The Faculty Club Newsletter

December 2003

           I can’t believe it’s the holiday season already! The year has flown by. It’s been a pleasure serving you all this past year, and helping to arrange many different member events. Thank you all for your support this past year. Please accept my personal wishes to you all for a very happy holiday season and a wonderful and safe new year. I also want to thank all our staff for working hard and doing a wonderful job of providing great service to all our members and guests. In this issue our editor is continuing her series of profiles of behind the scenes workers at the Club, this time focusing on the housekeeping staff in the hotel rooms. With the help of the Events Committee I am already preparing the list of events for 2004. It should be available soon. During vacation time we will be doing some renovation work with the advice of the House Committee. I look forward to seeing you at the Club’s Christmas parties and in the new year. Best wishes to you all! Thank you.

        On November 24th a gathering of some sixty of Sandy’s friends and admires met in the Heyns Room to celebrate his 90th birthday. Unfortunately Sandy’s health prevented him from attending, but his daughter (seen below with our president, Bruce Bolt) not only attended but also arranged for a video of the party to be made so that he could enjoy the occasion in his chair at home. Happy birthday, Sandy!.

        To illustrate the Monk’s CD package, Monk Dick White took many photos at the 2002 Christmas parties. This month he is showing the full-size photos, with some additional ones not used for the disk. In the picture below, two faux Monks carry the traditional boar’s head for its formal portrait. Dick is in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, and is a member of both the Club’s Board of Directors and its Wine Committee. He joined the Monks in 1963, after learning that no audition was required for membership. His photos are intended as a fond recollection of the fun that the Monks have in rehearsals and at the party.

        After the last strains of the Hallelujah Chorus fade away the Club starts to wind down its year. We will be closed for most regular services from December 19th to January 4th. All services will resume on January 5th. During the closing the front desk will be open and cold sandwiches and sodas can be purchased there. Hotel rooms will be open for your traveling family and guests.

       What would a Bay Area winter be like without at least one gluttonous indulgence in crabs, crabs, and more crabs? This year on January 23rd we’ll celebrate our first Crab Festival. Enjoy a great crab and seafood buffet with your friends. Reception at 6 p.m., dinner at 7. The cost: $30 per person. Make your reservation by calling extension 224.

       The Monks’ CD will be available at the Christmas Parties and afterwards at the Front desk. Prior Milt Williams leads the Monks Chorus and the Solisti Brass in a varied program of musical highlights from past Christmas parties, including “ Gaudeamus lgitur,” “ Hail to California,” and the “Faculty Hymn,” along with more classical musical offerings and Christmas carols. Christmas with the Monks costs only $15 plus tax.

       Members are encouraged to join those who continue to discover and enjoy the biggest dining bargain in Berkeley. Come to the Kerr Dining Room any weekday evening before 6:30 and enjoy a three-course dinner for the remarkable price of $11.95. Always at least two choices of entrée, a choice of soup or salad, and a sinful dessert. These dinners are a great idea for evenings when you’re going to a basketball game or an event at Zellerbach Hall or the Playhouse. The service will be available until December 19th ( excluding party nights).Reserve to be sure of a table.

       Every couple of months we like to feature employees of the Club who give us great service. It’s especially nice to focus on some of the people who work behind the scenes, away from the more public areas. This month we meet three ladies who have been working for the club for many years but whom few of us are aware of. They are the team of maids who take care of the Club’s 23 hotel rooms on the second floor of each of our wings. Every morning Maria Hernandez (from El Salvador) and Kesone Thanmavong (from Laos), shown at the left, work with their partner, Esperanza Valencia (also from El Salvador) to ensure that every hotel room is ready for its new occupants by 1 p.m. They are long-time, faithful employees. Maria has been here since 1986, Kesone since 1988, and Esperanza since 1992. They say that on the whole their academic guests are considerate and tidy, but sometimes they have to spend a lot of time on a room that is very messy, Still, the work gets done, and they have a wonderful spirit on friendship among themselves. Many thanks, ladies!

        It isn’t too early to mark your calendar for February 13th, our annual Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance. Please don’t be scared away by the fact that this year it falls on Friday, the 13th. After the reception at 6 p.m., enjoy the dinner dance from 7 to 10. Cost per person: $60, all-inclusive.o.

       Members of this group should have received their invitations to a lunch of music and holiday recollections on Decembe 9th. This group is open to all widows of members. Call the Club, extension 224, to reserve for lunch. For more information, call Phyllis Schafer at 510-704-9951.