DG Greg O’Brien is a member of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Rotary Club. He retired from his judgeship at the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2005. He graduated from USC and the Whittier Law school. He is a Past President of the Rotary Clubs of West Covina and Palos Verdes Peninsula. In 2013, he led the Vocational Training Team in Peace & Conflict Resolution in Istanbul, Turkey, at the Congress of Mediators Beyond Borders. (Sounds like what he used to do in the courtroom.)
 
He inducted our newest Young Professional member, Victoria Perez, who was sponsored by Lew Bertrand. She was President of the Marymount Rotaract Club and active in District 5280 activities, and attended the Rotary International Convention in Korea this year, as well as the recent Rotarian project in Colombia. She has become a well-respected leader, and we look forward to her future contributions to our Rotary club!
 
DG O’Brien presented awards to our following Club members:
•    Lew Bertrand, for sponsoring the most new Club members this year;
•    Astrid Naviaux, for the most participation in District & Club activities this year;
•    Dave Moyers, for the largest contribution to the Rotary Foundation;
•    Bob Welbourn (not present tonight), the longest-term member of our Club;
DG O’Brien presented Paul Harris Fellow awards tonight to John Turner, for Paul Harris Fellow level 1, and Varda Lancaster, for Paul Harris Fellow level 5. Thanks and congratulations!
 
DG O’Brien, who has already visited 60 Rotary Clubs in District 5280 so far this year, described how he had been inspired by even the smallest Clubs who are doing so much with their limited resources. He discussed the early history of Rotary, including the origin of the 4-Way Test. Herbert J Taylor was a business and civic leader, and President of Rotary International in 1954-55. In the Great Depression in the 1930s, wanting to save his 250-employee distribution company, the Club Aluminium Products, from bankruptcy, Herbert Taylor devised a set of high ethical principles as a Four-Way Test for his employees in all of their business interactions: 1. Is it the truth? 2. Is it fair to all concerned? 3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships? 4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned? His company soon became very successful during the Depression. In the 1940s, as an International Director of Rotary, he offered this Four-Way Test to Rotary, which adopted it as a standard of behavior by Rotarians.