COMMUNITY & CLUBS:

More than 140 Rotarians and their spouses welcomed incoming Rotary International President Dong Kurn Lee and his wife, Young Ja Lee, at a dinner this past Wednesday evening at the Balboa Bay Club.

Lee, from Seoul, South Korea, became a Rotarian in 1971. He said he wished he had completed his English class homework in the Korean high school, for he didn’t realize he would be addressing up to thousands of Rotarians worldwide later in his life.

Lee said he has already traveled to many countries including Colombia, Hungary, India, England and a number of the states. He shared Rotary’s role in helping a 12-year-old girl in India with a lifesaving transplant in cooperation with the “Gift of Life.” Rotarians, he said, “take one step, save one life at a time.”

Former Newport Beach Mayor Steve Bromberg presented Kim with a proclamation from the mayor and City Council, stating “proclamations normally go to important people or people who do important things, and you are receiving it for both reasons.”

LIONS CLUB FASHION SHOW

Harbor Mesa Lions club invites the public to a membership event featuring a dinner and fashion show Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Country Club. This social evening will also provide information on joining a Lions Club and how to experience fun and friendship while serving your community. The cost is $18; the reservation deadline is Jan. 15. For info, call (714) 979-5257.

NEWPORT CLUB A BERKEY CLUB

For several weeks I have been reading in the Exchange Club’s “Spindriff” that they are a “Berkey Club,” and finally in this past week’s edition, editor Dick Freeman explained what it meant. “There are currently about 10 clubs so designated by the National Exchange Club in the entire [country] To achieve this distinction the club gave a total of $1,000 to the Berkey Foundation. This Foundation is gradually building the strength that the Child Abuse Prevention program needs to sustain operations. The corpus of the foundation will remain intact and only the interest derived from its investment will be used for the Child Abuse Prevention programs. Our club was one of the first clubs in the United States to recognize and support this extremely worthwhile undertaking Cheers to us!”

WORTH REPEATING

From the Thought for the Day, as provided by Greg Kelley of the Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council: “Family isn’t about whose blood you have. It’s about who you care about.”

COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Sundays in the Daily Pilot. Send your service club’s meeting information by fax to (714) 921-8655 or by e-mail to jdeboom@ aol.com.