JANUARY 2013 VOLUME 6 NO.4 MIKE HEYWOOD, EDITOR LAURA SCHER, PUBLISHER KIWANIS CLUB OF HUNTINGTON BEACH CLOTHE THE CHILDREN Guided and encouraged by Chair Nouha, dozens of members, their family and friends, helped needy youngsters shop at Wal Mart for clothes and toys. Thanks to Chris Epting, we also got some cool recognition in the Independent! JANUARY BIRTHDAYS! MEMBER ANNIVERSARY John Etheridge Dennis Gallagher Rochelle Groh Mike Grumet Brian Bielicki 2006 Ed Dzwonkowski 1995 Julie Holman2011 Don MacAllister2006 Barbara Meyer2009 Richard Meyer2009 Gene Neff1993 Bob Slater2006 BOAT PARADE PARTY A HUGE SUCCESS! The fund raiser hosted by Angeli at her spectacular waterfront home was a huge success. Good food, beverage and stunning views of festively decorated yachts were enjoyed by all attendees. (We’re not going to report on a rumored “lap-dance”…) Needless to say, the clown costume worn by BugBoy was worth the price of admission. We all want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Angeli for all her hard work and effort to make the event one to be remembered! GRUMET’S TREK THROUGH CHINA Mike Grumet and his wife Ying just returned from a vacation to China. Pictured at the left are Mike, Ying and Henry Grumet, who has been studying in China for the past few years. The photo was taken at the Longman Grottos in Henan Provence in China. Since the year 463, over 10,000 images of Buddha have been carved directly out of the mountain-side ranging from 1 inch to 55 feet tall. Mike said it was a truly amazing sight to see! (Sadly, no, Mike didn’t attempt to add his own rendition of the Lord Buddha to the collection!) THANKS TO F&M BANK FROM BUGBOY “Farmers and Merchants Bank was recently recognized as the Outstanding Mid-sized Business of the Year at the 27th Annual National Philanthropy Day Luncheon! The luncheon was attended by nearly 1200 guests and members of the Orange County Community. Our own, Brian Belicki, and F&M Bank’s CEO, W. Henry Walker were in attendance to acknowledge the recognition. The award was made possible, in part, by a strong recommendation letter by Immediate Past President, Mike Grumet. Thanks to Brian for all the hard work and generosity F&M puts in to philanthropic pursuits, and into Kiwanis. Thanks to Mike G. for helping them get some much-deserved recognition for their efforts!” Thanks!!! Bugboy FEEDING SOLDIERS AND FAMILY OF THE 950TH! To say it’s one of their favorite Kiwanis activities is an understatement, but Bugboy and our Past President Mike love to serve our troop and their families. On Saturday, December 15th, Kiwanis members, Mike Grumet, Bob Wentzel, Frank Sickle, and of course BugBoy’s whole family, including his “birthday-girl” daughter, served a delicious pulled pork sandwich and sides to the 950th Maintenance Company at the Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos. This unit served repeatedly in the Middle-East over the past few years, and they were hugely appreciative to be served by our Kiwanis of HB team. BAG STUFFING & HOLIDAY PARTY Elves-in-Chief Linda and Sandy did a journeyman’s job of coordinating the preparation for, and execution of, the Club’s long-standing Holiday Party for the students of Oak View School. Here are some pictures of these festive holiday activities. NEW MEMBER PROFILE One of our newest members, Greg Smith, recently spent a few moments filling us in on the details of his life, and also explaining why he joined Kiwanis. Here’s a short version of the interesting biography that Greg shared with us. Greg was born and raised in Long Beach. He is a rarity in that he comes from generations of California-born natives. While attending elementary and high school, he was active in Sea Scouting. He enjoyed many sailing trips to Catalina and to all eight of the Channel Islands. Greg achieved the highest rank of Sea Scouting, Quartermaster. He continued his involvement as an adult leader for several years. After high school, he obtained an accounting degree from CSULB, and initially plied his “bean counter” skills at an assisted living firm. Greg then founded his own accounting firm specializing in a tax practice as well as handling small businesses financial management needs. He has also operated a charity, Bunny’s Kids, with his sister. This 501c3 distributes hygiene items, toys, etc. to the needy in our county. Greg told us that he “gets sent to the Principals Office every day…he’s been married to the Principal of College View School, Kathy Smith, for 28 years.” Kathy and Greg moved to Huntington Beach in 1988, where Greg OFFICERS became involved in many activities with their three children. He coached AYSO soccer teams (over forty) and in addition, served as the Registrar for AYSO soccer for four years. He was also involved with Indian Guides and Indian Princess for thirteen years. Now, their children are almost all grown. Their son Garrett, 26, is a pilot. The next oldest, Tanner, is 19, and attends OCC while working part-time. Greg’s daughter, Mckenna, is 17 and a senior at Edison High. Greg and Kathy love to travel, either with or without their youngsters. They have traveled to Hawaii, Tahiti, and Alaska. They’ve also been to the Caribbean many times. In addition to travel, they spend free weekends in Lake Havasu, where they enjoy ATV’s and boating. Greg stays fit by staying active playing tennis, roller blading, biking and snow skiing. He is also an avid student of his long family history in our county and state. Greg said he joined Kiwanis for two main reasons. On the one hand, both his Mom and Dad passed away within the year. He had been deeply involved with coordinating their care. So now he has more time to devote to good works. Also, he’s passionate about finding cures for Cancer and Alzheimer’s. These were the diseases that took his Mom and Dad. COMING ATTRACTIONS President: John Etheridge President Elect: Rochelle Groh Vice Pres.: Jonathan Ford, DDS Immediate Past President: Mike Grumet Secretary: Mike Heywood Treasurer: Andrew Nelsen Asst. Treasurer: Rich Meyer January 8 January 10 January 14 January 15 January 22 January 29 Ron Lowenberg Board Meeting DCM K101 Danny Hauwer Main St. Library BOARD MEMBERS Bruce Shuman 1 Linda Hahn 1 Peter Tillotson 1 Laura Scher 1 Bob Slater 2 Cynthia Varnell 2 Rebekah Havard 2 Bryan Taylor 2 www.hbkiwanis.org