Community & Clubs -- Jim de Boom

ROTARY HONORS STUDENTS:

Members and guests of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach Sunrise honored

four Monte Vista/Back Bay High School students and their principal,

Carole Castaldo, at a meeting earlier this week. Syd Lucas, community

service director for the club, noted the group’s five-year involvement

with the school, including sending students to the Rotary Youth

Leadership Awards Camp, providing annual scholarships, the purchase of

software for classrooms and the recruitment of tutors for students.

Honored were Jared Dietzel, a business major who has enrolled at

Orange Coast College; Nate Harriman, who plans to major in kinesiology

after two years at OCC; Shannon Smith, a business major at OCC; and Paul

McIntosh, also a business major at OCC. The students were presented with

the first of four annual $500 checks, Lucas said, “to encourage their

continued education.”

Lucas presented Castaldo with a Hawaiian lei -- recognizing her

34-year career in education, including 26 as a school principal -- as she

retired on Friday and left for a Hawaiian vacation. Castaldo noted that

“in continuing education programs, it’s easy to be out there alone, but

not when you have the Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club supporting you.”

She added that she had been without an assistant principal for some time

and thought about hiring Lucas, who has been a big booster of the

program.

The outgoing club president, Tom Birch, saluted Lucas as “the pride of

our club for his community service.”

TOP COPS HONORED:

President-elect Rick Harris, a Newport Beach CPA, presided over the

meeting of the Exchange Club of Newport Harbor where two were honored as

Police Officers of the Year. Harris acknowledged that one of the club’s

members didn’t do the job as chair of the committee -- that of getting

the plaques for the Officers of the Year. Harris introduced the errant

chair: it was Harris himself. The members had quite a laugh at Harris.

But the presentation went on with Costa Mesa Police Chief Dave Snowden

presenting Det. Robert Fate, a 20-year department veteran who

acknowledged the administration of the Police Department as contributing

to his success as an officer.

Newport Beach Police Capt. Paul Henisey presented Tom Fishbacher, who

became a sergeant on Monday. Fishbacher was a reserve officer who

attended UC Irvine and is a field-training officer for the department, as

well as a member of the SWAT team.

The 40-plus Exchange Club members in attendance enjoyed a lengthy

question-and-answer session with Snowden and Henisey. Questions included

interagency cooperation, gangs, zero tolerance at schools, racial

profiling, relationships with the FBI, Fourth of July plans, terrorism,

and working with the press.

That kind of exchange between residents and police officials is not

all that common, but another benefit of belonging to a service club.

Harris promised that he now had the correct spelling of officers’

names and would get the plaques done.

IRRELEVANT WEEK:

More than 300 people enjoyed the Irrelevant Week Arrival Party,

sponsored by the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce

and held at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort, as they welcomed UNLV’s

Ahmad Miller, who was drafted last by the new Houston NFL franchise.

Miller arrived in the John Madden cruiser, which is sponsored by the

Outback Steakhouse. A number of guests toured the luxurious cruiser

during the evening.

For a $10 admission price, we enjoyed food from Bluewater Grill, Buca

di Beppo, The Bungalow, Clayton Shurley’s Real BBQ, Habana, Ho Sum

Bistro, Hyatt Newporter, Newport Beach Fireman’s Chili, Newport Beach

Marriott and Tennis Club, Newport Rib Co., Picante Martin’s, Roys, Tommy

Bahama’s Tropical Cafe and Wolfgang Puck Cafe.

With Newport Beach Fire Chief Tim Riley serving as master of

ceremonies, we saw Newport Beach Mayor Tod Ridgeway present Mr.

Irrelevant the key to the city, but no one knows where the padlock is.

Assemblywoman Pat Bates, Assemblyman John Campbell, Board of Supervisor

Chairwoman Cynthia Coad and Houston Mayor B. Brown had resolutions

honoring Miller. Newport Beach Police Chief Bob McDonell presented Miller

with a “get out of jail” card that expired the day before the Irrelevant

Week festivities started.

There were hundreds of gifts for Miller from local businesses, as well

as a dozen or so from businesses in Houston, to which IW founder Paul

Salata noted he ought to use soon, in case he doesn’t make the team. Some

of the unusual gifts included a dog for the underdog, Northern Trust made

him a millionaire for a day by giving him a check with one day’s interest

on $1 million; and dentist Steve Wynn gave him a coupon for a free tooth

after his playing days are over.

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK:

MONDAY

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

Club.

TUESDAY

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

fireworks stand at 17th Street and Newport Boulevard.

WEDNESDAY

7:15 a.m.: The 20-member South Coast Metro Rotary Club will meet at

the Center Club (www.southcoastmetrorotary.org), and the Newport Harbor

Kiwanis Club will meet at the University Athletic Club.

Noon: The 35-member Exchange Club of the Orange Coast will meet at the

Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for a business meeting.

6 p.m.: The Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa will meet at the home of

Nancy Raney for a Fourth of July eve Mexican buffet dinner

(www.newportbalboa.org).

* Community & Clubs is published Saturdays 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.