The La Kiwanian The Weekly Bulletin of the La Cañada Kiwanis Club Serving the Children of the World

Wednesday,  June 20, 2007

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time.

The Kiwanis Club of La Cañada meets every Wednesday at Noon Visitors Welcome Van de Kamp Hall in Descanso Gardens 1418 Descanso Drive, La Cañada, CA  91011

Upcoming Events

June 20, 2007 READING IS FUNDAMENTAL - Suzanne Coscarelli Wednesday Lunch Meeting @ Van de Kamp Hall in Descanso Gardens June 21, 2007 PET CLINIC - Barkley Community Center June 27, 2007 SCOUT RECOGNITION DAY Wednesday Lunch Meeting @ Van de Kamp Hall in Descanso Gardens July 4, 2007 NO MEETING - NATIONAL HOLIDAY   July 11, 2007 La Cañada TOWN CENTER - Darren Mattix Wednesday Lunch Meeting @ Van de Kamp Hall in Descanso Gardens July 12, 2007 BOARD MEETING FOR CLUB AND FOUNDATION 7:00 p.m. on Thursday Evening @ CitiBank, La Cañada July 15, 2007 SUMMER SOCIAL Sunday Afternoon from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. @ Toffels July 18, 2007 MONTROSE/LA CRESCENTA 1934 FLOOD - Arthur Cobery Wednesday Lunch Meeting @ Van de Kamp Hall in Descanso Gardens  Click on the following button to view the long term calendar

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The Prez sez . . .

Prez Steve Hagerty started the meeting by handing Norm Johnson his permanent Kiwanis badge.  The Prez said Norm graduated from being a New Member to being an Old Member, and Norm received a round of applause for completing his "new member" coursework! 

 
Norm

John Landrum grabbed the mic from the Prez and then asked Steve why he wasn't wearing his Kiwanis pin while he was at the park cooking hamburgers on Memorial Day or while he was at the Soap Box Derby.  Prez Steve claimed presidential privilege ... "do as I say, not as I do."  John offered to carry an extra pin to loan to the Prez, but Steve thought he would carry on as usual since John and Diane have been wearing their pins everywhere since their "dressing down."

Paul Westmoreland reported to the Prez that there were six Club members at the Stardusters Dance last week and five of them were not wearing their pins.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Clyde Hemphill is still looking for volunteers for the Pet Clinic on Thursday evening.

Mary Gant has a few of the good-looking straw hats for sale.  The hats have a blue Kiwanis band around the crown.  These are perfect for our Wine and Gourmet Food Tasting event scheduled for September 9th this year.

Linda Magarian was standing in for Harriet Hammons and drew our attention to the flyers on our lunch tables announcing the Summer Social on July 15.  Admission is $10 per person plus an appetizer, salad or dessert.  Mark your calendar:  Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Toffels.

Linda Magarian invited everyone to attend the school awards assembly next Friday morning (June 29).  The children are very excited  about the assembly; this is a fun event.

Carl Christensen encouraged us to start inviting guests for our July 11 meeting.  Darren Mattix will be giving an update on the new La Cañada Town Center (Sports Chalet) project.  This should be of interest to many LCF city residents.  Darren Mattix is the developer of the project.

Bachy asked us to remember the Children's Hospital cannisters on our lunch tables.

Jim Edwards has agreed to attend an InterClub next Wednesday, so Diane DellaValle is looking for volunteers to make it an eligible InterClub at the AM Kiwanis meeting on June 27.

THE PROGRAM

Suzanne Coscarelli is a volunteer for the nonprofit group RIF which stands for Reading Is Fundamental.   RIF is the largest children's literacy organization in the nation.  RIFSoCal currently targets 170 economically disadvantaged schools, Head Start and social service centers throughout Southern California and provides over 135,000 new books to more than 45,000 children a year.  The Motivational Reading Program has been RIFSoCal's core program since the organization was founded in 1972.  Three book events, conducted at each project site during the school year, conclude with each child choosing a book to keep and take home to add to their home library.  These books are theirs to keep at no cost to the child, their families, or the site.  One distinguishing feature of the RIF approach is that the books are not to be used for book reports or given as rewards.  Each child is encouraged to choose books that he or she will enjoy for its own sake ... a book that will compel them to read for pleasure.

IN MEMORIAM

Harold Crockett, a long-time member of our La Cañada Kiwanis Club, died peacefully on Sunday, June 10th.  He was walking with his son, Donald, and his wife of nearly 65 years, Martha on June 8th and was commenting on the singing birds when he suffered a major heart attack. 

Hal was born in Austin, Texas in 1916.  He was an aeronautical engineer at Lockheed for many years before his retirement in 1980.  Harold and Martha moved to La Cañada in 1950, and last year they moved to Pasadena.  Harold was our International Understanding Committee Chair for several years and guided our donations to a variety of child-oriented programs worldwide.  One of his favorite projects was the Liga Children's Heart Program. 

Harold will be buried on Friday after a private family gathering.  He will be deeply missed by us, by his wife Martha, by his children Carolyn, Don and Sally, his four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and numerous other family and friends.

HAPPY & SAD BUCKS

Tom Slaughter had 100 Happy Century Club Bucks because he is finally feeling so much better.  After fighting celiac disease and a broken shoulder for the last nine months, Tom is glad to be off of pain killers and is enjoying a good night's sleep once again.

Mary Gant had a Happy Buck for Joel and Nana Smith who are on vacation in Italy.  Her Sad Buck was also for Joel who answered his cell phone in the middle of the Italian night when Mary (who didn't know he was out of the country) called him.

Theo Abelman had a five very Sad Bucks in memory of long time member Hal Crockett who died on June 10.

Howard Backer had a Happy Buck for each of his three grandsons who spent Father's Day with him.  They went to the Dodger's game together, and Howard had a Sad Buck because the Dodgers lost the game.

Clyde Hemphill had a Sad Buck because Joel Smith left him with the job (and headache) of arranging shipping for the Soap Box Derby cars.  In spite of that, Clyde had a Happy Buck for Joel's Italian vacation.

Ellie Wildermuth's Happy Buck was for the UC Irvine baseball team that just won the collegiate World Series.  The son of a former La Cañada man was on the Irvine team.

Ed Moulton has been receiving a ride to and from our Wednesday meetings by new/old member Norm Johnson and had five Happy Bucks for such a willing chauffeur. 

Pat Anderson reported on the City Council meeting Monday night which ran from 7-11:13 p.m.  She had a Happy Buck because our councilmen worked so long and hard on some very complex issues that evening.

Jack Dawson thought it was worth a Happy Buck to see the huge pile of rubble turned to gravel at the new Sports Chalet center.

FACTS AND FICTION

Music:  piano tunes by Tom Burrows and Ed Moulton leading us in God Bless America and Come On Kiwanis

Opening: flag salute by Paul Westmoreland and inspiration by Jack Dawson

Guests:   Honorary Member Theo Abelman and Jeanne Broberg

Anniversaries:  Charles Broberg jumped the gun and announced his upcoming anniversary next week.  Charles said the best decision he ever made was marrying Jeanne.

Birthdays:   Dr. Perry, Sr. would not step up for his son who had a birthday this week; Dr. Allen Perry, Jr.  missed the meeting because he was in surgery.  The Prez will not be deterred and has a long memory!

Frosty Challenge:  Bill Watts and Carl Christensen took the challenge; Carl won the most acclaim.

       Frosty                                            Bill                                                 Carl

Fines:   for not wearing a Kiwanis pin and for not shaking the hand of Secret Greeter Lloyd Welch.

Fifty-Fifty Drawing:  Steve Hagerty (again)

Master of the Cash Box:    Sherri Ingram

This Week's Editor:  Melinda Thompson

This Week's Photographer:  Paul Westmoreland

Webmaster and Coordinator:  Jeb Long