The Rotary Club of Catonsville - Sunrise, Maryland

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Club Meeting September 9

Catonsville Sunrise Rotary
Club meeting minutes 09/09/09


Jonathan provided today’s inspiration
Cal provided the Rotary Minute which was about a tribe who sent 14 cows to the US Department of State after 9/11. Apparently in their culture, giving a cow is their greatest expression

Announcements
--Cal announced that we need volunteers to staff the table at the Arts and Crafts Festival which is this Sunday 9/13. Please let him know what ours you can help to distribute race information and information about out club. Don’t forget to wear your hats and shirts.

--Please keep recruiting runners for the race on Sat. 9/26. It will be here before we know it
--Please also try to help get the word of the race out to local businesses by stopping in and passing out race brochures. Last I heard they were at Hilton flower Shop.

Happy Dollars:
--Cal gave and commented on how nice the funeral services were for Rosemary’s husband Bernie
--Larry gave and talked about being in NY for a wedding last weekend
--Guest speaker Jeanne Allert from the Samaritan women gave multiple dollars for getting Clipper city to provide beer for their event coming up on 10/6- more info later. She also gave because they have acquired a tractor to help with the farming, and because she has a lead on a rather large “free” greenhouse
--Guest Alan Ray gave multiple dollars and told an unbelievable story about a recent airport security breach. I can’t print the details for fear he will be arrested. He also gave a subsequent dollar after Jeanne spoke commending her for her “can-do” attitude.

Program:

Jeanne Allert of the Samaritan Women gave us an update on her progress. As you know, we provided a 2k grant which was matched by RI for their irrigation system. They are digging the trench by hand so if you want to get some exercise…

They are having an open house on Oct. 6, 2009. More details will be provided but it is a catered event.

She updated us on her garden exploits for this past summer growing season. There was a bumper crop of lettuce and lucky patrons of the local Home Depot benefited after all the charities Samaritan Women supports had all they could use. They were working on the fall crop and anyone who wants to plant garlic is more than welcome to visit and help on Tuesdays and Fridays from 7-7 and at other times by appointment. Sam’s Club gave them a great discount on a gazebo. Jeanne told us that 3 acres of gardening can feed 90 families with crop rotation and canning

Cal won the 50/50 –and got his money back

We had a Light turnout of only 6 members. Let’s try to do better next week.

Please remember that Tonja will be inducted on 9/30 and we would like to have a 100% turnout for that!

Please remember to forward Doug or me three names each for potential membership. They can be business you deal with on a regular basis, church members or others you think would be good Rotarians!

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Club Meeting September 16

Catonsville Sunrise Rotary
Club meeting minutes 09/16/09


-John Monck provided today’s inspiration
-District Asst. Gov. Alvin Thompson paid us a surprise visit and spoke to us about what is going on in the District. He said there is a membership summit this weekend at or near BWI -Sat. 9/19- filled with great information about how to attract and retain members. Can anyone go? I have soccer games so cannot make it. Alvin also mentioned that before the end of the year, we will be asked to participate in a membership drive with two other clubs. One will be a lunchtime club and the other will be a dinner club so prospective members can choose the time of day that works best for them.

Announcements
--Cal spoke briefly about a meeting with the Catonsville Rotary dinner group last night who is down to nine members and who approached us about a possible merger/joining of forces. In the next week or so, please expect an email from Cal asking you your private thoughts on the matter. One issue he will ask is if other days of the week and/or times would work for you as a member. Please take the time to respond. If you do not, you run the risk of your voice not being heard.

--John Monck gave an update on this year’s dictionary project which is beginning to take shape. Cal asked Alvin to have the District step in and notify all clubs about which schools they should cover so that there is no overlap this year.

--Cal talked about final race preparations which are underway. By now everyone should have received an email from Steve telling you your final assignments for race day. Please make sure you are available and that you and Steve are on the same page.

--We are asking for better attendance for the next two weeks. Next week, Miss Maryland is visiting and will be singing for us. On 9/30, Tonja will be inducted and I believe Joe has lined up a special guest to be M.C.

Happy Dollars:
--Cal for Rosemary back. Great to see you Rosemary! We missed you.
--Russ gave $1 for his birthday and $1 for Susan’s upcoming b-day
--Eric gave $2- one for the success of Arts and Crafts festival and passing out race flyers and the other was an announcement that CMCA is going to be at the race on 9/26 with a table selling tickets for a model train raffle.
--Bruce and his wife unloaded another adopted pet- only about 20 left so get one while you still can

Program:
Rob Brown of the Rotary Foundation spoke about the RI Foundation and encouraged our club to participate and also encouraged us as individuals to also participate. He spoke about how 100% of each dollar donated goes to charity. The dollars are invested for three years after receipt and after that, they are used for charity. The interest earned covers the overhead. He also talked about a new concept called future visions where 50% of our contributions will go directly to charities in our district while the other 50% will go toward the world fund. He gave us an update on polio and noted that there were 1500 new cases this year concentrated in 4 hot spots around the world. I think he said that each year, the polio effort costs approximately 700 million $ and we get help from many countries in this effort.

He also mentioned a Foundation event at Galludet on 9/30 for lunch and encouraged our members to attend.

There was no 50/50 today. We had a Light turnout of only 8 members. Let’s try to do better next week.

Please remember to forward Doug or me three names each for potential membership. They can be business you deal with on a regular basis, church members or others you think would be good Rotarians!

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Club Meeting September 23

Catonsville Sunrise Rotary
Meeting minutes- Sept. 23, 2009

Inspiration- member John Jordan,
Rotary minute- Cal- about an abandoned child with cerebral palsy from _____ who was adopted by an American family from ____. He became an eagle scout and raised BIG $$ for a playground. He is up a finalist for a national award for his work.

Brooke gave an unbelievable performance of the national anthem. The entire restaurant, including staff, joined us in listening to her incredible voice.

Guests
-John Jordan- not really a guest but our long distance member. It was a real pleasure to finally meet him
-Richard Hiteshew- former member and if rumors are true- a future member
-Joe Chilcote- member of the evening club and generous contributor to our race. Thanks again Joe!
-Maria Flores- owner of El Nayar and Larry’s best customer at the business incubator
-Brooke Poklemba- Miss Maryland (and hopefully the next Miss America) and autism awareness advocate
-Alan Ray- always a pleasure to see him at one of our meetings
-Dr. Tonja Ringgold- today was her final guest appearance

Announcements
-Cal mentioned again that talks are underway to try to find a way to bring our club together with the evening club. With the race this weekend, expect the member surveys sometime next week.

-The Fall into Fitness BIG event is this Sat. Please try to get to CCBC at 6AM and please park in parking lot 6 (in the back near the athletic fields). Race setup will be in parking lot 7. Hope to see everyone there ON TIME. Joe and Cindy are providing coffee and donuts again this year and Joe has personally guaranteed good weather for this event!

Happy $$
-Susan announced that her son actually got a job after college graduation- so he’s the one
-Tom thanked Ray Lewis for his game saving tackle last Sunday
-Rosemary gave for being persuasive enough to talk Tonja into wearing a tiara for the Race on Sat.
-Alan gave because he is considered a “cool grandparent”
-Larry- gave for the fact that no one shouted “O” during Brooke’s national anthem
-Joe- acknowledged Susan’s recent b-day, also gave for Brooke, and for a successful CCBC golf tourney that raised about $15,000.00 this past Monday
-John Jordan- gave and said it was good to attend a meeting
-Richard announced that his new project hoped to plant 200 trees next Arbor Day- Richard, please sign me up for a couple of them!

Guest speaker
Brooke briefed us on the Miss America contest and told us that is actually a scholarship program and that it has been very helpful in helping her to pay down her student loans. In addition to her beautiful voice, Brooke is also very active in working with autistic children and getting out the message about the importance of autism awareness and early detection of autism. Her FT job is at the Schaeffer Center (sp?) in Reisterstown. Autism is a developmental disorder and generally people who have it have a difficult time adapting to change and interacting with others. It also affects expressive and receptive language skills even though people with autism are often very smart. She is very active in trying to pass legislation at the state level that requires insurance companies to pay for some of the treatment, which can cost up to $50k per year. 14 states have passed similar legislation already and she told us that approx. 1 in 150 kids are diagnosed with autism. She also mentioned that the rate of incidence could actually be higher because physicians are often reluctant to make the diagnosis for fear of labeling children.

Alan is also very active in this area so for more information, he can be contacted directly, since I am sure I missed a lot of information today.

Good Luck in Vegas Brooke!

Please take a few minutes to get your thoughts together on the potential merger and how it might work. We need everyone to participate in this discussion.

Great attendance today- I believe it was the highest in recent memory with 16 members present (including John J) and 5 guests. Let’s keep up the effort

Please remember that Tonja is being inducted next week and we have 2 former district governors attending too. Please try to make it!!! Cal mentioned other surprises too.

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Club Meeting September 30

Catonsville Sunrise Rotary
Meeting minutes- Sept. 30, 2009

Cal gave the inspiration

Guests
-Andy Baum, former District Governor from Frederick’s Carroll Creek club
-Pat Kasuda, former District Governor and new resident at Charlestown- perhaps we will see her more often
-Jackie Webster- CCBC Foundation Director

Announcements
-Look for the email from Cal soon about a possible merger with the evening club.
-We had a nice discussion about ways to improve next year’s race. Some really good ideas were given but please keep the constructive criticism coming so we can attract even more runners next year.

Presentations
A beautiful plaque was given to Tonja, in appreciation of CCBC Catonsville, President Sandra Kurtinitis and Dean Tonja Ringgold for hosting our Fall Into Fitness Race held on campus this past Saturday.


Happy $$
-Brent had such a good time on Sat. at the race and seeing old friends that he has re-committed himself to the club
-George- gave for the Ravens
-Rosemary Gave but I forget her cause (sorry Rosemary, I must have been eating)
-Eric gave congratulating the club on a great event
-Larry thanked his friends and colleagues for helping him learn the difficult task of passing out T-shirts
-Joe gave thanking Brent for re-committing
-Joe gave $10 in honor of my granddaughter, Jessica, being asked by the owner of the Sacramento Kings to sing our National Anthem at a game early next year.
-Ed gave for his own 5k walk through the Ft. McHenry Tunnel
-Bruce V. gave thanking Bill for a job well done on the feline cages
-Richard had a nice trip to Orlando though it was hot and humid

Induction of new members:
Pat did the honors and inducted Richard and Tonja. Welcome aboard Tonja and welcome back Richard. Everyone is excited to have you aboard!

Guest speaker
Cal and Andy presented Bruce Siddens with the prestigious Paul Harris fellow award. Bruce was both surprised and honored and thanked everybody

Andy then spoke about his experiences as District Governor, which was 2001-2002. He also spoke about different grants available to us through RI. There are District simplified grants (which we used for the Samaritan Women project) where RI will match us on a NEW project dollar for dollar up to $1,500.00. He also briefly mentioned partnership grants where we can receive up to $5,000.00. Andy encouraged us to come up with new projects as the money is burning a hole in his pocket. Who has ideas?? He also offered his help to make sure that our ideas fit the criteria so we can ask him any silly question we can think of about these.

17 members present, including our two newest. See you all next week.

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