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The La Cawañian La Cañada, CA – May 10, 2000 Meghan Serwin, Editor We entered through a most timely fire-quenching mist, flanked by a score of uniformed firefighters who all hoped to get through lunch without an alarm so they could honor their Battalion Chief, Firefighter of the Year John P. Harris, in style. Shirley DeGrey added music to the fire-resistant mood. (I know I heard "Tip-toe Through the Tulips" – tulips are one of the less flammable flowers, aren’t they?) The longish line at the buffet went quickly and without bloodshed, contrary to those rumors you always hear about mealtime at the firehouse. Some of us were still eating during Jack Dawson’s Pledge of Allegiance and Sheila Cook’s funny "then and now" invocation, but most of us swallowed in time to sing "God Bless America" with Ed Moulton. The guest list was impressive, led by our honored guest John Harris, with wife Sheri and son Gary (John’s other son, also a firefighter, was on duty and couldn’t be present). Other guests included Assistant Battalion Chief Gene Wolfe and firefighters Greg Jones, Wayne Lee, Bruce Davis, Richard Pryor, Jeffrey Ziegler, Ted Mendenhall, Sean Fox, Henry Pardon, Bruce Ardizu, Joe Carvalito, Donald Murray, Warren Johnson and Barry Bell; Deborah Orlik, who came with Jerry Fulwood to represent the City; Joy Gifford, who came with Tom Sleeman; Richard Cohen; and Key Clubbers Michelle Moon and Min Ko. Announcements included a reminder about our annual Prayer Breakfast, which takes place next Friday, May 19, at 7:00 a.m. at the YMCA. The keynote speaker will be Mark Willis, former CEO of Times Mirror. Anthony Portantino also announced that the Youth Council has voted to sponsor a car for the Soap Box Derby, for which idea he credited Dave Spence (how nicely those two get along!) Pat Anderson said that she needs someone to fill a work shift at the Soap Box Derby headquarters this Saturday, May 13, from 10:30 to 2:30; call Pat if you’re available to answer phones, etc. that day. Carl Christensen announced that he and anyone else who shows up with a shovel will be digging the footings for the Jack Hastings Memorial Gazebo this Saturday (9 a.m. at Glenola Park for you shovel-wielders). Bill Scherkey announced that Ken Lowe, Anthony Portantino and yours truly have agreed to become Directors for the coming term, along with 2 others to be announced later, and that Bob Wallace is our new Vice President. Along with Bob, our next-term leaders will be Jim Edwards (President), Pat Anderson (President-Elect), Sharon Orr (Secretary), and Howard Backer (Treasurer). Sheila Cook read a nice thank-you note from Eileen Ferber relating to her Les Tupper Award, while Ed Moulton asked us all to gather advertisers for the Soap Box Derby program and to buy official Kiwanis hats to wear during the Derby itself. Joel Smith spoke for Jack Dawson and Don Dyer, who need volunteers to help haul Soap Box Derby participants and their cars back up the hill during the event. Any vehicle with a tow hitch will do. Presidential announcements included a call for nominees for Distinguished Service Awards, to be announced during the June 4 gala at the Gene Autry Museum. If you’d like to nominate one of your fellow Kiwanians as a "shining star," or buy tickets to the June 4 program, or (ideally) both, call Jim Reynolds. Mr. President also announced that he and Bill Scherkey, along with their lovely wives, will be our delegates to the International Convention; that Roger Gurley and his wife, Harriet, celebrate an almost unfathomable 77 years of marriage this month; and that Frosty Boyd and his family, three of whom will receive USC diplomas this weekend, are featured in the Foothill Leader section of today’s L.A. Times. Frosty joined the century club to honor this Trojan milestone. Happy/sad bucks (some of which were the same buck) came from Anthony Portantino, who was happy that his daughter Sofia has graduated from Brownies to Junior Girl Scouts, but sad to be old enough to have a daughter in Girl Scouts (you and me both, Anthony – I’m now old enough to have a son who calls me "Dude"). Bill Scherkey had a purely happy buck for his daughter, who is graduating summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota this weekend. Chuck Gulick had 74 happy bucks to honor his 74th birthday, while Mike Stokes tossed in a buck because he’d just come back from court ("and I won!", he said). The program honoring our first annual Kiwanis Firefighter of the Year, Chief John P. Harris, consisted of lots of praise from Dick DeGrey, Anthony Portantino and Jerry Healey, as well as some fascinating slides and video footage provided by Chief Harris himself. The Chief shared his honor with his fellow firefighters and cautioned that although luck and hard work kept last December’s San Rafael blaze from damaging any homes, our hillside properties and lush deodars keep us at grave fire risk. Next week: Daryal Gant will lead the Flag Salute; Gordie Scherer will provide the Invocation; Frosty Boyd will sell raffle tickets; and Mike Stokes will continue as Sergeant-At-Arms. Program speaker will be our own Sharon Collins, with a talk entitled "Remember Kiwanis in Your Will."
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