THE Express Rotary-West Newsletter 042208


April 29, 2008	Scribe: Alan Smithee	Publisher: Phil Adams

Call to Order:

Paul Blatz

Fifth Tuesday Social Meeting at the home of Howard and Edie Smith

Club Announcements:

President Paul Blatz

seen with member

Colin Walker

The Rotary barbeque at The Ojai was a success !! Congrats to Dennis and Crew !!

Dietrich's wife Jackie just had back surgery and will be returning home Tuesday.

The May family ,The Barnetts, Mike Caldwell, Gayle Childress and her granddaughter, Bob Beeby, Dietrich Pahnke, and Stephanie Midgett were at the cemetery clean-up, along with members from the Friday Club.

On this evening, members decided to forego business for fellowship.

The buffet was scrumptious, too. Thanks, Sid.

Here are some snapshots taken that evening. Click on any of the thumbnails to see a larger image.

Featured Program:

Bil Lepp

Tall Tale Teller

Bil comes to Ojai from West Virginia, where he is renowned as a champion liar. (The name is actually spelled "Bil". The second "L" was lopped off during a swordfight with Barbary pirates.)

Bil and his colleagues are participating in the annual Village of Tales, an exhibition of professional storytelling from world-class Raconteurs at Libbey Bowl and the Ojai Art Center. Check out their big show this coming Saturday night.

Bil has been a featured storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival on numerous occasions, as well as a Featured Teller at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 2003.

Click HERE for Bil's web site.

Click HERE to Email Bil

He is also the award-winning author of three books and six audio collections. He is a five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars Contest. (He told us it was ten times, but we looked it up.) He served four years as a United Methodist Pastor. He was employed by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History which runs the Liars Contest, and as an employee he was no longer able to compete. Bil takes this philosophically, noting that "If you lie well enough, long enough, the government will eventually hire you."

If your PC is equipped with a sound card, CLICK HERE to learn how Bil dunked a puma. Really!

Lepp is truly a performance artist. We were fascinated not just by his fanciful plots, but also by his physical style. You can see from the photos that he spins a web of hot air, ensnares his audience, and sweeps them along.

"Just imagine one morning that you walk into your kitchen and a pop tart jumps out of the toaster,
puts you in a full-nelson, and pile-drives you into the linoleum..."

"You probably don't know what it's like to be pulled head-first through a compost pile. But wait... This IS an election year.."

"The bear reached into the hollow of a tree and pulled out an aluminum ladder and a baseball bat. That sorta surprised me."

Rotary-West was fortunate to get Mr. Lepp for a grand evening of laughs in the Ojai Valley.
To top the evening off, he kindly showed us the exact spot where Jimmy Hoffa is buried.

Correspondence

District Governor Nominee Chosen

     The District Governor Nominating Committee met yesterday at the Oxnard Courtyard By Marriott
following the District Assembly, after interviewing three very capable Candidates, the DG Nominee
Designate for the Year 2010-2011 was selected.

     From the Rotary Club of Santa Ynez Valley, Mrs. Deepa Willingham will lead our District with her vision and
passion for "All Things Rotary".

     I am proud of the wonderful committee who had a difficult decision to make as ALL Candidates were
highly qualified and brought their talents to the table during their individual interviews.

     Congratulations Deepa, we look forward to supporting you in your Governor year!

PDG Sally Adelblue
Chair, DG Nominating Committee

Rick Gould writes...

We have sold our home in Rancho Matilija and will live in our Orcas Island House for two years. The plan is then to buy a smaller house in Ojai and make-up for two years of missed Rotary Meetings.

I will look forward to keeping up with the club's activities by the news letter on line.

--Rick

Left: Photo by Rick Gould

The Lineup

May 6th	The origin of our popular Ojai Band Concerts in the park by Sara Beeby
May 13th	The ancient Science of Feng Shui
May 20th	Dr. Steve Boshoff, "Understanding Addiction"
May 27th	Ojai Valley Green Coalition

The Billboard

THE VILLAGE JESTER PRESENTS Friday May 9, 2008 9:00 p.m.
At The Village Jester 139 E. Ojai Ave. Ojai (805) 640-0885 Never A Cover Charge

Parting Thought:

"A self-made man is as likely as a self-laid egg." --Mark Twain

Parting Shot...