SIERRA HILLSBranch 79 Newsletter

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS: PBS Don Dill, PBS Ken Hansen, PBS Craig Saunders

VOLUME 36 • NUMBER 5MAY 2016

Big SIR - David Blitstien

Well May is here already and so Spring is having its full effect, everything is in full blos-som as well as winds and allergies. Our Branch is also growing as well, at last count we were at 2013 members, you’re all doing a great job by bringing in those guests. Our guest and new members cansee all the activities that arebeing offered. Our lunches aredelicious from Chef Scot andhis team, the meetings fun,entertaining and the bonus wesee our life long friends andhave some laughs. It was agreat day having our SIRPresident Don Dill present ournewest HLM to Sir Joe Dydynski. T he HLM Award is the highest Honor a branch can bestow on one of it’s members.I talked to Joe later and he saidhe was totally surprised by thewhole event and had no idea his daughter Kathy was going to be there and do the pinning! Congratulations Joe.

We’d like to thank Our Regional Director Mark Stuart for presenting Sir Irv Eastman with a Senior SIR Certificate, Irv is a active participant in the Bocce activity. Congratula-tions Irv!

If you haven’t had the chance to see the State Newsletter “SIR Happenings” check it out it’s at SIRINC.org, it tells you what is going on with the other Branches and all their activities, it’s very informative. So as I have said before thanks for contributing to the table tubes it makes such differ-ence in the strength of our Branch, “There is strength in our numbers”.

NEXT LUNCHEON:Thursday, May 19,2016

Fellowship - 11:00 a.m.Call To Order - 12:00 p.m.

Menu: Chef’s Choice

LUNCHEON ABSENCECALL DEADLINE

MAY 16thCALL BILL HEALE

(530) 477-1647

BIG SIRDavid Blitstein

MEMBERSHIPCraig Saunders

LITTLE SIRJack Meylink

Little SIR - Jack Meylink

For those of you that have been reading my articles this year I have usually included in-formation about the month, where its name comes from etc. If this is of interest to you then I am sorry to disappoint you this month. It is now late on Wednesday evening and bright and early tomorrow morning I will be driving to the Bay area to pick up three other hikers/campers and then we head for the Grand Canyon for five days of back-packing. The three folks I am going with backpacked down into the Grand Canyon in the year 2010 and as you know the Giants won the World Series that year. I went with them in 2002 and 2004 (also World Series wins for the Giants). We feel obligated to go back this year to keep the even year thing going. How does this relate to May? We May or May not make it back.

I’m sorry that I will not be able to join you at this months lunch on the 19th as (assum-ing I make it back from the Grand Canyon) I will be representing our Elks lodge in a ritual competition at the Elks state convention in Anaheim that week. Enjoy the lunch and I look forward to seeing you all next month.

May Program: The Sport of Flying Sailplanes By Jim Goetsch TJim is a Diamond-Level Soaring Pilot who has been flying sailplanes for over twenty years. He holds the 650th Diamond Badge in Soar-ing in the United States since the sport began with the development of gliders by the Wright Brothers in 1902.

June Program: Lou Conter - Lou Conter was on the quarter deck finishing a change of watch when the USS Arizona was attacked by Japanese forces at Pearl Harbor. After the attack he went on to become a naval pilot and spent the remainder of the war in the South Pacific con-ducting night air raids on Japanese ships.

Joe Dydynski Irv Eastman

2 Branch 79 Bulletin

79er Wine Trail - Bob Lemmon

On April 14th we visited Pecatore Winery & 25 of us SIRs had a delightful food & wine pairing. Dave Wag-ner went out of his way for us, registering probably our best wine outing for 2016. This will more than likely be a must for 2017.

May 12, Wednesday, we visit Vina Castellano Winery, (starting at noon) right here in Auburn at 4590 Bell Road (phone 889-2855). Teena the wine maker will serve us & embellish her wines, from there man made Cave (feels like the real thing). Once finished with our tasting we can move out to there beautiful Pond with Gazebo & eat our bag lunch (you bring our own bag lunch).

June 23, Thursday, we visit Nevada City Winery, home of Nevada County premier wine master Mark Foster. Our wine tasting will be on thier covered patio & one might find Hor-D’ oeuvers while tast-ing. The winery opens at 12:00, noon & they will be charging a $5.00 tasting fee.

July 14th brings us SIRs to Casque Wines in Looms. Location is in the Flower Farm where SIRs Bocce Group got its start There is a Nursery & Cafe on site that well serve lunch if desired while tasting. Put on your calendar as a must see.

Membership - Craig Saunders

We are now at 203 total members in Branch 79 and already have four (4) new commitments in May. Please continue to bring your neighbors and friends to our luncheons. Our Plus 12 goal is still the objective for the year. Remember we have 15 Activities to play in Plus 8 more that involve our spouses....23 fun times!!!! See you at the May 19th luncheon and bring those Application forms filled out and signed. A big shout out to all attendees at our last Dining Out! We had 79 people from a composite of Branches 37, 170 and our Branch 79.

RON CARAWAY and his wife Ana reside in Grass Valley. He retired in 1985 from United Airlines, where he was a Captain. Ron enjoys antique cars, biking, brewing, crab feeds, dine outs, fishing, genealogy, golf, invest-ments, and wine tast-ing. His sponsor is Paul Reynolds.

STEVE BLUESTEIN and his wife Stella reside in Grass Valley. He retired in 2010. Steve was the owner and principle of Steve Bluestein & Associates. He enjoys bridge, cooking, din-ing out, golf, poker, travel, wine tasting, and veteran’s activities. His sponsor is David Blitstein.

MIKE PETRONI resides in Auburn. He retired in 2011 as an equipment operator for Nevada Irrigation District. Mike enjoys bowling, coins, fishing, and the cama-raderie of the Branch members. His sponsor is Ken Launis.

Diana Lemmon Bocce Ball - Pete Thompson & Don Sherman

Everyone is talking about the 4 new bocce courts at ARD (Auburn Recreation District). Here are a few pictures to show what they look like. It’s been great fun using them. They are open to the public and most people are working during the weekdays; so now is a good time to make use of them during the week. Our group of players practice every Wednesday and Friday from 9AM to around noontime. Drop by and check it out. If you are a beginner we will be glad to get you started.

ARD has bocce sets you can borrow from their office at 123 Recreation Drive. They require a retainer fee that will be refunded when the set is returned. Office hours are from 8AM to 5PM Monday-Saturday.Help me welcome Mr. Jim Smith, our new co-chair. He has stepped up to help me and is currently busy updating the region 9 roster. He is also a member of one of the SIR teams that play in the evening at ARD. Bocce leagues play on Wednesday and Thursday nights at 5:30 on the ARD courts.We will start playing the other 9 SIR branches in region 9 very soon. Possibly as early as June 1st. We will be getting ready for the SIR Regional Bocce Tourna-ment that is planned around the middle of July. These games will be open for our Wives, or significant others, and “everyone” in our SIR region 9 branches are eligible to play in the “SIR Regional Bocce Tournament” that will take place in Auburn at the ARD Bocce Courts.

Branch 79 Bulletin 3

Fishing GroupDavid DeRosa & Tom Beale

The group just returned from a fun filled five days at Lake Shasta. Our group consisted of 25 members, with 12 boats. A big thanks goes out to Chuck Mierkey for making all the reservations of cabins and making the cabin assignments. Also, another thank you to the head cooks who pre-pared the dinners: Mark Lund, Bill Berger, David DeRosa, and Tom Parks. The delicious dinners would not have been possible without the help of all the members.

Fishing was tough this year due to the full lake (something we didn’t have to deal with the last few years), but we did catch some fish . Winners of our annual Big Fish Contest include: 3rd Place: Bob Cummings and Tony Oliviera, 2nd Place: Jerry Angeline, and David DeRosa tied for 1st Place. Tom Beale’s boat, with Kenny Barnes and Jim McCrary, caught 12 fishin three days Good job!

There will be no fishing meeting May 12. Thursday June 9th we have our annual fish fry in place of a regular meeting. This will take place at Halsey Forebay in Christian Valley at 11:00 for our mem-bers and their ladies. Tom and David will talk to all members at our next Branch 79 luncheon to see who is planning on attending. If you are not there, you will be contacted by phone.

The fishing group’s usual meetings are held at Denny’s Restaurant, just off I-80 at Auburn Ravine/Foresthill exit. These will resume July 14.

Bowling - Tom McEntee

On the 2016 Tournament Trail:Branch 79 fielded 3 doubles teams and one mixed four-man team for the 2016 Car-son City Nevada tournament hosted by SIR branch 113. The shot was very difficult and our bowlers did not score as well as they usually do. Sir Harvey Eisley was the only branch 79 bowler to place in the money. SIR Harvey placed 11th in the division 1 singles event. Our other bowler’s non-the less had a great time and look forward to the next opportunity have a good time.

SIR’s BI-Monthly Round Robin:Sir Bill Larson led our seven-bowler contingent with a respectable 569 series at the Paradise May round-robin event. As you can see by the scores the shot degraded rapidly after the first game. Looking forward to the next event at Nu Generation bowl in May. Hope to see more participation from branch 79!

SIR’s BI-Monthly Round-Robin Results: SIR’s Paradise Tall Pines Bowl 4/25/2016 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 SeriesBill Larson 225 172 172 569Bob Towers 197 160 171 528Joe Caruso 180 179 167 526Tom McEntee 158 193 161 512Harvey Eisley 184 169 155 508Dave Aulbach 170 154 157 481Roy Guy 166 143 166 475

Our next round-robin event will be held at on May 23, 2016 at Nu Generation Bowl in Yuba City. Bowling starts at 12 noon, please arrive early to facilitate check-in and lane assignments.

ACTIVITY CALENDARSIR Luncheon: Elks Club: Thursday May 19 , 11:00 am - The Sport of Flying Sailplanes By Jim GoetschDining Out - Wednesday May 25, 2016 (5:15-7:00) at the CLUB CAR Restaurant 79er Wind Trail: May 12, Thursday (noon to 2:00pm) Vina Castellano Winery79er Wind Trail:June 23, Thursday, we visit Nevada City Winery Bocce Ball: Auburn Recreation Park - Wednesday & Friday 10 amBowling: Rocklin Bowl – Friday 12:30 pmFishing Group: Thursday June 9, 11:00am annual fish Halsey Forebay in Christian Valley. No May meeting.Golf: Black Oak Golf Course – Friday 7:30 am

4 Branch 79 Bulletin

Treasurer's Report Terry Doan

Beginning balance: $2681.30Ending balance: $2638.98The money you put in the tube on your table at the luncheon helps cover our branches expenses. A minimum contribu-tion of $3.00 per person is suggested.

BRANCH 79 OFFICERSBig SIR: David Blitstein (530) 274-2100Little SIR: Jack Meylink (530) 305-9112Secretary: Ron Markham (530) 889-8580Treasurer: Terry Doan (530) 878-2742

BRANCH COMMITTEE CHAIRMENAttendance: Bill Heale (530) 477-1647Chaplin: Karl Simon (530) 320-7588Clothing: David DeRosa (916) 652-9562Database: Bob Huntington (530) 886-8426Greeters: Tom Parks & Ron DeberardMembership: Craig Saunders (530) 268-9668Newsletter: Jay Hansell (530) 368-2850Opportunity Drawings: Harvey Eisley (530) 823-5988Photographer: Lynn Hartford (530) 320-8730Sunshine: Terry Doan (530) 878-2742Webmaster: Milo Schauer (541) 580-7747Wine Steward: Bob Lemmon (530) 477-8507

BRANCH 79 ACTIVITY CHAIRMENBicycling: Ken Hansen (916) 663-4716Bocce Ball: Pete Thompson (530) 823-7383

Don Sherman (916) 663-2958Bowling: Tom McEntee (530) 889-0605Classic Cars: Gary Beckes (919) 789-0347Computer: Milo Schauer (541) 580-7747Dining Out: Craig Saunders (530) 268-9668Fishing: Dave DeRosa (916) 652-9562

Tom Beale (530) 878-0301Golf: Phil Bolander (530) 745-9874Learn & Lunch: Stan Bishop (530) 823-8016 Men’s Cooking: David Blistein (530) 274-2100Travel: Phil Bolander (530) 745-9874Vet’s Affairs: Don Bull (530) 999-107679er Wine Trail: Bob Lemmon (530) 477-8507

SIR INFORMATIONExecutive Committee Meeting

First Thursday of each month7:45 a.m. at Denny’s, Auburn Ravine

Road (I-80/Foresthill Exit)Branch 79 Newsletter

sir79newsletter@gmail.comBranch 79 Web site

www.sir79.org

DECLARATIONSLuncheon Attendance: When a member is unable to attend the Thursday meeting he should notify the Attendance Chairman no later than the 3rd Monday prior to the Thursday luncheon.Attendance Rule: Regular members missing three (3) consecutive meetings without notifying the Attendance Chairman and giving a valid reason or attending less than six (6) meetings within the past twelve (12) months, shall be notified of pending termination. Certification of attendance at another Branch Meeting is considered a credit. Excused meetings cannot be included to achieve the minimum attendance requirement. (Rule 100)Prospective Members: Must attend a Luncheon and be introduced by a sponsor to the general membership prior to being accepted as a new member of the branch. (Rule 67).Non-Responsibility Clause: All travel activities arranged for or by Sons In Retirement, Inc. and its Branches are for the convenience and pleasure of the members and their guests who desire to participate. Sons In Retirement, Inc. and its Branches do not assume responsibility for the well being or safety of the participants or passengers, or their property, in any matters pertaining to said travel and other activities. (Rule 345)

STATEWIDE NEWSLETTER SIR HAPPENINGS

To read the latest edition ofSIR appenings visit

sirinc.org/sirhappeningsLearn about what is happening

in the SIR state organization and at other SIR Branches.

happy birthday!Joe Argo, Rob Barbeiro, Ron Cardiff, John Clark, Jim Coleman, Chuck Fisher, Rich Gregerson, Roy Guy, Mel Hagmann, Ken Hansen, Steve Jolley, Ken Launius, Cary Lemley, Lee Livingston, Mark Lund, Bob Neimeyer, Frank Nissen, Jr, Tony Oliveira, Gary Oliver, Dave Provan, Jim Rob-ertson, Frank Schmidig, Jim Underhill, Steve Wolf

Membership Craig Saunders

Active: 203Inactive: 3Pending: 4

MARCH LUNCH - Bill HealeGentlemen : My roster shows a total member count of 201, 2 members inac-tive, 42 excused, 28 AWOL, And to tie the record, 130 members sat down and enjoyed lunch with friends. I want to thank Don Morrison for standing in for me and doing a good job.

Dining OutCraig Saunders

Branch 79 Dining out is Wednesday May 25, 2016, 5:15-7:00, at the CLUB CAR Restaurantlocated at 836 Lincoln Way, Auburn, Ca. 95603. We have a great menu for your choice...Prime Rib Aus Jus (14-16oz); Chicken Cordon Bleu (8oz); Salmon (2-4oz) and Grilled Portabella Entree (5”). Soup of the day or Mixed Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette provided. Cost $20 pp(not including Tax and18%gratuity). Great location in town with fun atmosphere. Street parking.

SIGN UP AT THE LUNCHEON on May 19, 2016 or call Craig Saunders (Branch Roster) to book early. Look forward to seeing you there.