January 21, 2005

 

Posted January 25, 2004

 

IN GEAR—January 21—Today has a special emphasis on music. Joy Menius serenaded us during our eating time with everything from a symphonic version of Blue Moon to My Man. Her inspired pianistic talents garnered applause from the room before it was asked for, with a second round in thanks led by President Mary Joan Pugh. A little later on, we’ll hear from student musicians for our program.

After the Pledge of Allegiance Richard Garkalns gave an invocation with a patriotic theme. He began by giving thanks that we live in a country as great as ours. Deputy Assistant Substitute Sergeant at Arms Rebecca Redding handily introduced guests. Frances Guill came as guest of Jim Rich. Steve Cofer came as guest of Mike Freeland. Visiting Rotarians included Larry Warlick, President of the Archdale-Trinity Club, guest of Mary Joan Pugh, Veva Baeker of the Summit Rotary Club, guest of Gene Johnson, and visiting Randolph Rotarians Bob McCrae and Bob Wilhoit.

Mini Singh introduced our student guests, two seniors from Asheboro High School. Kim Trinh is active in cross-country, the spring musical (The Music Man), and history club. She enjoys reading, writing poetry, traveling, running, drawing and fashion sketches. She plans to attend UNC-Chapel Hill to major in Business Administration and then to get an MBA with the aim of becoming an entrepreneur, starting a business, possibly in the fashion industry.

Katrina Zmithrovich has a major interest in Tae Kwan Do, in which she is an instructor and team coach. She has been accepted at NCSU with the intention of studying biomedical engineering.

President Mary Joan congratulated the folks who were celebrated at last night’s Chamber of Commerce banquet. Candie Rudzinski won the Athena Award; David Renfro, out-going president welcomed incoming president Diane Frost, and Duffy Johnson was named Volunteer of the Year.

Mary Joan reminded us to register for the February 23^rd Rotary Birthday Celebration in Greensboro. $15 per person—no regular meeting that week. She announced that the offer of a subsidized registration fee for the Centennial District Conference had been snatched up by 12 Asheboro Rotarians and it looks like perhaps 30 may be going to Charleston. Contact Carol Matney for information about the Conference.

Happy Birthday to Lee Malpass.

Jerry Hill provided information about the shadow project coming up in March. NAMS date is March 2. SAMS date is March 9. He also encouraged us to sign up for the Lunch Buddy program. This is a program of sharing time with at-risk middle school students. Two lunches a month, one of which can be a Rotary meeting with the Club picking up the student’s tab.Call Jerry to enroll.

We have received notice that AVS plans to go up on the cost of meals. Gale Thomas, Chairman of the Food Committee is exploring options and will report soon.

Kathy Homiller introduced the program, which is the responsibility of the Youth Leadership Camp-Student Guest Committee, Candie Rudzinski, Chair. Kathy was pleased to present to us Asheboro High School Musicians who go over and above their school music courses.

A woodwind quintet consisting of Sarah Buck, flute, Alex Hall, clarinet, Jesse Anderson, oboe, Eric Araj, French horn, and Chris Akins, bassoon. This is not a school activity. The group practices twice a week on their own.

The only senior is Sarah Buck. Alex is a sophomore. Jesse, Eric and Chris are juniors. Sarah attended Rotary Youth Leadership Camp, as did Chris Akins. Jesse, Eric, and Chris have been selected for the Central District All-District Band.

The Central District runs from Randolph County to Wake County, north. On Saturday, January 29 at 7 p.m. the All-District Band will give a concert at the Asheboro High School Performing Arts Center. Seven Asheboro students and three Randolph County students will be participating.

The quintet performed Suite in three movements by Robert Washburn. The skill of the instrumentalists and their detailed ensemble work were immediately apparent.

Tom Liles, son of former Asheboro Rotarian Allen Liles played Nocturne in E minor by Chopin on the piano. Simply put, it was a beautiful performance.

We are so very proud of our talented student friends.

PDG Wilbert Hancock announced at the very end of the meeting the receipts for tsunami relief shelter boxes and for our annual Rotary International Foundation giving. $8700 for RI and $6485 for emergency relief. The relief total includes a gift from the Willing Hands class at Holly Springs Friends Meeting who read about our effort in the newspaper.

With that news the meeting was adjourned.

Written with willing hands by Philip Shore

January 14, 2005

 

Posted January 18, 2005

 

IN GEAR—January 14—Joy Menius really lit up the piano today. She blazed through a long series of popular songs for our mealtime entertainment. President Mary Joan Pugh led a round of applause for her as soon as the ring of the gong died down. David Roudabush gave an invocation in which he thanked God for friends, family and opportunity as well as for the privilege to belong to an organization like Rotary that makes such a difference in the world.

There were no guests or visiting Rotarians today. Kathy Homiller introduced our two student guests from Southwestern Randolph High School. First up was Dallas Jeffus. Dallas is active in Beta Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Student Government Association, Honors Ensemble, tennis, cross-country, and student theatre. He likes to play the guitar in his spare time. Dallas plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Laura Beth Thomas is vice president of the FBLA, Secretary of the FCA and a member of both the Beta Club and the Spanish Club. She hopes to attend either East Carolina University or Clemson University to study occupational therapy.

Susan Yow, guidance counselor at SWRHS, brought the students to the meeting. Thank you all for coming!

President Mary Joan noted with sadness that Marion Stedman Covington passed away yesterday in Greensboro. Mrs. Covington and the entire Stedman family have meant so much to us personally and to Asheboro.

The Youth Committee would like some help in finding a program for next week’s Rotary meeting—If you know of a good program or your committee would like to swap please notify Kathy Homiller.

PDG Wilbert Hancock is at the back table collecting for two causes: the annual Rotary Foundation donation and shelter boxes for Asian relief. Wilbert spoke from the back to say that he has collected $8600 for RI and $5915 for shelter boxes. This garnered a round of applause.

It’s time to sign up for the Centennial Celebration that will be our meeting on February 23 at the Khoury Convention Center in Greensboro. The cost is $15 per person. No regular meeting that week. Dues will be collected at the following meeting.

Carol Matney, chair of the District Conference Committee wants to know if you are going. We want at least twelve people from our club to go. Asheboro Rotary will pay the $165 Registration fee for the first twelve to sign up. The Centennial District Conference takes place April 28-May 1 in North Charleston, SC.

Rotary Fact: The attendance requirement for Rotary is 60%. We have several members who aren’t meeting that level. Secretary Ed Clayton will be sending letters out to try to rectify the situation. All that is wanted is the presence of these folks. As President Mary Joan says, “If you’re not here, you can’t be active with us.”

Jerry Hill will give details about Lunch Buddies at the next meeting. We’d like to have at least ten Lunch Buddies who will share a meal with a middle school student twice a month. One of the meals can be a Rotary meeting and the club will pay for the guest’s meal.

Greentalk: About the tiger cubs abandoned in Cleveland and Gaston Counties. The laws concerning the keeping of exotic animals are a mixed bag of an inconclusive nature in North Carolina. The cubs are being held at the Zoo in quarantine prior to shipment to the Carnivore Center in Pittsboro.

President Mary Joan then turned the podium over to Jamie Stitt to introduce our speaker, Dr. E. Vance Davis. Dr Davis is to speak on Ethics in Business. Dr. Davis has a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Yale and a Ph.D. from Drew. He has been professor of religion and philosophy and chair of that department at High Point University. He has also been Dean of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Vance is highly regarded by his colleagues and peers. In 2003 he was recognized by HPU for his outstanding leadership, scholarship and instruction. In 2004 a scholarship was named for him.

Dr. Davis is a native North Carolinian. He lived in Asheboro for a year and work as Associate Minister at First Methodist Church prior to beginning his work with HPU. Most importantly for the Asheboro Club, Dr. Davis has a farm connection in his growing up years and he owns a tractor—a Massey-Ferguson.

Dr. Davis put us at ease immediately. He told us that when academics began handing out awards and recognition, perhaps it is the hint of time to retire. To our student guests he said, “We have other options for you.”

Dr. Davis distinguished between ethics and morality, two terms that are often used synonymously. Ethics is the process of reflection on how we make moral decisions. Morality deals with the decisions we make, moral, unmoral or amoral.

Dr. Davis opined that ethics in the business environment is not greatly different from ethical consideration in any other environment. It deals with the whole range of principals and values, the way we deal with life. This requires no special training or special information—“We are all ethicists.”

There are different methodologies to pursuing an ethical life—using up-front rules to decide matters or considering each situation separately. Dr. Davis intimated that using a simple rules system denies certain human elements. Ethical reflection requires the ability to connect values and principals to make sense the questions before us.

Dr. Davis noted that recent times have presented ethical decisions that we didn’t think we would ever have to make. The Enron situation for one thing. He also described a case involving video game advertising that sent out violent images as commonplace and ordinary—wrong messages to deliver to our young people, our children and our grandchildren.

Dr. Davis asked, “How can we insure the decisions we make are the right ones?” We need the fundamental parameters of right and wrong, but is reducing our choices to a code of law the answer? After all, he said, we can be entirely law-abiding citizens and still be sorry individuals.

We need to transcend the law. We need to do things that arise out of our better impulses.

Dr. Davis took a few questions from the membership after which President Mary Joan presented him with a gift pen and adjourned the meeting.

Written ethically by Philip Shore

January 7, 2005

Posted January 11, 2005

IN GEAR—January 7—

What a wonderful sensation to get back together again over a good meal after a long holiday season and converse with fellow Rotarians while Joy Menius fills the rest of the room with music.  After the Pledge of Allegiance, Jerry Hill gave the invocation.  He thanked God for all the ways He blesses us and asked grace on all those who are suffering and all those who would try to help them.

            Sergeant-at-Arms Carole Gilliam welcomed our guests.  She began by recognizing the return of Bob Croft.  Jeanine, our favorite visiting Rotarian from Bakersfield California, came to be with us again. Mike Macon was the guest of Dale Lambert.  Sonya Regulato was the guest of Owen George.  Sonya, from Vera Cruz, Mexico, practices family law.  From the Randolph Club Bob Wright, Bob McCrae and Tom Pugh dropped by.

            President Mary Joan Pugh called Past President Mike Freeland to the dais.  She presented him with his Past President’s badge            District Governor Don Allred spoke for a few moments about disaster relief efforts for tsunami victims and District 7690’s role in the effort.  He told us about shelter boxes that can be purchased for $900.  The large boxes are usable for many sorts of practical purposes and contain supplies emergency action supplies suitable for 10 people.  Don said that the District had $20,000 it could use for matching funds, and because of the generosity of our Rotarians, the maximum had already been exceeded.  He said PDG Wilbert Hancock would be collecting checks to buy more boxes.

            The Quarterly Board Meeting will take place on Friday, January 14, at 11 a.m. at AVS.  Also meeting at that day, time, and location is the Fundraising Committee chaired by Peggy Morrison.

            Happy Birthday to John Menius and John O.H. Toledano.

            Rotary Fact: Two important dates: February 23, 12 noon Koury Convention Center, Greensboro—Rotary Celebrates its hundredth birthday.  Cost: $15 per person.  And—The Centennial District Conference in North Charleston, SC, April 28-May 1—registration information will come to each Rotarian soon.

            Green Talk: Bio-Fuels!  Either 100% vegetable oil or a mix with 20% diesel fuel.

            President Mary Joan turned the podium over to Gale Thomas, Chairman of the Food Committee.  Gale introduced our speakers, Tara Soule and Sharon Powell.  Both women work at Nautilus Fitness Center.  Tara with her husband owns the facility.  She holds BS degrees in Sports Science and Nursing from UNC-Greensboro.  Sharon is a licensed bodywork and massage therapist.  She is state and nationally certified.

            Tara spoke about the concept of the BMI—Body Mass Index.  She had placed charts on the tables that determined BMI.  BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters.  It is an index developed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1959 to assess acceptable limits of body fat.  The chart used figures updated recently.  At-25 –29.9, in a person with a family history of heart disease, diabetes, etc., a doctor would recommend life style changes.  At 30 and above, even without a history of illness, changes are mandated.

            If your index is not what you would like it to be, Tara offered as steps in the right direction, strength training, aerobic training, and careful monitoring of nutrition.  Healthy weight loss, she said, was about 1-2 per week. 

            She asked for questions from the floor.  Did she recommend any of the diets currently popular?  She said that caloric intake was the secret.  The Diabetic Diet, which has heavy emphasis on a calorie plan, was best she said.  What accounts for our increased levels of obesity?  Too many conveniences, she said. Not enough physical activity.

            Sharon Powell then took over.  She spoke about therapeutic massage.  It’s not new, she said, but in the last 10 years it’s become the fastest growing natural therapy.  A massage therapist has to study anatomy and physics.  A licensed massage therapist has to attend a state-accredited school and pass national boards.  Massage can relieve stress, cramps, tendonitis and other ailments.  Benefits are a raised energy level and a reduction of the likelihood of injury and illness.

            President Mary Joan thanked the speakers for their informative program and gave them each a pen made from recycled materials.  The meeting was adjourned.

Barely written at all by Philip Shore