Marilyn Orr started the meeting. We had a full house!!
Pledge of Allegiance:Sean Williams flew in to lead the pledge.
Thought for the Day: Grace Redman has been inspired by the new book “The PivotYear” by Brianna Wiest, a 365 days of inspiration book. “Whatever pain you are in today cannot compare with the peace and joy you will one day know.
You will grow over time into a more complete and understanding person".
Sunshine Reports: No complaints!
Visiting Rotarians and Guests:
Our speaker ED Gilbertson and his wife Sherry
Doug Person introduced Kenny Chin, a PhD, and he went to CAL!
Alvaro Mirabel , scholarship recipient
Jo Whitehouse, wife of Mike Heffernan
Rob Fisher, guest of Jeff Krolik
Announcements:
Susan Baker announced our mixer with the Chamber of Commerce and the Burlingame Parks and Rec Department, April 17, 5:30-7:30 in the Sequoia room at the Rec Center. Do NOT miss this event! It will be great!
Jerry Winges noted the annual District 5150 Assembly held last Saturday at Redwood High School. Great presentations, breakout sessions, wonderful lunch and a project fair featuring projects of the 42 clubs in our 3-county district. Plan to attend next year’s Assembly—it is well worth it!
Jonnie Dukes is arranging a March Madness basketball bracket for the upcoming college basketball championship. Each square will be worth $20 and he will be providing prizes for the winners. Bring your 20’s next Wednesday and join the fun, and you may win! All money will go straight to support our club. Thanks Jonnie!!
Jennifer Pence introduced Alvaro Mirabel, one of our scholarship recipients. After completing his AA at San Mateo Community College, he is now studying Economics and Accounting at UCSB. Alvaro came to the US about 6 years ago, learned English in 3 years, attended Burlingame High School graduating in 2022. He showed pictures of his family, friends and life at UCSB. He is doing very well and on the way to a great career. He thanked the Club for the scholarship donation without which he may never have achieved what he has done. Best wishes for his future!
Program:
Mike Heffernan introduced Ed Gilbertson for a back-and-forth conversation on everyone’s favorite topic—cars and motorcycles! (well, maybe not everyone--)
Ed was born and raised in Devil’s Lake, ND. Ed was always interested in anything with wheels at an early age and built many contraptions that could loosely be called motorcycles. He bought his first V8 hot rod at age 13 and learned to piece it together from a pile of parts. He also acquired a Harley Davidson at age 16.
He attended North Dakota State majoring in engineering, paid for by the Air Force through a 6-year ROTC commitment. He did a 3-month stint at Boeing in Seattle after graduation, but then the Air Force called him up. Luckily, he was assigned to March AFB next to the Riverside raceway where he could hear the roar of Ferrari’s zipping around the track. Hearing that sound, he became hooked on fast race cars. Later, he became an Air Force missile launch officer during the early Cold War years and served in a missile silo in Montana.
He has owned many exotic historic Ferraris over the years and re-built some of them from parts. But he also was in the motorcycle world leading 2 lives, one as a Hells Angel biker, and another as a dressed-up car afficionado. He became a judge in local car shows and worked his way up to the Pebble Beach concours. He eventually had to choose between the two lives and ended up in the car world. But he still enjoys going back to biker parties and events.
Ed became Chief Judge at Pebble Beach between 1999 and 2013. He is known for developing the judging procedures and standards now used in auto shows throughout the world in all car classes, based on authenticity and originality.
Two questions always asked:
Are there bribes offered to the judges to sway their votes? Apparently, these do happen in the subtle form of “tell me Judge, how much should I give to the Charity this year----”
Are there fakes? Yes, counterfeiters have tried and some succeeded in fleecing buyers. It is possible to build a complete fake that may look identical to a historic vehicle. The only way to tell is the original serial number which cannot be duplicated.
Thanks Ed and Mike for a great program!
President Phil thanked Ed and presented him with a certificate indicating that our Rotary Club would be donating five polio vaccinations in her honor.
From Kitchen to Career: Chef Timothy’s Recipe for Culinary Success & Community Impact
Join Chef Timothy of the Salvation Army as he shares insights into the transformative 10-week culinary training program that he leads. Designed to do more than just teach kitchen skills, this program helps individuals on their path to recovery, providing them with the tools to build lasting careers. Chef Timothy will highlight how the program supports people in finding employment, honing their culinary talents, and gaining hands-on experience through collaborations with guest chefs, kitchen tours, community gardens, and Friday meal service for those in need.
