Invocation: Laura Brecht

Pledge: Bill Lewis

Guest: John Hickman, a prospective member sponsored by Marth Deichler. His reasons for wanting to join Rotary are personal and professional. He wants to get involved personally in the community, and he is the golf pro at the Borrego Springs Resort and is looking forward to helping turn the Borrego Springs Resort into a top golf resort.

Happy $:

1. Bill Lewis - went on "military vacation"
2. Louise Burmester - vacation
3. Dianne Hydoski - summer vacation
4. Judy Haldeman - family wedding in Hawaii

Update on the Ocotillo Wells Learning Center presented by Kaye Bailey

The kids are now back in school, but many have returned after school activities. We help with homework and studying for tests. One night this week we ate popcorn and peanut butter and we talked and had a wonderful time. The kids seem to be really vested in the program. It is just a great place to come and be with friends.

Next week the tickets will be available for the annual Rotary breakfast. Each member of the club will have 4 tickets to sell. So far there is no of assistance, but Cathy Gay is sure there will be as time gets closer. She will let us know as needed. Volunteers are already lined up to transport the tables and chairs.

There will be a gathering to get ready the float for Miss Borrego and her princesses. The exact date will be announced.

Bill took a vacation trip for 2 reunions for the military. The first night he and his wife stayed at an Air Force base in Phoenix. They then drove to Santa Fe, NM (the state capitol). They got lost on the drive to Colorado Springs, the location of Bill's first reunion. They checked in early, so had time to check out the home they lived in 30 years ago. It took a while, but they found it. Later they toured the Garden of the Gods, after which they checked into the hotel for the reunion. The next day the couple split their time. He did the military things and she did touristy things. The first day she went to Pikes Peak. Each evening back at the reunion, everyone would eat the evening meal together. They would have 3-4 cadets from the AF Acadamy that would share their experiences. Each time a cadet was spoken to, he would drop his arms to his side, stop eating, and answered the question.

The next day, the couple travelled to Peterson AFB. Since Bill had previously visited there, a museum was built. He spent a whole morning "taking in" the museum. After leaving Colorado Springs, they drove to Pagosa Springs to a timeshare which happened to be 30 miles from the NM and TX border. The next morning they went to a natural hot springs there and just relaxed. Next they went thru Roswell, and to their astonishment, saw no aliens! After Roswell, Bill and his wife toured Fort Sorenson, which began as a fort, then became a medical installation, and now the administration is trying to make the fort into a tourist attraction. Next they checked into a timeshare in San Antonio TX. They then went to a place called Gruin, and then took a walk down the River Walk, toured the Alamo, and took out a row boat.

Then it was time for the 2nd reunion. Friday morning at the reunion, one of the participants talked about building their own aircraft. Every test flight had an emergency. The plane was so unstable that it would not turn to the left. Years earlier, this man, as a cadet, had been on a test flight. He thought it would be fun to try and fly thru a rainstorm. The water caused his instruments to fail. He pulled out of the storm just in time and his instruments dried out sufficiently to work again. The plane was now ready to go around the world without refueling, he hoped. When the plane took off it lost part of its one wing because of the weight of the fueled-up plane - it had never before been fully fueled. One day during the flight, they needed to bring the fuel from the wing into the main fuel line, but the pump was broken. They fixed the pump in 4 hours. It normally only would have taken 1 hour to fix, but they had brought no tools to decrease the weight. When they did this, it was discovered they might be short of the needed fuel to completely circumnavigate the globe, as one of the fuel tanks had accidentally been siphoned out. The plane did make it with 20 gallons to spare.

Shortly after, the reunion drew to a close and the couple drove home. During the trip, Bill attened 2 Rotary meetings and brought 2 flags back (from Pagosa Springs and San Antonio/Oak Hills).