Rotary FLASH of 01-22-2008
Our Rotary meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance and God Bless America, both led by Carl Rossman. Our invocation was given by Mark Parker. Mark then proceeded to give us the Sergeant of Arms report. We had 46 Rotarians of our 96 members in attendance. We did have a few guests. Cathy Baumann brought Debi Domasky as a guest, and Dawn Roberts brought Justin Stuhlsatz and Ryan Nemecek. No word on which one drove Dawn to the meeting.We had three students from Hempfield join us. Neil Sullenberger, Cody Domasky, and Tim Hunt told us about their activities and future plans. Interestingly enough, our guest Debi Domasky is indeed related to Cody. She is his mother, making the situation perhaps slightly embarrassing for Cody.
Carl reminded everyone that the District Conference is being held at the Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort , and anyone interested in staying at the resort for a reduced price should register right away, before they run out of rooms.
We also got a note from the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County, thanking us for our donation towards the Children’s Bureau’s Children First fund. They appreciate our support for their program that helps children in unfortunate family situations.
Chuck Anderson announced that the Rotary Foundation received the United Nations’ 2007 Humanitarian Award. Thanks to our participation, along with Rotary clubs around the world, clean water and sanitation is being provided to places that previously had neither, thus improving quality of life for individuals around the world. As a sub note of this, Tom Jachimowitz received his 3rd level award of the Paul Harris Fellow award. Tom declined to comment, based on the crowd’s reaction to his approach of the microphone.
Carl gave us our word of the week. Zabaglione is an Italian dessert made with egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine. I doubt very many people knew this, but I believe Chef Dato did.
Our program chair for the month, Bill McGrath, introduced our speaker, Dr. James Adisey, MD a cardiologist with Excela Health. He spoke to us about the types of procedures that can be done here in Greensburg at Westmoreland Hospital, related to heart attacks and failures. He showed some very interesting slides and a video explaining the capabilities that are available. I was working the laptop, so I didn’t get a chance to take many notes, but it seemed like there was very little not able to be done here in Westmoreland County. He showed how different methods of treatment worked, and all in all gave a very informative presentation.
Our meeting ended in the usual way with the Four Way Test.
Rotary FLASH of 01-15-2008
Our weekly luncheon began as Carl Rossman rang the bell and led us in the Pledge of Allegience, and God Bless America. Our invocation was given by Will Brown. Mark Parker announced that we had 52 of 98 members in attendance. We had 4 guests. Mary Clymer brought Chelsea Brant with her. Anne Peagler brought a former foreign exchange student with her, Marianna Marquez. Dawn Roberts brought two people, Mandissa Brown and Justin Stuhlsatz. We aren’t sure which one was the driver of the week.
Jack Waite brought our students from Greensburg Salem. Cecily Vottero, Jacob Defassio, and Leah Marion joined us for lunch.
We heard from Mark Barnhart about his and Katie Doran’s trip to Greensburg, Kansas. They said that they will be presenting in early February in more detail, but they offered a word of the week. A gymnacafetorium. It is the culmination of a gymnasium, a cafeteria, and an auditorium. I wonder if they’re allowed to eat during gym class in Kansas.
Bill McGrath announced the June 9th golf outing, and he mentioned that it is not too early to be looking for business sponsors for the event. They have letter templates that they would appreciate us sending out to any businesses or associates. They are also surprisingly looking for golfers interested in golfing at the event. And finally they are looking for any donated gifts to be given out at the raffles. If you can assist in any way, please contact Bill or Chuck Anderson.
Speaking of Chuck Anderson, he announced that we are hosting a foreign exchange student for the coming year, and all that is needed is a host family. If anyone is interested in hosting a foreign exchange student in the upcoming year, please contact Chuck.
Carl Rossman, not to be outdone by Mark’s word of the week, had his own. The word is avattoir. The actual meaning is “slaughterhouse.” I’ve never heard of such an eloquent way to describe a slaughterhouse. Leave it to the French I suppose.
Bob Bloom wanted me to share an announcement from the District. The District Conference will be on May 2nd and 3rd at the Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack, and Resort in Chester, WV. This year’s theme is “Set Sail Aboard the SS Rotary.” All members are invited to see how “Rotary Shares” around the world. We will visit the Caribbean, New Orleans, the Africa, and South America in seeing what Rotary is doing internationally. More information will be available soon, but mark your calendars now. Anyone interested should book their rooms soon – a special price of $99 a night has been worked with the Mountaineer – make sure they know you are with Rotary District 7330. Remember that rooms sell out fast at casinos.
And our final announcement of the day was Chuck Anderson surprising Al Lazar with his receiving of the Paul Harris Fellow recognition. Al received the Paul Harris Fellow for donating $1000 to the Rotary Foundation. Thank you Al and all who contribute to this worthy cause. Chuck also announced those individuals who have increased their levels of donation.
Bill McGrath announced our speaker for the luncheon. We were privileged to have Dr. Anthony Van Norman, a dermatologist, to speak with us on skin cancer. He started out giving some scary statistics on skin cancer, but followed up with some encouraging ones regarding prevention and treatment.
Dr. Van Norman showed us slides of what skin cancer commonly looks like, and explained how to tell if a lump, bump, or sore that doesn’t heal should be checked out. The five things to look at with regards to malignant melanoma (the most deadly form of skin cancer) is asymmetry, borde irregularity, color, diameter, and evolution. He also reminded us several times during his talk that the best way to prevent skin cancer is to wear sunscreen with at least an SPF 15 with frequent applications, and to wear protective clothing (sometimes cotton isn’t enough).
One of the more interesting questions that was asked was what exactly moles and freckles are. Our skin has melanicites all through it that produce pigment. Moles are large groupings of melanicites, hence the darker coloration. Freckles are more active melanicites, which is why they often go dormant in the winter when our skin gets less sunlight. I found these tidbits to be very interesting. Thank you Dr. Van Norman for your interesting talk.
Carl ended our meeting with the four way test. Have a good week everyone.
Rotary Flash of 01-08-2008
We started the meeting in the usual manner with President Carl Rossman
welcoming us all, the Pledge of Allegiance and a stirring rendition of
God Bless America. Leia Shilobod delivered the invocation, charging us
to be good citizens & children of God to all that we meet.Although Mark Parker did announce the number present & absent, this
writer neglected to write it down. It appeared to be a good showing,
and a lively crowd.
Dave Delisi brought two wonderful guests from his office: Ilona
Yenich & Catherine Heid. Katy Doran brought a foreign exchange student
from Italy, and poor Mark tried his best to pronounce his name. Our
Italian friend was very forgiving of his mispronunciation!
Carl announced that Mark Barnhart & Katy Doran will be traveling to
Greensburg, Kansas this spring, and asked for volunteers for this
humanitarian project. If you are interested, please see Katy.
The Hempfield Rotary will be having their Murder Mystery Dinner
Fundraising event Saturday, 2/9/08 at the Mountain View Inn. For more
information, see Mary Clymer or Carl Rossman.
This week's Word of the Week was "zeitgeber." Zeitgeber (from German
for "time giver", synchronizer) is any external (exogenous) cue that
entrains the internal (endogenous) time keeping system of organisms.
The strongest Zeitgeber, for both plants and animals, is light. Other,
non-photic, zeitgebers include temperature, social interactions,
pharmacological manipulation and eating/drinking patterns.
....thanks for enlightening us, Carl!
Bill McGrath announced the induction of a new member. Chris Elliot,
alongside his sponsor, Ben "Porky" Policastro, thanked the club for
unanimously accepting his membership.
Today's program, "Understanding Your Hip," was presented by Dr.
William Kennen, Jr., DO of Excela Health Orthopaedics. The hip is a
very interesting and complex structure.
Even though there are a ton of new technology to mend broken & worn
hips, the doctor still recommends not breaking them in the first
place. Bottom line: make sure you get enough calcium, vitamin D, and
if you're over 50, get a bone density screen done and take your
glucosamine & chondrointin.
The meeting ended with the Four Way Test and continued fellowship. See
you next week!