Author: Robert Meehan

Starlighter Gazette
A Bi-Monthly Newsletter

Volume 4, Issue 3

July 2010

Starlighters’ SUMMER CASUAL-
Your Next Dance-at the
Phoenix Club
On July 17, we’ll be kickin’ up our heels at the Phoenix Club dance with the very popular Phil Anthony Band and the largest dance floor of all our venues. The Phoenix always has a great array of hors d’oeuvres and a very nice bar at reasonable prices. Dinner, in keeping for our summer casual, will feature a choice of chicken or sirloin of beef en brochette, aka, shish kabob, served with green beans almandine, This a nice innovation for a casual venue, courtesy of the one and only Marilyn Bailey, our 1st Vice President. See your invitation for menu details. Fortification for dancing is completed with a very tasty Chocolate Mousse dessert to satisfy the most extravagant appetites. You may bring your own wine selection for a mere $10 corkage fee. The cost will be $100 per couple. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Don’t be too early. Don’t be late!!

**BE THERE. DON’T BE SQUARE!!**

The Meehan Remodel Project (Not a Regular Feature)
Our little remodel project—increasing the space in our home by a bunch to better accommodate our little Maltese dog, including an elevator, a new master bedroom suite and a new additional bedroom - is making good progress, but it has affected our ability to stay on top of social commitments. During the process, we are living in the kitchen-family area and literally sleeping in the kitchen. We’ve learned how to cope with chaos and inconvenience, but we’re muddling along. Sometimes it’s hard to find stuff, and finding clean clothes is a challenge. Unfortunately, with all the activity we need to participate in making decisions, choosing options, selecting finish items like fireplaces, tile, flooring, etc., is keeping us well occupied. Please understand that the newsletter, our Starlighter Gazette, is not up to my standards, but right now the house is a priority we can’t compromise. We will however see you all at the Phoenix Club and will look forward to the break and some good wine-assuming we will be able to identify some clean clothes. We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to occupy the new quarters around Thanksgiving. We are lucky to have what we think must be one of the best contractors in Southern California. His name is Ron Sortor. His Company is Construction Tech. Check out a couple photos below showing progress.

Don’t Forget Your By-Laws Were Revised
Last year you received an updated copy of the Starlighter By-Laws. Two significant changes affecting member-guest rules were made, along with some routine administrative ones. The Board voted to allow new members to invite guests immediately after they have been accepted as members and paid the requisite dues. Also voted by the Board was a change to allow out-of–state former members to attend as many dances as they want by paying the dance cost and a pro-rata share of dues.

Remember: New Members Can Invite Guests Immediately!!
Help the club grow by planning to bring friends and neighbors as guest couples. The Board will do all they can to help them get acquainted with our great members and make them feel comfortable. When guests attend two Starlighter dances they are eligible for membership and should submit an application at their second dance. Your Membership Chairpersons always have applications on hand at the dances. Don’t forget to share the Starlighter Website with your guests. The website address is: thestarlighters.org. The user name is members. The password is only.

Starlighter Gazette, Writer/Editor for 2010: Bob and Adrienne Meehan, President; Adrienne Meehan Final Approval.

Starlighter Gazette
A Bi-Monthly Newsletter

Page #

Dance Schedule
Mark Your Calendars

January	March	May	July	September	November
16	20	15	17	18	20

On September 18, we have our fall semi-formal at the Mile Square Golf Club in Fountain Valley; and, on November 20 we will return to a 2009 favorite, the Foxfire Restaurant, for the winter formal with the great Street Corner Symphony again providing music. Please mark your calendars for the above dates to be able to enjoy all that our dances offer. Starlighter dances are every other month beginning in January, concluding in November, and are always scheduled for the third Saturday of the month.

The Spring Formal at the Foxfire Was A Blast
29 happy couples attended the Spring Formal at the elegant Foxfire in Anaheim Hills where everyone enjoyed a $250 dinner-dance for the very reasonable price of $125. The Club hosted two guest couples: Richard and Judy Voltmer, guests of Ed and Mikelle Watson, and Ernie Weiss and Mary Eggert, guests of Bill and Holly Hencke. Actually, Richard and Judy are our newest member couple, approved at the April Board meeting. We danced to the sounds of the best band in the land, Street Corner Symphony, always a great sound and music for everyone’s tastes. All dancers had an opportunity to do their stuff on a very generous size floor. The camaraderie was so thick you could slice it with a knife. Everyone was enjoying each other’s company. Satisfaction Survey comments were expressed this way: “Non-attendees missed a winner!!” The Foxfire servers, so attentive, circulated among the guests and served an elegant array of appetizers that pleased everyone. 100% of attendees rated the room Excellent to Good. 95% rated the dinner Excellent to Good. 100% rated the band Excellent to Good. Overall the members attending were very happy.

New member and latest guest pictures will appear in the next newsletter. For Now…….

A
Beautiful
Starlighter
New Menber
Couple

A
Beautiful
StarlighterMember
“to be”
Couple

Richard and Judy Voltmer

Ernie Weiss amd Mary Eggert

Why Starlighters?
Adrienne and I were talking the other day about Starlighters. We reminisced about our 18 year membership and what it means to us today. During this time, we’ve been privileged to know so many wonderful couples, and with whom we have enjoyed warm friendships. The Club has been and continues to be one of our major social experiences. While our Club’s focus is on the “Dance”, and yes, it is very important, the experience of Starlighters has many more dimensions. We recalled so many terrific dinner tables when we sat with couples whom we had not spent much previous time with, to find out that we had so much in common. There were spirited and informative conversations – not earthmoving – but genuinely warm, familial, and personal anecdotes, and occasionally a little politics. So to us, Starlighters is a Club where we, without reservation, can bring our friends as guests; meet great people in a safe and friendly environment; have the opportunity to develop a true camaraderie with others who are like minded; experience a bit of a country club environment (without the initiation fee and monthly fees), with just a touch of exclusivity (without being snobbish); and have the continuity of regular dances every other month that provide something special to do and be a part of six times a year.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, by certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Declaration of Independence
“The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” – George Washington

My Country Tis of Thee Samuel F. Smith
My country, 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty Of thee I sing; Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims' pride, From every mountain side Let freedom ring. (1st Verse)

“Let every nation know, whether it wish us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“The winds that blow through the wide sky in these mounts, the winds that sweep from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, have always blown on free men.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt