COMMUNITY & CLUBS:

On Wednesday, members of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach Sunrise and the City of Newport Beach Adoption Committee, will join with the Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa in welcoming Lt. Col. Jeff Conners, the commanding officer the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division at based at Camp Pendleton and other Marines who have recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. According to Rotarian Bills Hossfield, Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich will provide the official welcome to the Marines and their spouses.

Newport Beach-Sunrise members donated gift cards to the wives and families of the 1/1 at Camp Pendleton, according to JoAnne DeBlis while Newport-Balboa members donated gift cards and merchandise to the families at Christmas and overseas to the Battalion on two deployments of more than 1,800 pounds with a value in excess of $20,000, according to Hossfield.

Both rotary clubs received a letter from Lt. Col. Conners, thanking them for the “support provided to the Marines and Sailors… that greatly added to the overall morale and success of the Marines and their Mission. You have earned this Battalion’s grateful appreciation,” Conners said.

The Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa is temporarily meeting at The Tee Room at the Newport Beach Golf Course, 3100 Irvine Ave., Newport Beach, according to Bob Silver, club president. “We have the Tea Room to ourselves and our club has a social period at 5:45 p.m., and the bell rings at 6:15 p.m. for dinner, Silver said. For more information about the upcoming meeting with the Marines, contact Hossfield at (949) 279-5535.

LION SCHEAFER HONORED

Mike Scheafer, past district governor and member of the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club, has been selected to attend Lions Clubs International’s Faculty Development Institute in Atlanta. Mike is one of only 20 Lions from the United States, Affiliates, Bermuda and Bahamas to be selected for this prestigious honor.

Mike will attend the institute this April. The institute is used to improve training skills as a Lions instructor. After completion Lion Mike will serve as an instructor for Lion’s training programs in the United States and Canada. Mike was nominated for the Institute by Lions International Director Dana Biggs of Fresno.

WORTH REPEATING

Thought for the Day as provided by Greg Kelley of the Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain, and most fools do.”

— Benjamin Franklin

COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Saturdays. Send your service club’s meeting information by fax to (714) 921-8655 or by e-mail to jdeboom@aol.com.