racetrack in Southern California, having opened on December 25, 1934, replacing the race track opened by Lucky Baldwin in the 1880s. During the 1984 Olympics, Santa Anita hosted the equestrian events, supervised by Britain’s Prince Philip (husband of Queen Elizabeth).

Down below, on the wet track, wet jockeys riding wet horses were approaching the starting gate.  Upstairs in the Frontrunner restaurant, Rotarians (having made their menu selections), were feverishly scanning the program for the likely winners.  They were assisted in this endeavor by the Frontrunner’s expert handicapper, Dan who provided advice, tips, and his choice for each race.  (It wouldn’t be the same without Dan.)

At one point in between races, Santa Anita’s bugler visited the Frontrunner and conversed with Rotarians. (Jay Cohen has been the Bugler at Santa Anita, and several other tracks since 1987.  He has played the “Call to Post” over 80,000 times as well as serving as the bugler in the movie “Seabiscuit” which was set in Santa Anita.)

But I digress.  To the delight of some and the frustration of others, here are some of the results.  The first race was won by “Guerrero Negro” (ridden by Christian Santiago Reyes), followed by “Bettingonthefly” (Joseph Talamo), and then “Fermelia” (Alonso Quinonez)  The second race was won by “A Royal Tizzy” (ridden by Rafael Bejarano), followed by “Sidepocket Lou” (Silvio Ruiz Amador), and then “Saxophone” (Martin A. Pedroza).  The third race was won by “Lady Alex” (ridden by Rafael Bejarano), followed by “Woman Warrior” (Mike E. Smith), and then “Win Allison Win” (Victor Espinoza).  The fourth race was won by “Afleet Magic” (ridden by Joseph Talamo), followed by “Big Jay” (Martin Garcia), and then “Silverado Gold” (Christian Santiago Reyes).  The fifth race was won by “Get Off the Sugar” (ridden by Martin Garcia), followed by “No Grande” (Cosme Rivera), and then “Abalanche” (Victor Espinoza).  The sixth race was won by “Boulder Creek” (ridden by Victor Espinoza), followed by “Ziggy’s Stardust” (Joel Rosario), and then “Brace Yourselves” (Martin Garcia).

Some of the horses were scratched because they did not wish to compete on a muddy track.  Had it not been raining, there might have been a different set of finalists and winners.  There was one bet that was sure.  Those were the menu choices.  The food was outstanding.

Obviously a great deal of ingenuity goes into naming race horses.  (”I’ve got the horse right here; his name is Paul Revere.”)   One is reminded of Doodles Weaver (uncle of actress Sigourney Weaver) satirically narrating a horse race:  “It’s Cabbage by a head . . . Apartment House is second with plenty of room! . . . It’s Girdle in the stretch! . . .  [Every eye is glued on him  He looks very funny with all those eyes glued on him.] . . . Mother in Law is moving in   . .  Locomotive is on the rail! . . . aanndd . . . Beetlebaum.”.  Finally, after trailing the whole race, “the winner is . . . Beetlebaum!”  There is a moral lesson in all this.  (Never give up and eventually you will win.)

Despite the rain, and the luck we had or didn’t have, we all left the track as winners.

WOW, ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL ROTARY AMIGOS PROJECT FOR THE CHILDREN IN TIJUANA

On a beautiful, sunny day, thirty, hard-working people, gathered at the Los Angelito’s orphanage in the east end of Tijuana, in a country-like setting, to work on a building project that would benefit the children of the orphanage.  The home has 33 children, mostly girls, ranging from two to sixteen years of age.

The working group was made up primarily of members from the Arcadia Rotary Club and their families. They were joined by Rotarians from Tijuana, Montebello, Palm Springs, La Jolla New Generations Club, plus some non-Rotarian volunteers.

Led by our clubs’ “construction phenom” Tom Crosby, his very talented crew comprised of Mike Real, Stig Hedlund, Alex Niz and son, plus Matt Weaver, Mike Hoey, Gerard Tamparong, Mike Holl, and  Al Laghab. They were able to build a 14×36 foot, wooden, covered outside patio for the kids to use as a play and dining area while being protected from the weather. They worked non-stop (not even a potty break) until darkness forced them to stop with the building 99% completed.  Tools and materials needed to be picked up with the help of our vehicle’s headlights.  (The Director of the orphanage will complete the remaining 1%).

As is expected from the Greatest Rotary Club in the World, the patio is a top quality, professional-looking structure that is greatly appreciated, and will get a lot of use by the children at the home.

While the construction was going on; Laura, Gregg and Hillary Freedman, Denise and Kelly Weaver, Jack McRae and his two boys, and Linda Hedlund kept the kids busy with several crafts, games, donations of toys, clothing, items for personal hygiene, and a lot of hugs and holding of hands. They also prepared a nice hot dog lunch with popcorn and drinks for the children and working crew.

John Hall and Dick Martinez distributed commemorative Tee-Shirts, designed by John, to all the kids, staff, and everyone who participated in this most worthy cause.

It was a great and “feel good” weekend that was punctuated by the warmth and gratitude expressed by the openly happy kids. At the end of the day we wanted to take all of them home with us. One of our Rotarians said it best, “this is what Rotary is all about. I will plan on coming on these trips every year.”

The evening ended with a wonderful cocktail party, dinner at a great steak house with the Tijuana Rotarians, and outstanding fellowship in typical Rotarian style.

Also assisting in the planning of games and the gathering of craft supplies for the project were Brad Miller and Jack Pan.  

Shelterbox

A PowerPoint slide show with audio was scheduled to be presented. Due to technical difficulties it was not presented but will be put on our club webpage at arcadiarotary.org. Mimi Hennessy gave a commercial that she saw the program at the Claremont club and that the Shelterbox program is an outstanding way to help the people of Haiti. Click here to see video

Craft Talks

Dr. Saul Larner

Dr. Saul Larner one of our newest red badgers and was our first speaker. He has a PhD in international economics and has a Master of Laws in international taxation. He gave us much detail from his life on his way to success. There is a very good write up on him in the January 22 High Gear, so instead of repeating that information in this column go to the information there. A few brief highlights follow.

Saul firmly believes that “A father is not to lean on, but to make leaning unnecessary”. His father was that way with him and that is how he treats his children. All of them are highly successful in their lives. He is an author of four books. You can go to Amazon.com or Google.com and enter his name and you can learn about them. He says he wrote the books to deal with problems that came to his attention during his life.

Saul has had a number of occupations starting at the age of 10 such things as newspaper boy, roulette wheel builder (and a odds teacher for roulette), magazine sales, publishing business, life insurance sales, and now he is heavily in the real estate field. Currently he markets properties using offshore planning and is an auctioneer of major real estate properties.

Dr Alireaz “Ali” Khosroabady

Ali also is one of our newest red badgers and was our second speaker. He has a D.P.M and is a fellowship trained foot and ankle specialist. He was born in Iran, but left when he was 12 by walking three days to Turkey to avoid service in the Iranian military during the Iran-Iraq War. From Turkey he went to Germany where he attended High School and then came to the USA. He graduated from Cal State University – San Bernardino and did his graduate studies at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine. He did his residency and practiced a few years in New York City area. Finally the cold got to him so he moved to Arcadia about 2 years ago and acquired a medical practice.

Ali is a computer fan and spends his free time online. He is a cyclist and has participated in 5 Century Rides. He wants to do a Triathlon one day.  He is planning to marry his fiancé of two years in June. He is a member of Make Men Better Organization and attends weekly meetings and annual retreats. Information about the organization can be found at www.bettermen.org. He has a website at fixmyfoot.com that has more detail information about Ali and his medical practice.

Ali joined Rotary because he is always looking for ways to better himself and he likes what he sees in the Arcadia Rotary Club.

Dennis Lee

Dennis presented a brief senior craft talk on what Arcadia Rotary means to him. Dennis is a 16 year member of the club and as most know is the Administrator of the Arcadia Methodist Hospital. Dennis said that what he values the most is the service to community activities of Rotary like RYLA, Amigos project, Camp Trask, the Arboretum and many others too numerous to name.

Two things standout to him in his time with the club. The first was when he was membership chair. During that year the club suffered its biggest lost in membership ever. He thinks that’s why the club never asked him to be on the Board of Directors. The other was working on Camp Trask. He did not consider himself handy with tools; mainly because his family was worried he would hurt himself or them if he got involved with tools. But it turns out Tom Crosby, our construction chief for Camp Trask, encouraged Dennis to volunteer to work on Trask, as Tom said he could find a job for everyone regardless of their skill level. Dennis thought that meant he would be handling getting materials to the builders. Well it turns out he did some “go-for” tasks, but one day Tom gave him a nail gun and actually trained Dennis so that he became quite good. Dennis was so proud he brought his son to Trask so the son could see him at work. He wanted his son to see him at work so his son could tell the family that Dennis was quite handy around tools, since Dennis knew they would never believe him. Mission accomplished – his family now embraces that he can be quite the handy guy.

Finemaster Dave finally got the chance to catch Paul Kalemkiarian attending a club meeting.  Dave had such a stack of newspaper clippings that he didn’t know where to start with the fines for Paul, so he settled for an all-in-one fine of $50 for the lot.

Bob Harbicht has been missing from the club meetings for a couple of months and we finally found out why.  He was on vacation in New Zealand and Panama.  Once he clarified that it was two separate trips, a bike trip in New Zealand and a cruise in Panama, he was fined $50.

Finemaster Geoff called upon Laura Freedman to take credit for USC’s winning of the rights to the letters “U-S-C” over the University of South Carolina.  Her choice of postage (a custom USC stamp) laid the fine squarely at her door.

Nancy Nien shared her good news with the club: she and her husband are expecting their second baby.  As a start to the fines that new babies bring, she was fined the first installment of $25.

In the interest of giving equal time to all political candidates, the three club members who are running for Arcadia City Council were asked to stand for recognition.  Jason Lee and Sho Tay have been previously recognized for their candidacies, but Bob Harbicht, whose absence is noted above, had missed out on this opportunity and was thus fined an additional $25.

As one final gesture, Dennis Lee was given the opportunity to plug the annual Mardi Gras benefit being held by Methodist Hospital.  The finemasters did not miss their opportunity to fine him $25.

Te speakers were from the Arcadia Police Department, and were four Exploreer scouts, introduced be Eric Barter

timnes. Each had been a member for a year to a year and

An explorer scout is a volunteer who has great interest in police work, and is an observer ride-a-long They can be a member from the ages of 14 thru 18. They presently have 8 with the Arcadia Police Dept. He or she assists the police with searches for evidence, report writing, desk officers duties, and many other challenging assignments. Explorers also participate in educational trips, which involve visits to other police agencies throughout California and the Nation.

The present leader of the Explorers is Officer Larry Peralta. They would like to have a group of 12 to 15, so are several short at tjis time.

Each said that the time in competition with other groups was the most hmemorable a half [Art Killian

At the January 15, 2009 meeting, Dave Didier announced the students of the month for December, 2009.  In order of appearance, they are Benjamin Chinoy, Andrew McDaniels, and Debbie Jong.

The honoree for Athletics is Benjamin Chinoy (17).  Benjamin was born in Hong Kong and lived in Asia until at the beginning of his 9th grade level when he moved to Arcadia.  He is a member of the Arcadia High School’s Leo Club.  Benjamin is team captain of both Arcadia High and the Leo Club’s soccer teams. For three years he has been a starter on the varsity team.  In Benjamin’s sophomore year he has been recognized as the most improved scholar athlete.  In July, 2008, Benjamin was given honorable mention in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Academic Team. He has also made the Principal’s Recognition Roll.  Benjamin’s community activities include volunteer work in the Pasadena Humane Society, the Foothill Unity Center, and the Eaton Canyon Nature Center. Sports include ice hockey and soccer.  He was team captain of the Los Angeles Football Club. Hobbies include chess and reading mystery novels.  Benjamin hopes to attend Santa Clara University, majoring in business.  His ambition is to be an international businessman.

The honoree for Performing Arts is Andrew McDaniels (18).  Andrew is active in both the Drama Club and the Comedy Sports Team.  He has served as Secretary of the Arcadia High School Theater Department and as Co-Manager of the Arcadia Comedy Sports Team.  Andrew’s main school activity is drama.  He also coaches comedy sports and volunteers in other forms of theater. In the school’s first musical in 20 years, “Little Shop of Horrors,” he played the role of “Seymour.”  With respect to community activities, Andrew has been a regular Arcadia Red Cross donor.  He has also been a volunteer counselor at a YMCA camp in Wrightwood.  In addition, he is a volunteer music minister in St. Phillip’s retreats.  In church activities, Andrew is a musician in the church choir as well as a small group leader in the church youth group.  Hobbies and recreational activities include playing guitar, bass guitar and drums, as well as performing Shakespeare and improvising fun skits with friends.  Andrew hopes to attend Chapman University and/or UCLA, majoring in theater, film studies, and pre-law.  Possible future occupations include lawyer, actor, musician or teacher.

The honoree for Academics is Debbie Jong (17), with a 4.0 grade point average. Debbie has participated in Arcadia High School’s Student Council Orientation Commission.  She has served as President of Students Promoting Literacy and Secretary of the Arts Club.  Debbie is also Executive Copy Editor of the Apache Pow Wow school newspaper.  In addition, she participates in track as a member of the Girls Cross Country Team.  Debbie’s honors include being named “Super Teen” in the 2009 Next Step Magazine, being a finalist in the QuestBridge National College Match Program, and being a member of the National Honor Society.  With regard to community activities, Debbie is involved in the Arcadia Youth Volunteer Program, as part of its Volunteer Leadership Team and as Volunteer Monthly Editor of the Program’s monthly newsletter.  Debbie’s hobbies include reading, traveling, writing, and playing piano.  After only five years of piano lessons, her piano teacher recommended her to become a piano student teacher, resulting in her teaching beginning piano lessons every Saturday.  Debbie hopes to attend Cornell University, majoring in Education, and looks forward to a career as a college professor.

DAY AT THE RACES - FEB. 5TH

Next Friday we will meet in the Frontrunner Room at Santa Anita. If you don’t have your tickets for admission, valet parking, and the daily racing program, call Don Milefchik.

PARTNERS IN ROTARY DINNER AND PERFORMANCE, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH

Frank Griffith announced the upcoming Partners in Rotary event in Sierra Madre. We will meet at Barney’s Only Place in Town for dinner at 6 PM. Barney’s is located at 110 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. After dinner, we will go across the street to the playhouse for a presentation called “The Sensuous Senator”. Tickets for the dinner and theater are $35 per person and must be purchased by Feb. 16th. Make checks payable to Arcadia Partners in Rotary and mail to Sharon Novell.

THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA HONOR THE EAGLE SCOUTS ASSOCIATION

The SGVC of the B.S.A. is putting on a benefit for the Eagle Scouts Association. It is a performance at the Ice House in Pasadena on Thursday, March 4th. The show starts at 8 PM and you can arrive as early as 7:15. The Ice House is located at 24 No. Mentor Ave. Tickets are $20 and are good for the entire month if you cannot make the performance on the 4th. Please contact Frank Griffith for tickets.

SHARON NOVELL RECOVERING FROM SURGERY

Sharon went to Huntington Hospital last Wednesday for emergency treatment for complications from her surgery and is doing well, according to Pres. Imy. Please keep Sharon in your thoughts and prayers as we wish her a speedy recovery!

(Dave Totten)

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Our guest speaker this week was Bernard Hunt, who traveled from the Rotary Club of Las Vegas West, in the rain and elements to speak to us about a very special project; his International Committee’s AIDS/Orphan Project.  Mr. Hunt calls himself a “retired boring old fart”, but in reality he is a former journalist/photographer who has achieved the pinnacle in his industry, the Pulitzer Prize.  He spoke to us about The Place of Hope, a preschool and day care center located in the town of Maun, in Botswana.  Botswana is located in South Africa, a desert area bordering Zimbabwe.  This area is the hardest hit by AIDS/HIV and it’s estimated that of the approximate two million in population, there are 270,000 living with the AIDS virus.  While one third of pregnant women are infected with the disease, there are 120,000 children who are orphans.  In the primitive town of Maun they still live in grass huts and the main form of transportation is the donkey.  At the preschool they desperately needed to replace the school bus, so Bernard Hunt and his committee went to work to raise funds to purchase one.  The nearest Rotary Club is located in Francistown, about 500 miles from the town of Maun.  Bernard, through his contacts with the Francistown Rotary, our own Bob Novell and District 5300, were able to apply for and receive a matching grant and purchase a 17 passenger minibus that is now in daily use.  He even went so far as to secure a long term maintenance agreement to ensure the preschool, its students, parents and teachers could “keep on truckin”.  Thank you Bernard Hunt, for your eloquent depiction of life in South Africa and the great help you provided people there through Rotary.

(Pat Dolphin)

Post By Esma Ali

AIDS is spreading like fire, in my motherland, India.   The biggest cause is truck drivers.  They meet prostitutes along the way.   Then they go home and share the virus with their wives.  (There is nothing like caring and sharing, I guess!!)  For a prostitue, her main concern is getting her next meal, NOT the possiblitity of dying from AIDS, a few years down the road.   That is how desperate the conditions are.

Perhaps, if the prostitute were educated, she would have found some other way of feeding herself.  Perhaps, if the truck drivers’ wives were educated, they could have protected themselves, and their progeny.   Overall, I believe that if we support education of women, there will be a ripple effect felt around the globe in terms of progeny and health care.  Let me know your thoughts.

Dr. Saul Larner, one of our newest red badgers has certainly used a number of ways throughout his professional life as living proof that “A father is not to lean on, but to make leaning unnecessary”.

He eludes that none of us started at the top, and that “history only leads to hysteria’.  He grew up in an area of poverty in Burlington, Vermont where his family owned tenement dwellings and his father was an auctioneer of railroad surplus.  But they told him that he would have to “paddle his boat”, at the age of 10, he sold newspapers in the street in below zero weather.  His teachers considered him a problem child because in  the third grade, his first project was a roulette wheel and he taught the  class how  to figure odds.  He thought it was important for  the townspeople  to know, as  this was a profitable and legal sport in those days.

At 14, a manager in the publishing business came into town to recruit high  school  students to sell  myriads of magazines.  Larner ripped up the  sales script and told them that “they can sell their way and he would sell his, and he ended up selling more than all  of  the other students put together. 

In his senior year of high school, a life insurance company drafted him.  His father was the worshipful master of the Masonic order and a founder of the
Shriner’s hospital in Massachusetts.  “Selling life insurance was like shooting fish in a barrel”, said Larner as everyone respected my father and bought.

By the end of his second year in college, he took his earnings and went into real estate.  He bought many brownstones in the South End of Boston, didn’t like the pressure with all of the  fires, etc. so he sold them and decided to move to New York and enjoy life for awhole.

Here he was in  Manhattan,  became interested in Astrology, and was soon published by Fawcett and Prentice Hall.  This led to being on several talk shows and Bloomingdale’s doing some heavy promotions.

Larner got married and next week is getting re-married.  He and his wife moved to Florida and Larner went back into real estate in selling tracks of single family  homes.  Further, he became a real estate auctioneer and began to auction major parcels such as Vikings Landing in Port St. Lucie.  He has been commissioned to auction the $60 million Robert Taylor ranch in Mandeville Canyon, and soon the property will be  out of Chapter 11 through some strategies which Dr. Larner developed.

Dr. Larner currently  sells real estate in the San  Gabriel Valley, and  his nuance is quite interesting.  Dr. Larner believes that “learning never ends”. 

While in Florida, he earned  a Ph.D. in international economics  and an LL.M.,  (Master of Laws in International Taxation). He has used these skills to market properties using offshore planning.

Dr. Larner feels  it  is necessary to slightly elaborate on this.  When marketing properties in foreclosure, Dr. Larner seeks a foreign buyer who can pay cash.  He then works with international tax attorneys who give him referrals  to enable the buyer to legally avoid firpta withholding, ordinary and estate income taxes.  His photo appeared in The Jurist, the publication for supreme court judges, Larner has his photo with one circuit court judge and his credibility further rings loudly. 

Larner is an Eagle Scout and has attended world jamborees.  He has volunteered his services to us to raise money for Eagle Scout activity projects.  Look for this new orange badger.

Several members of the Rotary Club of Arcadia have become supporters of the Sheltebox response to Haiti. Here is a video of Shelterboxed arriving at Port au Prince. Our club is over $2,000 and that is 2 boxes for 20 Haitians

Click here if yopu wanty to make a donation.

January 21, 2010

On January 21 we kicked off our first Red badger meeting of 2010 with introductions followed by our Arcadia Rotary Club President, Imy Dulake, who spoke to us about her roles and duties as the Club President.

This was followed by selecting the following individuals as the new Red badger leadership committee:

Chairperson                                       Steve Pelletier
Vice Chairperson                             Saul Larner
Secretary                                             Rob Post
Program Chair                                   Roger Grant
Attendance Chairperson              Rosie Mares
Social Chairperson                          Saul Larner

We had a great time getting to know each other and learning more about Rotary and ways in which we can all get more involved.  Our next meeting will be held on February 18 at the Post Alarm Systems building located at 47 East St. Joseph St in Arcadia.