Bulletins - 2011 - 06/01/2011

This Week's Bulletin Was Written By Pete McGuire

THIS WEEK’S MEETING

Called to order by President Lynn, Dr. Steve Bridge took initiative to lead the pledge, Wendy Patrick gave an excellent invocation, and Linda Javling led us in a chorus of "America," as we just celebrated all of those heroes who sacrificed for our freedom.

GUESTS/CLUB SERVICES

There were no Rotarian guests, and Steve Laub introduced 6 non-Rotarian guests (my apologies for the name spelling): Olivia Dawson, Rich Davies, Nick Ravdin, Mary Schlling, Tim Waters and Gary Knight.

COMPLAINTS AND KUDOS

President Lynn won this one. She was trapped for 45 minutes on the Symphony Towers parking ramp after the Beethoven concert, due to a closed gate. When asked to back up the narrow ramp, it seemed a better idea to call the Fire Department; cooler heads prevailed and the gate was ultimately unlocked.

Mel (aka “Chief”) Gallegos bragged about his Sharp Hospital I.T. integration team’s accomplishment.

Steve Wells bought a new car, and left the raffle tickets in his trade-in, hence, no raffle today. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Rotary Blood Drive - contact Claire Remillard (619) 578-4939, or e-mail at communityservice@sdrotary.org for commitment to the Saturday, June 4, 2011 event at First Ave. & G Street, 8:30 am to 2:00 pm.

Steve Laub reminded us that, in our efforts to eradicate polio, we’re down to the last 1%.  Scott Carr showed a photo of Polio Pig in an airplane cockpit as evidence that pigs can fly.

Audrey Coleman and Jeri Malana (+ 1) were honored for their Paul Harris achievement.

SPECIAL EVENTS

ANNUAL FUND RAISER: Jenny Goodman has done an outstanding job organizing and coordinating this. Please r.s.v.p. to your e-vite. The optimal number to attend is estimated at 150. Saturday, June 11, 2011 at the Bali Hai Restaurant, 6:00 pm, Catch the Aloha Spirit.  Be there, or be nowhere. Kelly Berner has taken the fundraising effort to new heights, by investing extraordinary time & effort into getting our auction items on-line. You can even sort by the type of item that interests you. The site will be open for 10 days, going live tomorrow (Friday, June 3 at the latest). Therefore make sure that you send the auction link to at least 10 of your high net worth clients, colleagues and friends. This stream of commerce will really expand our horizons, and bank account, too.

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

Fred Gerson is the Executive Vice President and CFO of YOUR San Diego Padres. Mr. Gerson holds a B.A. in economics from Brooklyn College, with graduate work at NYU. The presentation was outstanding, and had 3 components - economics of baseball; the team; and ownership transition.

Economics: in the 1995-1999 era, only 3 major league teams reported a net profit. Commissioner Bud Selig appointed a committee (including George Will) to develop a plan to improve profitability, thus assuring continuity of MLB. The result was the “debt service rule” whereby MLB team borrowing is limited to 10 times EBITDA, with a temporary exception for those teams with a new baseball park.  The model worked, as salary expense leveled off by 2003.