hank's minutes 2/8/17

​provided a few examples of famous people and their mentors.  Oprah Winfrey was mentored by Maya Angelou.  Mike Zuckerberg traced much of his success to Steve Jobs.  Warren Buffet helped Bill Gates along the way.  Word of the day was Hearten – to make more cheerful or hopeful.
 
Alyssa was first up with her Ice Breaker entitled “Assumptions”.  She opened with a Buddhist chant useful for eradicating negative karma.  She went on to wonder at the lack of receptiveness of her commitment to Buddhism by her Christian friends and their efforts to convert her.  Accept me for who I am.  Isn’t that what it should be about? 

Andrea followed with “What I Learned from Kevin”  Her cousin, once a down and out young man who had been raised in an abusive home.  He got a job at a fish farm and worked his way up to manager and great financial success.  It’s easy to make judgments about someone.  Get to know their story and you might be surprised. 

Beverly, the evening’s winner delivered “Moments that Matter”.  After some background on her introduction at a young age to the Ku Klux Klan, she went on to talk about Jeffrey, an arrogant, obnoxious bigot with whom she had to work.  A number of years later, he returned to apologize on his way to Iraq.  He never returned.  Beverly’s message:  Be kind to those that are unkind because they need it the most. 

​Cynthia’s title was “No Victims Here”.  She talked about how she and Jerry raised their children to be problem solvers, not victims.  The approach – 1)  State the problem; 2) Tell what you’re feeling about the problem; 3)  Try to specify and immediate solution; and 4)  Describe the consequences if that solution won’t work.  Speak up and ask for a response to your solution.
 
Mary-Catherine brought a potpourri of items to use for Table Topics.  Marcus showed us how a banana was the latest in fashion.  Returning guest Zeal Okoger used a spatula to discuss corporal punishment in his elementary school.  First time guest Claudius Wood, the evening’s winner had everybody laughing about snot, flies, and a plastic spoon fly remover.
 
Ken handled the General Evaluator tasks.  Anne, the evening’s winner assessed Alyssa, Justin critiqued Andrea, Brice reviewed Beverly, and Greg P. appraised Cynthia.  Theresa reported on the timing, Lori covered the grammatical apogees and perigees, and Lee summarized the shilly-shallies. 
 
Thanks to all who have made it possible.  We have once again achieved all ten objectives to become a President’s Distinguished club for the 13th consecutive time.
 
Congratulations to Cynthia on her early retirement.  The timing is still unclear, but sadly she will be leaving us in the not too distant future for her permanent home in Florida.