Last night, I attended the Murphys Community Club Annual Christmas Party. President Jim Creighton started a short speech with a phone number: 728-1948. "That number is significant because it is the number of the Community Club, but also 1948 is the year the club was founded."
Just prior to that, my table companion, Cindy Neiman asked me, "What does the Community Club do?" She and her husband are Rotarians from Copperopolis.
I've been a member for 30 years and I realized that I didn't know how a Community Club functioned when I first joined either. Unique among small towns like ours, community clubs supply, as volunteers, the basic functions of government. They own and maintain the local community park; provide public restrooms, clean and stock those restrooms, place garbage cans and recycling bins around town, pay for street lighting, rent the park for weddings and other functions, mow the grass, maintain a stable playground and river bank, paved walkways, and...well, everything a city should do. The area is high on volunteerism and people who visit have no clue that all is accomplished through the hard work of local citizens. And it has always been so.
The annual party was a combination of two area Rotary Clubs and the Community Club. Jay and Clayre Quick have been long time Rotarians, both having served as President at one time. They were given a special award from Rotarians for the many years of work they've provided to their club. But, Clayre and Jay have given years of service to the Community Club as well.
Jim and Peggy Lucas, active volunteers, were singled out for their efforts to Community Club.
As were the Friedmans. Bill Friedman solved a very knotty problem in an old fashioned way. The park was troubled with vandalism and Bill decided not to call the cops. Instead, he got them aside and talked with them about what they were doing, and taught them about the function of the park and what the local volunteers accomplish there. It solved the problem.
Tammie Lundin is a Rotarian who makes it a point to get to know everyone in the room. The Rotarians also have this reputation for doing good works in their communities. Just a great bunch of public spirited people who make volunteering worthy and fun at the same time.
There are more pictures if you'd like to click on my link below. The dinner dance was held at Kautz Winery.
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