Bulletin for November 23, 2009
Disability Awareness

President Susan called on Jim Sullivan to lead the salute to our flag. He also gave a very interesting bit of history on how the salute to the flag began.

Terry Galazzo gave the joke for the day. President Susan asked members to read and circulate the thank you letters we received from the students at Ridgeway High School for the Career Day we put on for them. By the students’ comments in their letters they really enjoyed the experience.

We introduced two visiting Rotarians and four guests today.

Casey Williams, our Chairman of the up-coming 27^th annual Crab Feed - "The Good, The Crab and The Ugly" which will be held on January 30, 2010 - gave the group an update on how the plans for the event are coming along. He said that the main auction items are adding up but so far the silent auction items are slow in coming. He stressed the need for every member to seek contributions for the event so that the Crab Feed will be successful. Tickets are now available for purchase at $60.00 each.

Chris Rosell’s new job is going well. Bob Zeni just returned from a several week trip to the desert where he enjoyed swimming, reading and just relaxing.

A few members had some bragging to do today: Ginny Pitts showed a picture of her newest family member a bouncing baby girl – grandma is very proud.

Henry "Von" Von Der Mehden said his wife Rosemary can finally cook him a meal in their new kitchen at home.

Peter LaMonica spent a wonderful day in San Francisco acting like a tourist with his daughter and his two grandkids. He recommended taking the tourist bus around the city.

Matt Delaney introduced our guest speaker Lisa Magnuson. She is "An Inspirational Speaker & Advocate for Disability Awareness" and has travelled the world playing her music and telling her story. She was accompanied by her proud mother.

Lisa was born with a rare condition. At first the doctors told her parents that she would probably never be able to walk because she was born paralyzed from her waist down. She also could not talk. She firmly gives God, Jesus Christ and her family the credit for her recovery. She spent many years in casts, on crutches, and suffered many painful surgeries. She said that she is the result of many miracles happening in her life: The miracle of muscles starting to regenerate, being able to walk with a walker alone for the first time, learning to talk, learning to walk with braces and finally being able to walk without them. Lisa became the poster child, for two years, for the Easter Seal Foundation of Northern California when she was 5 years old.

Lisa was also fortunate to be accepted as a child into the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, which she credits Dr. Steven Skinner, then Chief of Staff, as being one of the miracles in her life. She now gives presentations about the help she received while being a patient there. She also thanks Rotary for helping her; her grandfather and several other family members were members of the Rotary Club. She said that she thanks God every day for his blessings!

Lisa is indeed a living miracle. She is an inspiration to anyone fortunate enough to hear her story and to actually see how well she is doing today.