A happy group assembled with sugar plums dancing in their heads…presumably.   Birthday girl Mary Murphy called the meeting to order at the appointed time.
 
The pledge was led flawlessly by Rose Camarena.  Mark Johnson delivered the invocation.  Sadly, Mark announced the passing of our Dave Vaughn, a member of Rotary Club of Burlingame since 1986.  Mariyn Orr was advised if Dave’s passing by the family, and tells us a memorial will be planned for January at the Hillsborough Racket Club.
 
Visiting Rotarians included Steve Wagstaffe, District Attorney of this here County of San Mateo.
 
Fritz Brauner introduced our guest and speaker Michelle Durand of the San Mateo Daily Journal.   Frances Boscacci introduced honored guest Jo Whitehouse, aka Mrs. Mike Heffernan.  Lage introduced a new Carr McClellan Associate, our own Nicole Armstrong.  Mary Murphy elicited a President’s Club Membership from Lage.  Fair enough, it’s a finder’s fee of sorts.
 
Guest of the Club was David Fleishman, Executive Director, Child Care Coordinating Council of San Mateo County.
 
Frances Boscacci announced that the total of funds collected thus far for the Borneo Project total $19,300 which includes a $6,000 contribution by the Rotary Club of Burlingame, $7,300 from individual members and…drumroll…we have earned $6,000 in matching funds from Jo Whitehouse who presented her check today.  Kudos to all, but really Frances deserves special credit for motivating us!!!  Thanks, Frances. 

Uh oh, the Newscast is back, delivered by Sean Williams.  Right in the middle of our lunch, he had us rockin’ and rollin’ to videos of humans doing dangerous things.  Mary Murphy was particularly amused and delighted by the poor fool who fell 6,289 feet on his head after the trapeze crashed.  It was pretty funny and he did survive, but really Mary.
 
You had to have been there, but RUN RUN RUN turned into SEAN SEAN SEAN!!!!!  Good job, sir.
 
Fritz Brauner introduced Michelle Durand of the San Mateo Daily Journal.  Pretty, smart, charming, and funny!  After seeing her sit in the back row at the Burlingame Council Meetings for years, I thought she was fascinated!  No, she was bored witless.  She is, however, an expert on artificial turf and she has City Council to thank for that.
 
Michelle has been with the San Mateo Daily Journal for 13 years.  She has wide news reporting duties and also writes the twice weekly “Off the Beat” column.
 
Michelle was born and raised in the Valley and attended U. C. Santa Cruz.
 
Michelle terms her “beat” hyper-local with the worst part being sitting at Council Meetings.  Orangeburg pipes apparently do not hold her attention.  Oh well, she has those letters from jail.
 
For some reason, folks holed up in County Jail like to write letters to Michelle, sharing their valuable opinions on just about anything.  They are a captive audience, we’ll agree.  Just last week she received a poem from an inmate on the subject of the County Fair.  High drama for sure.  Perhaps there is a County Poet Laureate in our midst.  Well, not in our midst, but the County’s midst.
 
A day in the life of Michelle Durand involves the inevitable Council Meetings, perhaps a fire in San Bruno, and often the activities of puppies.
 
A warning when operating a newspaper: Don’t mess with the games. Sudoku and the crosswords are paramount of importance to the readers.
 
There were shameless invitations for Michelle to consider joining Burlingame Rotary.  There is an unofficial coffee date in her future.
 
                                                ALERT!!!!
Next week, Monday, December 15, Annual Rotary Christmas Luncheon at the MARRIOTT BURLINGAME.  Fun and frolic will occur.  Call Marilyn Orr or John Delaney to secure your reservation and pay for your ticket.
                                      HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!