Presiding President :  Liz Gallegos

Sergeant at Arms :  George Luchessi

Pledge : Kim Nguyen

Inspiration : Jon Kaplan

Asst. Secretary   : Judy Wilson

Greeter : Kim Nguyen

Red Badge Vocational Talk by Natalie Duffy: Natalie was not supposed to do this today, but after the mysterious disappearance of the scheduled speaker, she heroically stepped up to rescue President Liz' carefully crafted program.

Natalie was born in the U.S. but grew up (age 3 to 13) in Germany. Her mother is German. At 13, Natalie returned to the states, landing in Los Gatos, where she finished high school. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Economics (her childhood was strongly influenced by her father's business conversations), Natalie entered the finance world as a business analyst for Dunne and Bradstreet. That proved to be a good learning experience, but it exposed her to recurring observations that the sales side of the firm seemed to have more fun. Seeking first-hand verification of this possibility, Natalie found herself a sales job with Equitable Life Insurance. It was true - salespeople had more fun. But at that point her two experiences led her to ask, "Why not combine analysis and sales?" Of course! She became a stockbroker for Shearson Lehman Hutton. It was a great job, but she was not quite ready to live happily ever after. Successful but unsatisfied, Natalie succumbed to that ever-present lure in the business world: Become your own boss! Still in Santa Cruz, she started her own business selling business insurance, eventually becoming a specialist in business sponsored health insurance. That puts Natalie right in step with the hottest topic in domestic politics today.

Nesli Yilmaz visited today from the Sunnyvale Star RC. If you haven't heard of this club, it's because it's brand new! Nesli proudly announced they already have 28 members.

There were five guests today.

Pat Jackson introduced her husband, Jim, whom we all know, but whom Pat has known and laid claim to since the 10^th grade in Missouri!  

PP Jim Walker again hosted Lund Smith.

Elsie Wu again hosted Vidal Graupera.

Hung Wei introduced Maria Chen.

Don Sun hosted Jimmy Chen

Inspiration by Jon Kaplan : Drawing from a previous "inspiration" assignment, Jon reprised a timeless inspirational quote from none other than John Lennon (old Rotarians quote Henry David Thoreau, young Rotarians quote the Beatles). Lennon opined that the Key to True Happiness (not to be confused with the Meaning of Life) was to look for happiness in the moment - not in the past, not in the future, but in the moment, the here and now. Jon became a believer when he finally learned to enjoy emptying his cat's litter box.        .. ..(sigh)...thank you, Jon.

Announcements : Henry Buffalow, a new Cupertino Rotary member who has definitely hit the "service-above-self" ground running, reported on a very successful Rebuilding Together activity repairing an elderly widow's home on Rainbow Avenue.

Natalie Duffy announced the annual Jim Walker Pumpkin Carving times for this weekend. That would be Saturday at St. Jude's Episcopal Church between 3:00- 4:30PM.

President's Club :    When the Greek soldier Pheidippides ran 26 miles to Athens with a message  from the Battle of Marathon, he had no idea what craziness would come out in copy cat people many centuries later. And if copy cat George Tyson had just stayed home last August like a normal couch potato, he'd be $100 richer. But no, George had to enter his second marathon (his first was 15 years ago and he should have learned a lesson then) and actually finish it!!....alive!!!....in 3hours, 48 minutes, and 49 seconds!!!....4 seconds faster than 15 years ago!!!!!!  To the cheers of a roaring Cupertino Rotary luncheon crowd, George forked over $100 to President Liz. He then paid tribute to his hero, Jim Triolo, who himself has been known to engage in foolish athletic pursuits. Jim did his heroics in swimming pools, and his "success" cost him a few President's Club C-notes as well. Thank you, George...and Jim.