april 2018 68 rooster crow - sirinc2.org apr 2018... · was warmer in winter, so his mother decided...

A p r i l 2 0 1 8

EXECUTIVECOMMITEE

Big SirJack Friesen

Little Sir

Art Boudreault

Secretary

John ZeiterAsst. Sec.

Eckart Sellinger

Treasurer

Ron GurichAsst. Bill Risch

DirectorsJim Waltz

John NorenJoe SauerlandBill Bunderson

Raul CarterKent Dutrieux

Many thanks to Jim Waltz for standing in for me at

both the March BEC meeting as well as the luncheon. If that weren’t bad enough, he had to contend with McInnis’ failure to serve our beloved corned beef and cabbage. My first action after returning home after hav-ing to unexpectedly overnight in Phoenix, was to call McInnis and extract a promise that we would be served corned beef and the trimmings at our April meeting.Our area governor Sandy Grieves convened a meeting of all of the Area 8 Big SIRs on March 15th at his home. It was a very productive meeting in which we discussed com-mon problems and issues. It was decided to form an Area 8 Advisory council made up of one representative from each branch. The primary mission of the council is to promote coor-dination and the extension of inter-branch activities. I have appointed John Noren to be our

Jack’sBig Sir Message

representative on the council and John is eager to attend the first meeting. Little SIR Art Boudreault attended the statewide big SIR meeting on the 26th in my absence due to an illness and I will report back on any issues that our mem-bership needs to be informed of.Our most urgent matter that needs to be resolved sooner than later is recruiting a Little SIR for next year and I will be asking each member of the BEC to aggressively pursue candidates for this very important position for 2019.Two dates that I hope you all have on your calendars is SIRs Day at the Races on April 20th and our Garden Party scheduled for June 26th. With the extremely unfor-tunate passing of Joe Grasso, Roger Burstrem is taking the lead in hosting the event and will be providing details to us at the April luncheon. Thank you Roger for stepping up.I hope to see you all at lunch on April 10th.

Honorary Liftime Members

Don GregoryJim Phelan

Eckart SellingerHans Sommer

Jack Friesen

• B r a n c h 6 8 • C h i n a C a m p / I n d i a n V a l l e y •

68 rooStEr crow

62 Members Attending Luncheon 69% Of Active Members

Attending28 MembersNot Attending

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SIRS Branch 68 Rooster Crow April 2018

Sons In Retirement | Branch 68 | China Camp / Indian Valley | Newsletter | April 2018

Luncheon News

Don’t Forget

If you can’t make it to a Luncheon, be sure to report your

absence by the Thursday before. Contact:

Kent Dutrieux 510 233-7421

10April

April Menu

NextLuncheon

Corned beef, potatoes,

carrots & cabbage

Low: Chicken Picatta

Dr. Mark Kamena is board certified in police and public service psychology. He teaches at the Wright Institute in First Responder Psychology. He is a lead clini-cian for both the West Coast Post-trauma Retreat and a treatment program for significant partners of first responders (SOS), the Director of Research, and a co-founder of the First Responders Support Network. He is a co-author of Coun-seling Cops: What Clinicians Need to Know (2013, Guilford Press). He was the 2013 President of the California Psychological Association.

Counseling Cops: What Clinicians Need To Know

Dr. Mark Kamena to Speak at April Luncheon

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Assisi is located almost dead center in Italy and is the birthplace and home of Saint Francis, the found-er of the Franciscan Order. Brian and Frank drove to Assisi from Florence on the recommendation

of Frank’s uncle Danny, who spent six years in a seminary in Rome during the 50’s studying to become a priest. They were told that Assisi was a perfectly preserved medieval village from the Thirteenth Centu-ry.

Assisi is unique. All of its buildings date back to the time of St Francis in the early 1200’s. (Some are even older, dating from the Romans.) As they strolled the streets, they felt like they were transported back in time. In contrast to most European cities, in Assisi there is no modern city surrounding a historical city center. In Assisi, every-thing is antique.

The guys spent five days in Assisi – to follow in the footsteps of Saint Francis. Their first site to visit would be the hermitage, which is about a four-mile hike from the town center on a trail that was 2,000 years old. The name of the hermitage, Eremo delle Carceri, means “Hermitage of the Caves.” In the time of Francis, there was only one structure on the site, and several caves in the hillside where Francis and other friars would live. They visited the very cave used by St Francis, now enclosed within a building.

The next destination would be San Damiano, a church and convent where Francis received his spiritual calling in 1205. It is said that while praying in the church, Jesus spoke to Francis from the wooden cross hanging above the altar, telling Francis, “Repair my church.” At first Francis took it as an instruction to physically repair that single church. Later he understood it as a larger calling, to refocus the mission of the institutional church. The chapel is part of a larger monastery, but to sit in those pews is truly moving. Even putting one’s spiritual beliefs aside, just from a pure historical perspective, it is astounding that this location and so many others within Assisi are still available and almost entirely undisturbed.

Brian Johnson Brian’s Travels

Member News

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For the next stop they took a short drive out to Rivotorto. This is the location of St Francis’s first church, it was a small stone structure with dirt floors. Today this simple structure is surrounded by a much larger church. On a two-hour walking tour of Assisi which led them to a nondescript door, they discovered that behind it was Francis’s birthplace. His family was af-fluent and had a large house across the

street. But this little storeroom used for the family textile business was warmer in winter, so his mother decided to give birth there. Fran-cis’s father was in France on business when he was born. While he was away, the mother had the baby baptized as “Giovanni.” When the father, a true Francophile, returned he decided to nickname the baby Francis in honor of his favorite country, France. In subsequent years the storeroom where Francis was born was converted to a chapel.

On their last stop, they were to once again find a church within a church. The Porziuncola is the most sacred site for followers of St Francis. This small chapel was his main church when he was in his prime. It has ob-viously been embellished with beautiful paintings after the large cathe-dral was built around it, but inside it is simple and feels authentic. The grounds around the chapel used to be filled with small huts used by his followers. Those structures were all removed, except for the nearby hut where Francis died.

In Brian’s own words; Frank was raised Roman Catholic and is well versed in the life of St. Francis. In fact, Francis is Frank’s

patron saint. But before coming to Assisi, I (Brian) had little real knowl-edge about St. Francis other than the statues of him that people kept in their gardens. I had not even considered that the city of San Francisco was named for him, nor that all the California missions were founded by Franciscan monks.But to be in Assisi is to connect with this humble and devout man in a unique way. To visit the significant places in his life and to learn the his-tory of his evolution from lost soul to spiritual leader. His influence was immense in his day and is still felt today.

Assisi is a rare experience. A chance to feel the presence of St Francis as we walked his same streets. It was an opportunity to carve out time on this vagabond journey for our own spiritual reflection.

Member News

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Member News

Please allow me to introduce myself- I grew up in Los Angeles, sharing a two-bedroom house with parents and an older brother. In 1966 I transferred to San Francis-co State College. And in 1967 I opened a record store called the New Geology Rock Shop with two

partners at the corner of Stanyan & Frederick, at the outskirts of the Haight Ashbury, kitty corner from Kezar Stadium. I left the partnership in 1969 and parlayed a connection into a music mail order service called Worlds Records, offering jazz and popular music on LP and

Nine-Holers get together for Paul Thompson’ 93rd.

At the end of February, a group of nine-hole buddies came together to celebrate former Branch 68 member Paul Thompson’s 93rd birthday with a luncheon at McInnis Park. Paul was a member of the group for over ten years until he became wheelchair bound which also caused his departure from SIR. Stories insued.

Reny Brown then on CD to customers from over 50 countries. Since retiring in 2013 time has been used to read books, work on backyard garden and pursue other random interests.My wife and I raised twin daughters, moving from San Rafael to Novato when they were three years old.Where I grew up, Studio City, there were two bowling alleys. I joined the American Junior Bowling Congress in my teen years and earned my first dollar keeping score with yellow grease pencil for a men’s tournament. I stopped bowling when I began college and resumed three months ago when I showed up one Wednesday morning at Country Club Bowl and joined a team with Jim Phelan.

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Member News

Surrounded by family, The-odore “Ted” Cohen died

peacefully in his Marin County home on February 18, the day before his 93rd birthday. A devotee of model railroads, world history, military engage-ments and a connoisseur of fine friends, good food and uproarious jokes, Cohen was never so happy as when

preparing fresh lobster for a group of loved ones. Born on February 19, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois to Aaron and Jennie Schoenbach Cohen, Ted often spoke of his happy childhood. Ted dedicated his life to serving his coun-try. During high school Ted was part of his high schools ROTC program, instead of gym class. After Pearl Harbor the teachers were worried that students would leave high school and go directly to war. His drill instructor told all the boys that there would be plenty of war to fight and that they should get their high school diploma. And in-deed, there was plenty of war. He graduated in January 1943 and was sent by his draft board to active duty in June 1943. He went to boot camp at Camp Hulen Tex-as and spent eight weeks at basic training. Later Camp Hulen was converted into a German POW camp. Then he went to Aberdeen, Maryland and spent three months learning about ordinance. Then he was sent to Livingin-ston, Louisiana for infantry training in March 1944. His first deployment was to Luzon in January 1945, but the 185th regiment was relocated to Negros and then to Panay in May.On August 6, 1945 the atom bomb, code named “little boy”, was dropped on Hiroshima. For Ted it was nothing special, just reports of a new type of bomb. Then on Au-gust 14, 1945 Japan surrendered after a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Despite Japan’s surrender Ted’s daily activities never changed, just regular patrols until all enemy troops were rounded up. Later word came in about a “false invasion” of the Japanese homeland island Kyushu. The real invasion was to be north on Honshu. The casualty rate was estimated to be 80% but luckily the mission was canceled due to the Japanese surrender and the war ending. In late September 1945 Ted’s division moved north landing at lnchon South Korea. His division was to be used as occupation troops and their job was to make sure all Japanese went back to Japan. Japan had been occupying South Korea as a colony since 1902.On February 19, 1945 on Ted’s 21st birthday he was dis-charged and entered the ready reserve as all veterans did. He had a warm welcome home. He remembered

Theodore “Ted” Cohen, Lt. Colonel US Army it being a community event, at the same time he was taking off his uniform so were all his neighbors. When at home he enrolled in the University of Illinois. He joined the Illinois National Guard. He was assigned to the new Recon Battalion, because they were short of officers. Ted was offered a field commission as second lieutenant, he accepted and started his military career. Then when he was 22 years old he received a new draft card!In June 1950 President Truman made the US Military into the worldwide police force. Ted expected to be sent to Korea to help the South Koreans reverse the invasion by the North. But Ted was sent to the bor-der of East and West Germany because the Soviets thought that they could progress because the US was engaged in Korea. He was assigned to the 14th Cal-vary. His job was to monitor and coordinate all border patrols along the border. In three cases he had to deal directly with the Soviets. The Soviets would ambush patrols thus enabling them to take part of the patrol and hold them for a week or so as prisoners. To get the prisoners back the US had to enter Soviets terri-tory to get them. The Soviets wanted to get the “up-per hand” mentally by making the US come to them. Ted mentioned that there was an unusual amount of respect between both sides. The POWs only com-plained about the food when they were in prison. Ted served seven years on the border and was promoted to Captain. In 1963 the army thought that Ted needed a change of pace. He was now a major and was assigned to Special Forces at Fort Bragg. He was scheduled to go to Vietnam as part of the Special Forces. In December 1963, while on leave he was preparing to go on tour in Vietnam within the next month. He received a call from his armor career branch advisor and was informed that his orders were canceled, and he was now set to be the National Guard advisor in Philadelphia, Mississip-pi. He marched down to the Pentagon and made his case that it was more cost effective if he stayed where he was and didn’t have to relocate his family. Ted said that the toughest part of being in the military was always having is family on the move.In 1970 Ted made his final tour in South Vietnam in the Ban Me Thuet Mountains. Ted retired from the US Army in 1970 to civilian life in San Rafael, CA. Ted enjoyed his associations with the San Rafael Kiwanis, the Mission of San Rafael Rotary, the Marin Chapter of the Military Officers’ Association of America, and SIR Branch #68 where he was a Past Big Sir. Ted is survived by Harriet, his wife of 64 years: daughters, Martha, Nancy and Joyce Cohen; his son, Douglas, daughter-in-law, Liza and grandsons, Max and Mitch.

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Member News

ancestry and taking several meaningful trips back to his hometown and other areas of interest in Italy and Europe. He also discovered a passion for bocce ball and bowling, which he played weekly. He derived great pleasure from his engagement of friends in both leagues and would speak enthusiastically about his game. He was also proud of his involvement as an officer in the Sons in Retirement, Branch 68. He also served as head usher for the Marin County Civic Center and enjoyed watching the lectures and performances. Family was always the most important thing to this loyal, dedicated man, and his greatest source of inspiration of the last two decades were his six grandchildren Carlo, Sophia, Annabella, Sicily, Eva and Gianna.

Friends and family are invited to join in remem-brance and celebration of his life at his funeral mass at 10:30 am on April 6th at St. Vincent’s Church in San Rafael. Donations in his name may be made to Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, an organization for which he also volunteered. Mass of Christian Burial is 10:30 a.m., Friday, April 6, at St. Vincent School for Boys, 1 St. Vincent’s Drive, San Rafael.

Giuseppe (Joseph) Grasso was born in Riposto, Catania, Sicily, Italy in 1945. He came to Ameri-

ca in 1955 on the Andrea Doria, along with his father Salvatore, mother Rosaria, and brother Giovanni (John). He spent most of his childhood and young adult life in San Francisco, where he attended Lowell High School and became a draftsman at S.F.C.C.. He worked at Rogers Engineering before returning to school at S.F. State College to become a Civil Engineer. He then worked for Bechtel Corporation and PG&E, designing structures for nuclear pow-er plants in Limerick, PA and Diablo Canyon, CA. After passing the Professional Engineering Exam, he became a licensed Structural Engineer, an ac-complishment of which he was quite proud. This set the stage for his crowning career achievements with the California Division of the State Architect, where he was entrusted with ensuring the safety of school buildings that would be used to educate the youth of our state. Joe was equally accomplished outside of the workplace. He and his wife Gail left San Fran-cisco to start a family in the newer suburb of Terra Linda in 1967. Together, they raised their two sons, Marco and Carlo. Joe was an active parent over the years, supporting his children with time and involve-ment in school, Scouting and sports. Joe was also a dutiful and loving son to his parents and in-laws and cared dearly for his aunt, Margherita. He stayed active throughout his life, improving and maintain-ing his own house, and tending to one of his life’s greatest passions- the garden. His legacy will en-dure for decades in the yard of every house that he ever lived. In retirement, Joe was able to reconnect with his Sicilian roots, spending time researching his

Joseph Grasso 1945 - 2018

BEC Report

Big Sir Jack Friesen opened the meeting on time at 10:00 a.m Secretary Report: Sir John Zeiter had emailed the January minutes to BEC members. Motion Made, Seconded, & Approved (MMSA) to accept the min-utes as submitted.

Treasurer Report: Sir Ron Gurich had emailed the report to BEC members prior the meeting. There were no outstanding checks this month. Motion Made. Seconded & Approved (MMSA) to accept the report as presented. Sir Jack had some concerns about how some of the figures were listed on the Form 28. Sir Ron will address the concerns and get back to Jack. Sir Ron indicated the signature card is ready for Jack and Bill to visit the bank and sign the signature card for the checking account any time. Sir Jack present a handout with cost projections for the next three years. Since the club restaurant is raising the meal cost a $1 each year and moving ahead, a Motion Made, Seconded & Approved (MMSA) to im-plement an assessment of $20 per year starting with 2019 to sustain our bank balance.

Membership Report: Sir Bill Bunderson reported he had only one new members approved by email vote. He did indicate there may be a guest from Tiburon attending the lunch meeting today. Bill was informed, that several new guest will be attending the lunch meeting today. It appears we will have five or six potential new members in attendance. Applications will be handed out.

Webmaster/Newsletter Report: Sir Kent Dutrieux announced that he will take on the attendance badg-es, replacing Gene Gallagher who is transferring

to another Branch. Kent will be missing the April and May BEC lunch meetings, but will have Joe Sauerland doing the duties in his absence. Sir Joe Huffman is retiring from his duty of collecting the lunch money. Bill Risch will assist Ron selling lunch tickets.Ron will be handling the SIR Day’s at the races event scheduled for April 20th and will make an announce-ment at the luncheon meeting today. Orientation Committee: Sir John Noren indicated that Ed Texeira has left the committee and he will being replacing him with two candidates to work with him on the orientation matters. John offered a job description for the Orientation Committee chairman to consider as opening statement, which can be improved over time. It is hoped we will have a functioning Orientation group by the next monthly luncheon. Jack has asked him to perform the swearing-in for new members when approved by BEC vote.

Sir Les Church announced that the Valentine Party was a successful event. He will complete his financial report soon. The cost was a little higher, but he has it covered. The date for the next event will be Feb. 16, 2019. So save the date.

Sir Rich Berkvam has gotten approval with Erick for a better microphone that will work with the Club equipment. The BEC discussed with Rich to research for higher lumens projector to be used by our guest speakers. Motion Made, Seconded & Approved to purchase a projector not to exceed $1,000. Rich has gotten some pricing around $700 for an acceptable unit.

Little Sir Art Boudreault presented a speaker’s evalua-tion form that he found in the manual. In recent years, no one was following up in keeping records of the speakers used by all Branches. He would appreciate feed back for the speaker’s presentation.

There being no further new business Big Sir Jack Friesen adjourned the meeting at 10:50 a.m.

Respectfully submitted

John ZeiterSecretary

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February 13, 2018 BEC Minutes

Active Members Attending 62Not Attending 28Guests & Speakers 1% of Active Members Attending

69%

Total Members 91Total Active Members 90Total Non-Active Members 1

Luncheon StatsMembershipJanurary 2018

Treasurers ReportJanurary 2018

Valentine’s Party (Feb 16, 2019)Day At The Races (Apr 20, 2018)Garden Party (Jun 26, 2018)Wine Tasting (Sep 25)Day At The Races (Oct)Holiday Party (Dec)

2018Branch 68

Beginning Balance $4,046.88Deposits $4,012.00Expenses $4,093.70Outstanding Checks $0Ending Balance $3,965.18

Ron GurichTreasurer

Kent DutrieuxAttendance

Bill BundersonMembership

John ZeiterSecretary

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Start Planning Now

The Numbers

Calendar of EventsCalendar of Events

Two of our six branch 68 bowling teams are already in the league championship roll-off on April 27th. All other teams will still be jockeying for league prize money and position. There are only four weeks left for one of our other four teams to have a surge for the opportunity to compete for that championship.

Team ‘Strikers’ will have the opportunity to slow down the top team on April 6. It would be great if we had 3 of our teams playing for the league championship on Friday, April 27. Fridays 4/27 and 5/4 are also sweeper bowling where an individuals top league handicap game / series (from either week) has a chance to win some league money. May 4th is also the roll-off of a single team from each branch to determine Branch champions.

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Activities

Week 25 Week 26

Week 28

Roger BurstremChairman

Week 25 had John Eller rise up with +69 pins over his 3-game average to pick up $20 in our branch jack-pot; John Evans +55; Jim Phelan +54; Jim Waltz +47; Rich Berkvam +34; Jack Devlin +32; and Bob Hiday +23. Les Church had a 552, 3-game series and Kent Dutrieux had a 213 game and a 519 series.

John Noren added a 200 & a 203 for a 3-games series of 543, + 54 pins, to win $17; sliding just in front of his teammate, Jim Phelan with +45; Charles Salinas +42; Jack Devlin +39; John Eller +23; Ray Crawford +21; and Remy Brown +20. Kent Dutrieux tossed a 200 game and a 531 set.

Jim Phelan with a 200 game & a 514 set for a +76 pins over to win $19, edged out Jack Devlin +67; John Evans +33; John Richards +32; Art Bou-dreault +31; John Noren with a 522 3-game series +30; John Eller +23.

SIR Roger Burstrem(415) 234-6018

Week 27Ray Crawford ran away from a large crowd of achiev-ers in week 27 with his 510, 3-game series for a +114 pins and a new personal season high scratch to win $16. 9 of the 16 jackpot players earned recognition in this honor report. Charles Salinas was 2nd with what would be a normal winning 3-game set +69; Jack Devlin +58; Steve Medvic +54; Les Church returned to his normal quality bowling with games of 200 & 201 for a 584 3-game set +53 pins; Jim Sadasue & Rich Berkvam were both +47; John Evans +38; John Eller +27.

Keep rocking those pins!

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Bob Hiday Chairman

Each Monday morning at 9 am the group tees off with 4 consecutive tee times. Some keep score, many do not. Many join for coffee at a nearby Starbucks after the approximately 2 hour round. If you are interested in joining the group contact either Jack Friesen or Joe Sauerland.

Jack FriesenChairman

If you want to come join us, we meet up at the water treatment ponds of the Las Gallinas Sanitary District every Tuesday at 9:00am. For directions or information contact Bob Hiday or Kent Dutrieux.

Activities

9 Hole Golf9 Hole Golf

WalkingWalkingWalking Paul Hacker Photo

Ed AddeoChairman

We are going to go ahead and try to get a group together for a Giant’s game this year. The date will be August 7th, a day game against the Astros. We are thinking Lower Box seats at $59.00 apiece. We’ll be taking the ferry from Larkspur so include that into the cost. If you’re interested in joining our group contact Ed Addeo at (415) 388-5743 or [email protected].

Giants Baseball

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Dominos

Dominos is played after the Luncheon in the the Board Room located within the Pro Shop at McInnis Golf Center.

Tennis

Gary PolskyChairman

We play tennis every Wednesday at 9:30 at the MicInnis Tennis Courts. Come out and swing a few with us.

Bob ChandlerChairman

Activities

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Jim PhelanChairman

Bocce

Hurrah-hurrah, we were able to get off with the start of the Spring Bocce play on Monday 3/19. Our two teams (Sirs68A and Willpower) got a chance to show their stuff after a long winters nap. Unfortunately, the “A” team was still asleep, and they ran into a buzzsaw called Dolly’s Dream (aka “nightmare”) who took the first two games. Willpower did just the reverse by winning 2 games against one of the top teams, Monday Player’s. Both of our teams are in the upper division and will face each other in head to head play on 3/16 (weather permitting). Our two other teams, China Campers and I Mezzo Buoni, were rained out. Hopefully, they will have had the chance to play and I’ll have a report at our meeting. Good luck to all our teams.

Poker

Jack PolandChairman

Poker is played after the Luncheon meeting in the Board Room located within the pro shop at McInnis Golf Center. Buy in is $30.00

Activities

New Years – Pasadena Rose Parade Pursuing 3-4-day trip to see the Rose Parade and other features. Please contact Chuck Wolf SIR Branch 58 ([email protected] (707) 477-3505) if you have an interest in this event as planning/scheduling is criti-cal. This trip has just got to be on your bucket list. We will have reserved seating and our bus will drop us very close to our seats. We will be able to get up close to the floats right after the parade. If you have watched the parade on TV, you know the weather is nearly always perfect for this event.

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Don’t miss this special offer

from Branch 58.

GARDEN PARTYJUNE 26

Be sure to save this date. And bring your checkbook to our next Luncheon so you can get in on the fun at our 2018 Garden Party dedicated to the memory of Joe Grasso. Cost and other details to follow as they become available.

Save This Date !

Special Events

mailto:[email protected]

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Around The Area

The Big Sirs of the seven Area 8 Branches got together on March 15th with our Area Governor,

Sandy Grieve. This was a special day for Mike Burw-en, Branch 147, as it also marked the completion of his 80th trip around the sun. Mike with Gary Haugen, Branch 58, drove down together from Petaluma but Terry Aleshire, Branch 7, set the distance record, com-ing all the way from Inverness. Jack Friesen, Branch 68, Chuck Krogh, Branch 22, Dick Locke, Branch 134, and Jake Solomon, Branch 47 completed the group. Despite inclement weather, inconvenient traffic and incoherent directions everybody arrived at Sandy’s Strawberry home in time to begin the meeting just 5 minutes or so after the scheduled start of 11:00 a.m.

Good progress was made on the agenda and the meeting went well. It was also an opportunity to get to know each other a little better and discuss problems

the Branches face. There’s an old joke about the CEO insisting that every so-called problem just indicated a hidden opportunity and that all such opportunities should be brought to him. This went well until a trem-bling subordinate had to tell him they were facing “An insurmountable opportunity.” SIRs does face a very real problem. The rangeof entertainment, education and erudition products available to individuals over the internet and on TV seems to have led to a lesser need for social activities. It is certainly easier to fill time these days, terms like Facebook Addiction are even being bandied about. The membership of all social clubs is declining, and SIRs is certainly no exception. But there really is no substitute for face to face contact with other human be-ings and the friendships and fellowships that develop from discovering mutual interests. We are determined to make sure that Area recruiting difficulties do not turn into “An insurmountable opportunity.” Branch 134 has done much better than the others and is expanding. Dick Locke, facing a membership that is starting to strain Marin’s banquet facilities, is anxious to share their best practices with the whole Area and his of-fer will certainly be taken up with gratitude. The first meeting of the new Area Council has been scheduled for April 19th and more details will follow when all the Branches have

Written by Sandy Grieve

The main objectives of the meeting were to:

*Improve co-ordination between the Branches.*Prepare for the Statewide Big Sirs meet-ing on March 26th.*Set up an Area wide publicity and press relations campaign.*Establish an Area 8 Advisory Council.

Sandy GrieveArea 8 Govenor

Good Progress Made As Area-8 Big Sirs Meet

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April BirthdaysApril Anniversarys

Joe SauerlandSunshineChairman

Kent DutreiuxEditor

Fellow SIR, I will be away starting April 13th to the 1st of June sailing a 40-foot catamaran from Panama to Maryland. While I’m gone several things will be different. If you are unable to make the May or June Luncheon you will be contacting Joe Sauerland at (415) 479-8442 or [email protected]. All those members who submit information to the newsletter will be sending it to Rich Berkvam at [email protected] . Howard Schwartz at (415) 459-5768 or [email protected] will be distributing the Newsletter and Luncheon Reminder Letters for May and June, if you don’t receive the news-letter those two months contact him. For those of you who receive the printed version of the newsletter, you will not be getting them for the months of May or June, contact a fellow member for a print out. I will be at the April Luncheon and should make the June one, if you have any questions contact me at (510) 233-7421 or [email protected] until April 13th, then after that internet and phone service is sketchy.

CAROL & CHARLES SALINAS 47RAJ & JOHN RICHARDS 1CLAIRE & DONALD MILLER 63TONYA & LESLIE CHURCH 19ARLENE & ROGER BURSTREM 44DIANA & ARTHUR BOUDREAULT 6

JOHN NOREN 74CALUM CARMICHAEL 80HANS SOMMER 88RAY CRAWFORD 67MALCOLM BARKER 85JOHN ZEITER 83GEORGE ASTER 86ROBERT CHANDLER 75

Editor’s Notes Important * Important * Important

Member MilestonesMiscellanies

Jim Sadasue’s new email is [email protected]. Electronic version was published at the beginning of the month, if you didn’t receive your copy in the email contact Kent Dutrieux at [email protected] to get a copy sent.

Sadly, I must inform you that Past Big SIR Giuseppe (Joe) Grasso passed away in March. A sympathy card was sent to his family. The Sunshine Committee relies on you for infor-mation concerning Branch 68 members with serious illnesses or other significant situations. If you know of a fellow SIR who should be sent a card, please let me know at [email protected] or 415-479-8442.

Branch 68 Sunshine and Clouds Roster Updates

Time used to bully me. Even though I was doing work I loved,

I had deadlines for everything, and was forever running out of time. Then I retired, and overnight, literally, I had all kinds of it. At first I loved all that time. It was mine. Like a favor-ite blanket I didn’t want to let go of

it. But the problem was it also came with a load of guilt. If I didn’t do something with that time, I’d catch myself staring at my recliner. Damn, didn’t that Hallmark card say, “Congratulations. Enjoy all your free time!” And what was I going to do with this boredom that was banging on my door?

I knew who I was as a video editor. I didn’t know who I was as a retired person. It turned out, there was this whole identity thing I had to work on. Welcome to Reframe Who You Are 101. It’s a

prerequisite class at The U of Retirement. It didn’t matter that I was pushed into retirement my first time, or chose to retire my second time: I kept end-ing up back in the same class. A new strange place full of lessons about myself I had to learn on my own.

Well, I flunked a few of them, and did better on others, but I feel like I’m stiin class. What about you? How has your journey through this class been? I’d love to hear your story. Find out what you’ve learned about yourself at the U of Retire-ment. What has turned out to be the best parts, and what were/are the hardest parts?

Give me a call, or send me an email. My schedule is kind of loose. As you know, I’m retired. Just grab me the next time you see me, or reach me at [email protected], or call me on my cell at 415 987-1922, and we can figure out a way to get together. The coffee is on me. The conversation is just part of the class.

My So Called Retirement

Rich Berkvam

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Misc. & SIR History

And The Rooster CrowsAt the first meeting of the Executive Committee

of SIR in January 1959, thought was given to adopting an emblem which would be appropriate in promoting the pride, independence and dignity of retirement, Little Sir Claus Hink suggested the Rooster as having these attributes. His suggestion was adopted by the Executive Committee and was made part of the SIR identity with the Rooster on the Masthead of the first issue of “Yes Sir” in Feb-ruary, with the following : in commenting on the adoption of the rooster as the emblem of the club, Big Sir Reynolds said, “One of the principal areas of

Sons In Retirement concerns itself with the well-be-ing, youth and happiness of the retired man. Of all the creatures on earth, none expresses independence and dignity with more sureness and aplomb then the rooster. The majesty of his presence overshadows all other barnyard creatures, and when he crows he can be heard for miles, not in a fainthearted manner, but with noise that calls attention to his majestic being”.By the time the club was incorporated in late Feb-ruary there were one hundred and eight members.

BRANCH 68 & AREA 8 ACTIVITIES:Bicycling Bob Forsyth Br 134 883-6285Bocce Ball Jim Phelan Br 68 472-2330Bowling Roger Burstrem Br 68 234-6018Computers Tom Egan Br 68 499-9079Digital Cameras Art Costamagna Br 68 456-7031Dominos Gary Polsky Br 68 710-4949Fly Fishing Fred Holmes Br 134 897-1572 Bill Walker 883-5780Genealogy Jeff Vailant Br 134 897-7808Golf -18 Hole Ed Texeira Br 68 453-6094Golf - 9 Hole Jack Friesen Br 68 491-1086Great Books Club Dick Locke Br 134 897-1572Investors Lunch Will Kaefer Br 47 927-1043Men’s Bridge Bill Cline Br 134 892-0209Poker Jack Poland Br 68 287-6645Rolling Roamers (RV’s) Ray Canziani Br 22 453-4463Tennis Robert Chandler Br 68 450-5237Travel Jim Phelan Br 58 472-2330Vintage Cars Joe Sauerland Br 68 479-8442Walking/Hiking Bob Hiday Br 68 892-5231

BRANCH MEETING LOCATIONS::Branch # 7 The Club Restaurant, McInnis Park, SR 1st ThursdayBranch # 22 The Club Restaurant, McInnis Park, SR 1st TuesdayBranch # 47 The Club Restaurant, McInnis Park, SR 4th TuesdayBranch # 58 Petaluma Elks Lodge 3rd TuesdayBranch # 68 The Club Restaurant, McInnis Park, SR 2nd TuesdayBranch # 134 Embassy Suites, San Rafael 1st TuesdayBranch # 147 Petaluma Elks Lodge 2nd Tuesday

BRANCH 68 MEETING: Monthly Luncheons & Executive Committee Meetings are held on the SEC-OND Tuesday of the month. Branch Executive Committee (BEC) meets @ 10:00AM; Social Hour starts @ 11: AM Member Luncheon at Noon at The Club at McInnis Park in San Rafael (415) 492-1800.

ATTENDANCE RULES:RULE 60; Members are obligated to attend all luncheon Meetings unless prevented by illness or absence from the branch locale.

RULE 100: A member may be notified in writing by his Branch of the pending termination of his membership.

RULE 107: Should he be responsible for any of the following: (a) Miss "THREE" (3) consecutive regular luncheon meetings without having been excused by contacting the designated Branch Attendance person prior to the meeting date.(b) Nonattendance at "SIX" (6) regular Luncheon meet-ings with-in the previous "TWELVE" (12) consecutive months. "NOTE:" Excused meetings may not be includ-ed to achieve the Six (6) meeting minimum.(c) Attendance at Ladies Day functions may be excluded by the Branch Executive Committee.

NON RESPONSIBILITY DECLARATION: All activities arranged for or by, or sponsored by, Sons in Retirement, Incorporated, and its Branches, are for the convenience and pleasure of the members and their guests who de-sire to participate. Sons In Retirement, Incorporated, and its Branches do not assume any Responsibility for the well-being or safety of the participants or their property,

ATTENDANCE NOTIFICATIONAs soon as you know that you will NOT be attending a monthly luncheon IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU CALL ATTENDANCE CHAIRMAN Kent Dutrieux (510) 233-7421 no later than the Thursday before the luncheon so you will be excused and not AWOL and we will know the number of members attending the luncheon.

SIR, Inc. 2017 STATE OFFICERSPresident:Derek Southern (925) 253-1646Vice President:Ed Benson (925) 943-7011Secretary:Ron Flagel (209) 338-8109Secretary Assistant:Paul Kramer (408) 826-9238Treasurer:Karl Ryden (916) 961-6137Treasurer Assistant:Jim Johnson (916) 961-8092Region 3 Director:Jim Filippo (415) 892-2063Area 8 Governor:Sandy Grieve(415) 389-6035

Get SIR HappeningsSir Happenings is published quarterly every winter,

spring, summer and fall at the Sir website at http://sirinc.org/sirhappenings/and download the latest issue.

Happy Reading!

Branch 68 Websitehttp://branch68.sirinc2.org

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FYI

http://sirinc.org/sirhappenings/



http://branch68.sirinc2.org

april 2018 68 rooster crow - sirinc2.org apr 2018... · was warmer in winter, so his mother decided...

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