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Rotopinion 
May 1, 2018
Welcome to Our Club!
Wed: - Noon - 1 p.m. - last Wed: 6 - 7:30 p.m., place TBA
Woodland Hills Country Club
21150 Dumetz Road
Woodland Hills, CA  91364
United States
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President's Message
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Message from the President…

It’s been an interesting few months at the club. We have had a flurry of new members and I want to welcome them all in as Rotarians. I look forward to watching all the great things they will be doing going forward.
 
A few things to mention: The Clergy panel was very successful and powerful and I wanted to thank Anna Sakvarelidze, Ron Supancic and Sandy Rosenholz for working so hard in making this a successful event. Special thanks goes out to Anna’s husband Julian who worked really hard in setting up and breaking down the room. My intent is to continue to grow the event and expand the participation.
 
Having Henry Oster a Holocaust survivors speak at our club for Holocaust Memorial Day was an honor and it is important that we continue to memorialize that horrific time in the worlds history. (see story and photos below)
 
As most of you know we are partnering with the Calabasas club this year for our Poker & Casino fundraiser on June 3rd at the Canyon Club in Agoura. We all like to do projects and many of us come to the club for funding of their projects and favorite causes. Needless to say the money does not grow on a Rotary Tree, we need to fund raise. Quite frankly, I have an expectation that every club member do their part in a way that they can. There are multiple ways for club members to help. Buy tickets and attend the event, buy tickets for friends and family, help sell tickets, buy sponsorships, donate auction items and help spread the word. This is the opportunity for each and every club member to be a giver. We are 5 weeks away from the event so let’s get to work! (see information below)
 
Yours in Rotary service,
 
Paul

Bringing Peace to Our Community
by Ron Supancic
 
"Somewhere within us all exists a supreme Self who is eternally at peace."
Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love 
 
At the April 17 Peace Committee meeting the Bill Eddy method of high conflict problem solving was revisited. There was discussion of the tactics, techniques, and steps that are necessary in separating people from the problem.  It is best to focus on issues, minimizing conflict, stimulating conversation, and provoking solutions that end conflict. 
 
Members of the Peace Committee are encouraged to share incidents, events, and opportunities for using the tools from their Peace Maker Tool Kit. The kit is being developed by the United States Institute of Peace coordination with the United Nations Mediation Support Unit and in collaboration with a number of other mediation institutes and experts. The toolkit will include a series of "best practices" on key aspects of mediation and peacemaking.
 
During Ramadan, between May 15 and June 15, there will be a dinner with the Muslim community.  A Peace March will be held in West Hills on Valley Circle, from St. Bernadine’s Catholic Church to Temple Alia and ending at the mosque in Woodland Hills across the street from El Camino High School. The Peace March Committee will be meet at 6 p.m. on April 30 to discuss the event.
 
The club has 10 Buddy Benches ordered and three schools are confirmed. Seven additional schools to be confirmed. The process starts with locating decision makers the selected schools and sending a congratulatory letter to them. A meeting is scheduled with the decision-maker, faculty, and student council to talk about any objections or concerns.  It is vital that we establish an installation date, which should be an event in which we invite the media so that the community is informed of Buddy Benches and their purpose.
 
Buddy Bench coordinators included Sheri with Pacific Boys Lodge, Jeff Stern with Reseda Elementary and Serrania Charter, and Ava Teherani with Willow Elementary and Lupin Hill Elementary and A.E. Wright Middle School. Other places being considered are Viewpoint, Fulbright Elementary, Woodland Hills Elementary West Valley Girls and Boys Club and New Directions for Youth.
 

The club's first Buddy Bench.

 


Casino Night Volunteers Are Needed

  • Auction prep - put together auction baskets and other items, make bid sheets, create master list of items for tracking and close out

  • Auction set up - On the day of the event, set up auction items and bid sheets at the venue

  • Auction monitoring and close out - Monitor auction tables through out the event, pick up bid sheets at the end of the auction, assist with collection of funds and delivery of auction items to successful bidders

  • Venue set up - One the day of the event, set up and decorate prior to the start of the event 

  • Check in table - Check in guests and provide instruction/direction on the night of the event

Please send an email to loiskoch2010@gmail.com and include the following:

  • Your name, email address, phone number and the area(s) you are available to help.

  • Please indicate if you will be able to help on the day of the event. Remember, if you are playing poker or casino games, you need to tell me that so we won't be counting on you to help during those hours. 

 
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Member Birthdays
Arturo Velasquez
May 6
 
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May 11
 
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May 11
 
Lane Sherman
May 13
 
Matthew Schaaf
May 16
 
Linda Tapper
May 19
 
Rabia Dahal
May 20
 
Natalia Molera
May 23
 
Join Date
John Whitmore
May 1, 1995
23 years
 
Matthew Schaaf
May 1, 1994
24 years
 
John Willauer
May 3, 2017
1 year
 
Mark Stewart
May 4, 2016
2 years
 
Amarjit Marwah
May 6, 2010
8 years
 
Kathleen Sterling
May 6, 2010
8 years
 
Jerry Athans
May 31, 1998
20 years
 
Upcoming Events
Soraya Deen, MA, President and Co-Founder of Peace Works - Negotiations and Conflict Resolution
Woodland Hills Country Club
May 16, 2018
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
 
Nature of Wildworks - Wildlife Presentation
Woodland Hills Country Club
May 23, 2018
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
 
No Meeting - Wednesday Night Fun, Social and Good Eats!
Location - TBD
May 30, 2018
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
 
Rotary Casino Nite & Poker Tournamet
The world famous CANYON CLUB
Jun 03, 2018 5:00 PM
 
Aparna Rajawat, Speaker from India
Woodland Hills Country Club
Jun 06, 2018
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
 
Bulletin Editor
Michael Turner
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
ClubRunner
Stories
In Remembrance of the Tragic Events of 9-11
A video of the special 9-11 club program captured the essence of what President Paul Gross and event 9-11 eye witness Mark Reiser shared that day. 
Their comments was truly a tribute to all who were lost on that horrific day in 2001. 
 
Christina, who shot and edited the video, said, “I was very moved again emotionally, recalling everything that happened that day over 16 years ago.  I got to learn more about Louie and Lorraine, and Dennis Mojica, one of Mark's friends.  And it led me on a journey that was unexpected. 
 
I know their Spirits still soar here on Earth, next to you and Mark and their family and friends, all of us. 
And by you creating this beautiful opportunity to remember them Paul and honor all those innocent lives that were murdered that day and all the first responders that are still here with us, helping us, protecting us, it is a priceless gift you are giving to all who see it.”
 
Click on this link to view the video:  
Highlights of the October Peace Committee Meeting
 
“If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race,
our tribe, our class, and our nation;
and this means we must develop a world perspective.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
As part of the continuous training, a discussion was presented with regard to specific strategies in dealing with High Conflict Personalities (HCPs).  We focused on Seven Keys to High Conflict Problem Solving:
  1. Focus on the outcome.
  2. The issue is always the personality disorder.
  3. Learn to make proper questions with regard to concerns and priorities.
  4. Teach HCPs how to focus and ask questions. 
  5. Always avoid criticizing any proposal.
  6. Connect through empathy, attention, and respect.
  7. Always consider their rights as proposals and learn to shift the climate from adversarial to supportive and collaborative.
When funded, the Buddy Bench program will be placing benches at the following places: Reseda Elementary, Woodland Hills Elementary, Serrania Elementary, St. Francis De Sales Elementary in Sherman Oaks, and the Pacific Boys Lodge in Woodland Hills.
 
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, November 21, 2017 at 6 p.m. at Sheri's house. 

Holocaust Survivor Henry Oster

At the April 11 meeting Henry Oster told his compelling, inspiring life story, battling prejudice and the politics of fear as a Holocaust survivor. As a young German boy he survived deprivation in the Lodz Ghetto, a life-or-death selection in the Birkenau extermination camp, a firing squad in Auschwitz, being strafed by an Allied  fighter, and starvation in Buchenwald. Henry rebuilt his life in America, arriving at 18 with no family, no English, no money and no education. Of 2,011 Jews uprooted from Cologne, Germany in 1941, he is the only survivor. Henry was still working as a world-respected Professor of Optometry on his 89th birthday, helping the world to see.
 
Signed First-Edition Hardcover
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Michael Turner  editor  bearsworth@earthlink.net
 
P.O. Box 144 ► Woodland Hills, CA 91365 (818) 344-5776