The Rotary Club of Catonsville - Sunrise, Maryland

Ed Tolzman provided inspiration.

Bruce Vandervort gave a World of Rotary illustration about an English Rotary club that put together survival packs for hard-up families that included basics for 6 months like a tent, stove, water purification and tools. Bruce also commended members of our club who stepped up to help feed the Alabama choir that sang for the Children’s Home this week.

The meeting was opened by the President, Cal Oren.

Guests were alumnus Richard Hiteshew and two gentlemen from commercial real estate. 11 members were present;.

Announcements:
• Children’s Home – A concert by Asbury Choir from Alabama Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.(free)
• Frederick Road Fridays – Sign up sheets will circulate next week to volunteer to man the water/soda concession the club will run in July.
• 5K Race – A coordination meeting will take place Wednesday, June 10, at CCBC.

Happy Dollars:
• George Brookhart commended members’ support to feed the choir performing at the Children’s Home and the success of last week’s Guest Bartending at Dimitri’s that netted $1395 to benefit the Wounded Warriors for disabled veterans’ rehabilitation.
• Brent Tolbert-Smith celebrated the growth of his corn and fruit trees in Catonsville (don’t tell the squirrels!).
• Cal Oren was happy to return from a wedding in California, noting the roads in Maryland looked better than California’s.
• Bruce Vandervort bubbled over in appreciation of the Club’s efforts on behalf of the children’s choir at the Children’s Home to the tune of $20.

Speaker: Hon. Sam Moxley, Baltimore County Council

Catonsville resident Sam Moxley spoke about recent developments in the state and community:
* Spring Grove Property. The question remains what the state of Maryland will do with this valuable, presently largely unused piece of property in our midst, valued at perhaps over $200 million. There has been a county group formed to suggest possible uses. The community has concerns about its development. The proposal of Steve Whalen’s group to build for shopping and apartments requires State approval. The tax base must also be considered as a benefit. A byproduct of assignment of 230 State office workers to offices on the grounds helped get approval for a new traffic signal for the intersection of Wilkens Avenue at Spring Grove.
* Baltimore County Bond Rating – The AAA bond rating the County has earned with sound financial management results in a cheaper interest rate on its bonds, saving tax money. The County Rainy Day Fund has $15,000,000. The County property tax rate has been reduced twice in recent years. Running a surplus during the prosperous recent years allowed the County to spend money that was paid up front on one-time capital projects.
* Budget – The new County budget is $2 billion, of which $1.5 billion is for operating funds, with 53% going to schools.
* Catonsville High School – All seniors passed the State Assessment Test, a significant achievement this year.
* Recycling – The County will soon go to a “single-stream recycling program” in which papers, bottles and plastics will be left all together by homeowners on the curb in containers provided by the owner for weekly pickup, obviating the need to sort into different categories of material at the point of pickup.
* Frederick Road Fridays – The project sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce is designed to attract people to the Catonsville Village area on Frederick Road and to patronize businesses in that area.
* Catonsville 20-20 is a committee formed to look at development of the Frederick Road business corridor and ways to improve it.
* Bloomsbury Road - $2 million will be spent on road repair on Bloomsbury south of Frederick Road for drainage, curbs and gutters.
* Lurman Theater – These free Saturday events on the grounds of Catonsville High School feature the Catonsville Steel Drum Band, an excellent group, this Saturday.
* July 4th Parade – The Catonsville Celebrations Committee has preparations almost finished for this year’s event for the parade at 3:00 on July 4th followed by concert and fireworks at dark.

50-50 – Cal Oren won the drawing

Submitted 6-5-09 by Brent the Scribbler

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Club Meeting June 10

Catonsville Sunrise Rotary Club Minutes June 10, 2009

Bruce Van Dervort provided inspiration.

Cal Oren gave a World of Rotary illustration about an island in the Dominican Republic whose school had been equipped with laptop computers, a satellite dish for internet and solar panels for power by Rotary.

The meeting was opened by the President, Cal Oren.

Guests were Charter Guest Alan Ray and Mary Toth, who is helping promote 5K race sponsor recruitment through a subsidy from Joe Loverde.
10 members were present;.

Announcements:
• 5K Race Sponsors – Guest Mary Tote detailed a list of sponsors that represented an aggregate sum of $5500 in contributions to race costs, including Russ Witzke and Susan Souder.
• .5K Runner Recruitment – Cal Oren announced an upcoming meeting at CCBC (the junior college) to plan publicity to recruit runners for the event. The goal is to attract 1,000 runners this year.
• Dictionary Project – Cal Oren appealed for a volunteer to coordinate the dictionary project (i.e., contact schools and set up distribution dates) next year. The key seems to be starting early in the school year. Of course Huntington Learning Center underwrites the cost of books.
• Secretary – The post of secretary remains unfilled for the new fiscal year.

Happy Dollars:
• Brent Tolbert-Smith regaled the crowd with the epic story of the battle for survival by his farm cat and a murderous local band of raccoons in Frog Hollow.
• .Joe Loverde recognized Russ Witzke as the Gold Sponsor, the first, for the 5K race. Joe also detailed the celebration last weekend at Rolling Road Golf Club to commemorate the arrival at Ellis Island of his grand-father from Italy 100 years ago. In addition, Joe noted his newest grand-daughter, born 2 weeks ago, Maria Josephine, inadvertently given the same name as one of her great-grandmothers.
• Cal Oren announced a free blue grass concert sponsored by the Loverde Foundation.  The Blue Grass Concert will be held at the Rice Auditorium on July 11, 2009 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. The concert is free. All club members and their spouses are invited to the concert. We will have donation jars at the concert to benefit Lazarus Caucus. Also, beverage and snacks will be provided during the break. July 11th is a Saturday afternoon.  It willbenefit the Lazarus Caucus for the homeless. “High Strung” will be the band.
• Alan Ray invited one and all to attend and participate in the annual cardboard boat race in Columbia Saturday. Entry fee is $25. All 7 Howard County Rotary Clubs participate. Alan also detailed the memorial service for his mother-in-law in Portland, Oregon last weekend, describing the grotto and observation spot run by monks overlooking the city from which the family recounted stories from the life of his mother-in-law.
• Bruce Vandervort announced the upcoming annual meeting for the Children’s Home, to which all are invited. Cal Oren will attend to receive The Home’s Community Service Award on behalf of our Rotary Club. Bruce also praised the work of Hands-on-Painters (see member Jonathan Zawacki, prop.) in rehabilitating his home deck recently (and they said it couldn’t be saved!).
• Steve Arum noted his attendance at a recent Orioles’ game (I think they play baseball), made more notable by the fact that they actually WON!

Speaker: Kate Farinholt – Executive Director, Baltimore-area chapter of NAMI, the National Alliance for Mental Illness

Raised in New York, Ms Farinholt detailed the story of her sister, who was diagnosed with childhood-onset Schizophrenia at the age of 11 years (very rare), doctors ascribed the cause as an over-controlling mother who wanted a dysfunctional daughter and an enabling family (sounds as if they fell into a nest of Freudians). She recounted how her sister was taken away from the family and the years spent in court trying to reclaim her sister and gain access to her. This experience gave Ms Farinholt her life-long interest in helping the mentally ill and their families and steered her toward a career in law.

After a successful career in law, Ms Farinholt began volunteering with NAMI and eventually became its Executive Director in Baltimore (for the past 8 years), one of the largest NAMI chapters in the country, with 300 to 600 family participants and a paid staff of six.

NAMI provides peer educational support for families, trains family members and offers support groups for the mentally ill. It also engages in public advocacy and training for police and other agencies. In addition, NAMI helps people with mental illness cope with their jobs.

Community education is an important function of NAMI. Members speak to groups, providing 65 trained speakers, which include 50 “consumers” (persons diagnosed with mental illness) and 15 family members. Ms Farinholt said that world-wide one out of 100 people will develop some form of Schizophrenia during the course of their lives (many people are mis-diagnosed with Bi-polar Disorder instead).

Mental illness is still hidden away by many people. As a result, NAMI and other groups connected to it have difficulty making contact with the business community. Five out of the top ten causes of lost work productivity are related to mental illness, either for job holders themselves or for their families. Costs often end being shifted from private and insurance paid to public costs (i.e., public health, emergency ward treatment, incarceration, etc.). The mentally ill have a statistically determined life span that is 25 years shorter than average, which is often complicated by other physical illnesses, which are often untreated in the face of the mentally ill diagnosis.

One of NAMI’s goals is to reach the business community for education and to increase support from business. Specifically, Ms Farinholt appealed for publicity for an upcoming NAMI meeting in Catonsville and for people to join its finance committee to develop a new 5-year plan. This will be accompanied by business breakfasts, publicity and fund raising events.

Submitted 6-11-09 by Brent the Scribbler

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Club Meeting June 17

Catonsville Sunrise Rotary Club Minutes June 17, 2009

Sherry Welch greeted all in typically effervescent fashion.

Bruce Van Dervort provided inspiration (again!) concerning Rotary’s long-term effort to eliminate polio in India, Pakistan and Nigeria, the last remaining countries with it.

Sherry Welch gave a World of Rotary moment and seconded Rotary’s polio efforts – her late husband suffered from infantile polio..

The meeting was opened by the President, Cal Oren.

Guests were Charter Guest Alan Ray and Mary Toth (think I spelled it right this time).
12 members were present;.

Announcements:
• Fall into Fitness 5K – Steve Arum circulated a sign-up sheet for race day volunteers and jobs.
• Frederick Road Fridays – Cal Oren distributed a list for volunteers to commit to a Friday to work selling soda and water (but not the Scotch) at this weekly summer event.
• Cafe on the Grove – Cal Oren also circulated a food satisfaction survey among members to evaluate our weekly breakfasts at the Grove.
• Concert – On behalf of the Loverde Family Community Fund, Joe Loverde discussed the Blue Grass concert (music by “High Strung”) at Rice Auditorium on Saturday, July 11, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. to recognize LFC Fund and Lazarus Caucus volunteers. The concert is free to all, but donations will be accepted for the Lazarus Caucus. Drinks and snacks will be provided.
• Spring Grove patients – Cal Oren noted the appeal from Volunteer Services for Spring Grove Hospital Center for summer shoes and clothing. Most patients are male (3/4) and many are admitted indigent. Shorts, pants, T-shirts, shoes, etc. would be appreciated. Contact Sandy Block, 410-402-7452 or 7676 or BlockSa@dhmh.state.md.us.
• Budget – The budget for the new fiscal year will be published next week.
• 5K Sponsors – Joe Loverde discussed progress on finding race sponsors for the Fall into Fitness event in September. $1500 in commitments were obtained last week, with the total now standing at $6500 to $7000 (good work Joe!).

Happy Dollars:
• Cal Oren expressed appreciation to John Monck for volunteering to head the Dictionary Project next year (appreciation in which we all join, of course).
• Russ Witzke noted the opening of a new Catonsville business, an ice cream shop near the Chamber of Commerce office..
• Joe Loverde noted the 3rd week of life for his newest grand-daughter, Maria Josephine and praised Cal Oren for his Rotary service, attending 5 Rotary meetings in one week (plus his usual load of administrative duties).
• Sherry Welch celebrated her mother’s 75th birthday in Memphis last week and hoped for good weather for an upcoming St. Agnes Hospital Foundation event.
• Alan Ray discussed another fun and successful Cardboard Boat Race put on by the Howard County Rotary clubs.
• Joe Loverde announced the CCBC (Community College of Baltimore County) Golf Tournament on September 14 at Woodlands Golf Club, with a goal of $25,000 in scholarships.

Speaker: Mary Toth – Principle, Mary Toth Consulting, Inc., grant writing, public relations and business consultant and Executive Director, Howard County Arts Council (13 years) Spoke on “Prospering in a Struggling Economy”

Ms Toth, a frequent guest of the Club, spoke on how to succeed in business in tough times. Experience has given her 5 principles, which are:
1. Do what you know well and have experience doing.
2. Pay attention to what’s important: “Keep your eye on the ball”.
3. Do what you love.
4. Do something you understand and that you can explain to somebody else.
5. Know your clientele, your customers.
Ms Toth illustrated all of these points from her experience.

50-50: Joe Loverde won the pot.

Submitted 6-23-09 by Brent the Scribbler
 

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Club Meeting June 24

Catonsville Sunrise Rotary Club Minutes June 24, 2009

Sherry Welch greeted all once again, as well as providing inspiration to abjure us to take time in life for the important things.

The meeting was opened by the President, Cal Oren.

13 members were present, with no guests..

Announcements:
• Membership – Cal Oren discussed the state of the club, together with the concern that our membership seems to have fallen down lately, or at least participation (Bruce VanderVort pointed out that membership is still 26, though paid-up membership is something less than that). We reached a peak of members this year, but the economy is taking a toll on quite a few, especially new members.
• Finances –The new 2009-2010 budget is now out. A MOTION was proposed and passed to accept proposed donations. Club income is projected at $16,120 with the charitable foundation projected at $38,750. Another MOTION was proposed and passed to approve the new budget.

Happy Dollars:
• Jonathan Zawacki celebrated the walking of his son at 15 months.
• Rosemary Wright spoke in appreciation of her 92-year-old mother, whose birthday she recently celebrated.
• Sherry Welch praised enterprise and the 3 summer jobs (48 hours a week) her daughter has found; also, St. Agnes Hospital celebration of its community with a series of events entitled, “Heartbeat of our Community”. Many discounts are available for goods and services to all who have a “St. Agnes connection”.
• Brent Tolbert-Smith celebrated a new Beagle puppy (Balt. Co. Animal Shelter) and his son’s appointment to an important new post in his job.
• Tom Medicus appreciated the completion of a basement renovation with a “beer train” theme (I bet it makes lots of stops).
• Brent Tolbert-Smith, prompted by Tom, recalled his days as a DC police officer when a Capitol Hill resident invited him in the sample the wares from the tanks of beer in his basement (father owned a brewery: Brent did not go in – duty, etc.).
• Bruce VanderVort noted the Children’s Home honoring of our Rotary Club for its support.
• Cal Oren backed up Bruce in praise of the Club, having accepted a community service award for the club from the Home last week.

Program: Monthly Business Meeting

• Fall into Fitness – Jonathan Zawacki reported that Charm City Runners was proceeding with organization for the management of the race in September. Cal Oren said that post cards and brochures would be ready soon, courtesy of CCBC, the community college.
• Dictionary Project – Cal Oren gave a heads up to members to begin scheduling for book distribution in August when school staffs report for work to avoid getting behind the 8-ball in confirming dates with school as we did last year. Huntington Learning Center has orally expressed its desire to sponsor the activity again this year (meaning it would pay for all the books).
• Rotary District Grant – Cal Oren discussed the possibility of winning up to $2,000 for a project from Rotary District 7620. Cal thinks the community garden created by the Samaritan Women would be a good candidate, and initial responses from the District have been favorable. The garden extends over two acres and will be completely piped for water, a $8,000 project. Sherry Welch volunteered a matching grant with Rotary on behalf of the St. Agnes Foundation (thanks, Sherry!).
• Frederick Road Fridays – This event has begun. The club sold 50 bottles of water ($1 apiece), but more important, talked to people and provided a Rotary presence for the event. The manager of McDonald’s came by and offered ice free from McDonald’s. Cal Oren intends to invite the manager to one of our breakfast meetings (sounded like membership material to Cal).
.
The meeting was adjourned.

50-50: Sherry Welch won the pot.

Submitted 6-26-09 by Brent the Scribbler

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