December 17th 2015
 
Announcements and Reminders
 
For surviving  Keith’s party, Rotarian of the week is Rich Costa! He says he was out of the emergency room and the ICU the next day feeling fine!
 
We were reminded that the wheelchair project in Monterey, Mexico will be March 30th thru April 3rd. Rotary is sending 4 containers  and raised $115,000.
 
Jan 31st is our deadline to pay for RYLA campers.
 
Doug reminded us about the club speech contest. As of now we have no students signed up but he’s expecting we will get some. Feb 4th is the date for our club; Feb 25th for area.
 
The nominating committee put forward the following names for 2016 club officers: Stan Hajduk, President; Win Fernald, President elect; Doug Deaver, Secretary;  Rich Hamlin, Treasurer; Graham Stokes, Sergeant at Arms. The slate was unanimously voted in.
 
Dr. Art announced that you should see him about flu vaccine if you haven’t done your shots yet.
Please note: The club will be dark on December 24th (Christmas Eve) and January 31st (New Year’s Eve). See you next year!
 
John Fisher spoke today about Bay area ‘Honor Flight’ that he was awarded on Oct 22nd.
 
 
 
John Fisher spoke today about Bay area ‘Honor Flight’ that he was awarded on Oct 22nd. He explained that the first flight took place in 2005 and took twelve veterans to Washington DC.  Their mission is to transport veterans to Washington DC to honor their service and sacrifice. Each veteran goes with a guardian who pays for himself. In John’s group, twenty six vets went with 25 guardians and a nurse and two leaders. 
The group stayed at the Hilton in Arlington. The USO assisted and they flew in a Virgin Airlines plane decorated with flags. They were met by a welcoming committee  -  a firehose shooting water over the plane -  and also had a police escort on Pennsylvania Ave. The highlights of the trip included the WWII monument, the American History Museum and Arlington Cemetery. They also saw the Vietnam Memorial, the Navy Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial among other sites. 
John said that they also received letters from students in Santa Clara schools. John read one and it was very touching. He also recounted his history of service in the Seabees.  ‘Honor Flight’ is looking for WWII vets and guardians so see John if you are interested. 
The meeting ended with a hearty round of carol singing. What we lacked in talent we made up for in spirit and volume. Thanks Al and Sam for the great music!