Highlights of the June 5 Meeting

 

 

After those present recited the Pledge of Allegiance, Harry Grossman shared a thought for the day - "Not all things that are changed are good, but all things that are better have changed."  Jay also shared something philosphical, but this editor didn't get it down - except for the main point of it - "Try to make life better."

 

 

 

 

 

Chuck explained that the proceeds of the $5/ticket sales was split three ways.  One third goes into the club operating account.  The second third goes to the holder of the stub of the ticket to be drawn from Jelly Bean the Clown's Hat.  The final third is added to the accumulating large pot, which the weekly winner will have an opportunity to try to win.  Each week, the weekly winner draws a card from the deck.  If the card they draw is the Ace of Clubs, they win the large pot in addition to their weekly winnings.  If they draw any other card, they can keep or destroy it, but it won't go back in the deck.  Each week the odds get better and the growing pot gets larger.  At this meeting, the small weekly pot was $30.  The accumulating large pot was up to $1,225. 

 

Chuck asked Ted Williams to draw the winning ticket, the stub of which was held by Frank Rosenberg.  After shuffling the cards remaining in the deck face down, the card Frank drew was the Six of Spades.

 

 

 

Lu and Wayne General had recently traveled to Italy.  Before the bidding started, Lu explained that there was nothing liquid in the bag.  She did say that Wayne did most of the shopping and that he tends toward nicer, more expensive merchandise.  The bidding started at $50.  Jeanie Morgan's bid of $100 to benefit the sponsor program (Koeneman team) was the top bid making her the proud new owner of the treasures shown in the photo.

 

 

 

Trent wanted to thank Mesa West Rotary for the Ignite Innovation opportunity for students coming out of college to present ideas and explore options and get feedback on their project through the Ignite Innovation competition event held this spring.

 

The project he presented was for a product that would help people residing in mobile homes to lower their risk of heat-related health risks.  Statistically, those living in mobile homes in the Arizona desert climate are more at risk that those residing in other residential structures.  

 

The device would be a heat monitoring device  which would emit an audible warning - much like a smoke detector - when conditions reached a dangerous level.

 

The committee of judges committed to a second, smaller, award that evening, and Trent's project made him the proud beneficiary of that decision.  He was extremely pleased with the entire process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eric Silverberg, who spent some of his career as a court administrator, introduced Lola.  Lola was born in Santa Cruz California, but her family moved to Kansa when she was young where she grew up is a small community near the Pottowattami Indian reservation which is located north of Topeka. 

 

She became a court reporter in 1970.  

 

As a court reporter, Lola worked in a variety of situations.  She sometimes recorded depositions.  She worked in city, district, and federal courts.  She told about one case where it was apparent the some defendants are really dumb.  One such robber was caught driving the Swan Food Truck he had stolen.

 

Sometimes what she recorded was quite profound and touched her heart like when in federal court, she was recording the process of a number of people who were there to become US Citizens.  New citizens were crying as their dream was coming true.

 

She talked about one situation when she was recording a deposition, the witness was sitting in a high-back chair and kept flexing his muscles for no apparent reason. Lola struggled to keep herself from laughing.

 

In one trial in district court, a family was suing a funeral home.  When the family went for the viewing of their sister, the body in the casket was not her.

 

When she was working as a court reporter in Fort Worth Texas, they converted from pen and paper to computer.  What she was recording fed directly to a monitor on the judge's bench.  Where it had not been uncommon for attorneys to say what a witness had or had not said, it was entertaining to Lola when the Judge would read back exactly what was sid.

 

When she and her husband became empty nesters, they spent some years abroad.  She worked as a court reporter in England for less than two years.  She recalled one trial there when the verdict was "guilty" the accused sunk, hit their head on the table, and were consequently knocked out.

 

Courtroom etiquette was different in England.  At one trial, an attorney stood up and said "My name is..."  Lola didn't hear the name and asked him to repeat it.  There was dead silence.  She learned not to speak out in their courts.

 

She loved working in England.  They have lots of four-day holidays there.  When those came up, they travelled to the continent.

 

Before coming back to the states she worked for a while in Trinidad in the West Indies.  She said the people in Trinidad could not do enough for white people.  If she was at the back of a line, she would be called to an empty window, which made her feel guilt.  She and her husband went with two other couples to hear a rapper perform.  They were sat by the stage, which embarrassed Lola.  They also use pronouns differently.  Instead of "her" they use "she".  They liked to go island hopping, because it's nearly impossible to get lost on an island, but when they had to arrive an hour and a half early for a fifteen minute flight, and most of the islands looked alike, that activity was short-lived.

 

She is still touch with some of the people they met during their travels.

 

There was one case that Lola cannot forget.  A doctor, whose wife had cancer, was being re-tried for his murder.  She had already spent two years in prison.  He had been a gynecologist.  Lola spoke about some pretty gross things the doctor had done and subjected his wife to before she shot and killed him.  Some of the evidence that Lola had to be around was so gross that Lola's hands were raw from repeated washing.  The wife was convicted, but her sentence was "time-served."