Well, this is is what's going on....

We've sent out over 120 flyers for the campaign kick-off and I've sent some by email. Now all we can do is hope for a good turnout. We did get alot of people saying that they were interested in going, though.

This last week has been good. No visitations. Yeah, a bit of quiet. Nice. We did go to a 60th anniversary dinner for the Half Moon Bay Club. The International Director from Lousiana was there. We'd met him last year when he was a guest at our convention in Sacramento. A very personable man. Anyway, he updated us about St. Bernard's Parish (he'd given us a CD last year about what they went through) and they were able to replace the 300 computers that was lost and 26 school busses.

This Thursday, Emil and I head off to Fresno for the Multiple District convention. Jimmy Ross, the Internation President will be there. I don't remember our schedule offhand, but I'm sure we'd be one of many to have dinner with him! So we'll be back Superbowl Sunday. Traffic should be good. Hopefully, everyone's home getting ready for the game!

Check this guy out!

Andy McKee another amazing guitarist!

Christmas Tag Book

I can breathe a sigh of relief!

I sent the Christmas tag book (as seen on the left) to my brother in Korea and it was supposed to get there within a week. Well, 12 days later, he finally received it. He said "Just got your package today. At first after initially opening it, .. I was thinking "What the ..?" since it was way past Christmas .. and then I looked at the postmarked date on the envelope and it read Jan. 11th in Pacifica .. and I was thinking .."She's sending me Christmas decorations in January .. what is she nuts?" Then I opened it up and was very happily surprised to see the pictures. I love family pictures especially since I haven't seen you guys in so long although in some ways, it doesn't really feel like that long. I feel like if I saw you all tomorrow, it would have been as if we didn't skip a beat. Anyway, thanks for the pictures, .. they are awesome."

Picture me happy!

Campaign Kickoff!

PACIFICA’S “MYSTERY” CASTLE
Pacifica’s Castle is the direct result of the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Shortly after the quake the great grandfather of Pete McCloskey, former Congressman, built a one-of-a-kind fortress of safety for his family hoping it would survive the next earthquake. History notes in the early 1920’s, during Prohibition, it was a haven for bootleggers and rumrunners and frequently raided by the local sheriffs. In the late 1920’s it was an illegal hospital where abortions were performed. Then it was renamed the Chateau Lafayette, a lively roadhouse that was repeatedly shut down for selling illegal booze. It sat neglected and shabby and no one seemed to care until Sam Mazza, a S.F. painting contractor, became fascinated with the Castle’s history and purchased it in 1957 for $29,000. One of Sam’s commissions was the old Fox theater on Market Street in S.F. and he filled the Castle with movie palace memorabilia and antiques.

Wow! and an explanation

It has been such a whirlwind, this past few weeks! I didn't attend all the visitations that I orginally thought I would as there were days I was just too pooped, plus I caught a cold. But I have to say, all the clubs we went to, we were welcomed so very graciously. A few clubs even voted then and there their support. It was really a great feeling to see how enthused they are!

Before I go any further, I just want to clarify a few things. Michele asked about what a visitation/meeting was all about. Well, a visitation is just that. A visit to the club. There is a bit of protocol during a meeting/dinner. We all do the pledge to the flag, then we have an invocation. Some clubs have a song (God Bless America or other patriotic song), too. Introductions are made by all present and money is collected from each person (amount can vary) which goes towards whatever has been designated for (administrative costs, dinner, etc). Sometimes there is a program (guest speaker, presentation of something or another). But best of all, it's an evening with old and new friends.

As for running for office, there are a few levels. Club level, you have your president (normally just one, but there has been an instance where there were two), secretary and treasurer. Then you'd have your tail twister (the one that collects the money during introductions and fines you (in fun) for any infarction of any rule that they see fit), Lion Tamer (in charge of the equipment, like the flag and banner).

Next up would be the District level. Zone Chair is in charge of a few clubs, Region Chair is in charge of the Zone Chairs and both are supposed to help their clubs with any problems/questions they may have. Then you also have the secretary and treasurer, then Vice District Governor (that's what Emil's running for) who learns during this year and the District Governor (in charge of all the clubs in the district, which is 41 in ours).

As in any organization, you can go higher, but I don't think he will.

I hope that answers any questions. If not, just post them and I'll get to it.

So far, so good...

Another week has gone by. This week, Emil went on 5 visitations and I went on 3 of them. I wasn't able to attend the other 2 as one was the same time as our board meeting and one was during lunch but I was busy with stuff for the meeting for the same evening.

Everyone has been very gracious and offered their support. This is really wonderful and Emil couldn't be any more pleased.

Well, it's Friday night and I'm bushed. Just back from dinner and I still need to pack. We leave sometime tomorrow morning to Carmel for the Eye Foundation meeting and dinner. I think we're going to stop at the outlet stores in Gilroy, since I don't get to go too often and see if I can find any bargins!

Then it's back to work on Wednesday, but Tuesday evening is our joint dinner meeting with another club and the Rotarians. Should be interesting! We only have 3 visitations scheduled for next week, but I only will go to 2, since one is a luncheon on a work day. Emil has a meeting Wednesday also, and we both have a meeting Thursday evening. Saturday will be a full day. We have a program to attend during the day in Oakland, then we head over to Burlingame for a hoedown fundraiser!

Oh, speaking of fundraisers, we are almost all set for Emil's campaign fundraiser. All we're waiting for is one thing, then we need to do a minor adjustment to the flyer and it's all set for February 25th. We're also putting together baskets for a silent auction. I wonder if I'll have time to do one, maybe with a bunch of cards? Hmmm. Oh, I almost forgot. You want to know what the fundraiser will be? How about a tour of a castle here in town? It has some interesting history. Built shortly after 1906 by the great grandfather of Pete McCloskey (former congressman) it was a haven for bootleggers and rumrunners during Prohibition and was frequently raided. Then in the late 20s, it was an illegal hospital where abortions were performed. Then renamed the Chateau Lafayette, it was repeatly shut down for selling illegal booze. Fortunately for it, it was purchased in 1957 and then filled with movie palace memorabilia and antiques and is now used by many organizations for tours and fundraisers.

My word for 2007

I blogged earlier about choosing a word from the e-zine I subscribe to. Well, I've decided on my word:

moderation:
Avoidance of extremes of opinion, feeling, or personal conduct.

This is to remind me: not to overeat (that's the big one!!), not to get obsessed with doing anything, not to get my feelings hurt if someone is unthinking in something they say and for me not to open my mouth without thinking first. This part is fairly important, I think. I don't want to say something stupid (which I think I already might have done) to hurt Emil's campaign, so I have to start watching what and how I say things.

The other word I had been considering is tortoise. Weird, but still has meaning (in my weird way of thinking, anyway.

You know the story of the tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady to win the race. While there's no real race, I thought it would apply to any goal I had. Weight loss, completion of anything I started, etc. The hard shell for protection from hearing any hurtful things or saying them. You get the point, I think.

I'm seeing that alot of people has chosen their word. It's interesting to see what it is and why they chose it.

So far, so good

Emil's gone to 3 visitations, while Harold and I went to two. As I see it, if I go to each dinner visitation for the month of January, plus we will be out of town next weekend, and our other committments, I will only have to cook dinner maybe ten times this month.

I've been very happy to see our reception to the news has been all positive so far. I've got my fingers crossed that this will be a fairly smooth sailing. Now the only thing that's really got me nervous is when I have to do the nomination speech next month. I hate using microphones! Well, hopefully by that time, I'll be fairly calm about this thing and not look like an idiot stammering. OK, I lied. I should have said two things to make me nervous. There is still always the possibilty of someone to run against us. Everyone tells me no one will, but heck, I'm a pessimist at times. I'll breath a sigh of relief at the cabinet meeting when it's over!

Anyway, on a brighter note, I've finally uploaded the Christmas tag book. It's a bit hard to see the photos (course, in real life, it looks fine!) and I've also since added alittle more to it. I only had a limited amount of photos from our family dinner, so that's why it's alittle sparse. Thanks to Mellie for this kit I got at the last minute (wasn't going to do this project) but I really like it. I need to send it out soon, as it takes a couple of weeks to get to its destination. Hope he likes it.

One of the e-zines I got spoke about picking a word for 2007. The word represents what you want to focus on for the year. Her word was play. Shannon's word is shed. I've been thinking about this. I have two words that come to mind. I'll share when I decide. What would your word for 2007 be? Will you share that with me?

Official Announcement!

The following is an official announcement that is being sent out today.



January 1, 2007


Fellow Lions,

On behalf of the Pacifica Lions Club, the Officers, Board of Directors and members of the club, we are proud to announce our unanimous endorsement of the candidacy of Lion Emil K. for the office of Vice District Governor for the years 2007/2008.

We are proud of the work and dedication he has brought to each project and office that he has held within the club and District in over 20 years as a Lion.

Lion Emil has served as club president twice, the vice-presidencies, secretary, treasurer and membership chair. He has also chaired and worked tirelessly in our club activities. He was also awarded Lion of the Year in 1995.

On a District level, Lion Emil has served on the Peninsula Council as secretary, served the District as Zone and Region Chair, District Treasurer and District Secretary. He has also chaired the Budget & Finance Committee, Leadership Development and Club Officer’s Training for over four years. He was also co-chair for Membership Retention & Rebuilding and has been active in the District Convention Committee for over 5 years.

Lion Emil served on the Board of Directors of Camp Pacifica, is currently an advisor for the Lions Eye Foundation of CA/NV, is a Certified Guiding Lion and has attended the Lions Senior Leadership Training and LCI Canada/USA Forum.

His recognition for his dedication has been noted for his work throughout the years, including four Governor Appreciation medals, the MD4 Excellence and Leadership Awards, Si Moyer/Rick Nuccitelli Award and Lions Clubs International Leadership and President Awards.

The Pacifica Lions believe that with his record of services, he is prepared to serve the District as Vice District Governor. We hope that your club will join us in the support of his candidacy.

Yours in Lionism,

Yvonne K
President
Pacifica Lions Club