BRIARCLIFF MANOR ROTARY CLUB MEETING
February 20, 2009
TODAY IN HISTORY
On February 20th-- many, many years ago-- Marjorie and Don Wilde were married.
It will soon be declared a National Holiday.
TODAY IN BIRTHDAYS.
On this day in 1939, Ivana Trump, wife of Donald Trump, was born. Please send her a congratulatory card. She needs all the help she can get.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“He played the king as though he were afraid someone else would play the ace.”
---John Mason Brown, reviewing an unfortunate production of “King Lear.”
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OPENING CEREMONY: Our weekly meeting was officially opened at 12:21 PM by
Rotarian Sy Yuter. Our president was tardy.
SALUTE TO THE FLAG, PATRIOTIC SONG, AND BENEDICTION: The Salute to Our Flag was led by Don Wilde’s grandson, Maxwell Stalker-Wilde. The golden-throated Sy Yuter followed with a rousing rendition of “My Country,’Tis Of Thee.” That,
in turn, was followed by Reverend John’s appeal to The Lord for mercy and a major uptick in the stock market. (Rev. John, by the way, looked tanned and ready, fresh from his cruise-ship sojourn to far-away places.)
VISITING ROTARIAN: Andrew Morzello, PDG Rotary District 7230;
President, Rotary District 7230 Foundation, Inc.
CLUB PRESIDENT’S REMARKS: President Fulfree, having arrived, introduced our guests and thanked the Club members who participated in the recent Rotary hospital venture. He continued by announcing that the Board would convene in two weeks’ time, and concluded with an appeal for donations to a fund set up in the name of a recently-deceased Briarcliff fireman.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, OBSERVATIONS AND HAPPY THOUGHTS: Gerry Mahoney announced that the new, improved library was up and running and enthusiastically ready to receive patrons. And Frances Chu reminded us of the upcoming Rotary feast, scheduled for Hartsdale‘s Central Seafood Restaurant on Sunday, March 15 at 6 PM. Reservations for the event.are $30 a person.
NEXT WEEK’S SPEAKER: Next week, our speaker will be our very own Shelley Lotter, who will bring us up-to-date on the New Briarcliff Senior Citizen Living Community.
TODAY’S SPEAKER: Our speaker today was the Hon. John Alfano. His subject:
“Rotary Charities.” He started by pointing out that, in Rotary’s quest for responsible giving, there were three levels in charge of Rotary charities. He went on inform us that, unfortunately, contributions were not deductible on our tax forms. Liabilities were up next on his talk, and he filled us in quite nicely on those.
Mr. Alfano spoke, movingly, about the good work that Rotary is doing on its National Days of Immunization, immunizing African children against polio with a potent vaccine.
He then went on to point out that that Rotary’s “Polio Plus” campaign was a marked success and plans are to continue with it.
One of the many eye-openers in Mr. Alfano’s talk was that in Nigeria the penalty for
contract-violations was DEATH.. Which presumably cuts down on the number of violations.
An interesting talk.
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THE DRAWING: Because of sparse attendance, there was only one lucky winner in the drawing this week: Bob Amsterdam. Bishop John, tanned and ready as noted above, immediately asked for an investigation into presumed lottery-rigging by the Attorney General’s office
CLOSING CEREMONY: This week’s meeting drew to a close precisely at 1:32 pm. Rotary Club members celebrated by shooting off fireworks and carrying President Fulfree around the hall on their shoulders.
Submitted by
Recording Secretary, Don Wilde
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