Newsletter - Archive  Aug 21, 2009

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President.: Shawn Mueller | Pres. Elect: Carl Commons | Secretary : Kathy LeRoy | Treasurer.: Bob Bunsey |
Sgt.-At-Arms: George Stokes

Club No. 3496 | PO Box 39014 | North Ridgeville, OH 44039 | Chartered April 10, 1981

Newsletter Editor: Traci Purdum | tracipurdum@yahoo.com | 440-353-3235

In This Issue

• President's Message: BYOG -- Bring Your Own Guest

• Meet The Member: Bob Liston: Funeral Director, Family Man, Trivia Master

• Four Quick Questions With: Paul Graupmann; Kerry Mueller

• Chapter News
• On The Outside: Fundraising ideas from other chapters
• Quotable Paul Harris
• Speaker Assignments

President's Message
Dear Rotarians,

August is Membership and Extension month within Rotary International. President Elect Carl Commons briefly spoke about kicking off our membership drive at our last business meeting. Carl and I believe that we can grow our club simply by inviting qualified guests to a meeting. If at least one member is expected to bring a guest every week we could potentially have more than 40 guests per year! That would be a wonderful situation and it’s a sure bet that some of those guests will want to come back and join.

Starting this week let’s take turns inviting guests! Any guests of our club members will be treated to a free lunch on their first visit. (I know, Mr. Bunsey, I know. . . )

I am going to ask everyone whose FIRST name starts with A, B, or C to pull out the stops and find your guests now!

Abed Darwish
Adam Sonnhalter
Al Retay
Bob Bunsey
Bob Liston
Brian Ramser
Carl Commons
Casey O’Conor
Chris Costin
Chuck Bowman
Chuck Sword
Craig Phillips

When you are all done, 12 guests will have visited our club with some of those becoming prospective members.

Where do you find guests?
• Your neighbors, doctor(s), banker, attorney, CPA
• Your best friend in North Ridgeville
• Person you most admire in North Ridgeville
• Business relationships
• Favorite business in North Ridgeville
• Local leaders etc.

Join me in kicking off another great membership recruitment project with a bang!
ABC you’re up ~ DEFG you’re on deck!

Yours in Rotary Service,

Shawn Mueller

Bob Liston: Funeral Director, Family Man, Trivia Master And Musician

Bob Liston is a presidential-trivia freak of nature. Toss out any U.S. President's name and he can tell you several nuggets of information. When put to the task, he spouted off accurate information regarding Zachary Taylor (he was the first president to die in office – the history books put the cause of death as acute gastroenteritis. Bob goes a step further noting that Taylor gorged himself on cherries and non-pasteurized milk).

And presidential trivia isn't the only thing he's mastered. He is well versed in vintage commercial aircraft and The Supremes. "Crazy stuff that nobody cares about," according to Bob.

Despite his photographic memory for trivia, he notes that his wife, Renee, is still amazed that he can forget to pick up bread at the grocery store. His selective memory apparently isn't a deal breaker for the marriage. Bob and Renee will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in October. And for all 25 years Bob has been involved with the funeral business. Actually, his career calling came when he was 13 and his dad passed away. Impressed with how the funeral director treated his family (he is one of six children and an identical twin), Bob decided he, too, wanted to make a difference in people's lives.

True to his promise, his first job, at 16, was mowing lawns at a funeral home so he could learn the business from every aspect. He even worked at a funeral home while attending Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, Pa., where he was on scholarship for piano and organ. He knew that once he graduated with a music degree he was moving on to mortuary school at the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. Since then, he has worked for several funeral homes including Busch-Bogner, where he served as manager since 1994. In 2001 the opportunity to buy the funeral home located on Center Ridge Road in North Ridgeville presented itself and he and Renee, along with their two kids Curtis and Amy, moved in to their newly acquired funeral home business in 2002 – literally. The family lives above the Liston Funeral Home, an 8,000-square-foot home that was built in the late-1800s.

Bob notes that his kids' friends love spending the night – mostly so they can say they spent the night in a funeral home. But they are usually disappointed that nothing spooky happens during their stay. And all those stories about the dead letting out one last moan, breath or muscle twitch? Just urban legends, according to Bob. During all his years in the business as a funeral director and embalmer, he has never once witnessed such a phenomenon.

While just a hobby now, Bob and Renee (who plays the violin) are still passionate about music. And apparently the music genes got passed down to 18-year-old Curtis. He is in a rock band and he and his bandmates use the funeral home as their rehearsal space. Specifically, the former casket showroom is now the band's haunt.

While housing a rock band may seem unusual, it's not the only thing that is non-traditional about Bob's business. He notes that they staid funeral director of the past is no longer appropriate for today's needs. When he works with grieving families to make arrangements for the deceased he purposely doesn't wear a suit and tie.

He also notes that the traditional funeral is a thing of the past. "We need to be more creative and come up with interesting ways to help families memorialize loved ones."

Indeed, he describes the funeral of an avid fisherman where he worked with the florist to come up with a unique and appropriate casket spray complete with fishing lures, fishing rods and even an animated fish – Billy Bass – that sang "Don't worry, be happy" any time someone came to pay their respects.

"By the end of the night I was sick of hearing that song, but the family really appreciated the [levity]," explains Bob.

When it comes down to it, making the family comfortable during one of the worst times in their lives is what it's all about.

"You have to put the emphasis in the right place – helping people deal with grief and devastation and helping them walk through the process. The rest will take care of itself."

Four Quick Questions With . . .

Paul Graupmann
1. What movie star would portray you in a film about your life?
I think Gene Hackman would be my choice. I say that because I know he had a blue-collar upbringing, like me; and the kinds of roles he generally plays appeal to me -- Popeye Doyle in the "French Connection," the FBI Agent in "Mississippi Burning," The Army Officer in "The Package." Even his "villain" roles are interesting: Clyde's Brother in "Bonnie and Clyde," and the Sheriff in "Unforgiven." In addition, as a young actor living in Manhattan, he would sometimes get into arguments (and fights) in taverns -- something I used to do as a youth. Plus, he is not a pretty-boy leading man a la Tom Cruise, which with my looks is appropriate. (Either that or have Russell Crowe play me because he's just really cool.)

2. What is the worst job you ever had, and why? How about your best job?
The worst job I had was working on the line at the Chrysler Jefferson assembly plant in Detroit when I was in college. It was hot, dirty and I worked with really tough guys who taught me what it was like to work for a living. It was a great incentive to stay in college and enabled me to pay my way thorough school.
The best job was, of course, my career as an FBI Agent. I was privileged to be a part of the finest law enforcement agency in the world. It enabled me to go places and do things most people do not get the chance to do. Not only did I get to travel around the world, but I also saw firsthand the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, the attack of 9-11 and the Flight 93 crash site, Kosovo war crimes, and Baghdad. I didn't do anything extraordinary, but I did witness, and was present in, extraordinary situations.

3. If you could recruit anyone to join Rotary (living or dead, famous or not), who would it be?
I would like to recruit William F. Buckley Jr. to join Rotary. Maybe it is because I just finished a book about him written by his son; but Buckley was a brilliant, multi-faceted man: Former CIA agent, novelist, lecturer, critic, founder of the modern conservative movement, devout lifelong Catholic, Renaissance man and bon vivant. It would be great to have lunch with him.

4. What was the biggest challenge in your career as a Federal Agent? How about the biggest triumph?
The biggest challenge I faced as an agent was running the Public Corruption program for my last six years. I cannot discuss the details of what we did. However, during that time we convicted Nate Gray (along with eight cronies and politicians from Houston and New Orleans), successfully worked the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Comp case, and The Cleveland Water Dept. case to name a few. And, of course, the current case on the Cuyahoga County officials.

Kerry Mueller
1. What movie star would portray you in a film about your life?
Marlon Brando. He was skinny in the first 25 years of his career then ballooned up the last 20 years. I think there are some similarities there! I love his diverse acting skills, and his portrayal of Vito in the Godfather was fantastic. Who would be better portraying me?

2. What is the worst job you ever had, and why? How about your best job?
When I was 17 years old I had to climb into very large vacuum bags located on the roof of a manufacturing plant while working for a cleaning company my father worked for. Our job was to vacuum the inside of those bags. I coughed up black dust for a month after.

My best and most rewarding job has been owning and operating my own cleaning service and my own janitorial supply business.

3. If you could recruit anyone to join Rotary (living or dead, famous or not), who would it be?
I would love to sponsor Ronald Reagan as a Rotarian. He was intelligent, motivating, interesting, hard working, dedicated, and a great communicator!
Can you tell he is my favorite President?

4. Do you think your business would have survived/thrived had it started out in an economy similar to today's? What is your advice to small-business owners just starting out?

When I started my cleaning service in 1980, the economic conditions were very similar to today's conditions. Unemployment was high, money was tight, and companies were cutting back. We survived and grew for the next 30 years!

The best advice I can give to new small-business owners is three important things. Have a good accountant, a good lawyer, and a good bank that is small-business friendly. Don't give up and constantly remind yourself that you are the very best at what you do!

Chapter News

North Ridgeville Day in Avon

Cheer on Mayor Gillock as he throws out the first pitch at the Crushers game on August 26.

2nd Annual Community Care Golf Outing

August 29, 8a.m. at Royal Oaks Golf Club (Grafton, Ohio)

Contact Al Retay for more information: 440-327-4100

Wine Tasting

Take a train ride throught the Cuyahoga Valley and taste great wines, too. Event will be held Oct. 3. Tickets are $65 each. See Shawn for details

Guests:

Don Jason, owner of Don Jason Remodeling, joined us for lunch on Aug. 14. Don is the immediate past president of the Elyria Sunrise chapter of Rotary.	Emil Bagi invited Lin Schaefer to be the guest speaker at the Aug. 14 meeting. Lin is branch manager at First Federal of Lakewood.

Emil Bagi was a guest at the Henderson, Nev. Rotary chapter. The chapter meets for breakfast at Wildhorse Golf Club.

On The Outside

Fundraising News:
Get a $600,000 house for $100 -- if you're lucky
The Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Club (California) is hosting a raffle in which the winner would have three options: a house worth up to $600,000, a 20-year annuity valued at $1 million or $600,000 cash. To read the full story at the Los Angeles Times, click here.

Buy a piece of peace from Rotary Club for $150
To finish paying for the construction of the Wellington Rotary Peace Park and to make an eye-catching statement about multicultural understanding, the Wellington Rotary Club has launched a flag drive. To read the full story at the Palm Beach Post, click here.

Quotable Paul Harris 

"Much responsibility rests upon the shoulders of the song leader; it is not infrequently within his power to make or break a meeting."
Click here to find out what else makes a meeting. 

 Speaker Assignments

August 21: Paul Cruz

August 28: Glenn Zimbelman

September 4: No Meeting

September 11: Business Meeting

September: 18: Doug Charboneau

Septmber 25: Dave Gillock

Roto News is published on or around the 3rd Friday of the month. To contribute news, photos or articles, please send submissions to me, Traci Purdum >> tracipurdum@yahoo.com. All submissions must be in by the 2nd Friday of the month.