July 16

OPENING

Greeters were Richard Weed and Maureen Chapman. President Bruce Dickson called the meeting to order at 12:15. Ken Dunn provided the Inspirational Moment by leading the club in a brief prayer. The Pledge of Allegiance was then led by Carol Benedict

INTRODUCTION OF VISITING ROTARIANS AND GUESTS

Art Bradley introduced his wife, BRENDA BRADLEY.

Maddy Ancona, (right) one of our Outbound Student candidates for 2011, introduced her friend MERCEDES SWITELA.

MEMBER RECOGNITION

Darrick Price stepped up to preside over the Membership Recognition portion of the program.

Jill Methven happily announced that she had celebrated her birthday the previous week.

Jeff Sargent acknowledged the passing of another birthday.

LV VanBlaricom admitted that she was celebrating a birthday, and is now 50-cough-cough years old!

Erik Hanson announced that he was observing a birthday.

Ken Dunn noted that another birthday had passed him by, and echoed the sentiments that we should all feel: "life is wonderful".

Bob Rhoads proudly stated that he is turning 86 years old. He related a brief story about a visit to the post office, where he saw that stamps commemorating the World War II war correspondent Bill Mauldin were being offered for sale. Bob recalled that he shook Bill Mauldin's hand in a chance encounter during the war!

BRAGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ken Dunn called attention to a notice that was set out on the tables. The notice describes a hotel/motel scam that has been used to steal identification from unsuspecting guests. The main point is this: do not give out personal information over the phone at a hotel, as the person on the other end might NOT be from the Front Desk!

LV VanBlaricom announced that Operation Backpack was underway, a program where donors can contribute school supplies for students in need. Donations can be made at the OnPoint Credit Union.

Ray Fields announced that a vote by the membership on the club bylaws and constitution will be held on July 30th.

Paul Elias offered apologies for not getting banners set up for the recent Linfield Concert in the Park (held each Tuesday).

President Bruce chided Chuck Pattishall for failing to pick up the bell during the set-up for our meeting. He was appropriately abashed.

President Bruce Dickson offered his congratulations to Jeff Sargent for his hard work and dedication as Chair of the recently-completed Wine & Art Auction (Uncorked). Jeff devoted hundreds of hours to this project, along with his wife JULIA, and the result was a very successful event.

Jeff came to the microphone and gave a brief summary of the Auction. Total gross revenues topped $185,000. Although this was a drop from the previous year, Jeff attributed the decrease to fewer sponsorships and fewer direct contributions to the Raise the Paddle effort. Jeff acknowledged the efforts of his team members and volunteers from the club:
Lynda Phillippi for coordinating the catering of the event;
Kelly Odegaard for on-site coordination of the event;
Walter Haight for parking logistics;
Mary Corrigan for acquiring flowers and decorations for the event;
Ginger Eastlund for coordinating the Patron Party.
Jeff Peterson and Richard Weed for Registration coordination.
Others recognized for contributing time, energy, professional skills, and labor to the event included Beth Faylor, Rich Schieber, Paul Elias, Erin Stephenson, Dianne haugeberg, Jeanne DeReaves, Barcia Baragary, Lee Vasquez, Teresa Smith, Lee Means, Araceli Ortiz, Ken Dunn, Maureen Chapman, Patrick Fuchs, John Larsen, Edwina Castle, Brandon Malloy, Bob Emerick, Wayne Bailey, Jess Davis, and Kelly McGraw. Special acknowledgment was extended to Pam Watts for her role in procurement.

Finally, Jeff extended a heartfelt "thank you" to Jill Methven and Allen Methven for hosting the event.

Jill Methven came to the podium to say a few words about the event. She expressed amazement that Jeff didn't succumb to a breakdown during the course of planning this event. She called for the entire membership to stand and congratulate Jeff with a standing ovation for his efforts. The ovation was loud and sustained.

MAIN EVENT

As a preamble to the program, Bruce Dickson showed a brief video on the fight against polio. He then asked Ray Fields to introduce today’s program. KEN GATES, is a fellow Rotarian from Columbia County and a Past-President of that club. KEN, bedecked in a Nigerian "dashiki", which is typical attire for men of that nation, took the floor and related his recent experience in that country.

KEN was invited to visit Nigeria as part of International Immunization Day, and the experience was unforgettable. He noted that the average lifespan in that country is 46 for men and 48 for women. Polio still afflicts that nation, as in India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. However, reported cases are down dramatically. So far, in 2010 only three known cases have been reported. One photograph that was very unsettling, however, was a shot an open sewer that ran down the middle of a street. As long as this primitive form of open sewage is allowed to remain within the simple reach of the population, the risk of polio will remain.

During the visit, KEN's group was provided with an armed escort, due to a kidnapping incident involving a Canadian woman. They visited the emir of Northern Nigeria, and were actually admitted to his presence ahead of the British Ambassador. This, said KEN, was a perfect example of just how important Rotarians are viewed in that country. KEN noted that detractors did exist, including those who claimed that immunization was an evil American plot to cause sterilization in the population. The battle, clearly, is not just to fight polio but to fight the war against false propaganda being waged by the ignorant and the superstitious.

KEN closed his presentation by asking the membership to repeat the chant that he had witnessed during his visit to Nigeria. A nurse in a hospital had gathered a number of women around her, and led the group in chanting "no more polio....no more polio...". KEN led the club in this chant, then thanked the group for allowing him the opportunity to speak of his visit to Nigeria.

CLOSING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bruce Dickson closed the meeting by having KEN sign a book for our Early Reader Program and thanking Ray Fields and Steve Battaglia for setting up the room for today's meeting.

Photographs by Beth Faylor and Ray Fields | Captions by Walt Haight | Edited for the web by Ray Fields

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JULY - POLIO ERADICATION AWARENESS MONTH
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
18	19	20 Club Board Meeting Brew Pub 11:45 AM	21	22	23 Club Picnic Bob Emrick's	24
25	26	27	28	29	30 Club Assembly	31