By Ashley A. Andrews, Esq.

On Saturday, June 28th, 2014 approximately 140 Arcadia Rotarians gathered at our local, historical gem (the Santa Anita Racetrack) to celebrate the end of now Past-President Mimi Hennessy’s reign and the beginning of current President Mike Ojeda’s usurpation of the throne. Congratulations to him – he has now acquired another full time job.

President Ojeda was sworn in by Mike Real, who apparently has a certain fascination with jumping out of perfectly good airplanes with Jay Harvill – both men having yet to be formally diagnosed with some sort of mental illness for this feat.  Mr. Real sternly instructed President Ojeda to “proudly wear the tattoo of Rotary.” I am not really a fan of “ink,” so I will not throw my hat in the ring for president any time soon; but, I gladly participated in the obligatory line-up of incoming Officers and Directors. We also received instructions: “do everything that President Ojeda tells us to do.” A dangerously broad statement,indeed;I assume this is solely in the context of Rotary tasks  because members, who have not already, are likely not interested in employing one of our criminal defense attorneys ( Rich Hutton or Mark Khalaf) or our bail bondsman (Eric Barter) any time soon. While “your momma does want you home,” Eric Barter, my momma generally does not envision this mandate as one requiring posting bail.

Following the swearing in and obligatory line-up, Ms. Hennessy gave an eloquent and instructive speech. I only heard parts of it because I was distracted by the constant flow of pictures of Rotarians (mostly President Ojeda for the first 30 minutes of the evening) on the twenty or so televisions peppering the room; but, knowing Mimi, it was full of profound and wise words.  I did hear the part about the “lead goose going back into the flock”; so, Ms. Hennessy, you have served well and deserve a much needed break from breaking wind.

Last year’s Board members were also given accolades and asked to rise and receive acknowledgement and/or assignation attempts depending on how well they did or did not do in their respective capacities this past year. Some of our amazing and selfless members like Aaron Rose and Daniel Johannes received awards for their incredible service and dedication to the Club – we should all be in awe of these two guys as they manage full time jobs, family and some how to keep their wives relatively happy. These are two truly extraordinary men and our Club is so lucky to have them – without these two our meetings would be without Powerpoint and, perhaps, any new members under the age of 80. From those of us who enjoy eating solid food at lunch, we commend you.

A number of  Past-Presidents provided words of wisdom for our incoming President. Most compelling were the words from Bob Novell who instructed President Ojeda to “make it your best year; you don’t want to get to the end of it and say ‘ I wish I would have done’…..” What’s wrong with next year, Mr. Novell? Do you know something we do not know? Are you plotting?

Finally, President Ojeda took control of the microphone as the Club’s 88th President. 88th! This is outstanding and really should instill pride in our members because for 88 years we have been tolerating substandard food and weekly meetings when we would rather be doing something else, anything else, and songs not even campers would dare to sing anymore (or even our public schools) to unselfishly come together for the good of the community,  the nation and the world. This year’s theme is “back to the basics.” It will be interesting to see how this plays out – but, a big focus will be on membership. So, here’s a tip to all of you on the fence about joining Rotary – 140 people of all ages gave up their Saturday night to get together at the Santa Anita Racetrack where we were served “food” of questionable origin, forced to wear formal attire when it was close to 100 degrees outside, and seated somewhere between a cafeteria line and betting windows to rally behind our outgoing and incoming Presidents. Like the Who’s in Whoville holding hands and singing when the Grinch stole Christmas – there is something special in Rotarians that brings us all together and keeps up coming back despite less than ideal circumstances and choice of venue. Each member has something to contribute, something to give, some way to serve – as my paternal Grandmother always said “the only thing that fulfills you in life is volunteering.” Rotary is a living, breathing embodiment of her words. And, I regret not being more assertive with trying to take the centerpiece home because I do not think anyone claimed it and the staff probably just threw it away.