Community & Clubs -- Jim de Boom

It’s a busy time of the year with district conferences, international

conventions and the Fourth of July holiday next week. The service club

meeting schedule is somewhat abbreviated this week, with no clubs meeting

Wednesday and several other clubs taking the week off.

Barbara and I spent six days this week attending the Rotary

International Convention in San Antonio, Texas, with 24,089 other

Rotarians from 130 countries. There were a number of Rotarians and

spouses from Newport-Mesa in attendance as well, including Jim and Alyce

Parsons, Elmer and Marian Biggerstaff, Philip and Margareth Arst, John

and Pat Brainerd, Lane and Connie Calvert, Frank and Alice Mead, and

Price and Debbie Shapiro.

It was an impressive experience meeting people from around the world

from different religious, political and ethnic backgrounds. In some

cases, language separated us, but we were brought together under the

banner of Rotary International and its motto, “Service Above Self.” The

convention sessions were translated live into Spanish, French, Japanese,

Chinese and German.

Together we listened to President George W. Bush; Frank J. Devlyn,

Rotary International president; entertainers Glen Campbell and Vicki

Carr; Charles R. Baquet III, director of the Peace Corps; George W.

Kessinger, president of Goodwill Industries; William Kennedy Smith,

director of the Center for International Rehabilitation; Serge Resnikoff,

coordinator for prevention of blindness and deafness at the World Health

Organization; Ken Behring, chairman of the Wheelchair Foundation; Pramod

Karan Sethi, developer of the “Jaipur Foot” artificial limb; Gro Harwlem

Brundtland, director-general of the World Health Organization; Carol

Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF; and Richard D. King of Freemont,

who is the incoming president of Rotary International.

Wow! What a week. We had a night in old San Antonio, a Texas ranch

party and rodeo, and home hospitality with Rotarians from throughout

Texas hosting the visitors from around the world. We left San Antonio

knowing that our $480,000,000 effort to eradicate polio is just about

complete. We left knowing that service to our community and world is what

brings us together. It was a good week!

ADOPT A SOCIAL WORKER: According to Ray Stewart, the Costa Mesa

Kiwanis Club contributed $100 in Target vouchers to the Adopt a Social

Worker program this month, which aided two families suffering from

domestic abuse, including two adults and six children. In addition, club

members are seeking housewares and bedding for one of the families.

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK: Who have you helped this week? If you

are unable to answer that question, consider joining a service club. You

are invited to attend a club meeting this week. Many clubs will buy your

first guest meal.

MONDAY

6:30 p.m.: The Harbor Mesa Lions Club will meet at the Costa Mesa

Country Club. Awards and honors will be given to club members by past

President Darlene Shelley.

TUESDAY

6:30 p.m.: The Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club will meet at the

Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club.

THURSDAY

7 a.m.: The Costa Mesa-Orange Costa Breakfast Lions Club will meet at

Mimi’s Cafe to hear Becky Bailey-Findley, general manager of the Orange

County Fair.

Noon: The Kiwanis Club of Costa Mesa will meet at the Holiday Inn for

a program on the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the Newport

Beach-Corona del Mar Kiwanis Club will meet at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht

Club, and the Exchange Club of Newport Harbor will meet at the Newport

Harbor Nautical Museum for a business meeting.

* 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 jdeboom@aol.com or by mail to 2082 S.E. Bristol St., Suite 201,

Newport Beach, CA 92660-1740.