LARRY POWELL SPEAKER AT SEPTEMBER LUNCH

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1 SEPTEMBER Branch 175 Vol. 17 Issue 9 LARRY POWELL SPEAKER AT SEPTEMBER LUNCH M r. L a r r y P o w e l l, Superintendent of Fresno County Schools, runs 325 schools in 35 districts in Fresno County with more than 190,000 students Mr. Powell recently received local, state and national headlines for volunteering to return more than $288,000 annual salary and benefits for the next three-and -a-half years of his term. He technically retired, allowing him to collect a six figure annual pension, then was rehired with a $31,000 salary, which he plans to donate to charity. BIG SIR RON MCCLAIN WOW! I can t imagine flying from Fresno to the coast in nine minutes. That is our Homeland Security at it s best We had an outstanding speaker last month. (Lt. Col Rob Sangor, story on p2.). After hearing him speak, I felt a lot safer knowing we have them right here in Fresno. If you missed him, you lost out! Our Little Sir Marin Vallejo has all his officers in place except the Secretary. This is an important position but not too hard a job. If you have an interest in helping our Branch, please let us know. Well, the summer holidays are over and the kids are back in school. We have two months till Thanksgiving. The year has really flown by. Our numbers for the meetings have started to increase, but we are still below the 70% the State SIR would SEPTEMBER LUNCH Thursday, September 22 Menu: Beef or Fish PARDINI S like. We must have friends out there who enjoy good fellowship and good speakers. You SIR have been really good at getting new members to join, but we still need a few more to meet our goals. Don t forget, we have an outing to Lemoore NAS on Oct. 14. We have front row seats for the air show featuring the famous Blue Angels. See you at the meeting. 11:45 AM LITTLE SIR MARIN VALLEJO As summer winds down and seasons change, it s hard to keep up with the pace. It happens so fast we can t remember what happened yesterday! So, don t wait to invite a friend to become a SIR. If I hadn t said yes to a fellow SIR, I would have missed out on good friends, good food, and good speakers.

2 Sierra SIR Echo Pg 2 Colonel Rob gave us a fascinating overview of the California Air National Guard, which is based at the Fresno Airport. Rob, personally has flown the F16 in over 1,200 missions (F15 s are coming next year). Rob got his start in the Air Force in the Fresno State ROTC program and has since been in the AF eight years. He s a Fresno native. Fresno ANG has 1100 people full time and 700+ week-end warrior types. There are 32 pilots 15 of which are full time. Homeland Defense is the primary mission. The Colonel kept the crowd of Roosters fascinated near the end of his presentation with a captivating 9/11 story. On 9/11 Rob was dispatched, along with another pilot, to intercept an incoming passenger plane from China to San Francisco which appeared to be headed straight to downtown. Ask a SIR for the rest of the story. Sir John Durant from our own Branch 175 will be speaking to us at our October Lunch on the subject of the Space Shuttle. Be a vital part of our branch.know things before they happen.be in on decision making...be our branch secretary for one year. Perhaps, you and a buddy could team up and volunteer for the year each taking turns: one, one month.the other the next month etc. Job is taking notes of the board meeting and sending to members. Call Little Sir Marin now at Ms Joan Thorton, District Sales Manager for Collette Vacations will speak to us in November as arranged by Sir Richard Beers, Branch 175 Travel Chairman. Video and power point presentations will be made on the latest trips planned by Richard.

3 Sierra SIR Echo Pg 3 MEMBERSHIP by Sir Dean Clark Boo, hoo! We won t have anyone joining us this month. Seems vacations are calling and crossing into our meet date. WE ARE FLEXIBLE and WILL be getting our newest guests soon. All you golf enthusiasts missed a real winner if you didn t dive in and grab some of the golf balls that Sir Dennis Murane so kindly cleansed and brought to the last meeting to give away. Good assortment with Pro V1 balls even in the mix. He lives next to Riverside and these were balls that land in his yard. Thank you, Dennis. I wonder if he cooks outside with a helmet on? Last but not least, let s all welcome again, Sir Willis Wilk (Woody) into the fold. Woody was a sports publicist for Fresno City College (FCC). I knew someone was writing all those nice things about FCC, I just didn t know who. Remember to carry a SIR business card with you always with your name and telephone number on it. Much easier to invite with a card at the ready. Cock-a-doodle-do! Yes, yes, YES! It is PROUD TO BE A SIR month again. Wear everything that has a SIR emblem and receive a free ticket for the drawing. Here is an added plus; wear any hat that identifies our military or your service and receive two free tickets. If you have ever made a hole-in-one in golf, you get a free ticket (must be honest when reporting that feat). Would you believe I personally have made 25. Did I hear a laugh? OOOPS.our newest member in August was incorrectly identified. as Hal Diel but he is actually Sir Paul Dehn. Welcome, Paul! THANKS FOR THE GOLF BALLS DENNIS Golf is a good walk spoiled. said Mark Twain. Sir Dennis Murane and his wife aren t golfers, but live off the 16th Fairway at Riverside Golf Course and say that living on a golf course is a joy (seeing coyotes running across the greens early in the morning, watching fog roll in through the trees on the course) but it also has some pitfalls! Dennis brought a little over 200 clean, mostly perfect condition, golf balls (which had landed in his backyard) for the men of Branch 175 at our last lunch, plus Ziploc baggies to put them in. Dennis planted 6 redwood trees which are now 20+ feet high and block most of the errant balls. Before the redwood s protection, numerous windows, a skylight and roof tiles had been broken (not to mention a few near misses while gardening). Thanks for the golf balls, Dennis. I figure each golf ball cost you about $10!

4 TRAVEL by Sir Richard Beers Our forthcoming trip to Lemoore NAS (10/14/11) sold out quickly at our August meeting. We now have a stand-by list, so if any who signed up need to drop, let us know ASAP so we can notify an alternate. FYI...so that there is no misunderstanding regarding the Blue Angels show, we will be viewing, let me be specific. We, along with a few other selected groups, will see a pre-showing of the Blue Angels on 10/14. The regular show will be on the 15th & 16th when the naval station anticipates thousand spectators. SOoo, we will not have to compete with the masses and trod around in the weather looking for a vantage point to view the show! The NAS person in charge of the public s participation told me there is a good chance we will be able to talk with some of the Angel s pilots. I will provide final information regarding the event at our September meeting. Future Travel.don t forget, our November guest speaker will be the spokesperson for Collette Vacations who will present a slide show and more regarding our next major travel event Portugal - Azores Madeiras. This will also be our day to have the ladies. BOOK CLUB by Sir Tim Finley Sierra SIR Echo Pg 4 Seven SIR were present at the August Book Club Meeting: Sirs: Paul Dehn, Hal Debban, Louis Volpp, Bob Edwards, Merle Knapp, George Zerlang and Tim Finley. Four books were presented and reviewed: 1. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 5* 2. The Confession by John Grisham 4* 3. All Over but the Shouting by Rick Bragg 4* 4. Uncle Tom s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe 5* Following discussions, it was decided that moderator Sir Tim Finley would make each member of the Book Club a note pad with headings of Title; Author; Publisher; Pages; Date & Notes. The pad would act as an aid to the Book Club member presentation. This same list will be published monthly in the Sierra SIR Echo providing the general membership with a useful list of books and ratings. WOODWORKING by Sir George Pisching SWIG (SIR Woodworking Interest Group) The first ever meeting of the Woodworking interest group will be at 10:00 AM in the bar area of Pardini s just before the September lunch (the bar is just to the right as you enter Pardini s). Hopefully we can get a program started to everyone s satisfaction. We will establish a name, direction (purpose), and the next meeting time and place. BOWLING by Sir Merle Knapp The fun and excitement of SIR Bowling began a new league season on Saturday, September 9 at 9:30 AM at the AMF Sierra Lanes on north Blackstone. If you missed the first time or two, never fear, you can still bowl and have lots of fun with us. Just call me at I ll hook you up and/or answer any questions you have. LIBRARIAN by Sir Dennis Murane Our 175 Branch web site has a new addition to help readers locate recently donated books to the library. There are now three directories to choose from; AUTHOR, TITLE, and NEW ADDITIONS. The New Additions directory will list those books added to the library in the preceding month which should allow many of you to determine what s new to the library without scanning the whole list. Keep the books coming...our library s growth counts on your donations. Click on the branch web site: Then click the following icon:

5 GOLF by Sir Charlie Pepper Sierra SIR Echo Pg 5 SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS from Sir Richard Scheidt If you re not teeing it up, you re missing out on all the fun. Madera Country Club is fast becoming one of the SIR favorites as it s a very well maintained course and offers a fair challenge to all our golfers. We gathered at Madera Country Club on Tuesday, August 16 and were welcomed by a warm and beautiful day for our tournament. Your Branch 175 winners were Sir Mike Castle in Flight #1 and Sir Gary Beacom in Flight #2. Sir Tom Lean has never finished out of the money in one of our tournaments and had to stick a 200 year eight-iron on the par 3 14th hole under tremendous pressure to bag the big bucks for closest to the pin. Congrats again to all our winners. The dynamic duo of Sir Rich Grigsby and Sir Jerry Long continued their torrid pace a Madera Municipal Golf Club on August 23rd where they once again teamed for record setting scores in a two-man best ball tournament. They paired for a net score of 53 to finish 1st in Flight #1. Art continues to be furious! Sir Tom Lean (ever heard of him?) and Sir Stan Nappe combined to post a net score of 54 which was good enough for a second place tie in Flight #1. Sir Mike Castle (ever heard of him?) and his partner also posted a net 54 to finish in a tie for second place. Some gross scores that were of note include Sir Mike Castle with a 74 (net 58), Sir Jerry Long with an 84 (net 58), Sir Rich Grigsby with a 78 (net 59) and Sir Fred Ketcham with a 93 (net 59). The annual 4 Branch tournament was contested on Thursday, September 1 and our golfers from Branch 175 acquitted themselves quite well. Sir Stan Nappe was the big winner from Branch 175 as he finished in first place in Flight #3. This is a great accomplishment for Stan as over 90 golfers were in the competition. He was presented with an engraved trophy plus a wheelbarrow load of cash. In addition, Sir Bob Dickson finished second in Flight #2 and Sir Mike Castle was 5th in Flight #1. Overall the combination of Branch 175/179 finished second in the tournament behind Branch 159 and Branch 169 was third. The tournament we have all been looking forward to is just around the corner. The Branch 175 Championship will be contested on Wednesday, September 21 at Riverside, 0800 shotgun start. Sir Ron McClain is our defending champion and if he s healthy, he s going to be hard to beat. This will be a great event and there will be no entry fee. Hefty prize money will be awarded for the top 5 finishers and a trophy will be presented to the winner at our September luncheon. This is your opportunity to put your stamp in the annals of Branch 175. Don t blow it!! Sign up now!! Call Sir Charlie Pepper, or at charliepepper@cs.com to get on board. George Dado Brad Ferguson Willard Johnson Lee Erickson Hoot Fowler Andy Provost Winner of Free Lunch from the August Birthdays: Sir Richard Beers Winner of a Free Lunch from the August Lunch Ticket Numbers: Sir Glenn Smith BRIDGE by Sir Bob Cleveland Couple s Bridge played on September 14 at 1:00 PM at the home of Sir Frank and Jean Hunting. On October 12, we will play at the home of Sir Don and Helga Livingstone s in Visalia. SUNSHINE by Sir Bill Almeida Health concerns were reported during the month for: Sirs Harvey Pontius, Ken Luft, and Ray Born. We also have tournaments planned at Airways on September 27 and 0800 and Sherwood Forest on October 11 at Call or me to reserve your spot. Tip of the month: If you seem to be hitting your shots straight on the driving range, it s probably because you re not aiming at anything. See you on the tee.

6 SIR Branch #175 Jerry Long, Editor 9260 N. Green Meadows Lane Fresno, CA SIR BRANCH # OFFICERS Big SIR Ron McClain Little SIR Marin Vallejo Treasurer Robert Bakman Asst. Treas. Andy Provost Secretary Merle Knapp Asst. Secy William Weber DIRECTORS Tim Finley Richard Grigsby Charlie Pepper Gary Beacom Fred Ketcham Russ Mott ACTIVITIES Book Club Tim Finley Bowling Merle Knapp Bridge Bob Cleveland Golf Charlie Pepper Travel Richard Beers BARN-YARD ACTIVITIES Attendance (Open) Bulletin-ECHO Jerry Long Chaplain James Scroggin Database Ed Richard Scheidt Hardware Jerry Stoltenberg Historian Merle Knapp Librarian Dennis Murane Asst Librarian Tim Finley Membership Dean Clark Photographer Tim Finley Special Events Fred Ketcham Sunshine Bill Almeida Telephone Ray Born SONS IN RETIREMENT 2011 STATE OFFICERS President Robert Mannell (408) Vice President James Stedman (925) Secretary Eckart Sellinger (415) Treasurer Adolph Lopez (650) Director, Region 8 John Levis (559) Governor, Area 29 Ed Dorn (559) Non-Responsibility Declaration All travel events and other activities sponsored by Sons in Retirement, Incorporated, or its Branches are for the convenience and pleasure of the members and their guests who desire to participate. Sons in Retirement, Incorporated, and its Branches, do not assume any responsibility for the well being or safety of the participants or passengers, or their property or any damages whatsoever, in any manner pertaining to said travel activities. Where the travel literature is prepared by a travel agency, the following words shall be added to the above wording: Any other disclosures or non-responsibility provisions contained herein shall not in any way incur any liability attaching to Sons in Retirement, Incorporated, or any Branch thereof. Visit our new SIR Branch 175 website at: Sir Happenings is the State Bulletin: