Spindrift February 20, 2020

Meeting at the Newport Beach Yacht Club patio in the cheerful bright sunshine was one of those times when we couldn’t meet at the BCYC because of a long-time commitment to their members. Joe Brown with great candor spoke with God for us about our volunteerism, support for our military, and our health. Deane Bottorf led us in a salute to the beautiful flag on the patio.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
President Ken did some very timely promotion of the First Annual Valentine’s day party for the 14th, and we were onward towards a great choice of Mexican specialties. Next week, as planned we will be back at the same NBYC, but downstairs.

We all recognized the celebrities Tom and Jean Naughton and Ed and Mary Romeo who hit the front page of the Daily Pilot for their long-time marriages and friendship.

PROGRAM
Mitch Mitchell introduced our Speaker, Georgeann Bruce, who told us about the great work that the Exchange Family Center in Downey is doing, some of it using our money. She expressed great appreciation for the help we are giving them. Their focus on parenting classes is paying off, with many referrals. Their information calls have gone from an average of 50/month to 100 this January. They have had 45 families in the parenting aid program last year. Their outreach classes are limited to 35 people, and the parents pay a small fee. These classes cover prenatal to teenagers, and the curriculum handles grades two through twelve. For example, there are some parents who learn the classic, “Spider in a teapot” finger plays for the little ones. The year 2021 will mark the 30th anniversary of Exchange Family Center.

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They are proud of their reputation. Eight Exchange clubs support this Family Center, five from Orange County and three from LA. One of the new events is to have fresh fruit available at the Center. Their current needs are for new chairs; they need 18 of them. They are now offering appropriate birth control information. The PTAs are stepping up also to become involved.

Q and A. Q: Budget? A: for 2019, $420K + and endowment fund. Q: How to measure success? A: The National Exchange’s analysis showed 82% positive results. Q: How many parents/class? A: 12-14.

Thank you, Georgeann, for bringing us up to date on your Family Center activities.

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Pres. Ken DuFour with Georgeann Bruce

NEWS FLASH!
See the centerfold below for a view of the fantastic good time that Members and Guests were having at the First Annual Valentine’s Day party at the “Port Street” Clubhouse, where Richard Swinney was our gracious host. The photo shows our members and spouses, and there were another twenty-six guests who enjoyed the wonderful music from the three-piece band, a fantastic hors d’oeuvres display and a dinner with everything at the level of perfection. It was great to mingle with Exchangites from other clubs, too. Thank Shirley Lashmett for setting the standard of this event so outstanding!

RAFFLE

RAFFLE -- Tom Naughton won the ten and Ross Stewart won the Jackson, having to pry it out of our President’s pocket but he got it!

GREETER
Craig Board-man is in town this week. Craig has been a reliable attendee for a long time, joining us in 1981 sponsored by Mr. Ciroa, whom most of us have never met. Craig shows reliable interest in learning more from our speakers and will he be able to sell you at least two dollars of winning raffle tickets for you to receive the same kind of publicity as shown above when you win!

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