JIM DE BOOM -- Community & Clubs

Spring brings flowers -- and service clubs’ district conferences and

international conventions.

District conferences are the celebrations of the service club year, where

members hear motivational speakers on a variety of topics, successful

programs are showcased and service awards are presented to local clubs.

Conferences are filled with fun. Clubs host hospitality suites, set up

displays and share results of efforts in their communities.

On the calendar:

* The Soroptimist International District Conference will be held April

27-30 at the La Jolla Marriott Hotel.

* The Rotary District 5320 Conference will be held May 4-7 at the Mission

Inn in Riverside.

* The Lions District 4L4 Convention, chaired by Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor

Lion and past district governor Mike Scheafer, will be held May 18-21 at

the Doral Resort Hotel in Cathedral City.

* The Exchange Club of Newport Harbor will serve as host for the

California/Nevada District Convention in June.

International conventions bring together members from around the world

who celebrate the programs provided locally by service clubs.

This year, the Rotary International Convention will be held June 4-7 in

Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the Lions International Convention will be

held in Honolulu, Hawaii, from June 18-23.

International conventions are full of costume and pageantry, with

delegates from the Americas, Europe, India, Asia and Africa often

dressing in native costumes.

Lifetime friends from other parts of the world are often made at

international conventions.

For example, this past weekend, Barbara and I hosted Rotarian Iain

Percival and his wife Ella, of Glasgow, Scotland, for four of their 11

days of vacationing in California. We met the Percivals at the 1997

Rotary International Convention in Glasgow.

They experienced our home, family life and friends, saw a number of

tourist sites and even witnessed firsthand, from start to finish, a slow

pursuit of a errant motorist by eight police cars (they wondered how we

arranged that for their viewing).

Some day in the future, we will visit them again in Scotland. These are a

few of the benefits of a service club membership.

IRRELEVANT WEEK

The annual NFL Draft, to be held this weekend in New York City, will

feature Mr. Irrelevant -- the 253rd and final player to be drafted.

You can catch the NFL Draft on ESPN. On Sunday, you will see Newport

Beach’s Paul Salata make the announcement of who the Super Bowl champion

St. Louis Rams select as Mr. Irrelevant XXV.

The First American Title Insurance Irrelevant Week celebration begins

June 19 with the arrival party at Newport Dunes, sponsored by the

Commodores Club of the Newport Harbor Chamber of Commerce. Get ready for

a wild week!

MOVIE BENEFIT

The film “Where the Heart Is,” starring Sally Field, Ashley Judd and

Stockard Channing, will be screened at the Exchange Club of Newport

Harbor Movie Benefit on April 27. Proceeds will go to the Child Abuse

Center of Orange County.

The evening includes a “mini-taste” with 14 restaurants providing food,

in addition to the preview showing of the movie at the Edwards Lido

theater. Tickets, at $40 for general admission and $60 for reserved

seating, are available from Exchange Club members. For tickets or more

information about the benefit, contact Gil Lukoshy at (949) 646-5166.

WORTH REPEATING

From the Newport Beach-Corona del Mar Kiwanis Club publication,

Scuttlebutt: “The words ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I forgive you’ are the two

hardest expressions to say in the English language.”

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS COMING WEEK: Want to get more involved

in your community, make new friends, network, or to give something back

to your community? Try a service club! You are invited to attend a club

meeting this week. Many clubs will buy your first guest meal for you.

MONDAY

6 p.m. -- The Harbor Mesa Lions Club meets for a business meeting at

Zubie’s Chicken Coop for a business meeting.

TUESDAY

7:15 a.m. -- The Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club meets at the Balboa

Bay Club

6 p.m. -- The Costa Mesa Lions Club meets Zubie’s Chicken Coop for an

adventure in dining.

WEDNESDAY

7:15 a.m. -- The South Coast Metro Rotary Club will meet at the Center

Club; the Newport Harbor Kiwanis Club meets at the University Athletic

Club.

Noon -- The Exchange Club of Orange Coast meets at the Bahia Corinthian

Yacht Club.

5:45 p.m. -- The Newport-Balboa Rotary Club meets at the Bahia Corinthian

Yacht Club to hear Pepe Montenegro’s update on Gang Outreach.

THURSDAY

7:15 a.m. -- The Costa Mesa Orange Coast Breakfast Lions Club meets at

Mimi’s Cafe to hear from Hank Panian, retired OCC professor, speak on

school bonds.

Noon -- Kiwanis Club of Newport Beach-Corona del Mar meets at the Bahia

Corinthian Yacht Club; the Kiwanis Club of Costa Mesa meets at the

Holiday Inn; the Exchange Club of Newport Harbor meets at the Riverboat

restaurant for its Youth of the Year presentation; the Newport Irvine

Rotary Club meets at the Irvine Marriott Hotel for a program on urban

runoff by Mike Maquire.

* COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published every Saturday in the Daily Pilot. Send

your service club’s meeting information by fax to (949) 660-8667, e-mail

to o7 jdeboom@aol.comf7 ; or by mail to 2082 S.E. Bristol, Suite 201,

Newport Beach 92660-1740.