Expecting to be greeted by the always dependable Sandy Magley and Michele McClure, but instead we were welcomed by the mostly dependable Samy Abiaoui. Rumors were that there was someone else assisting Samy but due to the slow writing skills of the scribe, he was unable to record the information. If anyone has that information please forward as soon as possible so that we can recognize in rapid fashion.
An inspirational invocation was delivered by Marilee Reagor which was followed by the flag salute led by a true patriot Pat Thompson who was quickly acknowledged for his patriotic attire. Frankly I didn’t see it but after some sleuthing it was discovered that the placing of the clothing was not appropriate to be seen in a Rotary meeting. Thought that counts. Neal Walker was not there to lead us in song; however, he enlisted Past President Mike Stepanovich which was forgettable because the scribe forgot to write it down and can’t remember what we sang. No offense to Mike, chalk it up to an inexperienced reporter.
Secretary Claudia Stepanvich introduced our District Governor Elect Nominee Sandy Schwartz and Kenneth “Ziggy” Siegfried from West Rotary.
Our guests were Teri Gonzales who was invited by President Kay Pitts, and Bill Black introduced his wife Jan. Anniversaries were Bill and Jan Black (33 years), Harry and Debbie Bryant (32 years), Liz and Paul Rozell (2 years- or at least that is what the database says), as well as Will and Janet Duersken (23 years).
Happy Spots came from Bobbie Hake who flew (opted not to swim and walk) to the Black Forest in Germany then went on to Rome. Samy Abiaoui was proud of his 4 year-old son. Jeff Bell had two sad spots. His first one was the death of his beloved grandmother. The second was that he forgot his membership autograph sheet. He groveled and pleaded for mercy in order to exchange his red badge for the distinguished blue one. President Kay was in a good mood and extended leniency if he would extend a benevolent offering. Recognizing the errors of his ways, he surrendered $50.
Speaking of benevolence, Dan Johnson was excited to have received permission from his wife, Char, to consume two Burrito Supremes at Taco Bell. Apparently this is a major breakthrough in the Johnson household. Rumors are that he will test the waters even more by requesting a Double Cheese burger at In and Out. Brave man. Greg Desme was proud of his son who was featured in a DVD for the Knights of Columbus which aired on ABC.
Moving on to wonderful ladies, Susan Searey wanted to recognize Bakersfield’s Dress for Success for receiving a prestigious award for outfitting over 1,300 women. Claudia Stepanovich wanted to thank Leslie VoVilla for adopting a cat that had adopted the Stepanovich household.
Another brilliant lady was our own District Governor Elect Nominee Sandy Schwartz who informed us of the STEPS conference on January 28th in Thousand Oaks. This conference will be focusing on ways to eliminate poverty and human trafficking. A TV will be provided for the football fans. Ms. Schwartz then presented the hard working Martha Samora with her second Paul Harris fellow. Congrats to Martha. Jeff Bell wanted to remind us about the annual shopping spree at Target near the East Hills Mall at 7am on December 3rd. Rumor is that Santa Claus will be attending.
Our featured speaker was Kenneth Siegfried who all affectionately refer to as “Ziggy.” Ziggy is the Athletic Director for Cal State Bakersfield (CSUB). He brought his assistant Josiah Castro, his “producer” Logan Bell, and student athlete Max Carter. Mr. Carter plays baseball for CSUB and thanked us for breakfast and told us that he wanted to stay in Bakersfield for higher education. So in his freshman year he was a ‘walk on’ at CSUB which means he was playing with no scholarship. However, by his sophomore year he began receiving funds which helps him to concentrate more on his academics rather than finances. This scribe has seen him play and can vouch for his abilities to play the game.
Ziggy then spoke to us about his passion concerning higher education and its importance. He wants all his athletes to focus on academics so they can graduate. To do that he emphasizes three areas: academic excellence, student athletic experience, and engaging the community. He pointed out that in 2014 the average GPA for CSUB athletes was 2.87 but has risen to 3.05 in 2016. He went on to remind us that CSUB has five WAC championships and noted that the baseball team beat the 2014 College World Series participate Ol’ Miss in the NCAA tournament as well as the men’s basketball team appearance in the NCAA tournament last year where they contended with Oklahoma. He also invited us to attend CSUB athletic events. In true BBRC fashion a plethora of members were spotted on the following Tuesday at the sold out Fresno State game. So much so that Joe Nunez began lobbying for a make-up.
The raffle drawing winners were Michael O’Doherty and Sandra Quigley who each obtained tickets for basketball games at CSUB. The Paul Harris points went to Will Duerksen who may use it as an anniversary present to honor his wife.
President Kay closed the meeting with a quote from Abraham Lincoln: “I do the best I know how, the very best I can; and I mean to keep in doing it to the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me will not amount to anything. If the end brings me out all wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
