Lynwood Rotary Meeting Update 03-12-2015

For the meeting on March 12,  2015  12pm – 1:30pm , members and guests heard  Dr. Hilario Esparza, or Larry Esparza, talk about his military experience, serving in the US Air Force at Norton Air Force Base in Norton, CA during the 1990-1991 period.  He noted that 3500 US Marines were transported to Iraq from this Base, in addition to US Navy Seals.  Among the equipment transported were parts for stealth planes, and other parts for military equipment and weapons.

 

Larry brought examples of some of the military equipment used.  For example he passed around a helmut, a gas mask, and examples of dried food issued to the troops.  Also he explained the equipment used to drop equipment and food supplies to local population groups.  Two items were “chutes” that make possible the dropping of equipment and food items as air drops.  He also had photographs of the deployment of this equipment from airplanes.  Larry answered questions about the participation of his fellow military personnel, as well as what he knew of the population in Iraq encountered by US military personnel.

 

Maria Garcia, a parent at Roosevelt ES, talked about the YouthAct Club Night of Talent and Food on Friday evening, starting a 4:30 pm, March 20 at the school.  Maria handed out flyers of the event, and members and guests purchased tickets at $2.00 each.  Call Fernando and Tila for more information:  (323) 422-8328.

 

Daniel again mentioned the planned Youthact participation in the registration for the Annual LA Marathon Race.  The race is on Sunday, March 15, and the registration day is on Saturday, March 14.  Rotary members and guests were encouraged to accompany this group and to coordinate in the coming week with Tila and Fernando.  For the LA Marathon, registration day on Sat March 14, he mentioned there will be car pooling for the event from Roosevelt ES, at 6:30 am.  Daniel again encouraged Rotary members and guests to see the film McFarland USA, noting that one of the actors in the feature length film, Rafael Martinez, will be the speaker at the April 16 meeting

 

At the previous weekly meeting, on March 5, (not mentioned in last week’s update) President Elect, Martina Rodriguez, mentioned some of her experiences at the recent weekend training for Rotary presidents for the 2015-2016 period.  She mentioned ideas for attracting new members, especially new members that will be committed to doing community service projects.  So, we will all stay tuned for more information from Martina for the coming year.

 

Everyone is encouraged to suggest speakers and programs for our weekly Rotary meetings.  In particular, we encourage everyone to talk to individuals about being a speaker, and to provide us with contact information, so we can follow up for specific meeting dates.