Club President Kay Danes previewed implications arising from research done to satisfy requirements for her PhD degree from the School of Law and Justice at Australia's Southern Cross University. More and more, Australians who try to alleviate suffering and need in troubled countries are becoming victims themselves of violent acts: assaults, kidnappings, and worse. Although many of the big humanitarian organizations offer training for their workers, elements of the training can be inconsistent from one organization to another. Critically absent as well is the lack of data sharing; sharing that could enable humanitarian workers to avoid trouble. Kay Danes argues that humanitarianism can and could efficiently be perceived as a profession, with common training and licensing such as is provided for lawyers, doctors, etc. Such a credentialled professional could serve as a worker for multiple humanitarian organizations.

We played a game that was similar to the long-running “Hollywood Squares” but with an e-club twist: Contestants selected a Member in the audience to answer a question posed by the Emcee. The Member’s duty was to provide either a “make believe” answer or what was in their opinion the correct answer. The Contestant’s duty was to judge whether the answer given was right or wrong. For the duration of the game it was OK for a Member to lie in an attempt to “trip up” the Contestant. I.e., for the duration of the game it was OK for Members to violate the first precept of the Four-Way Test. The important thing was for the chosen Member to always provide plausible – sometimes truly correct, sometimes truly wrong – answers but always funny if possible. All of the questions were about Rotary, so we learned about our organization besides having fun by participating in the process. Points were assigned to the Contestant for each correct judgment of the correctness of a member’s answer. When the Contestant made an incorrect judgment, the new Contestant became the Member who tripped him/her up. Prizes were awarded to the Contestants who did well: Reid $10, Florence $3, Ann $2 … money given by a generous Rotarian to the PolioPlus Fund in the name and to the credit of each of these individuals. The last 10 minutes of the meeting were used in a Vocational Service segment, “Did You Know: Finance,” led by our own Ann Jones.

What an inspirational meeting! Global Trekker President Kay Danes delivered a perfect presentation that covered a period of life where she experienced a kind of stress that we hope no others ever will. Although rescued from the physical torment, troubling aspects of the memory stayed … until she experienced the catharsis that comes from helping others in desperate need. Service Above Self … Rotary’s ability to provide humanitarian missions helps not only the needy but also those who help. The meeting was also special in that Kay was informed that she is the recipient of Rotary International’s Avenues Of Service Award. This is a coveted honor that recognizes a Rotarian for distinguished and exemplary accomplishment in all five dimensions of Rotary service: Club, Community, Vocational, International, and Youth. As Immediate Past District Governor Claudia Cannady pointed out as she conveyed the award, Kay Danes lives up in every way to the recent Rotary theme of “Be A Gift To The World.”

President-Elect Romanie and President-Nominee Reid shared their experience from the just concluded Carolinas PETS (President Elects Training Seminar). The mystery and mystique surrounding PETS were dispelled. And we had a lot of fun in doing that.

Dr Karen Pollard gave an engaging talk about Alzheimer’s Disease and the effort of Rotary clubs to combat it. As Rotarians, we provide our help via the CART Fund, Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust. All money … every penny … donated to CART goes to support research to find effective treatments or a cure for this dreadful disease. CART money often funds exploratory research which otherwise would not receive any support. Exploratory research that shows promise then can receive big bucks from agencies such as the USA’s National Institutes for Health (NIH) to develop the processes further. In true Rotary fashion, CART is a catalyst for change. Our club is soliciting funds for CART, and a member is offering to match cumulative donations up to $200. Tax deductible donations to CART can be made by visiting http://www.cartfund.org/cart/donations/ … Please click on this link, donate, and email us at eclub@rotary7690.org to let us know how much you gave so that your donation can be matched.

Last year’s District Public Image Chair, Pam Simpson, presented a truly informative talk about D7690’s plans and how this could help the club’s activities. Using this timeless talk as a springboard, our club Public Image Chair, Trish Perkins, led an interactive talk that delved into details as to how we could promote club objectives by further developing our public image. Much was discussed including the need to channel viewers from Facebook to our club website. I could go on and on about the neat ideas presented, but since we have it all recorded it is just easier for you to view the video.

Marcelle Hammer filled guest speaker duties this week with an engaging and educational talk about hypnosis. Those of you who are skeptics, please note that it truly does work! Marcelle started her talk by distinguishing between stage and therapeutic hypnosis. From there she went on to answer many questions that the audience provided. One of the questions was about whether a person could be hypnotized over a Zoom video conferencing session. The answer to that is a definite “yes” … but apart from the rapt attention we paid to her talk, we didn’t try that at this meeting.

This meeting our newest member, Angel Nieto Perez, told us about a humanitarian project he led in Texcoco Mexico. The project involved providing dental care to large numbers of needy individuals for whom the expenses of ordinary care were beyond their means. Dental cleanings, fillings and tooth extractions were involved. But perhaps most importantly, preventative oral hygiene care with tooth brushes, paste and dental floss was taught. Brushes, paste and floss were given to the people to take home. A Rotary Foundation Global Grant funded this project. This was one project. Here’s another about which Angel spoke: Just a couple of months ago, Angel joined forces with PDG Judy Hutcherson and other medical professionals in helping families in a remote area in Mexico along the border. Angel provided valuable assistance through his knowledge of the Spanish dialect used in that area. Although these people were given medical help, they too could benefit from dental help like their fellow countrymen in Texcoco.

Rotary World Peace Scholar Dr Narayan Chetry gave us a preview of the talk he will present at the Duke/UNC Peace Symposium in April. In his talk Narayan discussed the devasting loss of life involved with childbirth in less developed nations. He explained how securing the involvement of men can help reduce this needless toll through contraceptive and support measures.