Next Tuesday, June 17, we’re having a pot luck supper social gathering in place of our regular noon meeting. It will be at the Warner Park picnic shelter, starting at 5:30. Bring your own beverage of choice and something to share - salad, dessert, veggies, whatever. The chicken entree will be brought by one of our members, and we’ll potluck the rest of it. We’d like everyone and their spouse/significant other to be there. LINDA BERGREN is the Event Manager. Come and have a good time!.

The combined new/old Boards of Directors will meet at noon at the Edgewater that day. This is a Board meeting, not a regular lunch, and so while individual members are always welcome at Board meetings, if you come to this one be prepared to buy your own lunch! The “regular meeting” for that date is the picnic in the evening.

At our last meeting, there seemed to be a shortage of tableware, which was traced without difficulty to the TailTwister, whose nefarious plan of the day involved “fork rental”. No amount of pointed remarks did any good, and so those who wanted to eat forked over the usual small sums. Pres. DON did manage to get the meeting started, SAL AL-ASHKAR again provided both flag and flagpole for the pledge, and LINDA BERGREN both led the song and gave the invocation. No end to the woman’s talents!

DALE MUELLER was sporting a gator tie - no word on who might be eaten. Speaking of ties, right after his visit with us a couple weeks ago, DENNIS URECHE had a few minutes of fame, when his donated tie was worn by Channel 15 weatherman David George, with proper credits to DENNIS. Some sort of charitable donation, which your editor cannot figure out, was involved.

JODI BURMESTER has circulated a signup sheet for Club committees for the next year, with another sheet describing what each committee does. This is how the Club works, and all of the committees contribute to our goals of service and fellowship. No excuses this time - figure out what you’d like to do, and sign up to do it. Every job is important, and the current fact of life is that all of us probably have to do at least two of them to make things work. She needs volunteers by July 1 at the latest. She also circulated a copy of our online directory, with the request that we all review our entry, and give any corrections to her.

MELISSA NOVINSKI says Rose Day money is coming in pretty well, but it is all profit at this point, so if you have some outstanding, make your collections and turn it in. The credit card system will be turned off at the end of June, so it is very important that any remaining CC sales be processed immediately. Money means service, but the service doesn’t start until the $$ are in the bank. Pay up!.

A familiar voice echoed across the room, as PP RANDY “JABO” JABLONIC paid us a visit, coming down from the UP to get warm. Nice to have him back for a day.

DON FENNO is our newest member, inducted by PID PHIL INGWELL, who fortunately has done enough of those things to be able to work without a script on short notice. DON is sponsored by SUE SABIN, lives (and works out of) 5442 Congress Ave, #2, Madison, 53718. His home phone is 244-9015, business phone 244-9050, and e-mail address dfenno@charter.net. DON is a USAF veteran and operates a business supplying screen printing and embroidery equipment to the companies who make all those specialty “Go Packers” and “Badger BIG TEN CHAMPS” t-shirts. Welcome, DON!

Atty. Amanda Gennermann was our speaker, introduced by Past Pres., and relative, SAL AL-ASHKAR. It was evident that she had eschewed some of the more flamboyant (and remunerative) areas of legal practice to use her training to work with people who have run afoul of our byzantine (and in the editor’s opinion) ineffective immigration laws. Illegal immigrants are often exploited in this country by employers who know they can’t complain to the authorities, and others are here illegally more by accident or neglect than intent, and these people are in need of help. Many of them are doing jobs Americans don’t want to do, and some have specializations in which they are highly qualified and for which there is great demand. Refugees have a year to apply for asylum, and those who marry American citizens have 3-5 years to wait until they can be naturalized. In many cases, the laws are applied inconsistently, and an immigrant who violates American law can be summarily deported, sometimes to a “home country” about which they know nothing. They need legal help at hearings and in procedure. About the only way for special exemptions for individuals is through a “private bill” sponsored by a member of Congress. “Complicated” is an inadequate description.

Addendum: We have just learned that Hal Otterback has had a stroke. He is in Meriter Hospital. Hopefully we will have more information tomorrow, but in the meantime keep him in your thoughts and prayers.