Rotations March 4, 2014

Donning a raspberry red beret, President-Elect Sigur Whitaker, splashed paint on the canvas we know as the Norfolk Rotary Club and rang the bell sending our artists in residence to their easels. In an effort to recreate the Joe Boxer Kmart holiday commercial, Win Lewis led the Club in a rousing version of Jingle Bells. See if you can pick out Win in the original video. ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJdi689BqKA mature audiences only) Then in a moment of inspiration, Win veered the Club into a round of Viva la Rotary, which pleased the Francophiles in the Club. Win completed the trifecta with a long forgotten stanza of America the Beautiful. President Elect Sigur led the Club in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by an invocation from Bob Heely. For the Centennial Moment, Lauren Delp described a cannon restoration project completed by some big shots that were part of the Club over thirty years ago. Chip Vogan reminded everyone that the cannon carriages were painted red – to hide the blood spilled by injured soldiers that may frightened others in the ranks. We are grateful that no one speculated on what brown uniforms were designed to hide. Bill Gough brought the Club up to date regarding some members that were convalescing. In an effort to save costs, Bob Powell made a personal appearance to pick up his Get Well card. Ken Weeks continues to improve. All members were given fair warning that Bill Jonak may return to a meeting in the near future. No guests were introduced, even though Angela Kerns’ precious seven year old daughter was in the crowd.

Chuck Spence provided a great expose on the Rotarian of the Week, Bill Gresham. Bill is a principal at E.T. Gresham and has been a member of the Norfolk Rotary Club for over 32 years, 17 of them being good years. According to notes from the meeting, Bill either has an interest in cosmetology or cosmology. He also enjoys tinkering. Marty Raiss encouraged the Club to consider purchasing ads in the program being created for the Centennial Gala. Bill Gresham may need to purchase an ad to disclaim his interest in cosmetology. President Elect Sigur advised everyone that the next Board meeting will be held on March 17, 2014, starting at 4:30 pm in the offices of Kaufman & Canoles. Carlisle Wroton encouraged everyone to review the Club picture and consider purchasing one. The price with Rick Coradi in the picture is $25. The price without Rick Coradi in the picture is $2,000. Julie Keesling provided a Foundation moment on the Club’s road to EREY. Julie and her husband Bob are major donors to the Foundation. Julie reminded the Club that the Foundation promotes better international relationships and that our Club has sponsored many Rotary Scholars over the past century. None of the Club’s scholars are responsible for the diplomatic initiatives in the Ukraine. Julie awarded a Paul Harris plus 3 pin to Sigur Whitaker for her significant financial contributions to the Foundation.

The paint started flying on the canvas as President Elect Sigur started the fines and penalties’ portion of the meeting. Gary Boswick paid a fine for joining the ranks of wealth advisors at BB&T. He is now looking for some wealth to advise. Sally Hartman paid a fine for an above par letter that her husband penned about the loss of the Lake Wright golf course and her good fortune in winning a 2014 VW Jetta at the St. Mary’s Gala. We hope Sally has the Monet to buy Degas for the Jetta. Chuck Spence paid a fine in honor of the University of Virginia winning the ACC regular season basketball title. He was followed by Barry Kesser, who celebrated the style and appearance of the University team. Gene Justice offered $5, begrudgingly, for the Wahoos’ victory on the condition that the University graduates in the Club remember the Hokies during the football season. Harry McCoy paid $5 for the Rotarians that offered to provide him transportation to the meetings. He agreed to pay another $5 if they took him back home. Linwood Becker also paid a fine to acknowledge that in a recent telephone conversation that someone inquired if Harry McCoy was still alive. Jennifer Palestrant paid a fine for shamelessly promoting 2 events at the Selden Arcade. Barbara Lipskis, not to be outdone, promoted the Virginia Stage Company’s current production of “The Mountaintop”. Al Carmichael paid a fine for being recognized with the Silver Award for his success in the commercial real estate arena. Joel Heaton paid a fine for his wife being recognized by the local Board of Realtors for a successful year. Henry Saenz and Winston Whitehurst paid a fine for a long period of marriage. They both acknowledged marriage requires commitment. Of course, so does a diagnosis of insanity. Mark Johnson paid a fine in recognition of a recent award from the Urban League, his daughter’s selection for a trip to Ireland and her acceptance to ODU. Mike Goldsmith paid a fine for a quote in the local paper which he apparently does not read. Marty Raiss celebrated the impending arrival of a third grandchild and Win Lewis acknowledged that his wife Cathy appeared in period attire for a recent airing of Downton Abbey on PBS. Of course, Win is always in period attire.

The Rotarian of the Day, Jennifer Palestrant, introduced our speaker, Ann Corso, the Chrysler Museum’s Education Director. Ann had the daunting task of educating the Club about the Chrysler Museum. Apparently, 9 out of 10 Club members believe “Art” is the name of a talk show host. Ann provided the Club with an explanation as to why the renovation was critical for the Chrysler Art Museum. The renovation will provide the Museum with more space for the existing collection, better access for a wide range of visitors, a more functional restaurant and an updated climate control system. The process of renovating an art museum is more complicated than building an in-law suite on your house. It requires moving all of the missing arms and hands from the various statutes from one place to another and remembering where you put them. The finished museum will also have a section with art painted only by children which will all be displayed on refrigerators. Ann advised the Club that the curator had to decide if the renovated museum would use larger or smaller easels. Ann reported that the Museum staff selected the lesser of two easels. The Club was also introduced to some of the Van Gogh pieces in the Chrysler’s collection. She showed the Club one painting that the critics panned which is titled “Please Gogh”, another one featuring Mexican landscapes known as “Amee Gogh” and the painting on loan from a bank known as “Wells Far Gogh.” Ann fielded a number of questions from the Club that reflected both interest in the Chrysler and a notable lack of knowledge about the art world.

The paint started drying on the canvas as Bob Powell, back from the sickbed, won the raffle. President-Elect Sigur stroked the bell, removed her beret and adjourned the meeting at 1:30 pm.