Spindrift September 22, 2022
LIVE MEETING
In the temporary absence of President Ken, Shirley Lashmett took the gavel and began the meeting with an invocation from Bob Wood thanking the Lord for those who do so much for our Club, with Dave Schapiro leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mike Gertner announced in considerable detail those who did not win, as well as a long-time winner from last year, Will O-Neill, shown here.
This week’s low was Gina Lesley and breaking the tie high was George Lesley and they were not even at the same table last week Your scribe remembers. In addition, Treasurer Bob admitted that he won the Thursday night football win whether the Bronco’s made or missed the final field goal! Lucky! Books are now on sale for 10% off since 2 of 20 games have been played.
New member Mike Newcomb should have been introduced earlier, but here is his photo. Look forward to shaking his hand next week welcoming him as a new member of our club!
SPECIAL EVENT
was our speaker from District 1, Tom Miller, who shared with us his life story in just a few minutes, and told us what he would do, were he to win the upcoming election. Tom was born in Pennsylvania, and when he was 17 decided he wanted to come to California to pursue his dream. Went to Fullerton College, became an entrepreneur, starting with detailed supplies such as bottled water, shared the creation of Fastrack, washed cars, learned service. Built an empire of 850 employees over 30 years, his son made VP in 2020, he’s from a generation that couldn’t say no, and that God opened his gate for public service. In 2020 he was planning to grow his staff by several hundred and then the Covid shutdown hit. He was forced to lay off employees at one of the lowest points in his life. He was also very upset on the loss of liberties caused by the shutdown. These factors inspired him to have a voice in government so he decided to run for council. He has met some really incredible people leading Newport Beach. In 2015 he moved to Newport Beach, and has the support of his family.
Q and A: What’s your party affiliation? A: Republican. What would you do to make Newport Beach better? A. Public safety is my number one concern. We have a great Police Department, but I would sit down with the Chief and help him get the support that he needs to ensure safety. The Airport and homelessness are my other priorities. My exposure to the homeless was to interview some of the people in the 20 beds we put up for one million dollars, and we concluded that mental illness is typically not being solved. Q. What is the name of your successful company? A. Dynamic Auto Images.
Tom’s official statement is “I spent my entire life taking care of myself, my family, and my business. It is now my time and my turn to take care of my city. I'm going to listen, so help me be your voice! It is not about what I want, it's about what we want, it's about us being united and working together. I'm committed to my family. I'm committed to the city of Newport Beach. We need to preserve and protect our quality of life in Newport Beach. I would be hon- ored to earn your vote.”
BUSINESS MEETING
Secretary Richard Swinney summarized our recent Board meeting. He spoke briefly about Ken’s effort to put a Freedom Shrine at the main Newport library. He updated us on the status of the Lido Theatre renovation, which now has a first quarter 2023 completion date. He spoke about the need to explore additional fundraising opportunities, and discussed the Club’s exploration of pursuing big dollar donations. mentioning the suggestion that an internal fundraising structure be established so that our fundraising efforts can be better focused and effective, through use of a consistent pitch about the Club, it’s mission and goals. He noted that it has been four years since we have been able to have a movie, and the budget, after much discussion, was approved for a loss of about $50,000 in Community Services, and about $1000 loss in Operating. that the Club’s Investment Committee will meet before the Oct Board meeting to explore revising the Policy to allow the invasion of principal without the requirement that any principal withdrawal be repaid to the account.
Shirley Lashmett recommended that the proceeds from the Club football raffle (not District) and the raffle ticket sales be combined to create a Social Event Fund. A showing of hands seemed to favor this idea, with a question as to whether the Football raffle had been otherwise dedicated. Additionally, she suggested that the Luau was not a fundraising event and that the excess should be divided among those members who attended.
Treasurer Bob Wood shared six pages of data, one for each table, with a summary of what it said, sent to all members by email before the meeting.
Raffle winners today were Garry TeWinkle and Mike Gertner, who claimed this was only the second time to win the raffle in all his years!
Editor’s note — Thanks to Richard and Diane Daruty for some clarifying remarks. Also, note that page two has been updated to show the latest volunteers running our Club. If you’re new, look to see where you might fit! Bob Wood
UPCOMING EVENTS
DATE/SPEAKER/SUBJECT
Sept 22 - Erik Weigand, Candidate for Newport Beach
Council District 3
Sept 29 - Kate Malouf, Teen Project
October 6 - Terry Welsh, The Miracle of Banning Ranch
October 13 - Kirk Bauermeister, Principal Back Bay High School
This week we will be at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. Lunch will be served at 12:20 pm. You will be emailed an invitation two days before the meeting. Please notify Richard Swinney by this Wed 2 PM if you are planning on attending.