The Official Publication of the Rotary Club of Davis Rotary International President: Ron Burton, Oklahoma District 5160 Governor: Steve Lack, Davis Rotary Club (437) President: Greg Phister, P.O. Box 185, Davis, CA 95617 www.rotaryclubofdavis.com Monday, March 3, 2014
Announcements – February 24 Weekly Programs Mar. 3: UCD Prof. Jerry Suran – Interactive Presentation on Business Ethics Mar. 10: Jim Les, UCD Men’s Basketball Coach Mar. 17: Rob Cain, Urban Forestry Manager, City of Davis – Benefits of Trees in the Urban Landscape Mar. 24: Bill Streng – My First Fifty Years in Rotary
Meals on Wheels If you swap dates, contact Greg Gibbs: (530) 758-6797 or email
[email protected] or Dave Scheiber @ (530) 758-8440 Coordinator: Don Kessler 03/06/14: Sherry Richter & M. Robinson 03/07/14: Bill Roe & Ryndie Azevedo Coordinator: Randy Alston 03/13/14: W. Schrader & S. Shoemaker 03/14/14: J. Siemens & Bill Hollingshead Coordinator: Nicole Davis 03/20/14: Cindy Spiro & Mohini Jain 03/21/14: John Hamel & Paul Hart Coordinator: Dave Schieber 03/27/14: G. Jayaweera & J. Stromberg 03/28/14: R. Swanson & Alan Telford
Coming Events Mar. 30: Rotary International President Ron Burton will speak at the Double Tree Hotel in Sacramento. Doors open at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. $55 per person. See President Greg for RSVP details. April 6: Davis Rotary Pot Luck at home of Gamani Jayaweera. May 17: Annual Davis Rotary Barbeque, Central Park
Agrotarian Email To contact Agrotarian co-editors, email to
[email protected]
Davis Rotary Clubs ski race is March 7; contact President Greg for information. Big Night Chair Becky King reported event fundraising was very successful. All-time highs were reached for the live auction ($20,950) and sponsorships ($24,500). Total receipts (after expenses) were $37,542. Sunshine Chair Yvonne Clinton reported that John Thayer, who is having back surgery, will be away for three months or so. David Macko won Draw-of-theDay. Gamani Jayaweera reported on work by Rotary and other community organizations to raise funds for Philippines flood relief. Jeannie Jones has resigned her longtime membership in Davis Rotary. She has moved to Napa, and is joining a Rotary Club there. President Greg announced that Davis Rotary Clubs are working on a Rotary-oriented newspaper insert to promote Rotary; check with him if you are interested in writing or advertising. The board will soon consider a proposal to eliminate lunch charges for prospective members, waive missed meeting fees, and provide other incentives for members under age 40. Jim Willett made his first appearance as Sergeant at Arms.
Gold Standard Diagnostics Gold Standard Diagnostics is a Davis-based company that makes medical testing equipment. Bill Roe introduced three people involved in the business: Roger Salquist, Board Chairman (who came to Davis about 35 years ago to run Trident Solar Energy, and later was head of Calgene before it was bought by Monsanto); John Griffith (Chief Executive Officer); and Jim Thompson (Chief Financial Officer). Salquist, Griffith and Thompson talked about the company’s work in the last few years to create products that simplify the diagnostics testing work done by medical offices and hospitals. The company, Gold Standard Diagnostics, has created a machine called the “Thunderbolt,” a robotic system to test for many different medical conditions using FDA-approved blood test diagnostic kits. Initial research and development for the Thunderbolt machines was done in Belgium, but now the device is actually manufactured here in Davis, using about 80% U.S. components. The diagnostic kits used in the Thunderbolt come from many companies located in many countries. The company now has customers in about 35 countries. Gold Standard Diagnostics is planning to move soon to a new 24,000 square foot location of Spafford St.* They have about 35 employees here (up from 3 in 2007), most of whom live in Davis and want the business to stay here. * - Rotary Connection: Spafford St. is named for Ed Spafford, longtime UCD administrator and President of Davis Rotary Club in 1970-71.
