From our President, Phil Griego
As I near the end of my term as President of San Jose Exchange, it’s time to take stock in what we have collectively accomplished this year and to help prepare Jerry Hall for his term as he assumes the office of President, July 1.
Below I have a table designating those things we have a accomplished and those
things that remain to be done. I believe that we have accomplished much and
that under Jerry’s leadership we will accomplish even more.
Goals Set:
| ACCOMPLISHED | NOT ACCOMPLISHED |
| 1. Double our membership before the end of the year. Although we recruited some fine new members this year, we also had some attrition offsetting our gains. As of May 8 the club has a net loss of 1 member. That the recruitment of new members prevented a much greater loss. That is positive and must continue. We have almost two more months remaining in the my term that can be used to good advantage. We should redouble our efforts to recruit new members now. Toward that end we have scheduled a retreat May 24 to develop membership building strategies for the remainder of this year and beyond. The executive team are especially encourages to attend. We did not dedicate a membership recruitment meeting once a month as discussed. That may be encouraged at this time. We have not reintroduced the spin wheel for our fines to make the fines more interesting | |
| 2. Increase Publicity – With the help of Jose Pesada’s publication and an extensive TV news story generated by this year’s Blue & Gold Awards banquet, we increased the public’s awareness of Exchange. We need to do more. Weekly spots in the Valley Log about our upcoming guests would greatly increase the public’s awareness of our club and bring new guests and possible members to our meetings. This should be our next top priority. | |
| 3. Early in my term we recognized a number of obstacles to inviting new guests and prospective members to meetings, thus inhibiting growth. We have eliminated many of those obstacles. We have a new friendly location suited to our needs serving meals within our budget. Although parking has been a problem for some, but not all the members. One of our members is tasked to scout new possible locations that better suit our needs and that effort continues. We have had a vastly improved speakers forum thanks to the efforts of many Exchangites. That effort must continue. Toward that end I will be appointing a program chair whose responsibility it will be to assure a speaker or program every week and that members understand their place on the duty roster. My suggestion would be the President-Elect assume this responsibility as a training strategy for assuming greater responsibility when he or she assumes the office of President. We have encouraged occasional committee reports during the meeting as a way of education guests about Exchange programs of service. Rob has regularly provided prizes for our raffle and that should be continued. | |
| 4. We successfully completed the District Christmas Lunch, Christmas Party, B&G 2/28, Cioppino 5/2, Junior Exchange Aids Walk, and the Freedom Shrine. Junior Exchange successfully participated in two events that gave them an opportunity for service and financially benefited their program fund as well. Jerry will complete Young Citizenship this year. | We did not complete the food basket idea on 11/26/02 However, we can try again next year. These projects were encouraged in order improve the cooperation with the Jr. Exchange We were unable to add a school for Young Citizenship this year. Although Jerry made all the right contacts, and presented a new school with all the literature, the principal inexplicably dropped the ball and returned no calls regarding the program. Jerry will try again next year. |
| 5. We had people willing to work on a Sunshine Special but it never got off the ground. There is still time to at least plan something for the summer if we get on it right away. I will reconnect with those who offered to spearhead this project to see if we can get it back on track. | |
| 6. Due to a number of reasons we missed the Dear Santa Program this year. Rob is committed to the program, however, and we’ll take another run at it in Jerry’s term. | |
| 7. Bonita has spearheaded the District Convention project and everything is on schedule. |
June 9 set for Youth of the Year. Jerry Hall has already started the process and will provide more details later.
District Convention next month June 19-22. Jon Rensen will arrange for a hospitality suite at the hotel for Thursday night, so mark you calendars. If you have never attended a convention, this is your chance.
The Search For Talent Contest alone is worth the weekend.
Installation Dinner is set for July 11 with no host bar at 6 PM and dinner at 7. Location and price to be announced.
We have set Saturday, May 24, at 9 AM for the Membership and Recruitment event. We plan to be finished before noon and we can find a place for lunch afterwards. Their office is located at 16400 Los Gatos Blvd, Suite 200, LG corner at Lark, 353-2125, cell 375 0250. Please contact Phil Griego with your commitment to attend so we can advise Jill and get reservations for lunch
There is no way we could mention everybody that helped out the Cioppino Night, but a few individuals deserve special mentions. First, where would we have been without Bruce Newgren, our illustrious chef? Hungry and sans cioppino. Great job cooking leading the troops in the kitchen.
Jerry Hall purchased the food and supplies, without which we would have been eating only seafood and without any utensils. Jon Rensen and Dan Webb picked up the last minute things we forgot, such as the huge wooden spoon to stir the cioppino.
Phil Griego and the rest of Off the Record who provided the sounds and entertainment that made the night a resounding sensation.
Rob Nuddleman for handling the Master of Ceremonies duties (even if his jokes were a bit off-color), and the ticket sales.
Jennifer Patrick and Lynda Brown who cut and diced and sliced their way into our hearts . . . errr, I mean our pots.
Lori Formusa for spearheading the entire project.
Jill Rahimi who sold more raffle tickets than any other single person in the three year history of our Cioppino Night.
The Junior Exchange for their assistance serving and cleaning. The Junior Exchange earned $350.00 in tips that evening and our Board approved an additional $250.00 donation for their gracious help.
I am sure their are many other whom I neglected to thank. Unfortunately, the background music is playing indicating my time on stage has come to an end. Thank you to everybody that assisted, attended, and donated their time and energy into making the Cioppino Night a resounding success.
Covenant of Service
Accepting the divine privilege, of single and collective responsibility as life's noblest gift, I covenant with my fellow Exchangites:
To consecrate my best energies to the uplifting of Social, Religious, Political and Business ideals;
To discharge the debt I owe to those of high and low estate who have served and sacrificed that the heritage of American citizenship might be mine;
To honor and respect law, to serve my fellow men, and to uphold the ideals and institutions of my Country;
To implant the life-giving, society-building spirit of Service and Comradeship in my social and business relationships;
To better serve in Unity with those seeking better conditions, better understanding and greater opportunities for all.
Top
Captains On Deck!
Date
Captain
Invocator
Finemaster
Speaker
Topic
5/20 Griego Posadas Mille 5/27 Gunderson Rensen Hayden 6/3 Nuddleman Brown Posadas 6/10 Patrick Formusa Rahimi 6/17 Posadas Gibson Rensen 6/24 Rensen Griego Gunderson
This Week in American History
On May 14, 1607, the first permanent British settlement in North America was established at Jamestown, Virginia by the Virginia Company Charter."We landed all our men," George Percy wrote in his account of the event, "which were set to worke [sic] about the fortification, and others some to watch and ward as it was convenient."
The Jamestown colonists were led by Captain John Smith for their first two years in the settlement. After Smith left the colony in 1609, only 60 out of 500 colonists survived the harsh winter. The arrival of fresh supplies from England in the spring fortified the colony and enabled it to endure for several years to follow.
On July 30, 1619, under the provisions of the Virginia Company Charter, the House of Burgesses met inJamestown to establish a uniform government over all the settlements, which became the first representative assembly of European Americans in the New World. (Tradition dates the formation of the Iroquois Confederacy of five Indian tribes in upper New York state between 1570 and 1600.) Jamestown was also the site of the first Anglican church in the New World.
Another event of momentous consequence took place in 1619 when a Dutch slave trader exchanged a cargo of captive Africans for food. "The Africans became indentured servants," according to A Brief History of Jamestown, provided online by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, "similar in legal position to many poor Englishmen who traded several years labor in exchange for passage to America. The popular conception of a racial-based slave system did not develop until the 1680s."
Despite the success of the colony's survival and political organization, relations with the Algonquians were unstable and at times violent. In 1622, three hundred colonists were killed by the Algonquians while working out in the fields. Following this event, the King revoked the Virginia Company's charter and made Virginia a royal colony in 1624.
Dates for Your Calendar
President: Phil Griego; Immediate Past President: Lori Formusa; President Elect: Jerry Hall; Secretary/Treasurer: Rob Nuddleman
Board of Directors for 2001-2003 Term: Bonita Gibson
Board of Directors for 2002-2004 Term: Jon Rensen, Jim Gunderson
Flag, Trampoline, and Roman Speaker graphics from Animation Factory
