Rotagram for Wednesday, Sep 7, 2022

Meeting was called to order by President Joe Lins. He thanked the set-up crew as always and asked Jim Ripley to please approach the podium, “Thank you for stepping up and filling in for me. I have the highly coveted chocolate speaker’s gift, that’s been sitting in my car for you as a token of my appreciation. Thanks Jim.” He gave us an update on the CIA awards, “32 members have donated for a total of $13,625!! The challenge is WE need to raise a minimum of $20,000 to keep the OC Community Foundation as our partner.” He plugged Retro Jog-A-Thon T-Shirts that are on sale at the check in table for $5. All proceeds of the sales go to benefit our Foundation, “I put one on the other day and thought it was 2015,” he jokingly said. “On This Day,” he remembers September 11, 2001, “This week in National Patriotic week, as we approach 9/11 weekend. Today, is our 9/11 meeting. Thank you, Bud for the decorations and also thank you for the ‘heads up’ reminding me of the importance of the week.”

For our commencement ceremonies, Raco gave us our Invocation. He led us in a prayer entitled, “I am blessed to be a Rotarian.” He said he is blessed to be in our Rotary Club with the best of the Fullerton community.

Our Patriotic Moment was given to us by the funny and ironical Brit, Andrew Gregson. “Feels strange that an English person lead you in the Pledge of Allegiance. 1776 rock on!” he jokingly said. He gave us a brief history on the Pledge of Allegiance, which was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy. Bellamy had hoped that the pledge would be used by citizens in any country. The words were changed in 1932 to what we recite today.

Our guest’s today were Wilma Peloquin, wife and guest of Bill Peloquin and Lisa Wozab, potential member of Fullerton Rotary Club.

Our Rotary Minute was given to us by the awesome Amy Gaw. She thanked everyone in attendance. “I am appreciative of being able to be a part of Rotary.” Her simple answer as to why she joined Fullerton Rotary Club was because Dan Ouweleen asked her too. “Dan saw that I was working hard advocating the needs of our community and he knew that it can sometimes make you feel lonely. Rotary has provided me with a great deal of mentorship and commitment. It is a privilege to network in the community.” That is why she is a Rotarian and why she deserves to have her “newest nine” ribbon ripped off. Great Job Amy. You earned it!

Our Songmaster Bud “Woody” Lang, He first led us in a 9/11 prayer. “September 11, 2001 was a sad day but glorious at the same time because we are stronger now than ever before.” His song selection was the “Star Spangled Banner.” Great job Mr. Lang!

Today’s announcements commenced with Dan Ouweleen. He announced “Do More Good,” shirts that are Rotary International President Jennifer Jones themed. He says the inspiration behind the shirts were thanks to Awesome Amy Gaw. Shirts are $20 and the hats are $25. All proceeds go to Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.

Zoot Velasco announced Rotary International Convention 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. It’s a 20-day trip to Australia for Rotary International’s annual convention. See you all there!

Our Recognition Master and Finemaster was the impenetrable rock-solid Carl Camp. Carl took the stage and immediately fined President Lins for forgetting to do the announcements, “how much money do you want me to raise for this fine?” asked President Lins, “$14 million and some change, please,” said Carl. So far, he’s off to a good start. Allan Bridgford was recognized for his 102nd wedding anniversary. Thad Sandford was recognized and fined $5 for his 54 years of marriage. He said the fine was worth it because he has enjoyed every single year of marriage. “Johny Hong, why am I talking to you sir?” He answers, “because I’m a nice guy.” Which got the audience to laugh in agreement. He was recognized and fined $5 for his 20 years of marriage. Miko was recognized and fined $3 for her 13 year Rotary anniversary. Carl then transitioned over to sports, “What starts tomorrow? NFL season begins. Any Los Angeles Rams fans? We should at least salute USC, but I already fined Joe. Let’s predict how many games the Trojans will win,” Carl humorously said. He played a game of trivia with the tables asking them questions about the NFL. “Who won the Superbowl in 2021?” The table answered incorrectly and everyone was fined $1. Correct answer was Green Bay Packers. ”What stadium did the Bengals and Rams play in during Superbowl 2022?” The table got it correct and were fine free. The answer is of course So-Fi Stadium. “How many different cities have the Rams represented?” The answer was correct. The answer is Cleveland, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri, and Los Angeles, California twice. “Why is it called a sack?” No one answered correctly and all were fined $1. Correct answer is, in the 1960s Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones felt that a quarterback being sacked devasted the offense in the same way that a city was devasted when it was sacked. “How many Superbowls have the Chargers won?” Everyone answered correctly. Zero is the ansewer. Lastly, “How many seasons have the Chargers played in LA?” This one was a tough one for those who don’t follow the NFL. The correct answer is 6. The Chargers started off in Los Angeles in 1960 but moved to San Diego. They came back for the 2017 season. He ended his segment with a fun fact about the Los Angeles Rams. In 1972, a fellow by the name of Robert Irsay bought the Rams for one day and transferred ownership of the club to Carroll Rosenbloom in exchange for the Colts. Great Job Carl Camp!

Our Program at hand, Legendary Athlete Toby Henderson from the world of BMX racing. Toby is a former professional American “old school” Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were between 1979 and 1985. He started racing in 1973 at the age of 12 at Hollyfield Park in Norwalk, California, and in December 1978, He turned professional. Toby went on to take 3rd place in the Pro Class at the National Bicycle Association (NBA) Super Nationals at Saddleback Park in Irvine, California on April 8, 1979. He retired in 1987 at the ripe old age of 26. He shared his amazing story with us. “When I was 12 years old, I worked at a bike shop. I wanted to make money so I became a professional. I wasn’t the fastest guy but I was the most flamboyant.” He won Best Personality Award because of it. In 1980, he started doing tricks on his bike and pioneered freestyle riding. In 1981, he was 17/18 years old and received his first endorsement deal through Bell Helmets from Bell, California. That helped monetize him for other deals in the future. One year later, he won $6000 cash after winning a big race but he felt it wasn’t enough. He was determined to capitalize off his name and after realizing that the big company names weren’t offering huge endorsements, he made his own brand of bike to gain recognition in a sport he helped grow. By 1988, he decided to get in to the family business, insurance sales, but wanted to get back in the biking business so he transformed to long distance and mountain biking. By 1992 he won his first mountain bike race, at the young age of 31 and the following year he had a big ad campaign for Shimano. He also had a bobble head figurine, “I’ve got a big head,” he jokingly said. In 1994, he was inducted in to the BMX Hall of Fame and a year later he designed his own mountain bike, “I helped develop a high end technology bike that won a lot of races.” By 1996, he won a big championship race in Hawaii and in 1997 he won a Bronze medal in the LA X-Games in the downhill competition in Big Bear Mountain. Next year saw him retiring and having his first child at the age of 38. He came back in a Giant way riding for Giant Bikes, he remembers losing a race because his riding googles got in the way of his vision, but that didn’t affect him. He learned from it and in fact, he created googles that do not move when riding in competitive races. The year 2000 brought him great recognition. He was inducted in to the mountain bike Hall of Fame. By 2003, he changed the BMX game when he created a brand called INTENSE. With INTENSE, he created a BMX frame that changed the way bikes work. He didn’t stop creating, 2006 he created a helmet that was product of the year in Men’s Journal, “Mom’s called me for them. I sold a lot of helmets because of it.” 2008 was another year of achievements. He got his first patent bike part, a bike grip that doesn’t slide. He focused on the patent while buying and selling companies in 2012. The following year, he created a bike fork with the use of high-end technology and that allowed him to become a leader in the sport which won him an award. The following years, he focused on creating drive trains for electric bikes, “I took a team of engineers to make this product that I am proud of.” The product has been a success because of the time and focus he spent on promoting it while riding and racing the e-bikes around town, specifically the Fullerton Loop. 2020 brought more success when he bough a bike company from Santa Barbara and 2021 was the same. He founded a bike magazine and created a non-profit. “How do I pay the bills in 2022? I created a tire and changed the sport again. Tires win races. I took my passion and stuck with it and turned it into something to do and spend time with my family.” Now, he is 60 years old. He has spent 45 years in a sport that he loves. He is a California dude, he has lived in California his whole life. He grew up in Cerritos but has travelled the country because of his passion for the sport. He received great applause and was awarded with the highly coveted speakers gift by President Lins. Save the Date, October 14 for the District 5320 Foundation Dinner being held at the Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach. Also, Fullerton Rotary Club’s 100th Anniversary celebration being held at the Summit House on October 26.

Last thing on the agenda was the 50/50 drawing and one lucky winner takes home a free Retro Jog-A-Thon T-Shirt. Lucky ticket holder 6369162 wins the cash. Guest Wilma Peloquin wins. Ticket holder 6369168, Raco wins the T-Shirt. Congratulations to the winners.

“Thank you for coming today, we look forward to seeing you next week. Our program will be Sharon Quirk-Silva and her take on the challenges/issues/opportunities on both local and statewide level. Thanks again and if you need anything between now and then make sure we know. Charge on! Meeting is adjourned.

	(Published using 100% recycled electrons)
	This Edition was published in Fullerton, Ca