MEETING HIGHLIGHTS – Last Thursday’s luncheon was held in the Upstairs Banquet Room of the Bahia, and there were 26 members who attended. President Ross Stewart called the meeting to order, asking Ken DuFour to give the invocation. Ken asked Our Lord to accept our gratitude for giving us this wonderful place to live, and the freedom that we have in this country. He asked that we remain cognizant of our responsibilities to each other, our Club, and our community. Ross then led us in pledging allegiance to Old Glory.
ANNOUNCEMENTS – Cynthia Strasmann, who coordinated both the Youth of the Year and A.C.E. Awards luncheons in May, acknowledged the assistance and contributions of Fran Murphy, Lisa Jelke, and Gina Lesley with respect to setting up, decorating, and making things festive for the student honorees, school officials, families, friends, and Club members who attended. She credited Fran for representing the Club on her behalf at a school awards ceremony, as well as assisting with some of the artwork at the Field of Honor (FOH)….. …..Lydia Ledesma-Reese recognized everyone who worked at the FOH this year, and specifically mentioned Lisa Jelke’s outstanding contributions at the FOH tent…..Leo Fracalosy commented that we need to have an active Membership tent at the FOH to promote our sponsorship; Richard, Ross, and Ken all indicated that we should be thinking about starting as early as possible (August?) in order to capture available funds from potential sponsors…..This year’s ECNH Installation Dinner will be held at Gulliver’s Restaurant on Thursday, June 25th, beginning at 5:30pm. PLEASE NOTE: The club will NOT be having lunch that day. Please contact Lisa to sign up whether you, a guest, spouse or significant other will be attending. (Incidentally, Gulliver’s will be permanently shutting its doors on June 30th.)
FIELD OF HONOR COMMITTEE MEETING – Richard Swinney, our longtime FOH chairman, summarized the FOH Committee’s debriefing meeting, held in the Bahia Board Room immediately before Thursday’s luncheon. Sixteen attendees, all of whom devoted significant time to the FOH, were present: Lisa Jelke, Lydia Ledesma-Reese, Field Marshall Ross Stewart, Barbara Kirkham, Roy Shlemon, FOH Chairman Richard Swinney, Ed Romeo, George Lesley, Claudette Mekalian, Ken Dufour, Fran Murphy, Shirley Lashmett, Michael Call, Cynthia Strasmann, Mike Newcomb, and yours truly, Dave Schapiro. The group reviewed a range of topics, with an emphasis on areas for improvement. Richard and Ken strongly emphasized that all Club members should be involved in the FOH, as it is our signature fundraising event. Richard noted that several members were absent from Castaways Park this year. Although the ceremonies were well organized and well presented, turnout for the Armed Forces Day ceremony was disappointingly low. Given the work required to produce the AFD ceremony and the parking issues caused by the Saturday Farmers Market in the Church parking lot, the committee discussed the possibility of discontinuing the AFD ceremony next year. Richard asked members to share their views at a future committee meeting before any final decision is made. He also stressed the need to increase sponsorship revenue, which declined this year. He announced that Lydia will chair next year’s Sponsorship Committee. If you would like to participate, please let her know.
DISTRICT CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS – Cynthia Strasmann, who currently serves as Treasurer of the CA/NV District Exchange, summarized the proceedings of the Combined CA/NV and Four Corners Districts Convention, which was held last weekend at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. It was attended by 100+, including Cynthia, Ken Dufour, Leo Fracalosy and Roy Shlemon from ECNH. The keynote speaker, Sally McCloskey, presented data indicating that paid family leave dramatically reduces child abuse rates…..Two of ECNH honorees of our Youth Scholarship Awards were also winners at the District level…..Cynthia will continue as Treasurer at the District level throughout the next year, and Ken will remain Immediate Past-President as well.
ROY SHLEMON, Ph.D. – “FAULTS IN CALIFORNIA”
Resident geologist and Immediate Past-President Roy Shlemon was a last-minute substitute as speaker and extemporaneously discussed the geology of Southern California with respect to earthquakes.
Key points Roy covered:
- fault zones, parallel faults, tectonic plates, and liquefaction
- the potential for tsunamis and the role of landslides
- the effect of Northern California earthquake activity on Southern California
- the Richter Scale and how earthquake damage is assessed
Roy explained that the Newport-Inglewood Fault lies within a fault zone partly obscured by homes and buildings. It includes several parallel faults that run along the California coast, roughly parallel to the San Andreas Fault.
The fault was mapped after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, which registered 5.7 on the Richter Scale. Although moderate in size, the quake caused widespread structural damage, especially to schools. In response, legislation was passed requiring school buildings to meet higher construction standards.
Asked whether an earthquake can trigger a tsunami, Roy said anything is possible, but most tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, although landslides have also triggered tsunamis when they occur in the fiord areas of Alaska and Norway He also noted that the cracks and shifts associated with earthquakes result from sideways and vertical movement of tectonic plates. Ed. Note: If you have interest or questions, please contact Roy directly.
RAFFLE – Wally Ziglar and Dave Schapiro were the winners of this week’s “opportunity drawing”. Each took home $30.