NOTE:  Thanks to Marsha for such a great job in filling in for me writing the prose for Tom's First Meeting as "The Supreme Commander".  It's going to be a long year.  Thanks to Mari and Marsha for pictures from Tom's First.

Tom’s First Meeting,

by Marsha Hansen (on assignment from Gary Wilson)

Well, I told Gary I would write a column about this week’s meeting since he had to go to the mountains.  I forgot about it until the meeting was almost over. I think I was simply mesmerized by Tom’s leadership style. Such power and commanding presence…I’m not sure if I was excited or scared. Let me see what I can remember…

Tom started the meeting talking about our aging members, need for surgical procedures, medicines, senior citizen discounts at Rite Aid, etc. He then announced Kevin is having hip replacement surgery next week and presented him with a walker. I quickly volunteered to give Kevin sponge baths. You know…anything for our fellow Rotarians…Service Above Self, He Profits Most who Serves Best, etc. etc. etc.

Tom asked some very thought provoking and moving questions at the beginning of the meeting. No, not questions like, “Do you know the best way to fillet a possum?” He asked “What is the average age of the El Segundo Rotary Club Members…Granny Clampett, Thurston Howell III, Richie Cunningham or Bart Simpson? I missed the answer…I was mentally planning Kevin’s recovery. He also asked how many members missed all the meetings last year. Lily was next to me and she squirmed a bit but turns out she had not only been to some meetings…she/Chevron donated thousands and thousands of dollars to

make Movie in the Park happen for bunches of years. She is excused the rest of the year.

Tom reviewed his 2012-2013 Goals which include the following:  Strategic Plan: Develop a Strategic Plan for El Segundo Rotary Club to help ensure continued growth and involvement of members. Membership: Net gain of 6 new members. Increase participation of all members in club events. (Elyse & I will be working on this right away…we are going to recruit some new members from that Magic Mike place.) Rotary International Foundation: 100% club participation in donating to the Foundation at any level. International Service: Continue to support Guaymas Mexico with financial support and personal visits from Rotary Club members. Start a program of support for Mercy’s Village in Uganda. New Generations: Support our Interact Club with more club participation. Vocational Service: Expand the speech contest to include art and music with awards for the top 3 finishers.

Community Service: Promote Rotary through sponsorship of Community Mural on the corner of Main and Mariposa.

So as you can see, there are a lot of brains behind that beauty when it comes to Tom. Who knew!?!  Tom shared the past several years’ finances from the Movie in the Park. As our major fundraiser of the year, it’s very important that every member get new sponsors and we go out and SELL those Super Raffle Tickets. There was a long discussion about the Grand prize of a 55” Flatscreen TV or two 44”

Flatscreen TVs or twelve 7” Flatscreen TVs, etc. Tom really likes ‘em big. He said all men do. I’ll leave a follow up story for Gary to write on that. After we reviewed the numbers, we had to eat the papers then moved on to the next subject.

Tom discussed the volunteering fines/dues and how we need to take a serious look at our structure.  He announced a Strategic Planning Session to be held soon. It’s a great opportunity to get together, discuss the structure and future of our Rotary Club and make plans to assure we can continue to make an impact in El Segundo and beyond. This is YOUR club…get involved, give of yourself, your time, your resources and your talent. Again, I am REALLY good at giving baths with four small children so I will give of this talent to my fellow Rotarian. See how it works?

Am I out of room yet? Let’s see…Tom is has a new title. It’s something like Grand Puba, Really Important Guy, Fire Chief…I can’t remember. How does Gary do this…either he has pencil & paper or…he’s really smart. It’s hard to believe, but on Tom’s first day as President, someone stole his new bell. Turns out, it was Kevin. I hope Tom doesn’t steal Kevin’s new hip…just sayin’.

Note 2:  Apparently Tom didn't lose his gavel at his first meeting, but he lost his Bell.  That has never happened before and there may be a District (or higher) investigation.  It looks like Kevin helped him out by finding it for him.

Kevin with Bell