ROTARY CLUB OF VINELAND

October 16, 2007 Newsletter

Editor: Gus Foster & Linda Foster
Photos: Jay Parks
Website: www.vinelandrotary.com
Email: vinelandrotary@comcast.net

Flag Salute & Prayer

Marty led our singing and Flag Salute. Ron McMahan returned from his trip to Italy and led us in the 4-Way Test. Dan gave the blessing. P. Mike introduced Dave Schad as our stand-in for Bruce, as Acting Sergeant-at-Arms.

Guests

Christy DiLeonardo was the guest of Lou Tramontana. Pastor Ernestus from Namibia was the guest of Dan Leslie. Dave Schweidenbeck, and Charles Mulamata were guests of the club and spoke on Pedals for Progress. Charles is from Uganda. Thomas Fasano was the guest of Mary Lou Scarani. Eileen Duffy was the guest of her husband, Ed. Dorie Urban was the guest of Melanie Druziako.
PDG Jim Lilley visited us from the Blackwood club. Jim was the guest of Alan Dickinson.

Birthdays

Mary Lou Scarani celebrates on the 12th.
Pastor Ernestus celebrates on the 16th.
Shannon Kennedy and Al Marsh both celebrate on the 22nd.

Membership

Please remember to visit the "Members Only" section of the website for important prospective member information.

Announcements

Abbey Bradway thanked the members for their prayers and support. She said she was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor high on her neck. She vowed to show her resolve and asked for our continued prayers and to keep her in our thoughts.

Ron McMahon circulated a sign-up sheet for next week’s blood drive and encouraged members to invite friends and family members to participate.

Gail Marino said save the dates of October 23rd and 24th for the dictionary project.

Fund Raising VP Ted Lane said the Cigar Night and Night Golf events were successful with 17 attendees smokin’ and 20 golfing. The Golf was our first and everyone attending said they really had a good time.

Save the date of December 7th from 6:30 to 8:30 PM for our Wine Tasting at the Luciano Center. Admission is $45 per person or $70 per couple. Hot and cold h’orsedouvres, a pasta station and 9 sampling stations will feature 60 wines for sampling. Sparkling wines and champagnes will be available for purchase for the holiday season. See Ted to sign up.

Joe Delgado said a walk/run will be held on October 28th to support the Challenger League. See Joe to sign-up.

Jim Moffatt said the Vineland High School Interact Club will be holding a community fund raiser on Friday, November 9th. See Jim for details.

PE Betsy announced a play being held in Cape May this Friday, October 19th. The Big Brothers Big Sisters Wine Tasting on November 2nd.. Hours are from 6:30 until 10 PM Cost is $75 per person.

Karen Bauman asked members to solicit holiday wreath sales to help generate funds for the club. Deadlines for orders are 11/1 and delivery is expected on 12/4.

Finemaster

Bill Plick was absent, and Norm Neill performed the task on the spur-of-the-moment and no warning. He fined Joe Delgado $5 for being very late to the meeting and Mel for her pesky cell phone call during a previous meeting. All non-participant members for the Night Golf Outing were fined a paltry $1. Good work, Norm!

Program

Program Chair, Betsy introduced Dave Scheidenbeck to talk about the Pedals for Progress program. Dave introduced Charles Mulamata from Uganda and explained the logistics of the operation of this program. Bikes are shipped to 30 countries. The poorest country is Moldova in Eastern Europe. Each bike represents food for the table and helps keep families together. Bicycles represent mobility and can make the difference between success and failure for a family. Children often use the bikes to attend school on a regular basis.

The Vineland club donated 117 bikes this year, affecting 117 families in need. Henry Hansen presented a $1,300 check to Dave, on behalf of the Club, to help pay the costs to export bikes to third world countries.

Q&A: Cost of bike shipping varies – Latin America, 585 bikes/container cost $5,200. Georgia, 480 bikes cost $4,800, Uganda, 480 bikes cost $11,300. So the $10 per bike does not cover all the costs. Bikes are sold for about 10% of value. A payment schedule is sometimes made to pay off the purchase price. Time frame varies by country – Latin America prefers the Christmas season and Africa typically prefers the time before harvest.

Our second speaker was Charles Nutt, the Editor of the Daily Journal. He discussed changes we are undergoing in America. Three revolutionary changes are occurring in business, social behavior and communication technologies. In 1999 the Journal shut down their presses and moved production to Freehold because of the ability created by new communications systems. Similarly, communications technology is causing retail sales, customer services and professional services to move out of the country. A social revolution is causing a disconnect between the individual and the community. We are becoming more of a spectator rather than a participant. The future of the newspaper industry may be questionable but on-line local news services are profitable, offering different economies of scale.

Up Coming Programs

October 23rd - Blood Drive & RYLA Program
October 30th - Paul Herron _ Bay Atlantic Symphony
November 6th - Vocational Service Award

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