MEETING OF OCTOBER 25, 2001 By Mary Prochnow
Editor: Dick Blanding
Webmaster: Steve Gruber
A RICH AND LIVELY AUTUMN MEETING
President FIROOZ GHAFFARI opened the meeting, which included a tribute to Guatemala, with the National Anthem of Guatemala. ERIKA SHARRON, Consul General of Guatemala and a former Foothill College student shared interesting facts about her country and acknowledged the longtime work of Rotary there. Her country is the largest in Central America covering land from the Pacific to the Atlantic. It is two thirds mountains and contains many active volcanoes. It was home to the Mayan culture, as is evidenced by many temples and remnants of that extremely sophisticated culture. The Spanish arrived in the 1500's and the country became independent from Spain in 1821. Spanish is the primary language, although there are 21 other languages spoken. It is now democratic with an $18 billion GDP and one million annual tourists. It is closer to San Francisco than Washington D.C. is.ALEX NG gave the thought for the day and RICK GLAZE led the singing of "This Land is your Land".
GEORGE PERHAM announced THE FIRST ANNUAL FALL WINE TASTING FESTIVAL to be held November 18 at BYINGTON WINERY for $55.00 including transportation, box lunch, wine, tour, fellowship etc. Sign ups were circulating.Attempting to revive the art of haberdashery, ART SHOW CHAIR JERRY MOISON asked for a Beverage Chair and immediately had his request fulfilled by BUD OLIVER AND FRIENDS. He is also looking for someone to handle the permits for the show.
BOB FENWICK gave an entertaining and well-received five minute talk entitled "The Story of the Trippies", outlining his unique life as one of identical triplets. The Trippies dressed alike and slept in the same room until they were 21 years old. Between them they have started four companies, three of which have gone public.
Representing WORLD NEIGHBORS, DICK DUHRING introduced WARIKA WAITA from Nairobi, Kenya. WARIKA talked about how the group discovered that sweet potatoes would grow in Nairobi. The addition of a Potato Chipper through WORLD NEIGHBORS allowed the sweet potatoes to be converted to flour which could sustain the people of the area over the winter. This was a great example of the magic that a few dollars well-spent can bring!
FINEMASTER CINDY LUEDTKE was ruthless, even fining the Birthday table with great zeal.
TODAY'S SPEAKER; DR. REUBEN GRANICH Dr. GRANICH is a medical epidemiologist with the CDC, currently at the California State TB Control Branch in Berkeley. He is a 1993 graduate of Stanford Medical School and has finished his residency and completed Epidemic intelligence Service training at CDCP. In addition he has a Master of Public Health from UC Berkeley School of Public Health. His record of accomplishment for such a young man is impressive. Since 1983 he has been involved in international efforts to implement improved health care and education in developing countries. He has worked on various projects in Mexico, Cuba and Africa, focusing on his special interest of TB surveillance and control. He is a Board Member of the Sustainable Sciences Institute, a non-profit organization involved in supporting infectious disease training and research projects in developing countries.
More recently, he and a Stanford Medical school colleague, Dr. Jonathan Mermin, have written an exceptional book entitled "HIV, Health, and Your Community: A guide for Action." The need for the book became apparent during Dr. Granich's clerkship in Kigali, Rwanda. They recognize a need for a means of informing laypeople about the specifics of HIV-spread and approaches to treatment. The book, began in 1992 when both Drs. Granich and Mermin were still in medical school, is intended as a guide for designing and funding HIV-prevention programs in communities with few medical resources. It is a remarkably informative text that explains the HIV epidemic in clear and simple terms.
The book is currently being distributed to needy communities. The authors are realizing no profit- all profits go to AIDS charities.
Dr Granich presented statistics on African AIDS and demonstrated clearly the dramatic differences in the rate of the spread of the disease between those countries attempting to educate and prevent the disease (i.e. Uganda) and those countries which are in denial (i.e. South Africa). Once again we were reminded of the horrific ravages caused by this frightening disease, at the same time that we were being inspired by the dedication of a talented and generous young doctor. If anyone would like to see a copy of this well written book, please contact Dr. Lucy Rasmussen or this writer.
A footnote: President Firooz and I have been meeting and talking about ways that Rotary could work to effect PEACE. Imagine such a thing and let us know what you are thinking.
Enjoy this beautiful week!
President's Message Last week we had a full house and Frank's staff was setting up tables while some fellow Rotarians had already arrived. I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused some of you and thank you for your patience. We want to improve. To prevent this from recurring, we have asked Frank Schumann, our caterer, to set up extra tables in advance. These tables will have a RESERVED sign placed on them. Kindly remember to occupy the RESERVED tables only after the other tables have already been filled.
Your board of directors would appreciate hearing your suggestions. Please let us know.
-Firooz
Programs
November
November 8 - Red Badge Auction - silent auction begins at 11:30 a.m.
November 15 - Deputy Consul General Walter Leuchs of Germany, " The Forthcoming European Transition"
November 18 - Wine Tasting
November 22 - Thanksgiving
November 29 - To be announcedDecember
December 6 - Consul General Popov of Russia "Russia Today"
December 13 - Mary Hiland of the Mental Health Alliance "Combating the Stigma of Mental Ilness"
December 19 - Rotary Holiday Party at the Jesuit Retreat House
December 20 - Main Street Singers
December 27 - No Meeting
"Information in this newsletter is intended for the exclusive use of the members of the Rotary Club of Los Altos to facilitate the work of the club and to promote club fellowship. It is not to be used for any commercial or outside, unrelated, non-profit purposes. No publication of material in this newsletter should occur without the express permission of the club President or the Editor of the Rotator."
Copyright 2001 The Los Altos Rotary Club
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