April 16, 2005
Last Week’s Program...
No program
report.
Owensboro Rotarians held their weekly meeting on Friday, April
15, in conjunction with the Rotary District 6710 Annual Conference. They joined
conference attendees at the Executive Inn Rivermont for a noon luncheon meeting.
Mills Davis, mountain climber and explorer, was guest speaker for the
meeting.
Attendance: n/a
Highest Attendance This Year: 103
Invocation, Pledge & 4-Way Test: n/a
Fellowship Report: n/a
Introduction of Guests: n/a
Meeting Make-Ups: n/a
Thought for the Week: "Continuous effort--not strength or intelligence--is the key to unlocking our potential." ~ Black Elk, (1863-1950), Native American
ROTARY ANNOUNCEMENTS...
• Have
you submitted your directory information form? Forms are available at the
Fellowship Table or on the club website at: www.owensbororotary.org/directoryinfo.pdf. Completed
forms may be faxed to Pat McFarling at 926-3196.
• Indoor Playground
contributions and/or pledges may be mailed to Jeff Ebelhar, Owensboro Rotary
Foundation Treasurer, at the following address:
Jeff Ebelhar
100 W.
Third Street
P.O. Box 1824
Owensboro, KY 42302-1824
YOUR
PRESIDENT SPEAKS:
As Rotarians, we have much to celebrate during this
centennial year. One of Rotary’s greatest achievements has been its contribution
to the eradication of polio. RI President Glenn Estess refers to PolioPlus as
Rotary’s "lasting legacy to the world’s children." Our fellow Rotarian Glenn
Taylor brought to my attention an article about Rotary and polio that recently
appeared in The Wall Street Journal. Since we had some space in this week’s
newsletter, I thought I’d share it with you.
Have a great week and don’t
forget to Celebrate Rotary!
Pat
From The Wall Street Journal,
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
POLIO AND ROTARY
"Today marks the 50th
anniversary of the Salk polio vaccine. Poliomyelitis, also known as infantile
paralysis, used to be one of childhood's most feared diseases. A few years after
Dr. Jonas Salk announced his vaccine on April 12, 1955, nearly every child in
the U.S. was protected. Today polio has disappeared from the Americas, Europe
and the Western Pacific and is nearly gone from the rest of the
world.
"A too-little known part of this feat is the role played
by Rotary, the international businessman’s club, which 20 years ago adopted the
goal of wiping out the disease. Rotary understood that medical breakthroughs are
worthless unless people aren't afraid to immunize their children and efficient
delivery systems exist to get the vaccine to them. And so it mobilized its
members in 30,100 clubs in 166 countries to make it happen.
"In
1985, when Rotary launched its eradication program, there were an estimated
350,000 new cases of polio in 125 countries. Last year, 1,263 cases were
reported. More than one million Rotary members have volunteered their time or
donated money to immunize two billion children in 122 countries. In 1988, Rotary
money and its example were the catalyst for a global eradication drive joined by
the World Health Organization, Unicef and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
In 2000 Rotary teamed up with the United Nations Foundation to raise $100
million in private money for the program. By the time the world is certified as
polio-free -- probably in 2008 -- Rotary will have contributed $600 million to
its eradication effort.
"An economist of our acquaintance calls
Rotary's effort the most successful private health-care initiative ever. A
vaccine-company CEO recently volunteered to us that the work of Rotary and the
Gates Foundation, both private groups, has been more effective than any
government in promoting vaccines to save lives. It's become fashionable in some
quarters to deride civic volunteerism, but Rotary's unsung polio effort deserves
the Nobel Peace Prize."
THE FAMILY OF ROTARY
Congratulations to
Tom Shelton, who was recently named Superintendent of Daviess County Public
Schools.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
(None this week)
ROTARY
REMINDERS
• Don’t forget to make up your missed meetings at Daviess
County Rotary, 7 a.m. on Tuesdays at Heavenly Ham Restaurant in Towne Square
North.
• Sister Suzanne Sims is the program chair for April.
•
Todd Inman will be at the Fellowship Table during April.
• If you have an
email address and are not receiving the Impetus online, or you have changed your
email address, please send an email to kim@mediaworksadvertising.com
and you
will be added to the Rotary email address list.
• Log on to Rotary’s
website at www.owensbororotary.org. You’ll find our current member
directory, photos of new members, past copies of the Impetus, some interesting
history, and more!
Please mail any questions, suggestions, or comments
regarding the Impetus to:
Mike Wallace
MediaWorks
Advertising, Inc.
208 West 3rd Street
P.O. Box 1866
Owensboro, KY 42302
Phone: 270-684-4554
Fax:
270-684-7314
Email: mike@mediaworksadvertising.com
DEADLINE FOR ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN THE IMPETUS IS THE WEDNESDAY PRIOR TO MONDAY'S PUBLICATION DATE.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
April 27: Hager and Combest
Awards
2004 - 2005
OWENSBORO ROTARY CLUB OFFICERS
President: Pat McFarling - Phone
# 270-852-3257 Fax: 270-926-3196, email: patmc@kwc.edu
Vice President:
Bill Dexter
Past President: Jeff Ebelhar
Secretary: John
Kurtz
Treasurer: Bob Nation
Directors: Tish Correa-Osborne, Todd
Inman, Patty Drury, Tim Bradshaw, & Noel Maddox
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