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Wow!!! I’d repeat that brief but descriptive word again, but it couldn’t possibly express the response generated by “The Variety of the Holidays,” the program at our Club meeting this week. While we all knew it was time for our annual Holiday Program… none of us expected the kind of performances we witnessed! We had over 100 senior guests who celebrated the Holiday Season with us thanks to Cheryl Wilson and Leane Marchese. In addition, many families of Club 33 members also joined our party. There were over 450 of us in attendance.
Prez Dick Troncone called us to order and, consistent with the Season’s “Peace on Earth” theme, he was not his usual aggressive fine-grinding self. It must have been Mark Trotter’s invocation that settled him down because the former Prez Mark (who was quite ruthless in his time!) presented us with an inspirational moment that united us all in service. I’m sure I’m not the only Rotarian still giving thought to Mark’s invocation. Our program Director, the formidable Steve Hubbard, was next up and he introduced our MC for the program, that wonderman-of-radio, Bert Wahlen.
But the magic was in the program! With a Chorus of more than 35 Club members, they waltzed us through the classics like “White Christmas” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and the more current “All I Want for Christmas is You.” There was also “A Hanukkah Remembrance” which was a very nice number providing a glimpse of the history and depth of meaning of Hanukkah. We could not have been more impressed with the quality and professionalism of our Chorus!
Our soloists included Mackenzie Batliner, Debbie Day’s granddaughter, Molleigh Rae Verhoye, daughter of our pianist, Jack Anthony and Debbie Day, Karen Fuentes, daughter of Jim and Carmen Hughes, Kimberley Layton, Steve Hubbard, Peter Duncan and John Powell with narration by Jack Berkman.
And then there were the children… daughters, sons, granddaughters and grandsons of Club members who added their voices to the beautiful sounds of the Holidays! All of this was accompanied by the Colin Wied’s La Jolla Brass, Bryan Verhoye on piano, Paul Hartley III on guitar and Amnon Ben-Yehuda on violin! If our Club were a baseball team, then it could truly be said that we have a very deep bench!
Which of course brings us all back to member response to the program…Wow!!!
I’ll close my duties as Editor for this week by reflecting on Mark Trotter’s invocation and offering a prayer for a final and lasting Peace on Earth. Happy Holidays all!
(You can listen to the entire program via the audio link in the Newsletter section of our website.)
Editor of the Day: Richard Ledford
Photography by Paul Nestor
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