Los Altos Rotary Club

Rotator for March 9th 2006

Question of the day:  Who is PE Sam Penser posing with?  I will give you a hint:  He is called the R.I.P.E. (See answer at the end of the newsletter.)

PRESIDENT’S CORNER
“We Care” is a Rotary program, but more than that, it’s a support effort for our fellow LARC members and their families. Each time you contact a friend who needs a cheerful word or a helping hand, you’ve fulfilled the original purpose of Rotary—good fellowship. Last Thursday, Dr. Adrouny’s program gave us a sobering message; if we share his recommendation for colon cancer screening, Los Altos could become a Colon Cancer Free Zone, and we’ll have healthier friends in Rotary. Thinking about the approaching Relay for Life, remember to bring back his Cancer Society postcards on Thursday for a gift drawing at LARC.

Our District Governor just forwarded me a proposal relating to the health of our planet; using this forum, our club can join others in requesting that the 2007 meeting of the RI Council on Legislation consider the message of Population and Development, a focus group to which many of us have contributed. Come for this discussion on Thursday, and to see how many members are still One Hundred Percenters in the March Lunch Bunch!  - President Marlene

SETH stood   in for the primary and backup song-givers, offering us our choice of favorites to sing.  Naturally, the chorus of cheers for Smile was loudest, and many of us enjoyed reflecting on all those years past when Sammy Kahn would lead us in that same cheery song, week after week after week.

Past President JACK HEIDMILLER is heading for Chile next week to visit his family there.  He's taking JOE LOCONTE'S castoff laptop to donate to schoolkids during his visit.

MEG SOLERA introduced the President of our LAHS Interact Club, Julie Walz, who told about the club's upcoming Multicultural Night event on March 31st at LAYC from 7 till 9 P.M.  Dinner is included for the $20 price, and all profits go to their effort to provide water pumps to remote African villages.  Call Julie at 650 941-2535 for tickets.  The Interact Club is also putting on “Pi Day”, in conjunction with the LAHS Math Dept., on March 14th.  They'll sell pie slices while students try to recite as many of the digits in Pi as they can.  Rotarians are encouraged to throw in a few dollars to help defray the cost of the pies.  Oops, probably shouldn't have used those two words in the same sentence.  Give the money to Meg.

Contact KATIE NUTTER regarding the Saturday April 8th trip to the new De Young Museum.  She needs your dollars by next week.

April 14th is the deadline for getting info into the Art Show program.

JEAN HOLLANDS reminds us of our annual Chef Chu Banquet on April 12th, featuring Larry Junior's life story. 

KENDRA says to put a hold on your calendar for the dates of June 24th and 25th.  It's a mystery! 

VAL CARPENTER says to get your responses in for your May 20th and 21st Art Show job; she wants to have 100% signups again this year.  JOHN HAMBLIN spoke of becoming a Sponsor of the Art Show, which helps boost our profits considerably.

SANDIE WHIPPLE spoke about each of us volunteering to help with the Challenge Learning Center course (light exercise ) coming up soon. 

GIGI CARTER reminded us that the Red Badge auction will be on March 23rd, so get your donations in next week. 

PRESIDENT MARLENE remarked about our 100% attendance so far this month, and reminded us about the District Assembly March 30th and April 1st, and the District Conference on April 28th for three days.  One of the featured speakers at the District Conference will be Tammy Duckworth, the Army Blackhawk pilot who was shot down in Iraq, lost both legs, and is currently running for Congress in Illinois. 

Marlene also said March is Scholarship Month: LARC community service scholarship applications are now available from high school counselors and due to LARC by Wed, March 15.  We offer grants up to $2,500. per winning student.

Keep in mind the March Lunch Bunch contest, with great prizes of two reserved eats for next season’s Celebrity Forum speaker series. If you’re still a Hundred Percenter at the end of March, you're in the running for the prize drawings April 6.  

Get your reservation on the clipboard for the Group Study Exchange (GSE) Reception on Easter Sunday, 3-5 P.M. at DICK BLANDING’S home.  The team of five Japanese (team leader is a wine sommelier; one woman works in waste management, and four men work in computer software and environmental issues.) They are not scheduled to visit our club for lunch, so this reception is your chance to meet and welcome them.

LARC shirts (men $34.86 and women $33.19, sizes s-xx) are now available.  Also vests for department heads, at $15-18; shirt order forms should be faxed directly to Business Marketing Solutions at fax 916-853-9587.  See JOHN SINES to sign up for the big lawsuit, protesting gender discrimination in the pricing.

Palo Alto Rotary is having a dinner dance for all Area 10 Rotarians, to enjoy ballroom dancing with live music, and introduce Rotary to your invited guests. The dance takes place on July 29^th. If you’re interested in attending, contact  cfitzgerald@stanfordmed.org , by March 30th. 

JEANNE MACVICAR introduced our speaker for today, Dr. Richard Adrouny, who spoke on the topic of Colon Cancer.  He and friends have begun a national campaign to create Colon Cancer-Free Zones all over the country.  He said that no less than ninety per cent of the 150,000 new cases per year, and 50,000 deaths, are preventable!  It's the fourth most common cancer in the U.S., and evidence shows its incidence decreasing as public awareness increases, so why not make a colon cancer-free zone here? 

Schedule your colonoscopy now, to nip those little polyps before they turn malignant, which can take ten to twenty years, so it's not too late.   Dr. Adrouny said a sigmoidoscopy, which only looks at the first third of the colon, is pretty much irrelevant.  He also said that after two "clear" colonoscopies, you can schedule the next one for ten years later.   The question was asked about the new technology of swallowing a pill with a camera in it.  While this might prove an interesting way to dispose of one's old camera, it only sees the upper part of the intestinal tract, so it's not quite there yet.  A better new idea involves checking a stool sample for certain DNA traits, though currently that's still not as good as a colonoscopy.  Despite the graphic nature of the talk, there were no Rotarians passed out on the floor at the conclusion of his illustrated presentation.  Another triumph for LARC! 

Answer to question about who PE Sam Pesner is posing with: R.I.P.E: Rotary International President Elect - 2006-2007, Bill Boyd