THE ACORN – August 2009
The Rotary Club of Greenway/River Oaks, Houston, Texas
The Rotary Club of Greenway/River Oaks meets each Tuesday at Noon for lunch at the Briar Club, 2603 Timmons Lane (at the corner of Westheimer and Timmons)
The Club’s official address is PO Box 27538, HoustonTx77227
President: Paul Ralph Vice President: Jack Hardin
Treasurer: Bob Hafey Secretary: Bonnie Collins
Past President: Jim Mulholland Directors: Emily Cole,
Jay Ferguson, Goldy Goldstein, Joe Teas,Jack Wallace

Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 31,000 Rotary Clubs located in 167 countries.

The next time you're at Randalls, pick up a Remarkable Card application at the courtesy booth or if you already have a card, link your card to Rotary Club of River Oaks Good Neighbor Account - 6642. Randalls will pay us 1% gross salesin our account each quarter. Currently we receive about $45.00 a quarter.

It’s Official!

Recently the Board of The Rotary Club of River Oaks changed the name of the club to The Rotary Club of Greenway/River Oaks. President Paul Ralph is getting us a new banner which will be ready in 4-6 weeks. But it’s official, so use our new name.

50thAnniversary to Be Celebrated

While some of us may think fifty is pretty young, it is an important milestone that the club will celebrate our 50th Anniversary on October 6. Big plans are in the works and we may celebrate with a dinner meeting rather than at our regular meeting on October 6. Louis Ransopher who is a former member will be part of the celebration and will give his recollections of the early days of the club. Look for more details in the September Acorn.

Jack Wallace to Chair 2010 District Conference

Jack Wallace is the Chair of the 2010 District 5890 Conference which will be held in Houston. The first planning meeting will be held Monday, August 10 at 6:30 PM:

1291 N. Post Oak, Suite 100 (between I10 and Hempstead Highway). We are honored that Jack is the 2010 Chair and we ready to be recruited to help him.

Houston Symphony Chorus to Perform

Mark your calendar for December 8 when the Houston Symphony Chorus will perform at our regular Tuesday meeting. This lovely event is a holiday tradition of the Rotary Club of Greenway/River Oaks and David Fox has let us know that we need to have at least 70 people at the performance. This means inviting other Rotary Clubs as well as our own guests. It is not too early to begun publicizing this event before our friends and fellow Rotarians get overwhelmed with holiday plans.

Greek Diaspora: Subject of August 4 Meeting

Marianthi Coroneou, President of the Texas Hellenic Society spoke on “The Greeks of the Diaspora” at the August 4 meeting. The Greek Diaspora has occurred as a result of geography and politics. Sinceancient times Greeks have been seafarers spreading their culture throughout the ancient world. Rocky soil makes the land insufficient to support a growing population. Today, the population of Greece is eleven million; another seven million Greeks are dispersed throughout a hundred and fifteen countries. Ms. Coroneou’s personal history illustrates how politics have influenced Greek migration. She grew up in Egypt. Until the 1950’s when Greeks were forced to leave, the Greek population in Egypt was about a quarter million. Today about 3500 Greeks live in Egypt.

August Programs

August 11: Julietta Parra Ducote and Bishr Tabbaa: "The Romantic Poetry of Pablo Neruda” – Chilean poet and Nobel prize winner. Ms. Ducote will first read Neruda’s poetry in Spanish, followed by Bishr Tabbaa’sEnglish translation. Ms.Ducote is a native of Bogota, Colombia and is a published poet. Mr. Tabbaa is managing director of Enbase, an information technology company. He is an MBA graduate from RiceUniversity. His joy for poetry and storytelling came from his parents who emigrated from Syria.

August 18: George Gabriles: "The Power of the Spoken Word." George is Alex Gabriles’ brother andis past president of the Brazosport Rotary Club. He was Chief Engineer with Monsanto Chemical Company, and then founded his own company in Lake Jackson, Texas. He also taught the Dale Carnegie course for more than 40 years.

August 25: Al Marks: "The Holocaust, and my experiences in the Death Camps.”

Mr. Marks, a Hungarian born pianist and survivor of four German concentration camps, came toHouston in 1948. During his forty plus years as a Big Band Orchestra leader, among thousands of engagements his orchestra played, the one that stands out for him was "The Apollo 17 Moonlanding Party" for commanders Cernan-Evans-Smith in Houston, the day after returning from the moon. His orchestra played the first wedding at the Post Oak Hilton and the last note at the Shamrock Hilton.

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