Debbie then reluctantly announced that Sonja Malaga has

resigned from the club. Sonja is being transferred from

Mechanics Bank in Moraga to manage another branch in
Oakland. Sorry to hear that, Sonja. We will miss you.
Thank you for your support.

January 27th, 2015

NEXT MEETING: February 3rd, 2015
Noon Meeting Soda Center, St. Marys College
PROGRAM
Lamorinda Village Update Linda Johnson
Greeter & Invocation: Roger Gregory

Reminder TGIF Social on January 30th

Our first TGIF Social of the New Year will be held at the
th
home of Roger and Jan Gregory on January 30
beginning at 6 PM. Please bring an hors doeuvre and a
beverage to share!! This is a relaxed and popular event. If
you have not attended this event before, plan on attending
and getting to know your friends at Rotary a bit better!!

Last Weeks Board Meeting

~~ COMING UP ~~

**Feb.10 Executive Chef Gabe Kinney, St. Marys College

Preparing Dinner for 3000!
(Evening Meeting Bring a Guest!)
Feb. 17 Club Assembly
Feb. 24 Five Club joint meeting at Rossmoor at 11:30.
*Regular Noon Meeting

** Second Tuesday Evening Meeting

Visitors and Guests

Annabelle Hall Our speaker for today
Anthony Hall Annabelles son
Ron Schopke husband of Louise Schopke
Steve Lack Past District Governor 5160
Linda Elliott Rotarian and Past District Governor from
Dallas area
David Crist Rotarian from Dallas area
Larry Tessler Member of the Moraga Chamber of
Commerce
Ron Julian Past member of the club

At our meeting today, President Debbie mentioned some

of the agenda items discussed at last weeks Board
Meeting. These included that the Rotarian of the Year
award qualifications have been changed to allow a member
to be considered for the award if they have not received it in
the past five years. She also discussed our participation in
the Community Faire this spring and the sponsorship of a
Chamber mixer later this year.
There has been some confusion as to the start time of
evening board and other committee meetings. The board
has declared a Rotary Standard Meeting time of 5PM for
evening meetings going forward.
th

Debbie also noted that the February 24 meeting will be the

Five Club Meeting at the new club house in Rossmoor.
More information on this event later.
th

There will be a celebratory Dinner later on February 24 at

the Moraga Country Club honoring our member Dianne
Wilson as Moragas Businessperson of the Year.
Congratulations, Dianne!!
th

Orinda Rotary is sponsoring a Trivia Bee event on April 24

from 6 until 9PM at the Masonic Hall. President Debbie is
organizing a team for this event. Please let her know if you
are interested.

Nite at the Races

Club Guests Linda Elliott and David Crist with Cliff

President Debbie noted that Nite at the Races is our major

fund raiser and each member is expected to purchase at
least two tickets for the event as well as make a $200
contribution to our auction.

Our Meeting Today

The event flyer and donation forms are available for you to
invite friends and family to attend the event as well as
donate items and services for our live and silent auctions.

President Debbie Roessler called the meeting to order

and began by thanking Past President, Gary Irwin for
presiding at the last meeting. Herb Wehmeyer offered an
opening invocation that included how a shot of whisky got
its name from having the same cost as a gun cartridge.

Hope to see you at our next committee meeting to be held

th
at the home of Cliff Dochterman on February 9 beginning
at 5 PM (Moraga Rotary Standard Time)!

Trinity Church Crab Feed February 7th

Please support the Holy Trinity Church Crab Feed and
th
Dance to be held at the church on Saturday February 7
beginning with a cocktail hour at 6PM. Trinity Church
does so much for our Rotary Club throughout the year.
See the flyer at the end of the newsletter for information
on how to reserve your place at the table!!

Trips, Happy Bucks and Other Significant

Events!!
Roger Gregory spun the wheel for a recent car
purchase. He noted this was his wife Jans car.
Debbie Roessler celebrated her birthday, replaced the
car that was totaled in a recent car accident and is
celebrating a successful kickoff of the Oakland Museums
White Elephant sale.

make here in District 5160. He highlighted the education

project in Burkina Faso and the support of the
emergency generators in Hayfork as examples of
tangible benefits that we have made in the community.
Congratulations to all of our members for this
achievement!!

Program for Today

Debbie Roessler introduced our speaker, Annabelle
Hall, a member of the Crohns Disease Awareness and
Support Group and a concerned parent of a son who
suffers from the disease. Annabelle stated that she is
not a scientist, but a mother intensely interested in
finding a treatment and cure for Crohns disease.

Larry Tessler is also celebrating a birthday this week

and is happy about the liaison between the Chamber of
Commerce and Rotary for the Employee of the Month
program. He also mentioned the thank you letter that we
received from the parents of Valerie Ettenhofer a couple
of weeks ago. Larry thanked the club for what we do in
the community.
Al Simonsen says that he is happy to be selling horses
for our Nite at the Races event this year. Gary Irwin and
Cliff Dochterman purchased several horses on the spot!!
Contact Al or send in your reservation form for the event
to get in on the excitement!!

Every Rotarian, Every Year Award

Past District Governor, Steve Lack attended our meeting
today to award Moraga Rotary the 2013/2014 Every
Rotarian, Every Year Award. This award requires that
every member in our club contribute to the Rotary
Foundation an average of $100. Last year our clubs
average was $239. District 5160 is a leader in Zone 25
in contributions to the Foundation.

Annabelle Hall Talking to the Club Today

Annabelle described the symptoms of Crohns disease

that affects approximately 1.2 million people in the United
States. These debilitating symptoms include abdominal
pain, bloody diarrhea and weight loss. Eighty percent of
people with the disease require surgery at some point.
She characterized sufferers of the disease as a growing
group of young people sixty to seventy percent of which
do not respond to current drugs treatment. Crohns is
very similar to a condition in cows called Johnes disease.
It is bacterial in nature and can be spread in feces and
milk. Infection comes to those with a deficient NOD2
gene.
Professor Herman Taylor in the UK has developed a
vaccine for Crohns disease. Annabelles mission is to
educate people on the disease itself and to publicize their
need for donations to let the testing of this vaccine
proceed.
Annabelle distributed a flyer showing how to make a
donation to support the testing of this vaccine.
I have
included a copy of her flyer at the end of this newsletter.
Please visit www.crohnsmapvaccine.com to learn more.

President Debbie With PDG Steve Lack and our Every Rotarian,
every Year Award for 20013/2014

Steve went on to talk about the real differences that we

Dianne Wilson had the winning ticket, but did not draw
the white marble. Our greeter will be Roger Gregory.

CALENDAR OF FUTURE EVENTS

Jan 30 TGIF Social at Roger and Jan
Gregorys home
Feb. 14Moraga Kiwanis Crab Feed
Feb. 24 Five Club Meeting at Rossmoor
Mar. 14 Nite at the Races Fundraiser

Greeter/Invocator Volunteers
Jan 13 through April 7
2/03
2/10
2/17
2/24
3/03
3/10
3/17
3/24
3/31
4/07

Roger Gregory
Dianne Wilson
Dave Kruegel
Ron Mucovich
Gary Irwin
Roger Gregory
Tony Schoemehl
Doug Damaschino
TBD
Kevin Reneau

Editors Note
This week Bill and Melinda Gates published their annual
Gates Letter in which Bill offers a very optimistic view of what
he and Melinda think can happen in the world between now
and the year 2030. He identifies areas of opportunity for
himself, his foundation and challenges others to improve the
lives of people in poor countries much faster over the next 15
years.
His predications may be summarized as follows:

Child deaths will go down and more diseases will be

wiped out
Africa will be able to feed itself
Mobile banking will help the poor transform their lives.
Better software will dramatically change the
opportunity and quality of education

Given the alignment of this bet with the goals of Rotary, I

thought that some of you might enjoy reading this letter. It
has been a long time since I have read such a positive
outlook.
http://www.gatesnotes.com/2015-annualletter?WT.mc_id=01_21_2015_DO_GFO_domain_0_00&pag
e=2&lang=en

MORAGA ROTARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2014-15

President Debbie Roessler
President-elect . ......Roger Gregory
Past PresidentNora Avelar-Martin
Secretary.........Kevin Reneau
Treasurer....Lad Lynch
Community Service Chair.. .Barbara Bruner
New Generations...Rich Render
International Service ChairTony Schoemehl
Rotary Foundation...Nora Avelar-Martin
Public Relations Gary Irwin
Membership.......... Frank May
Director at Large.John Erickson
Director at Large ...Marv Ellenberg
Director at Large....Cliff Dochterman
Director at Large ...Linda May
President, Rotary InternationalGary Huang
District Governor.Pam Gray
Assistant District GovernorMark Roberts
Newsletter Editor for January Frank May

Donation Information For Crohns Disease

Online
https://www.crowdrise.com/CrohnsMAPVacccine/fundraiser/amyherman
taylor
Paypal:
http://alumni.kcl.ac.uk/page.aspx?pid=3956
By Check:
With a cover letter to Ken Aldous (Treasurer)
kenaldous@kcl.alumni.net
Friends of KCL Association, Inc.
Code on back:
MEN9150
For more information, links to publications, etc., please visit:
Crohnsmapvaccine.com
Annabelle Hall
925-258-9559
ahallgout@sbcglobal.net