Birgitte’s War- Speaker for May 9, 2012

by mloughran on May 9, 2012

The honorable President Riley opened the meeting as per his usual greeting and Maren Namdar led the Pledge.  Gary Rose ackowledged the many Rotarians who helped with the recent Cycle for Sight event. He also acknowledged the other local service clubs and organizations that helped out. Gary said that the attendees were close to 2500 and that we raised significantly more this year than last. Thanks to all those who made it possible. And especially to John Imrie for getting the needed insurance.  (You had to be there.)  Gary toasted all with glasses of champagne and he and Tim Cooney received a standing “O” for their efforts at organizing the event.

Our speaker was Elsebeth Schoenberger, a local author who has published her first novel. It is based on her own experiences during World War II. “Birgitte’s War,” is the the story of a young girl coming of age during the German occupation of Denmark, also tells how residents of one town came together to defy the Nazis.  She told us how she grew up during the occupation and through the efforts of the Danish resistance, were able to warn Danish Jews of troops that were on their way to imprison them and send them to concentration camps in Germany. Through their efforts many were able to escape such a fate.

Elsebeth likened her story and the experiences of the Danish resistance and the good they did for the population to the good acts we do as a service club.  Good job to all.

 

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California Veterans Home, Yountville

by mloughran on April 11, 2012

President Jim Reilly was in his usual fine form and solicited happy dollars from some members for their various accomplishments.  John Cardinale returned from a Hawaiian vacation and brought back some gifts from the island which were auctioned off.  Elizabeth McKenzie was the winning bidder.

Gary Rose, Robert Green, Jill Barwick and Tim Cooney reminded us that our one big annual fundraiser is a little more than a week away. If you haven’t volunteered yet, let them know your preferences for an assignment and they would appreciate the help. It’s a great cause and the one major event we ask all members to help out with.

Incoming President Kent Gardella told us who some of our upcoming speakers were going to be, but I can’t remember them…  There will be a business meeting May 16th in lieu of a speaker.

Kent then introduced our speaker, Commander Marcella McCormack (USN, Ret), the administrator of the Veterans Home in Yountville. A retired Navy commander, during her 20-year military career McCormack was stationed in Virginia, Florida, Maryland, San Diego and Guantanamo Bay.
She gave an informative presentation about the history of the home and its purpose. She entertained some questions afterwards.

 

President Jim closed the meeting with more of his ageless humor….

 

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Bardessono Hotel and Spa

March 7, 2012

Our speaker was Jim Treadway, General Manager of Bardessono Hotel and Spa of Yountville. Jim gave a very interesting talk about the building of Bardessono as well as its operations. The club has received three applications for membership: 1) Karen Hunt, president of Daou Vineyands (sponsor, Barbara Nemko); 2) Lissa Gibbs, Executive Director of the [...]

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Napa Historical Society

February 8, 2012

Thought For the Day: When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot & hang on”. Thomas Jefferson Visiting Rotarians: Edna Bahre Kovolani, President of Napa Valley College (Sunrise Club) & Lisa Gibbs the new Executive Director of the Napa Valley College Foundation (Tucson). Guests of Rotarians: Karen Hunt, of Dow Winery and [...]

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The Object of Rotary

February 1, 2012

The raffle is over $3,000! After opening announcements, Harrell Miller spoke on the subject of the Object of Rotary. Our regular program featured a review of CPR techniques and included a demonstration of a defibrillator. The club has received a membership application from the head of NapaLearns, Peg Maddocks. Peg is sponsored by Dorothy Lind-Salmon. [...]

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Stan Hewitt Presents!

January 18, 2012

Announcements: Bruce McCall gave an update on The Pathway Home. There is a request to any local restaurant owners to occasionally provide meals to the Pathway residents, doesn’t have to be fancy, but would be a welcome break form the chow hall. See Bruce for more information. Brenda Perry is coordinating the food for a [...]

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Napa’s Agricultural Commissioner

January 4, 2012

Our first meeting of 2012 featured speaker Dave Whitmer, Napa County Agriculture Commissioner.  Dave spoke largely about to enormous task of controlling pests that threaten the wine industry.  Dave is a very accomplished speaker and fielded a number of questions.  Our thanks to him for taking time out to speak to us. We have received [...]

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Business Meeting

December 14, 2011

Tim Cooney led the Pledge of Allegiance The ladies of Rotary led the club in a round of “Jingle Bells.” Tom Nelson played the Grinch. The “thought of the day” shared by President Jim was, “ I have friends in overalls whose friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the [...]

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Pearl Harbor Day

December 7, 2011

-Our speaker for today was Chris Piper.   Chris is a former member of our club and served as club president.  He currently heads the Napa Police Volunteer program which he described to us in detail.  Excellent program, excellent speaker.

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Craft Talks

November 30, 2011

It was craft talk day. -Lee Niesh began be describing his journey which has landed him in Napa as Pastor of the Napa First United Methodist Church. -Norm Alumbaugh followed, regaling us with stories of his career and, in particular, with tales of his experiences with airplanes. -John Prescott of Bank of Marin spoke about [...]

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