Paul Harris/Membership Dinner

Last Tuesday we had a Rotary Recognition dinner for the club. We met at 6:30 PM for dinner at Little Shebas. President Al Fullerton prepared an amazing slide show of pctures from past programs, meetings, fund raisers and community projects. All Rotarians were recognized for their years of service and fellowship to the club.

With the assistance of Jodie Scheiben and Harold Simpson, President Al Fullerton presented Members Larry Turner, John Kelley, Gil Klose and Honorary Member Fred Grohsmeyer with Paul Harris Fellow recognitions.

We also held a raffle to benefit the club's Polio Plus Campaign. Items were donated by local business Joe's Pizza, the Richmond Civic Theater and club members. Total value of the basket was $115, and it raised $110 for the campaign. Way to go club!

Larry Turner has retired to Michigan and this was his last meeting with the club. We hope he will stay in touch and stay involved with Rotary in his hometown of Three Rivers, Michigan. We will miss you Larry, and Thanks for the many years of fellowship and dedication to the club!

Salvation Army

Last Tuesday Major Mark Litherland spoke to the club on the efforts of the Salvation Army and its ministry, particularly focusing on the importance of ringing bells at Christmastime. The Major said he has been a bell ringer since childhood and added that moneys raised during the holiday season is the army's largest fund raiser.

The 2008 collection served 2,000 people; the 2009 collection will serve 4,000 individuals. To date, 500 people have registered for Christmas assistance. People must first register for aid and are investigated to determine if they truly qualify for help, which includes food, transportation, utilities and the soap pantry. Major Litherland added that the Reid Hospital Foundation has been very helpful in recent years.

Kelley & Simpson Present "Tales of the Departed"

The Wayne County Museum has a fund raiser each year called "Tales of the Departed" and it is held at Earlham Cemetery. Our very own Harold Simpson and John Kelley have participated in this event for a couple of years now. This year Harold portrayed Mayor William Zimmerman and John Kelley portrayed Isaac A Gorman, who was the Wayne County Sheriff and Superintendent of Police for Mayor Zimmerman. They brought their program to Rotary for a presentation of the characters they portrayed. The two men told of a time when Richmond had a large number of factory jobs and was a growing town. The two worked together to "keep the city clean" and they were well know for their good work. Mayor Zimmerman was instrumental in establishing Richmond Power & Light, as well as the Richmond Gas Company. It was a very interesting program and John & Harold both knew the history of their characters very well.

Bill Henry of Milestone Company spoke today on a variety of subjects relating to road and street construction. He praised both the City of Richmond and Wayne County government for their success in obtaining stimulus monies, which are used to fund various thoroughfare improvements, particularly US 27 North, which will be widened by four feet and have installed under it a new sewer system. Route 40 West, by Earlham College, will have limited conditions until a nearby bridge is repaired. Northwest 5th Street is also to be re-worked, along with other city streets.
He stressed that road and street updating adds greatly to economic development, noting that the Centerville rest area, as well as Centerville Road, are both on the Milestone agenda. Henry noted that roundabouts are the 'thing of the future' and that they are much more efficient and environmentally friendly. He completed his presentation by citing the advantages of counties imposing a wheel tax on vehicle owners.

Jim Graham, former District Governor

Jim Graham, former District Governor, spoke to the club October 13th, 2009, on a variety of subjects, including matching grants and student exchange, noting that from the 530 districts in the world the amount of monies that have been raised.

He emphasized the importance of oversight and stewardship, adding that Rotary funding is protected by a memorandum of understanding. Rotary has six areas of focus groups for global grants. He also stressed the importance of training sessions to learn about methods of qualifying for grants.

In conclusion, he related the efforts in building the Qudrat School in Afghanistan. Because of the fresh water well dug at the school; there has been a near-eradication of cholera in the vicinity of the building and surrounding community.

Palladium-Item managing editor Mickey Johnson spoke to the Club and discussed moving the printing of the paper to Indianapolis, causing the loss of jobs at the Richmond plant, but added that the move is the industry trend.
He assured members that the local paper has no plans to close, despite the fact that Seattle, Denver, and Ann Arbor are presently without a local press. He discussed P-I Live and the impact the plan has on perpetuating interest in local affairs, despite declining circulation. The speaker emphasized that print media will always be of great use because it tells in greater depth the meaning of the news than does radio and television.

September 29, 2009 Meeting Notes

Joyce Brown was inducted into the club membership by President Al Fullerton. He shared with Joyce and the members what Rotary is not and what Rotary is. Rotary is not a political, charitable or a religious organization. Rotary IS an organization of business and professional people pledged to upholding the highest professional standards based on “The Four Way Test.”
We all welcome Joyce as a Fellow Rotarian.

Jason Troutwine, Director of Reid Hospital Foundation, conducted a question and answer session. Areas discussed included hospital food and patient selection, robotic surgery technology, and the Art to Heart event which is presently being planned for its 18th year. He noted that the project shares profits with the Richmond art museum. Other items discussed included utilization of hospitalists at Reid and the incidence of H1N1. Troutwine gave a brief overview of the Foundation, citing its history, board makup, and total dollars raised by the foundation since its inception in 1975. jlk

We held our first official meeting at our new meeting place, Little Sheba’s. A good time was had by all.

Even Matt Stegall walked down to the meeting. We sure were glad to see and talk with him again.

Richmond Rotary's First Blog

The Richmond Rotary Club meets each Tuesday at 11:45 in Little Sheba's banquet room for lunch, a program and fellowship. Check in weekly to see who our featured program will be!




Our recent programs have included:

• Question and answer session with Jason Troutwine from Reid Foundation
• An update from the All-America City team and Mayor Sally Hutton
• Richmond Civic Theater update and preview to the 2009-2010 season
• Debate on Healthcare Reform and Cap & Trade between members Don Bates and Paul Kriese

Richmond Rotary