|
 |
| Volume 82 Issue 45 | Wed June 21, 2023 |
Rota-Scribe: Gerardo Chagolla |
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow, Joe Lins 'Goodbye'.
 |
|
Joe's Final Bell Ring
|
On This Day, in 1788, the United States Constitution went into effect as New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it, which ended the government under the Articles of Confederation. In 1954, the American Cancer Society presented a study to the American Medical Association counsel which found that men who regularly smoke cigarettes died at a considerably higher rate than non-smokers. 'Now think about that. We were smoking on airplanes. They had a smoking section in the airplane, and everyone smoked in every office.' In 1989, Carlton Fisk set an American League record for Homers by a catcher and drove in 3 runs to lead Chicago to a 7-3 victory over the Yankees. 'This was the first 307th homer as a catcher to pass Yogi Berra.'
President Lins asked Nicki Rogers to come up, 'please don't be afraid. We have something for you that we didn't have when you were inducted, and we want to give this to you.' Nicki was awarded her four-way test and Rotary Certificate. Leland Wilson was told that there was a certificate for him coming, in-spite-of him being with the club for 4 years, 'every time that you come, we always forget where it is. We think it's in Bob Muschek's garage. They'll bring it next week.' This received some laughs. Jim Blake received a shout-out from President Lins, 'thanks for being here. Last time I saw you was about a year ago in this place, it was my first meeting and now my last.'
For our Commencement Ceremonies, Scott Dowds led us in Invocation prayer. 'Heavenly Father, we thank you for Rotary, and the opportunities it brings for fellowship and community service throughout the year, specifically today. We thank you for bringing us finally to Joe's last meeting. Each week waiting with great anticipation for our next program. Looking forward to the joy of how he tortured . . touched us with his bad dad jokes and 'In This Day in History.' Father, our 100-year anniversary could not have been more aptly led than by Joe, who else could have brought to our group a highly state of etiquette, and I think we can finally put to rest on the timeless debate of cloth versus paper napkins. Yes, clearly, paper is better. So, Father, in all seriousness, though, we want to thank you for giving us Joe, whose leadership has truly inspired us. Joe's care, concern, and dedication to the job has been a shining example of what it means service above self. His heart for serving others is second to none. So, thank you father for blessing us this past year with Joe. He's left us with a wonderful 100-year legacy that we will always be thankful for, in your Son's name. Amen.' Leland Wilson led us in our Patriotic Moment, 'you think about the Pledge of Allegiance, it kind of makes you a little sentimental.' He led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag.
Today's Songmaster was Bob Muschek, who unfortunately lost his flash drive which contained the choice in music. Many from the audience yelled that it was probably in his garage, a joke in reference to earlier Leland's certificate whereabouts. 'However, when I discussed it Zoot, he reminded me that we have the all-time Master of our song, Greg Hickman.' In memory of Greg, Bob Muschek decided to do 'Smile' as today’s selection. Great Job Mr. Muschek!
Today's Announcements, Dan Ouweleen and past president Zoot Velasco shared some photographs and stories from the Rotary International Conference from Australia. He shared a video with the club. 'It was a really great trip and I want to thank you as a club for sending me and our District Governor and his wife, Susan.' Dan announced all the fun Rotary events and non-Rotary events they did. 'Joe, I got a little present for you. We had a special pin made to hand out to Rotarians to let them know where we're from over there from our district. I had one of those pins, Joe.' Dan presented him with the pin.
 |
|
Bill presents Jim Ripley the "Wile E. Coyote Sign"
|
Bill Mathy announced that the city of Fullerton has accepted a gift from Fullerton Rotary Club for the 100th anniversary. 'It's a 15-foot-tall clock, 3 feet wide. We picked a spot in the Fullerton Plaza where it will be connected to lights and will be a beautiful addition to the city and a great tribute to our club for our 100th anniversary.' Bill Mathy said he is glad that this was accomplished during Joe Lins' year as president, 'I knew I would get a little choked up, and I wish Joe the best.' He presented Jim with a Wile E. Coyote sign, but first showed the club the announcement on the sign. 'WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU, JIM.' What a great joke Bill!
Jim Williams announced next week's Demotion Night of Joe Lins, 'next week we will not be meeting here for lunch because we are meeting here for dinner to demote this guy and those bad jokes for once and for all. So, today is the last day you have to hear them.' Jim thanked Joe for all the material he gave the Demotion Night Committee to help write that night's jokes. 'I just got to tell you that the writers involved in this demotion night are like geniuses.' Theresa Harvey announced the Fullerton Rotary Club sponsored Fullerton Community Band Summer Concert series, which will hold their next concert on Saturday July 1st. at 06:30 p.m. at the Fullerton College Sculpture Garden. 'Not at the quad, they are doing new improvements over at the quad. Park in the parking structure there and walk across the street. It is a free event. Bring your lunch, your dinner, your chairs.' Theresa Harvey thanked Dr. Cynthia Olivo for allowing the use of the Fullerton College Campus.
Today's guest, Bruce Lee and Edmond Lin, guests of Allyn Lean. Dr. Cynthia Olivo, president of Fullerton College and guest of Zoot Velasco, 'at the beginning of the meeting, somebody at our table asked her if she was going to be joining our club and she enthusiastically said yes.' Joan Blake, guest of Jim Blake. Today's Finemaster/Recognition Master was past president Zoot Velasco, who jumped right into it. 'Glenda Stroobant. Has anybody here ever met her? It says here that she's been a member of our club for 30 years, but I don't think I’ve met her. It's her spouse’s birthday.' Glenda was fined $5. Beverly Berryman was recognized for her spouse's birthday as well; she was not present. Bill Mathy was recognized for his spouse's birthday, 'First of all, I want to recognize you for your continuing dedication to clocks, and for going to the Summit House. That’s going to cost you $5 and, your time as the fine master, master. Let's all give him a hand for being the Master of Fine master's and getting us up here every week.' Former Dean of the Arts at Cal State Fullerton, and recently retired, and past president our club, Joe Arnold was recognized for an occasion coming up on July 4th. 'My wife Viola is celebrating her birthday, not quite as old as the country but very important birthday.' Mr. Joe Arnold fined himself $20. Mike Oates was recognized for his wife's birthday. He was graciously fined $5. Frank Kawase was recognized for his 61st wedding anniversary, 'a lot of you don’t know that Frank took his wife to Hawaii on their honeymoon 61 years ago. And this year, he is going to go back and pick her up. That is how you have a long marriage.' Jeff Hutchinson was recognized for his wedding anniversary, 'wish him and Debbie a great anniversary.' Past president Zoot told a joke for Jeff, 'Jeff approached a very beautiful woman in a large supermarket and asked, 'you know, I’ve lost my wife here in the supermarket. Can you talk to me for a couple of minutes?' and she said, ‘why?’ And he said, ‘because every time I talk to a beautiful woman, my wife shows up.' Zoot recognized Mr. Bill Peloquin was recognized for his birthday, 'He is not in the house? That is too bad, I was going to make a lot of money off of him.' Mr. Peloquin is our past District Governor, and past president of our club, and an amazing Rotarian. Zoot asked everyone in attendance to give him a hand, even if he wasn’t present. Scott Dowds was asked to stand and be recognized for his Rotary Anniversary. Scott was a guest on NOCE Chamber Talk Podcast with Andrew Gregson, 'I learned some great new things about you. It was nice to know you’ve done a lot for this community, and it was great to hear you on the podcast and I love anyone who could take a prayer and make it into a roast of Joe Lins.' Scott was fined $5. Dan Ouweleen was asked to stand and be recognized for his Rotary anniversary in 2007. 'And what happened on the exact same day in 2016?' Wife, Susan Ouweleen joined the club on the exact same day of 2016. 'SO, I don't know if you planned that or not, but what would this club be without Dan and Susan?' Dan was fined $10. To end his Finemaster segment, Zoot asked everyone to put up a dollar if Dan and Susan have affected their lives in a positive way. Great Job Zoot!
| Proposed Member: Lisa Wozab, Sales of Window Coverings, by Leland Wilson Amy (Spyoung) Choi-Wan, North OC Regional Occupational Program. by Zoot Velasco Leilani Beck, Providence St. Jude Medical Center, by Joe Lins |
Today's Program at Hand, President Joe Lins Farewell Swan Song. Although, he is on his way out of the office, President Joe Lins reminisces on the past year. He took the time to show his appreciation to Coyote Hills Country Club, “So, right off the bat here, Hanna is who we’ve been working with and her team all year at Coyote Hills. She has been just an amazing joy to work with.' He asked her to come up and receive a round of applause. He then asked all past presidents to please stand and be recognized, 'give them a big hand please. They built a really nice solid foundation that I was able to rumble around about. Job well done and just an amazing group.' He then asked members of the board to stand, 'Just an amazing group that was always there and didn’t miss a meeting.' He then asked for anyone who volunteered throughout the year, the “Fun Committee” to please stand up and be recognized. 'So, I’ve got a few moments to remember that I want to share with you guys. I remember one of the first meetings, I see you guys a lot and it’s just what I do, and it doesn’t mean anything. It just means that I love everybody in the room.' He explained that September 14th was the very first meeting he told his first joke. 'It wasn’t right off the bat. And you really welcomed it.' His first joke he ever told, 'What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear.' This year was very special for him because he remembered his father a lot. Joe's father passed at the age of 91, 9 years ago on a 4th of July. 'I think about my dad a lot and it was fun revisiting with him.' Joe's father had a wonderful sense of humor and was a great man. President Lins remembers Titan Baseball like it was yesterday, “the pressure of having to throw out a pitch again this year. It came time to do it again and I threw out a perfect strike this year. The catcher didn’t move and although it was 35 mile an hour, but it was still right in there.” He thanked everyone who attended this year’s Rotary International Conference in Australia. 'It looked really cool compared to anywhere. Mine was in Houston.' Another memorable moment under Joe’s tenure as president was the 100th Year Anniversary Celebration at the Summit House. He remembers the program before the anniversary celebration, 'Etiquette with Susy Lins' where she revealed that Joe is a napkin snob, 'I’ll go to Del Taco, bring it home and get the cloth napkin.' It’s been 19 years since he first joined Rotary, but the overwhelming welcoming warmth of our members have been what keeps him in the club, “this room is filled with spectacular folks and you’re all leaders. This group is still the same and we’ve grown, and we’ve added and done all these things, but it is still that warm, welcoming, powerful group of people that get things done.' In a way, every Wednesday is the Superbowl for Joe because the meeting just ended, and he is already looking forward to the next one. His last action as club president, 'So, I’ve got some folks that I’d really like to share my appreciation for and recognize.' He recognized Carol Morris for doing an amazing job and working hard since joining the club 1 and half years ago. The Relentless Rotarian Award was given to Cathy Gach who, 'you could call her and ask her questions and she knows all the answers.' The Rotarian Behind the Scenes award aka the 'get’r done award' was given to Jim Williams and his program committee, 'these guys just get it done.' The Rotarian of the Year award went to Bailey Klein, 'she always went well beyond and I think you’ll agree with me that she always brings a smile to your face regardless what she is doing.' To end the program, he remembered that last year, past president Zoot Velasco wrote him a heartfelt letter to begin his time as club president, so he left president-elect Jim Ripley something as well, 'these are boxes full of retro-jog-a-thon T-Shirts.'
Last thing on the agenda was the 50/50 Opportunity Drawing worth $32. Lucky ticket holder 6370410 is the winner. Congratulations to Scott Dowds!
“So, I’ve got one more thing I want to share with you all. I want to tell you the history of my history with the rhino and why it’s Charge On. It all began with a book written in 1980 by a 23-year-old Scott Alexander titled “Rhinos Success.” Scott writes about a place deep in the jungle where few dare to venture. There, lives a wild animal called success. As rotarians, many of you now this wild animal, it is a rare and much sought after but only a few ever risk tracking it down to capture it. The hunt is long, hard, and risky. There are many hardships along the way that will tear at your heart and soul. The jungle brush throws up an almost impenetrable barrier. Bugs constantly bite and pour into your skin. Poisonous snakes, crocodiles, and other dangerous animals present very real dangers to your safety and the incessive burning sun is your constant companion nightfall. When the temperature drops to near freezing and you long through the burning sun against your already red blustered skin. At times you feel weak, dizzy from exhaustion. Success seems at times an imaginary creature not capable of capture, but you continue because you are too deep in the jungle. Now you head back without your prize. Months go by, maybe years, maybe even a decade, still not a sign of success. It is a rare and clever animal, rarely exposing itself, always quick to flee should it sense danger of being caught. Success is so uncommon, so unique and so challenging. No other animal requires so much skill to hunt and capture. As rare as the animal is, rare the men and women who set up their own expedition in search of success. The rewards are great. We know that we also know that the hunt is difficult at best. We know that the odds are against us. We know that many have failed, and few will even attempt the expedition. We all know success is not easy. It is a truly difficult animal to capture, requires lots of work, quick thinking, desire, and persistence on the part of the hunter. The author Scott Alexander wants you to wake up tomorrow morning as a full grown 6000 lbs. rhinoceros. Rhinos have purpose. Rhinos have dreams and rhinos put everything they got into everything they do. If you ever thought, ‘I can do better.’ If you have ever felt the stirrings of rhino blood in your veins and your heart quickened to the sense of success, then you are ready. Thank you for an amazing life-changing difference making and self-growth year. Jim, I know you are ready, and I know that the club is ready for you. Meeting is adjourned. Charge On!”