Getting started. George Schindler got the shindig rolling with the Invocation.

Donation. The club’s Board of Directors, at its January 9 meeting, voted to contribute $1,000 to Dr. Art Basa’s annual medical mission to the Philippines.

Booze needed
. The club can never get enough booze, but this time it is needed for a Chili Open auction item. Jim Karecki asked club members to bring bottles of wine and liquor to load up a wheelbarrow to be auctioned off. Andy Motz reminded the club that more auction items are needed, and Mary Beth Whelan said only 73 raffle tickets for a trip to the Masters have been sold. 600 tickets are available. Val Tocci reminded everybody to sponsor a hole ($200) or a tee ($300) at the event. You can do that online at www.chiliopen.org.
Chili Cookoff. Speaking of chili, and speaking of booze, the club’s annual Chili Cookoff will be held Saturday, January 26 from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Strongsville VFW Post, Ross Theuner announced. All attendees will leave promptly at 7:00 and go straight home.

More booze
. A club whiskey tasting will be held on Thursday, March 7 at the Westwood Farms clubhouse, Cassie Weber announced. Ya gotta bring your own grub and some brews, maybe, but the whiskey will be provided. Maybe from Jim Karecki’s wheelbarrow. The thing will start at 6:00 and run until everybody’s passed out. Let Cassie know if you’re going to attend so she can get a head count.

Raffle
. Bob Schmieler reminded us hat we’re all obligated to sell 10 books of Chili Open raffle tickets. So do it. Bob needs your cash by the week before the Chili Open.

Chili Open. A dude from the Akron club – Doug Hausknecht – joined us and invited club members to check out the Akron club’s Wayne Homes Chili Open Golf Classic on February 2. It’s held at the Hale Farm and Village, and they are raffling off a car. Big deal. We’re auctioning off booze.

Guests. Along with Doug, Roy Rogers also joined us for breakfast. He didn’t bring Dale Evans or Trigger.

New members. We have two new members. During the meeting Sue Tancak, sponsored by Jerry Balint, and Tim Able, sponsored by Ross Theuner, were inducted by President Manjit Khuban.

Member bio. Speaking of new members, Rodney Johnson, who join the club in November, presented his bio. Rodney was born in Mississippi, lived in Georgia and North Carolina and moved to Brunswick two years ago. He is married with a son and a daughter, and works for Alliance Auto Gas, which provides alternative automobile fuels.

Rose Parade
. Club Secretary John Turnbull did a presentation of his experience at the New Year’s Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, where he was selected to walk along side the Rotary float. Our club contributes annually toward the construction of the float, and provides the booze.

State of the Club. With the induction of two new members, the club stands with a roster of 156 members, plus three honorary members, Manjit announced in a club update. Five members who haven’t shown up for a while were given the heave-ho. He also emphasized that members who are more than 90 days late paying their dues can be terminated. Ooops.

Some other highlights of the past six months:

* Our club-sponsored Rotaract Club has been officially chartered at the Mid-Point Campus in Brunswick.
* Overall club donations total about $36,000, including $8,000 toward the Philippine water well project, $4,400 for Hurricane Sandy relief and $1,000 for Sandy Hook massacre relief.  
* April 5 will mark the club’s 35th anniversary. If you have any old photos or memorabilia bring them in and give them to Manjit, I guess.
* The annual Fun 4 Fun has been cancelled, but we may hold a duck race fundraiser in its place. Stay tuned for more information about that event.

District Assembly. The annual District 6630 Assembly will be held on Saturday, February 16, at Lakeland Community College. If you are interested in helping to assemble the district, the club will pay your way.

Queen of Hearts. So somebody won the jackpot of $1,169. Brenda Byrne's table won the drawing and drew the queen.

Words of Wisdom

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the midst of the French Revolution the revolting citizens led a priest, a drunkard and an engineer to the guillotine. They ask the priest if he wants to face up or down when he meets his fate. The priest says he would like to face up so he will be looking towards heaven when he dies. They raise the blade of the guillotine and release it. It comes speeding down and suddenly stops just inches from his neck. The authorities take this as divine intervention and release the priest.

The drunkard comes to the guillotine next. He also decides to die face up, hoping that he will be as fortunate as the priest. They raise the blade of the guillotine and release it. It comes speeding down and suddenly stops just inches from his neck. Again, the authorities take this as a sign of divine intervention, and they release the drunkard as well.

Next is the engineer. He, too, decides to die facing up. As they slowly raise the blade of the guillotine, the engineer suddenly says, "Hey, I see what your problem is ..."

Have you heard about the corduroy pillow?
It’s making headlines.

A neutron walks into a bar and asks "how much for a beer?"
The bartender says, "For you? No charge."

Quotable

“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” ― Mark Twain

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” ― J.K. Rowling