Newsletters - Current  Jan 31, 2012

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Stafford Rotary Highlighter February 1, 2012 February Is World Understanding Month

Upcoming Programs

February 1 - Chris Foley - Middle East Overview

February 8 - Lee Warren - Stop Hunger Now

February 15 - Wayne Chiles - Shelter Box USA

February 22 - Kelly Hannon - VDOT

February 29 - NO NOON MEETING - Fifth Wednesday Party at Debra's

January 25  Meeting

President Kat presided and welcomed John Lynch's guests Phyllis ( former Stafford Rotarian)and Andrew Hobson, Linda's guest Michelle Robinson and visiting Rotarians PDG Ron Marion from the Crystal City-Pentagon Rotary and Andrea and Barry Coble from the North Stafford Rotary.

Announcements:

Debra announced that we have the volunteers needed for the speech contest, but we don't have contestants yet. Let Debra know if you know any high school students who are interested.

Carol announced that club members have received our quarterly dues bills and asked that we pay them promptly.

Rusty announced that our coffee and peanut sales continue.

Carlos gave an up[date on preparations for the GSE visit. Volunteers are needed for one more host and for transportation on Wednesday, March 14.

Program

Our scheduled speaker was Barry Coble, president of the North Stafford Rotary. Barry is a retired Air Force colonel. His specialty is meteorology. Barry presented an interesting and informative classification talk.

Kathryn paid a fine for getting a phone call during the meeting. Her son Chris is enlisting on Tuesday and goes to Ft. Jackson in June.

PDG Ron was happy he visited and thanked Barry fo a great talk.

Carol thanked club members for helping her get the books straight.

John Lynch was happy Phyllis and Andy visited.

Phyllis was happy to visit old friends.

Carlos thanked Mary, Astrid, Kathryn and Carol for helping him with GSE visit preparations.

Debra said that as she was taking Barry's picture Kathryn joked, "Now we'll have to kill you."

Fred thanked Barry.

Barry enjoyed his visit.

Andrea is happy about the North Stafford Rotary's third annual Fitness Challenge. This year they opened the event to children also.

President Kat thanked all of our visitors and hoped they'd all visit again soon.

What Are You Reading?

Prohibition In Washington, D.C. : How Dry We Weren't by Garrett Peck.

In 1929, it was estimated that every week bootleggers brought twenty-two thousand gallons of whiskey, moonshine and other spirits into Washington, D.C.'s three thousand speakeasies. H.L. Mencken called Prohibition the  "´Thirteen Awful Years,"  though it was sixteen for the District. Nevertheless, the bathtub gin-swilling capital dwellers made the most of it. Author Garrett Peck crafts a rollicking history brimming with stories of vice, topped off with vintage cocktail recipes and garnished with a walking tour of former speakeasies. Join Peck as he explores an underground city ruled not by organized crime but by amateur bootleggers, where publicly tee totaling congressmen could get a stiff drink behind House office doors and the African American community of U Street was humming with a new sound called jazz.

New Member Corner

Annual Rotary Themes

'Peace Through Service' Is 2012-13 RI Theme

In 1955, RI President A.Z. Baker announced a theme, Develop Our Resources, to serve as Rotary’s program of emphasis. Since that time, each president has issued a theme for his Rotary year. The shortest theme was in 196 1-62 when Joseph Abey selected Act. Other one-word themes were chosen in 1957-58 by Charles Tennent (Serve) and 1968-69 by Kiyoshi Togasaki (Participate).

RI President-elect Sakuji Tanaka unveiled the 2012-13 RI theme, Peace Through Service, during the opening plenary session of the 2012 International Assembly, a training event for incoming Rotary district governors. Rotary Images/Alyce Henson

RI President-elect Sakuji Tanaka will ask Rotarians to build Peace Through Service in 2012-13.

Tanaka unveiled the RI theme during the opening plenary session of the 2012 International Assembly, a training event for incoming Rotary district governors.

"Peace, in all of the ways that we can understand it, is a real goal and a realistic goal for Rotary," he said. "Peace is not something that can only be achieved through agreements, by governments, or through heroic struggles. It is something that we can find and that we can achieve, every day and in many simple ways." Peace has different meanings for different people, Tanaka said.  "No definition is right, and no definition is wrong," he said. "However we use the word, this is what peace means for us. No matter how we use, or understand the word, Rotary can help us to achieve it," he added.

Tanaka, a businessman from the greater Tokyo metropolitan area, shared how becoming a Rotarian broadened his understanding of the world. After joining the Rotary Club of Yashio, in 1975, he said, he began to realize that his life's purpose was not to make more money, but to be useful to other people. "I realized that by helping others, even in the simplest of ways, I could help to build peace," Tanaka said.

He noted that the Japanese tradition of putting the needs of society above the needs of the individual helped his country rebuild after the tsunami and earthquake in March. "This is a lesson that I think the whole world can learn from, in a positive way. When we see the needs of others as more important than our own needs -- when we focus our energies on a shared goal that is for the good of all -- this changes everything," he said. "It changes our priorities in a completely fundamental way. And it changes how we understand the idea of peace."

Tanaka will ask Rotarians to focus their energy on supporting the three priorities of the RI Strategic Plan , he said. He added that he will ask the incoming leaders to promote three Rotary peace forums, to be held in Hiroshima, Japan; Berlin; and Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

“In Rotary, our business is not profit. Our business is peace,” he said. “Our reward is not financial, but the happiness and satisfaction of seeing a better, more peaceful world, one that we have achieved through our own efforts.”.

Medical Care, Solar Panels, Water Pumps, and Superglue

Posted on January 24, 2012, By Ryan Hyland, RI Editorial staff

The very last item I bought at the pharmacy the night before my trip to Haiti last February was Superglue. I doubt synthetic liquid adhesives land on many packing lists, but it was a must-have for me in case my old, brittle eyeglasses broke.

My glasses survived the trip without incident. The glue served a far more important purpose.

I was part of a three-person RI Communications team that crisscrossed Haiti for 16 days, documenting Rotarian efforts to help rebuild a nation still badly beleaguered by the devastating earthquake that struck in January 2010. The trip was seamlessly orchestrated by producer Miriam Doan and colorfully documented by photographer Alyce Henson. My role was as reporter and writer.

For the first leg of our trip, we followed a team of Rotarians from New York and Port-au-Prince during a four-day mission that brought much-needed medical treatment to a remote village on the island of La Gonave, 40 miles west of the mainland. This group also installed 18 solar panels to power the village’s medical clinic and water pump. Read the RI News story.

A couple hours after the medical clinic closed the first night we were there, a 12-year-old boy, Alfy Fremy, and his mother walked up in need of immediate care. Alfy’s forehead and mouth were bleeding profusely. He had fallen off a cow and landed on a large rock. Face first. Ouch!

Dr. Ernst Jean, a Haitian-American doctor from New York, worked quickly. The gash on Alfy’s forehead only needed a few sutures to mend. His upper lip was a different story.

Split cleanly from top to bottom, Afly’s lip was severely damaged. Because the only anesthetic available was 1% topical Lidocaine gel, which does little to blunt the pain, the doctor couldn’t properly mend the wound. As a temporary recourse, Dr. Ernst decided to close the lip as best he could with stitches.

In the middle of the hour-long procedure, he asked if anyone had Superglue. Everyone, including me, thought he was kidding, so a tired, soft chuckle filled the room. The doctor carried on and needled six painful stitches to the lip. Alfy was brave. He never cried and only quietly winced in pain when the doctor threaded the needle through his lip.

Afterward, the doctor’s prognosis for Alfy was pretty dire. He said the stitches would do little to heal the wound and that without plastic surgery, Alfy would suffer permanent disfigurement.

He went on to tell a story about how his young daughter suffered a similar injury while on a family vacation. “Luckily, my daughter didn’t have permanent damage because I remembered that I had Superglue in the car,” he said.

What should have dawned on me earlier had a whiplash effect this time. “Wait! What? Doc, you were serious about the Superglue earlier?!,” I interrupted. He nodded, yes. “I have some!” I blurted out.

I dashed out the clinic and ran the 150 yards to the church where we were all bunking. Rifling through my luggage with a flashlight, I found the glue. My rumblings woke up a few Rotarians who asked what was going on. “Saving a boy’s face with Superglue!” I yelled as I ran out.

Back in the medical clinic Alfy sat on the end table, his face filled with nerves and dread.

Here’s the deal with liquid Superglue. When applied, this type of adhesive bonds in seconds. It’s said that hockey players use it to immediately close gashes and cuts. Same principle applies here.

Dr. Ernst removed the feeble stitches and generously applied the glue to Alfy’s severed lip. Just like the package promised, the adhesive bonded in seconds, closing the wound almost entirely.

The next morning, Dr. Ernst took off Alfy’s bandages, dusted off some glue residue, and revealed a lip that looked completely mended. The glue would seal the lip long enough for it to heal properly in just a couple of weeks. Prognosis went from permanent deformity to a mild scar.

For his bravery, Rotarians rewarded Alfy with a soccer ball. Moments later, as he laughed and kicked the ball around outside with the other kids. I was struck by the contrast from the night before.

As serendipitous as it was to have Superglue on hand, it was no fluke that Alfy found proper care. His treatment highlights the dedication of this group of Rotarians and volunteers. From sunup to sundown this team worked tirelessly to make a tangible difference in lives of the people of La Gonave.

Just ask Alfy.

Other Dates to Remember

March 29-April 1, 2012 - District Conference, The Boar's Head Inn, Charlottesville

May 6-9, 2012 - Rotary International Convention, Bangkok, Thailand

October 20, 2012 - Wings and Wheels Festival

Room Setup and Take Down Schedule

The Goodwill Team is responsible for Room Setup in February

Fred Donahoe, Captain

Nelda Mohr             Kat Kammer                     Sandy Duckworth                       

Each member of the team should arrive early enough to assist fellow team mates in the set up and remain to assist with the take down.  In that way, your team can make these assignments a fellowship opportunity.

SETUP involves hanging the welcome banner, the Four Way Test banner, the club banner, the Paul Harris Fellows banners and as many of the banners from other clubs as possible; bringing out the podium; bringing out the badge box and other materials for the Sergeant at Arms. All of the items are in the cabinet.

TAKE DOWN involves putting all of these items away.