Spindrift January 16, 2020
President Ken DuFour started with an inspirational invocation, which was followed by short presentations by Dr. Bob Wood, Deane Bottorf, Tom Naughton, and Ed Romeo in remembrance of long-time member Charlie Anderson, who passed away last week. Deane led the Board of Directors. Please help our club by purchasing raffle tickets when you see him this Thursday!
TRIBUTE TO CHARLIE ANDERSON
Charlie was a member of our Club for 25 years, having been sponsored by Tom Naughton, both of whom were alumni of Georgia Tech, and who became neighbors when they moved to California. A native of Kentucky, Charlie was a Naval fighter pilot, and Deane quipped that with Charlie's strong Southern accent, he wondered how anyone could understand him when he used the intercom! Ed Romeo mentioned that Charlie has been active with the Oasis Senior Center and that his wife, Eleanor, has been employed as an assistant at the Center for many years. A memorial service will be held for Charlie at Harbor Lawn Mt. Olive Mortuary, 1625 Gisler, Costa Mesa, on Sunday, January 26, at 10 am; President Ken has requested that all members attend if possible.
News And Views
Our next meeting on January 16 is scheduled for a business meeting; so, please. no guests…At the January Board meeting, there was considerable discussion among all the Board members pertaining to the Club’s monetary policy and what our options will be going forward. Interested and concerned members are strongly encouraged to attend the business meeting and participate in further discussion…. Save the Date: our Club will sponsor a Valentine’s Day Fundraising Dinner, which will be held at Harbor View Homes Phase I Clubhouse on Friday evening, February 14. Time, cost, and other details will be forthcoming. For more information, please contact Richard Swinney or Shirley Lashmett.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Resident pharmacist Dave Schapiro, (recently retired), discussed the shortage of shingles vaccine (Shingrix), and that it may not become available until later in the year. Those who have received the first dose should obtain the second dose as soon as possible, but the current wisdom is that you won’t need to start the regimen all over again even if you don’t get the second dose within six months of the first dose….Mike Gertner introduced Roger Summers as his honored guest…Mike also announced the winners of the recent football pools: Week 15 winner was Bill Bechtel ($28), with second place going to Pres. Ken DuFour. For Week 16, the final week of the pool, Al Wach was the winner, with Garry TeWinkle coming in second, and Steve Pool coming in last. Thank you, Mike, for being our Football Commissioner this season!... Our perennial Santa, Bill Bechtel, reported that the Christmas programs at the grade schools in Newport Beach were a complete success.
PROGRAM
Program Chairman, Mitch Mitchell, introduced our featured speaker: Amber Auger, Executive Director of Beacon of Light (B of L), a privately funded, non-profit organization founded in 1998, committed to educating school-age children in Orange County (and their parents) on sex, with an emphasis on prevention of pregnancy rather than having to deal with the consequences of an unplanned teenage pregnancy. She was accompanied by Chris Sdaller, Board Chairman, and a volunteer, John Saggiani. Over 10,000 students per year are now being educated by B of L in the middle and high schools comprising the Huntington Beach, Irvine, and Newport Mesa School Districts; and the program will soon be expanded to the Anaheim School District as well. The problem is real and significant for a number of reasons, among them being: our country is polarized with respect to the issue of abortions; the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is high; sex is not taught or treated as a “big deal”; the average age of a child being exposed in some way to pornography is 10 years (even younger if they have a cell phone!); 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18; and we have become victims of secularization, with belief in God assuming a lesser (if any) role in our children’s upbringing. Not only is Amber involved in the classroom education of students on sex, but she is also involved with a post-abortion recovery group and participates in the education of teenage mothers. All of the options are harsh once a teenage woman becomes pregnant. To make matters worse, California has legislated AB329, which stipulates that an “approved” curriculum of sex education must be implemented at the Junior High and High School levels, and makes it illegal to teach abstinence; the curriculum allows for practically everything else. This bill was supported by the proponents of Planned Parenthood, which benefits financially from the increased use of their abortion facilities. The B of L teaches the importance of waiting before having sex, as it is healthier both physically (prevention of STDs) and emotionally to do so. B of L has a current budget of $88,000 of which $70,000 has been raised to date. For further information, you can contact Beacon of Light at Beaconof-light.org, (949) 237-2584.
RAFFLE
The weekly raffle winners were George Lesley ($20) and Bob Washer ($10).
GREETER
This week’s greeter is Jeff Yeargain, who has been a member of the Club for 15 years and is currently a member of the Board of Directors. Please help our club by purchasing raffle tickets when you see him this Thursday!
