Rotary Ramblings 4/28/09

[Garland, Lorie]

Rotary Ramblings - April 28, 2009

 

President Steve opened our meeting.

 

We sang two songs led by Mr. Weatherspoon.  Bruce Williams was not
present to assist us with his expert piano accompaniment.  Songs were
#34 He's Got the Whole World in His Hands and #69 S-M-I-L-E.

 

Birthdays this week were Pat Robertson and Steve Gutterman.

No anniversaries.

 

Betsy Owen, our DG, thanked us for our support of District Conference
this coming weekend and especially for our support and helping hands for
the Kentucky Derby Gala party on May 2nd.

 

Harvey Brown welcomed visitors:  Paul and Cathy Arrowood from
Williamsburg, VA; Derrick Davidson from Winchester, England; Ted Lutjen
from Pequantick Valley Rotary (NJ); Terry Johnson from Fishers, MI; Jay
Ackerman from St Claire, MI

 

Guests:  Kurt Heidi (who turned in his application for membership today)
and Hans and Kathryn from Belgium.  We are all invited to Hans and
Kathryn's wedding in Belgium on May 30!

 

Fred Bonardi gave the Sgt at Arms report.  First, the market was up 29:
DOW (-8%YTD) @ 8055; S&P (-5%YTD) @859;   NASDAQ (?YTD) @ 1865

Our collection was $250.00 today (many thanks to the birthday boys and
others who were very generous!)

 

Coupon Booklets are for sale!  Don't forget to get yours for valuable
savings!

 

The Blue Polio Plus piggy bank was passed for donations that will
presented at District.

 

Achievement Center reading from 7-8/8-9 this Thursday.

 

Our RYLA representative, Enrique McDonald, a sophomore at Atlantic High
School, talked about his experiences attending RYLA as our
representative.  At first he was skeptical of the program and what it
would be like.  Initially, he felt very apprehensive about giving up a
majority of his spring break to attend.  However, when he got there, it
was totally a new experience for him.  Through fellowship and
activities, Enrique was able to expand his thinking.  In the end, he
learned that he was fortunate to have what he did.  Also, he discovered
there are others less fortunate.  All in all, he learned to be happy and
grateful for what he has but that he should continue to strive for more!
That's a valuable lesson for someone so young.  After hearing him speak,
I have no doubt that he will continue to use his experience attending
RYLA to his benefit for many years to come.

 

Bob Teninga introduced our guest speakers today from the American
Veterans Club of Valencia Falls.  They meet every 3rd Thursday of each
month.  Mr. Lou Morganstein told us about the club.  Every January they
have a dance to raise money for veterans causes.  They support veterans
hospitals, and homeless vets.  In order to assist injured service men
and women during their recover, they send books to hospitals overseas.
One particular mission they have adopted was explained to us by Mr. Hal
Wertman.

 

A 34 year old National Guardsman (a Sgt from the New Hampshire National
Guard) was horribly injured while riding in the gun turret of a Hummer
in Iraq.  The initial truck in a convoy, they were hit with a grenade
that exploded behind Mr. Pequeno's head.   The explosion caused him to
lose almost all of the left side of his brain.  All of the other
soldiers in the truck were killed.  However, the gunner, Jose Pequeno,
managed to survive his injuries.  It was truly a miracle that he
survived.  No one expected him to.

 

Because of the horrendous injury to his head, Mr. Pequeno is unable to
function.  He is confined to a wheel chair and is almost in a vegetative
state, unable to speak, walk or raise his arms.  Because of his being a
National Guardsman and not a regular Marine, he only had 2 years of paid
medical care.  With the extent of his injuries, this is far from
sufficient.

 

Even though Mr. Pequeno has the support of his parents and his 13 year
old daughter, there is no one else to assist with his care.  He is
currently at his parent's home in Tampa.  They are solely responsible
for providing him with the things he needs.  This is very expensive and
they are not wealthy people.

 

The American Vets of Valencia Falls wanted to make sure they were
assisting Mr. Pequeno's family with his care.  Rather than buying a
product which would give the family only about 30-40% of the sales, they
decided to send money directly to his family.  Since Jose is one of the
most traumatically injured soldiers from the Iraqi war, with the fewest
benefits, they feel it is their duty to assist.  If you want to help,
please contact them.

 

Green hat today was 9 of Spades ...drawn by Stormi Norman

We live to play again next week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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