JANUARY 15, 2009

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

STRATFORD: - Meets Thursdays at 12:30 p.m. at Forsyth Country Club
Jan 29: Phil Kirk, Spokesman for the Yadkin Valley Winegrowers Association, “The N.C. Wine Industry”
Feb. 5: Ken Otterbourg, Managing Editor of the Winston-Salem Journal, will talk about how the paper is adapting to changing times in the new business.
Feb. 12: Kimberly Park will provide the program for our Valentine's Day lunch!
Feb. 19: TBA
Feb. 26: Brian D. Casey, President and CEO of the Hight Point Market Authority, will talk about the twice-yearly International Home Furnishings Market and furniture industry trends.

WINSTON-SALEM ROTARY:- Meets Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m. at Benton Convention Center
Jan. 27: Carol Strohecker, Director, Center for Design Innovation, an inter-institutional research center of the University of N.C.

REYNOLDA ROTARY: - Meets Fridays at 12:30 p.m. Assembly Room of the LJV Coliseum
Jan. 23: Classification Talks
Jan. 30: TBA
Feb. 6: “The Bridge”, a recovery program for professionals. Speaker Craig Arey
Feb. 13: Brian Etheridge’s topic will be Leadership North Carolina
Feb. 20: Headmaster of Summit School, Michael Ebeling
Feb. 27: Leadership in tough times by Becky Edmunds, CEO of The Edmunds Group

CLEMMONS: - Meets Wednesdays at 7:00 a.m. at the Village Inn – Clemmons
Jan. 21: Robert Brandt from the Clemmons Food Pantry
Jan. 28: Mark Gilbert will speak about Deacon Tower
Feb. 4: Wendy Barnhart, “Saving Little Hearts”
Feb. 11: Barry Schline, “Crime Prevention in Forsyth County”

DATES TO REMEMBER:
January 22 - Board Meeting 11:45 to 12:30
March 19-21 – PETS
April 23-26 – District Conference at Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort

CONGRATULATIONS:

ANNOUNCEMENTS, NEW & INFORMATION………………

The Board has approved a new member. Check your emailed or mailed bulletin for details.

Programs: 1/08/2009

“Hello my name is Kevin Fussell and I WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD!” Our own Kevin Fussell presented his latest achievements in the battle for clean water for the Bateyes in the Dominican Republic.

Who: Most of the people affected are Haitian refugees working in the sugar cane fields, without access to government programs and held back by the animosity between the Dominicans and Haitians.

Where: The Dominican Republic, southwestern portion, the poorest area.

What: Lack of access to clean water. They must walk a distance to get ANY kind of water. Water borne diseases abound making it difficult to work or go to school. Not being able to function productively keeps the people in poverty. Clean water would allow them to break the cycle so more people could be educated and productive.

Why: “God gives but does not share.” (Haitian proverb) The responsibility is upon those who have, to share. It’s up to us.

The project started out with filters for individual households and soon everyone wanted one. Problems developed with distribution and a fellow from Atlanta joined in to help. His filters use UV light and carbon to purify the water. The system runs on electricity when it’s available with solar power a possibility. A large cistern is kept full of “bad” water and filtered as needed. The filters need to be replaced once a month. There is an ongoing commitment for 2 years worth of filters.

The system is regulated by the local cleric and installed on the church grounds for security. There are 3 spigots that the local population has access to at certain times of the day. Just one of these cisterns is able to supply 2000 people for a full day and 5 gallons last a family a day.

What may seem like a “drop in the bucket” for us is a major contribution to the life and livelihood of a people who want nothing more than a chance to prosper. A chance to be healthy, watch their families grow and make their own contributions to the society in which they live. Kevin is making clean water and dreams of a better life a reality for the Bateye of the Dominican Republic. We wish him continued success.

01/15/2009

Dr. Michael Lischke, a fellow Rotarian and member of the Downtown Club talked to us about Northwest AHEC. Michael is a man of many talents and wears several hats at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. In addition to being the Director of Northwest AHEC he is the Assistant Professor of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Director of the Office of Continuing Medical Education, Adjunct faculty of the Maya Angelou Research Center on Minority Health and the Women’s Health Center of Excellence.

He was awarded the 2006 Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award in recognition of his dedication to making a difference in the community by using time, talents and compassion to positively impact the lives of others. Michael serves on several boards here in Winston-Salem, loves to cook, (when does he find the time?), his wife Amy is a community physician and they have 3 children, 2 boys, Andrew and Cameron and a daughter Nadia.

You might ask “What the Heck is AHEC?” It’s the Area Health Education Center. It started in the early 70’s and currently all states except for North and South Dakota have their own centers. NC, SC and Arkansas have set the gold standard for such centers. All four medical schools in the state are included.

The Center is staffed by 3 full time librarians who give physicians around the state access to the latest medical information. Regional health professionals consulted with the librarians 3965 times last year. Continuing education information is old immediately but the newest findings are available at the click of a mouse. There were 36,000 continuing ed. activities.

Health careers will be of vital importance in the coming years. Findings suggest that 4th grade is the best time to introduce the concept of a career in health through math and science classes. There were 12,844 students who participated in Math and Science enrichment through the center.

What a fantastic resource for our medical community and those across the state. You can learn more about the Northwest AHEC by visiting www.ncahec.net and clicking on the Northwest portion of the map.

ROTARY FOUR WAY TEST:

Of the things we thing, say, and do…
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?