ur Rotarian of the Day today is past president Don den Daas. Don was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and raised in California. He joined the club in 1986 and has served as International Director, Vocational Director, Club Secretary, Vice-President and President. Don has also held several positions the Foundation Board including President in 2007 and 2008. Don is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, Southside Star and Rotary Benefactor.

Don is married to Judy (also a Paul Harris Fellow), an eighth grade teacher in the Jenks School system. Judy will be starting her 42nd year in the classroom this fall. They have been married for 39 years and have two children, David (33), an architect with a local firm, and Katie (24), also a Paul Harris Fellow, a news producer for KWTV channel 9 in Oklahoma City.

Don spent 2 years, 11 months, and 29 days in the Army. Upon completion of his enlistment, he completed his education at Colorado State University-Pueblo (formerly the University of Southern Colorado) receiving a BSBA in 1974. Currently, he is president of Edge Technologies, a company that sells, installs and maintains traditional and IP based telephone systems, CCTV systems, as well as all types of low voltage cabling.

Don, thank you for all that you’ve done. It’s good to have you in the club!

This Week’s Program

Mike Klemme

oday’s speaker is Mike Klemme. Twenty years of specializing in golf landscape photography have resulted in Mike Klemme being one of the most widely published photographers in his field. He has contributed thousands of photographs to Golf, Golf Digest, Golf Connoisseur, The Golfer, Links, Travel & Leisure Golf, Golfdom, Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, USA Today, Men’s Journal, The Robb Report, Cigar Aficionado, and travel and inflight magazines around the globe.

On commissions from individual developers and publishers, he has tackled assignments in Japan, Korea, Kenya, Morocco, Taiwan, Italy, Ireland, Finland, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, producing work of such outstanding quality that many golf marketing professionals have come to regard him as the finest golf course landscape photographer working today. His aesthetic vision and knowledge of the subject matter are unlike those of any other photographer.

Klemme serves on a number of “Top 100 Panels,” including Golf Magazine’s panels to select the Top 100 in the World, Top 100 in the U.S., and Top 100 You Can Play. As a member of these panels and a photographer, Mike has traveled over four million miles and visited over 1,700 golf courses in 45 countries around the world.

In addition to commercial assignments for developers, advertising agencies, and magazine publishers, his photos have illustrated six books. These include Grand Slam Golf, George Peper; Golf Resorts of the World, McCallen; Golfwatching, Jim Frank; and Golf Courses of the PGA Tour, Peper, which were published by prestigious publisher Harry Abrams, Inc.

Mike’s own book, A View From the Rough, celebrates the marriage of golf and the environment. Mike is also a director Emeritus of The Academy of Golf Artists.
Mike’s most recent project is one born from another part of his heart. He was recognized in September 2005 as the Official Photographer of the Oklahoma Centennial. For two years, in addition to his golf photography, Mike has been traveling the roads of Oklahoma shooting the land, people, art, communities, businesses, and recreation that make his home state great.

The culmination of this project is the best-selling 400-image coffee table book titled Celebrating Oklahoma! His images are also in demand for large format prints for wall décor. To find out more, go to www.celebratingoklahoma.com or www.mikeklemme.com.

Mike, thank you for being with us today. The Rotary Club of Southside Tulsa welcomes you!

Southsider Quick Notes

Last week…
- Our ROD last week was Russ Robinson, and our speaker was our district governor, A.C. Moncrief.

- Donna Petty presented a Paul Harris Fellow +3 to Dolly Dixon. Congratulations, Dolly!

- We have several new member proposals in the pipeline. Stay tuned here for when we list them.

- The Rotary Institute meeting will be here in Tulsa Sept. 10-13.

• The main meeting will be Friday, Sept. 11, at 12:00 p.m. at the Southern Hills Marriott. We’ll be having our weekly meeting there, so there will NOT be a meeting at Ti Amo’s on Thursday, Sept. 10.
• There will also be a breakfast and a lunch on Saturday. The cost is $25 apiece.
• If you’d like to be a Rotary greeter at the airport, or if you’d like to help transport people to and from the hotel, there are sign-up sheets for Sept. 8-10 and 13.

- Tim Douglas is our new treasurer. Thank you, Tim!

- Dues for the first quarter and Change of Horses are due. If you haven’t paid up, see Tracy Raines or Jack Koehle.

- Also, Scotch and Cigar Night will be October 23. Tom Wilson will not be repeating his magnificent fall of last year, but it should be a fun event all the same!

- Bob Winters is back with the sports report! Here is his analysis of Arkansas and TU.

• For OSU: Last year they went 9-4, and their offense was in the top 5 nationally. This year, they’re ranked #9 in the pre-season polls, which is their first time ever to crack the top 10. OSU’s defense will be a big problem this year. Their defensive line is a definite weakness, and their defensive backs are a possible weakness. However, their offense is pretty good, with the quarterback, offensive line, wide receivers, and running backs listed as major strengths. If they’re going to take on the Big XII, they need a better defense and healthy players.
• For OU: OU is ranked #3 in the pre-season polls, but they have the hardest schedule in the Big XII. The question is, will they be up for the challenge? OU has a big strength in returning Heisman winner Sam Bradford. Unfortunately, their offensive line and wide receivers will be a weakness this year. Running backs and tight ends will be a big strength, though, and the defensive line will be the biggest strength the team has. OU’s defense is ranked #1 nationally. Special teams are a toss-up.

- Be sure to check the website for our speaker list through November. Information on it is subject to change, but we’ll do our best to keep it updated!

- Next week is the Rotary Institute meeting at the Southern Hills Marriott. We’ll see you guys there!