The Wheel Las Vegas Rotary Club newsletter, June 3, 1982

* * INDIA VISITOR FETED * * Pres. Don told the members of the Club last week that the India Rotarian who was the speaker two weeks ago, left a great deal of his country with the Aikins. Don and his Rotaryann, Jane, loaded Amar Datt into the RV and took him on a tour of the Grand Canyon. Don said they came back with more than they left with because Amar provided them with a whole trailer full of information regarding his home country. The tour took two days and two nights and the guest was, Don said, one of the most interesting he had ever entertained. He said Amar had never tasted Crab or Lobster; did not know that a person was able to sleep in an RV and was almost completely overwhelmed by the scenery on the way to the Canyon. He told the Aikins about the "traveling cow", an animal who gave curb service to the customers. Because of the lack of refrigeration in India, milk is one of the perishable commodities, and daily the cow is driven along the "route" and the customer is served the freshest of fresh milk. All in all, the visit with Amar was "very interesting", concluded Don. * * VOCATIONAL REHAB TOLD * * Roy Dowling provided the members of the Las Vegas Rotary Club with an informative talk on the work of the Vocational Rehab-ilitation organization. This group pro-vides services to the handicapped which number 25,000 in Clark County by pro-viding job placement facilities as well as rehabilitation services. He said the recently handicapped needs to be taught to use courage and patience to overcome his new situation and that is the goal proposed by this Agency. Mr. Dowling was introduced by Henry Chanin, program chairman for the day. LAS VEGAS ROTARY CLUB DISTRICT 530 MAKE-UP DAYS AND PLACES Monday - L.V. Southwest - Port Tack Tuesday - Henderson - Eldorado Club Wednesday-Boulder City-Railroad Pass Wednesday-L.V.Paradise-Showboat Hotel Friday - No.Las Vegas - Silver Nugget DONALD L. AIKIN President JOSEPH J. BUCKLEY Vice President IRWIN KISHNER Secretary MICHAEL MEYER Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Barry W. Becker Ed Fike Steven S. Casey Ashley J. Hall James Cashman, III Bernard Menke Dr. James M. Jones MICHAEL HOOVER Past President RICH FORD District Governor's Representative P.O. BOX 15152, LAS VEGAS, NEV. 89114 JUNE 3, 1982 ^Sn^C, l U LO LU q CQ L<U y U-l LOl THE WHEEL Las Vegas Rotary Greets The World * * BOMAN FETE SUCCESS * * George Boman, an active member of the Rotary Club of Las Vegas and a Past Presi-dent, recently presided over a highly successful convention of the Western Shrine Organization of which he is Presi-dent, and indications are that the Las Vegas session was one of the best attended in recent years. Tabulation of figures showed there were more than 12,000 Shriners, gathered from all sections of the Western United States, attending the meeting and among them were eight Imperial Officers, including the Imperial Potentate of all the Shriners of America. The parade on Saturday was one of the longest and best attended ever seen in Las Vegas with some 263 entries in the line of march with 3,248 people marching in the parade. There was some talk, according to rumors, that perhaps Las Vegas would be the site of the International Convention in 1987. If this comes to pass, it will be the largest group ever to attend a convention in this City. More than 100,000 visitors would be on hand for this affair. There was nothing but praise by the Shriners for the Las Vegas citizenry and one fezzed visitor said, "The reception we received in Las Vegas was far beyond our estimates. I only hope we come back here again and again." * * PROGRAMS LOOK GOOD * * The final three weeks of President Don's term will be, according to the line-up of speakers, quite interesting as well as informative. This week we will hear about the nuclear situation; next week we will hear about the upcoming Olympic Games and the final meeting on the 17th, the 25 Club will stage a mini "Demotion" Party for Pres. Don. It all promises to be a bang-up conclusion to a very successful year. * * FAYLE IS REPRESENTATIVE * * Leonard Fayle, long-time member and Past President of the Las Vegas Rotary Club, was the sole member of that group to attend the groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Masonic Temple building on East Charleston recently. The ground on which the structure is to be built was, at one time, owned by Dr. William S.Park who was an early member of the Rotary Club of Las Vegas. The building will house the Masonic Lodge Number 32 and other facilities. It is expected to be in use sometime in 1983. * * DEMOTION TO SET MARK * * For the first time in the history of the local Rotary Club, an incoming Presi-dent will preside at the demotion of the current commander-in-chief. The immediate past president, Mike Hoover, has left Las Vegas and probably will not be present for the gala affair. As a usual rule, the immediate Past Presi-dent is supposed to arrange for the Demotion. But, because of the absence of Mike, the heir apparent for the job, a substitute had to be found. Joe Buckley, President-Elect of the Club, was selected for the job and he promises a gala affair and a proper Demotion for "the man who can walk on water", Don Aikin. The Demotion Party will be held, as usual, at the Crockett Ranch where the last 18 such events have been staged and will be considered a regular meeting. So, if you miss, IT WILL BE COUNTED AS AN ABSENCE WHICH MUST BE MADE UP AT ANOTHER CLUB. The Party will start with Cocktails at 6:30 p.m. with Dinner being served at 7:30. The usual menu also will be in store, which means you will be served a tossed green salad, steak, corn on the cob, dessert and coffee. The Demotion program will follow the Dinner. Guests are welcome at $20. per person. * * R.I. ACTS ON "WHITES ONLY" * * Rotary International Board of Directors moved rapidly last week to head off a bitter legal dispute when it decided to demand that the Birmingham Rotary Club immediately reconsider its action which successfully banned blacks from the Club. The Alabama Club's By-Laws restrict membership in the group to "whites only" and this stand was upheld by the Attorney General. The AG ruled that the Club in Birmingham was a "private club", meeting on private property and, therefore, the State of Alabama could not do anything about it. On May 12, 1982, members of the Birmingham Club voted to support the Club's Board of Directors in refusing to change the By-Laws and open the door to blacks and other minorities. The vote was 120 to 90. Following the disclosure of the action which came with the resignation of one of its members (a newspaper man) in pro-test, the International Board sprang into action. That group voted unanimously to request and urge the Birmingham Club to recon-sider its recent action immediately. It is probable, according to International Officials, that the R.I. Board will take action to bar membership rules which restrict membership to "whites only". It was pointed out, however, during the dis-pute, that the Birmingham Club was the only one in R. I. with that provision included. The R. I. Board proposed legislation which would prohibit any Rotary Club from having in its membership rules any restrictions relating to race, color or creed. Whether this action will have any effect on the pending Duarte, California Club's loss of its charter because of the admission of three women as members, could not be immediately determined.