Del Norte Rotary Club

NorthWind Monthly publication of the Del Norte Rotary Club ■ Albuquerque, New Mexico USA

Vol. 28, Issue No. 11 Ed Hughes, Editor December 21, 2015

Holiday Cheer: Photos tell the story of Rotary good times!

Happy Birthday: Charter member J.J. turns 77!

Candid Camera goes to a Christmas Party, Page 7

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas in song … with a slight jingle bell twist

S ometimes called the Sweet Adelines, a quartet from the

Enchanted Evening Chorus enter-

tained Del Norte Rotarians with a

medley of Christmas songs, with

a little irreverent (can we say

that?) twist to some peppy jingles

like the Twelve Days of Christ-

mas. It marked a festive celebra-

tion before a full house of mem-

bers and guests on December 16.

Rotary

C harter Member J. J. Jimenez — recover-

ing from some medical setbacks — was

surprised with a birthday cake and a video

“This is your Life” tribute at the Del Norte

Rotary luncheon on December 9, two days

after his 77th birthday. Here he receives a

standing ovation, joined in by his wife, Mary

Jimenez. He thanked Rotarians for “giving me

the best birthday gift ever!”

Del Norte Rotary NorthWind December 21, 2015 � Page 2

2015-2016 Leaders Rotary International

www.rotary.org President: K. R. Ravindran

President-Elect: John F. Germ Vice President: Greg E. Podd

Rotary District 5520 www.rotary5520.org

Governor: Tom Walker Governor-Elect: Dave Anderson

Governor-Nominee: Doreen Kelsey Executive Secretary: Kathy Fuller

Rotary Club of Albuquerque Del Norte www.rotarydelnorte.org

Club Officers President: Barbara LaGree

President-Elect: Bob Rausch Vice President: Scott Stafford Board Secretary: Ruth Ronan Treasurer: Paul Christensen

Past President: Kathie Williams Sgt.-at-Arms: Maria Montoya-Chavez

Directors Club Service: Caroline Chamblin

Community Service: John Freeman International Service: Kim Helm Membership: Clarence Hughes

New Generations: Terry Boulanger Public Image: Sonia Torres

Program Services: Donna Pedace Vocational Service: Art Humphries

Office Information Edwin S. Hughes

Executive Secretary P.O. Box 3951

Albuquerque, NM 87190 secretary@rotarydelnorte.org

Phone: (505) 344-9162

Rotary Del Norte Foundation, Inc. Officers

President: Chuck Brown Vice President: Carol Rickert-Asbury

Secretary: Sandy Seligman Treasurer: Da vid Foster

Directors Richard Follingstad

Darcy Savage Scott Honsowetz

Nick Ritz Bob Rausch (Club representative)

Inside Del Norte Rotary

Oscar’s Eve Party!

Board approves sponsoring a Satellite Club The Del Norte Rotary Club’s Board of Directors approved at its Decem-ber meeting the formation of a Satellite Rotary Club that is one of the newest innovative ways of bringing into Rotary those who cannot make a weekly luncheon meeting. Del Norte Rotarian Marty Padilla is heading up the new Rotary initiative for our club, and he says he already has eight to 10 candidates who are excited about being Rotarians. A Rotary Satellite Club meets twice a month at locations of its members choosing, most often in the evening or on the weekend. The District’s first Satellite Club, STARS, started up in November and is sponsored by the Los Ala-mos Rotary Club.

Rio Grande Academy classes resume Jan. 16 District 5520’s Leadership Training Classes, conducted as part of the Rio Grande Academy’s curriculum, will resume their three-class sessions in Albuquerque on Saturday, January 16, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kirtland Federal Credit Union at Gibson and Louisi-ana. Breakfast burritos will be served before classes start. These training sessions are open to all Rotarians, and cover all aspects of what Rotary stands for and covers a wide range of subjects from membership to strategic planning. Cost of $35 a session, reim-bursed by the club. To register, go online to Rotary5520.org. Del Norte Rotarians who graduate by attending all three sessions will be awarded a Paul Harris Fellow thanks to the generosity of Dave and Maureen Anderson.

Gala theme for February 27 is “Oscars’ Eve Party”

W ith much fanfare, Del Norte Rotarians and their guests will party the night away when they attend the 2016 Del Norte Rotary Gala —

tabbed ”Oscars’ Eve Party” — which will be held on Saturday, February 27, on the eve of the real Oscars Awards Night in Hollywood. The club’s biggest fund-raising event of the entire year will be held at Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town with net proceeds going to our own Ro-tary Del Norte Foundation. There will be a red carpet to greet everyone, including

the paparazzi, Champaign, lots of silent auction items, and a live auction that will feature exotic trips — maybe even to Hollywood! Invitations will be going out soon, but Rotarians should start lining up their auction items and making plans to buy a table or two! But above all, save the date!

Del Norte Rotary NorthWind December 21, 2015 � Page 3

APD heroes honored: December Officers of the Month

Blue Badgers at last! Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes not

Have voucher, will travel! APD honorees get lucky draw

T wo previous APD Officers of the Month, Officer Ed-ward Burchell and Detective Verlanda Tsethlik-

Natewa, had their names drawn at the Del Norte Rotary luncheon meeting on December 16, They both received $4,000 travel vouches to anywhere they choose to go on behalf of the club, thanks to a generous donor and long-time member of the club. The vouchers were presented to the officers by Cheryl Strotz, on the right, who works for All World Travel and will work out all the travel arrange-ments. From the photo, you can imagine that Verlanda is already dreaming of where she wants to go.

T wo APD Officers of the Month for December were honored by the Del Norte Rotary Club on December 16. They are Detective Carl

Ross, a 19-year veteran of the department, and Officer Fred Duran, with 14 years of APD service. Detective Ross is assigned to the Major Crime Sce-ne Team who was cited by Police Chief Gorden Eden for his “professional diligence.” Officer Duran works out of the Southeast Area Command and is skilled at tracking stolen vehicles and recovering them to be returned to their rightful owners. Both received dinner certificates for two to P.F. Chang’s Restaurant.

Board member Clarence Hughes, left, congratulates Dr. Dale Alverson, on receiving his official Blue Badge on December 16 two years after joining the club, A bout with cancer was one reason for the delay. With Dale is his sponsor, Terry Boulanger.

Bryan Williams and Alice Mehlberg receive their Blue Badge on December 2, along with their sponsors, Brooks LaGree and Steve Becker. It took Bryan eight months, but Alice got hers in near record five months time. Red Badg-ers must complete a series of volunteer club duties.

Del Norte Rotary NorthWind December 21, 2015 � Page 4

Blowin’ in the North Wind ... Commentary by Executive Secretary & NorthWind Editor Ed Hughes

Random note-taking, wondering if Santa is always smiling because he knows where all the naughty girls are?

December 2

A fter a Thanksgiving break, we were stirred to attention as Ruth Ronan led Rotarians in singing the National Anthem, followed by the Pledge to the Flag led by Dax Kastrin. Donette Wagner gave the invocation. … Steve Becker noted that Charter Member J.J. Jimenez was back home after a short sojourn to the hospital to correct some breathing prob-

lems. He noted J.J. will celebrate his 77th birthday on December 7, and hopes to make our December 9th meeting. … Scott Honsowetz is heading up the Bell-Ringing chores for the Salvation Army on Saturday, Dec. 19. He needs 6 or 7 volunteers to serve one-hour shifts. … Our program speaker, Rob Martinez, asst. state historian, noted that every New Mexican knows of our famous fur-trapper Kit Carson, but there were wagons full of Jewish trappers who followed the Santa Fe Trail looking for business opportunities, and that is why there are so many successful Jewish-owned businesses on the Plaza Square in Santa Fe today. Figures. … Club anniversaries this week: Randy Gleason, 41 years (not all with our club); Roberto Espat, 26 years; Chuck Brown, 25 years; and Mike Skolnick, 18 years.

December 9

B ack again in the Wurlitzer Ballroom, which one time had a big-time Wurlitzer organ. … On her little lap-size electronic organ, Ruth Ronan led Rotarians in singing “God Bless America.” Alice Mehlberg led everyone in the Pledge and sil-ver-tongue Clarence Hughes gave the invocation. … It was a happy Happy Birthday day for Charter member J.J.

Jimenez, who turned 77 two days ago. He sported a big ol’ grin, much like he had as a dapper 7-year-old. It was interesting to note that at one time, J.J. was in charge of all Zales sales efforts in California. Also of interest: He has been living with a lung transplant since 2002. … Our other birthday boy this week was Geno Casanova. And our birthday gal was President Barbara LaGree. Guess who still looks young! … Lots of club anniversaries this week: Nick Ritz, 11 years; and one year anniversaries for Vin Mehta, Gordo Rowe and Noel Valencia, who all joined the same day back on Dec. 10, 2014. … This was Club As-sembly meeting day, and President Barbara gave a mid-year report that basically said: We are doing OK with our goals. The biggest challenge, of course is membership. Our fiscal year-end bogey (June 2016) is to finish with a net gain of 2, plus a net gain of 2 women members. So far, so good. … Good to see Charter Member and Past President Bettye Rae Francis in our midst, as well as Past President Bob DeLaHunt. They enjoyed recalling the “good old days” of the late 1990s when they were not so old and what they remember mostly were the club night events! … Psst: Betty Rae is planning to rejoin Del Norte, spon-sored by Dave Anderson.

December 16

C hristmas cheer, everyone. What a beautiful setting of tables to enjoy the holiday season! Expecting a big crowd, includ-ing our finest from APD, we opened up two adjoining ballrooms to accommodate. It was good to be able to walk around tables without stepping on toes! ...Ruth Ronan was at her best in leading all in the singing of “America the Beautiful,”

and Steve Becker loved sitting at the head table while leading the pledge and introducing a near-record 28 guests! … Affable Ken “One Upmanship” Abbott tried to upstage his friend J.J. Jimenez by celebrating his 80th birthday. The hotel did bake him a cake. He probably bribed the chef with a case of wine. … KRQE-TV 13 News was also there to capture the club’s on-going support of our APD officers. ...Sad news: Fred Bryant’s mother, Stella Bryant, 96, passed away. In lieu of flowers, Fred is suggesting well-wishers to donate to Rotary’s Polio-Plus Fund. … Also on the Caring Hearts front: Larry Strickland had knee replacement surgery and will be out of circulation (so to speak) for a month. … Good news: Billie Adams had a baby boy on December 12. Welcome future Rotarian Hudson Paul Adams. … District Governor Tom Walker was enjoying a Rotary meet-ing without having to give a speech, though he did give out lots of awards and kudos. He has now finished visiting all 70 clubs in the far-flung District 5520 comprising of New Mexico and far West Texas (all the way to Marfa). … Wedding anniversaries coming up: Bernie and Anne Butterfield, 65 years, and Kathie and Gary Williams, 36 years.

Luncheon Notes and meeting highlights

Del Norte Rotary NorthWind December 21, 2015 � Page 5

Paul Harris Fellows: Six Del Norte Rotarians honored

Inside Rotary: What’s going on in Del Norte land

Thanks to our hotel wait staff: Rotarians donate over $800

S ally Casey, far left, thanks her fellow Del Norte Rotarians for their generosity in

accepting donations that exceeded $800 to go to the outstanding wait staff at the Sheraton Uptown. Sally, who is director of sales at the hotel, notes that her wait staff has been em-ployed by the hotel for many years, with one (Marcos, next to Sally) having been at the hotel for 26 years. He was here when the club first began to meet at the Sheraton Uptown.

Teri Glaspy gets her third PHF from Kim Helm. Teri will be moving to California in January.

Del Norte Rotary NorthWind December 21, 2015 � Page 6

Program Highlights The world around us

Our state’s heritage: New Mexico is much more than tri-cultural

I f you thought a talk about the impact of early-day Jewish merchants and its impact on New Mexico was going to be dry and unexciting, Assistant State Historian Rob Martinez made sure

you were not going to go to sleep. He definitely put a new twist on the much maligned theory

that our state was a tri-cultural one. “It is much more than just An-glo, Spanish and Native American,” he noted. “The so-called early Spanish conquerors were made up of

Portuguese and French colonists as

well. Likewise, when Spanish ex-

plorers arrived in what is now New

Mexico, in 1598, many had Roman and Jewish roots as well,” he

noted. Jewish merchants who set up businesses around the Plaza in

Santa Fe came over the Santa Fe Trail. Many artisans who settled in New Mexico came from Ger-

many and Prussia and followed their dreams of making a living by following the Santa Fe Trail. “So

you can see that New Mexico has been influenced by many, many cultures, making our state a multi

-multi-cultural land of opportunity.”

T hree new officers and four new directors were unanimously elected at our Club Assembly on December 9 to serve our club for the next fiscal year (2016-2017), effective July 1, 2016. Donna Pedace (pictured on the right) was elected to be vice presi-

dent, which puts her in line to become president-elect the following year, and the club president in 2018-2019. Ruth Ronan was re-elected to serve as Board Secretary, and Noel Valencia will serve as Club Treasurer in 2016-2017, suc-ceeding Paul Christensen. Four new directors were elected for 2-year terms. They were Billie Adams, director of Community Services; Fred Pugh, director of Programs; Keely Whit-tington, director of Public Image; and Dax Kastrin, director of Vocational services.

Staying on the Board but moving up the club leadership ladder come July 1 will be Robert “Bob” Rausch, Presi-dent; and Scott Stafford, President-Elect. Barbara LaGree will stay on the Board as immediate past president. Directors who will be serving the second year of their 2-year term will be Caroline Chamblin, Club Service; Kim Helm, Interna-tional/Foundation; Clarence Hughes, Membership; and Terry Bou-langer, New Generations. Thanks to our Nominating Committee for coming up with our new slate of officers. The committee was headed by Bob Rausch

and included Dax Kastrin, Scott Honsowetz and Matt Hudson.

Elected: New officers, directors to serve effective July 1

December 2 program Rob Martinez Assistant State Historian

Donna Pedace

Bob Rausch Scott Stafford

Del Norte Rotary NorthWind December 21, 2015 � Page 7

Candid camera goes to a Christmas party (Hosted by Marc Powell and Holland Sutton)

Some 90 Del Norte Rotarians, their spouses and guests attended the club’s annual Christmas Par-

ty hosted by Marc Powell and Holland Sutton at their spacious Monte Vista home. Marc noted

that everyone seem to have a good time. “The fact that some played ping pong showed they had a

good time. Now if they jumped into the pool on a cold night, I would say they had a great time!”

December 21, 2015 � Page 8 Del Norte Rotary NorthWind

Looking forward and looking back

Getting to know you ...

Dr. Dale Alverson laughs in telling how he came to be a Rotar ian, the guest of Ter ry Boulanger ,

through their mutual interest in high-tech transfer of medical data. That was two years ago. And he’s still in his quest of receiving his blue badge (which he finally received

on December 16). But shortly after joining Del Norte, he was diagnosed

with having cancer without any warning. “That’s when I experienced

first-hand the love and care of support from the Rotary family,” he said. “That really reinforced my reason for staying in the club despite missing

so many months of meetings.” A native of Detroit, he enlisted in the Air

Force during the Viet Nam War and was assigned to a medical company

at Sheppard AFB in Texas. “That’s when I really became interested in

radiology as a laboratory technician,” he said. After his discharge, he

went to Medical School in Michigan “without first getting a bachelor’s degree” thanks to his AF medi-

cal experience, then after getting his first taste of rural medicine in Upper Michigan, he came to Albu-

querque to become the Director of Dermatology at UNM Hospital. That’s when he became a TV star

with KOB-TV providing health tips for 14 years. “That’s when I met Rob Maruca and Terry and learned that Rotary is where I needed to be, where I could really get involved in helping around the

Vin Mehta, native of India, life insurance & financial advisor Vinod “Vin” Mehta said he “immigrated” to the United States 16 years ago after growing up in a

small village of northern India where there was no electricity, no paved roads, and his parents had the

only hand pump to get water in the village. He did manage to go to college

and he eventually received master’s degrees in economics and in account-

ing and finance. He ended up joining a U.S.-based national life insurance company in India and made several trips to the U.S. after rising to a mid-

dle management position. “After my visits to the U.S., I was asked if I

would be interested in moving to the States. It was a tough decision,” he

said, “since I was married and had two small children and was happily

settled in India.” But move he and his family did, and came to Albuquer-

que 16 years ago. Some 13 years ago, he opened his own business, Eagle

Strategies, representing several insurance companies including New York Life. He and his wife, Pumi-

ma, have been married now for 26 years and they have two grown sons.

January 2016 programs ...

Jan. 6 — Minda McGonagle, lobbyist, Government Relations Jan. 13 — Katherine Ulibarri, CNM vice president, finance & operations Jan. 20 — Andrew Estocin, Albuquerque Housing Authority Jan. 27 — Darin Sand, Goodman Realty, Winrock Mall update

Dr. Dale Alverson, Health Information Associates, TV medical star

The Vocational Committee selects new members—and long-time members—to share their life experiences and career paths, with a little dose of why they became Rotarians. Here are highlights of two of those five-minute vocational talks.