Rotary Club of Sackville Bulletin January 26, 2017

 

THE SHOW MUST GO ON.  Despite the recent ice storm and many people still being without power Rotary went ahead as usual.  Susan (F not P) chaired the meeting but declared that it was too early for opening remarks.

 

 

Guests:  Ove brought Pat along.  Tony seems to be half way between a guest and a prospective new member.

 

 

50-50 Draw:  John shuffled the cards but Edna failed to draw the 9 of Clubs so $245 carries forward to next week.

 

Happy Dollars:   Charlie enjoyed haggis last night (Rabbie Burns Day) and delivered the Address to the Haggis (one verse only).   What happens when the power is out: Gayle has not talked so much to her husband for the last four years (note: don’t keep opening the fridge every four minutes).   Dianne offered room and board to those without power but had no takers (at least not yet).   They had a tree come down on a window, damaging the screen but fortunately not the window itself.   Susan F and David read books and napped; David ran a cable from his truck to the fridge.   Edna was grateful for Dianne’s offer, but hopes her power will be back on soon.

 

Next Week:   Chair:  Susan (P not F);   Greeter: John;   Introducer: Charlie;   Thanker: George [?].

 

Grocery Cards:  Marita sent her regrets; if you need a card give her a call.

 

 

Rotary Foundation:  David reminded members of the RF change jars.  One from Wynn has yielded $144.  Tony got an empty one to start work on.

 

President’s Time:  Josh thanked members for showing up despite the ice storm and also the kitchen staff for being there to make our breakfast.   He reminded members of the training session in Sussex on 11 February; several Rotaract members are attending and help is needed with transportation.

 

 

Gold Mine Draw.    Wanda Johnson was on hand to collect her winnings of $1,150 from Susan F.

 

Pin-ups:  For our centrefold section today we have several pin-ups – Rotary Foundation pins that is.  Josh did the pinning:  Ove is a Paul Harris +3,  Dale is a Paul Harris + 1.

 

 

Bill’s Paul Harris #1 is en route, and both Susan F and Susan P are rumoured to be nearing the target figure.

 

 

A Paul Harris + 6 pin (hence the red ruby) went to Charlie who was also the speaker : -

 

Polio Plus:  Poliomyelitis is a highly infections disease which affects mainly children under 5, causing paralysis and even death.  A dreaded disease back in the 1930s, 40s and 50s it cannot be cured, but since 1955 it can be prevented thanks to the vaccines developed by Dr. Jonas Salk and especially the oral vaccine of Dr. Albert Sabin. 

 

 

When the Rotary Foundation launched its Health, Hunger and Humanity program in 1979 its first project was to vaccinate 6 million children in the Philippines. The success of this project led Rotary to launch the Polio Plus program in 1985 with the aim of eventually eliminating polio world-wide. 

 

Rotary was the catalyst; in 1988 the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and later the Gates Foundation came together to form the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.  In that year 350,000 new cases of polio were reported in 125 countries.

 

Our club has made major contributions to Polio Plus over the years and two of our members – Nancy Gilbert and Pam Harrison – have taken part in National Immunization Days in India.

 

Despite a big push polio was not eliminated by 2005 Rotary’s centennial year, but huge progress had been made.  Thanks to many donors (including Rotary which has raised over $1.6 billion) we are moving closer to the target.  UNICEF workers like Melissa Corkum continue the difficult and sometime dangerous work of ensuring that every single child in the polio endemic countries is vaccinated. 

 

 

Polio is 99.9% gone and the number of countries with polio has been reduced to 3 (Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan).

 

Our District 7810 is challenging clubs to make a voluntary contribution of $50 per member to Polio Plus this Rotary year.  Look for an email soon from RF Chair David with details on how to donate online.   Together we can all help to END POLIO NOW.

 

 

Charlie was thanked by Gayle, and the meeting closed with the Four-Way Test.