February 5, 2007

· President Linda thanked Ron and Margaret for following up with potential new members, Bill & Ken for tracking dues receipts and Mark for all of his work with the Clean Water project. Linda also gave a big thank you to the club and all who supported her mission to Uganda. Linda will return on March 12.

· Semi Annual dues of $70 were due on January 1. President Linda announced that a substantial number of members still had not paid and we have to pay the District so “The wolf is still at the door”

· A show of hands was called for planned attendance at the February 13 Dinner Meeting at SCCC. There were 24 yes responses from among those attending so it appears that we will easily make the minimum of 30.

· The incoming Groups study Exchange team will be in our area from April 28 to May 4 and will make a presentation to our club on April 30. On May 4 they travel to the District Conference with Rotarians from our area. If you are planning to attend the district conference and could take a passenger plus baggage, please contact Garry Morrow

· President Linda announced that there is still time to sign up for the Gift of Life Dinner Dance at the Great Escape on February 10. Any one interested should contact Ron Serapilio for more details. This is a very worthy cause that saves and changes lives of very sick children and the cost is largely tax deductible.

· Mark Gasparovic and Sandy Kominoski are co-chairs of the Pancake Breakfast to be held on March 10. Mike Welshhans will again serve as DJ. Tickets are being printed and will be distributed for sale by the members shortly

Garry Morrow, District 7190 GSE Chair, gave a brief overview of the program and introduced Anne and Betsy who gave a photo illustrated report of their experience of a month long visit to District 4630 in Brazil. District 4630 is located in the south of Brazil in the State of Parana which borders on both Paraguay and Argentina. It is the home of the beautiful Iguassu falls and the world’s largest hydro electric project which is a joint venture between Brazil and Paraguay.

Both Anne (Sponsored by our Club) and Betsy reported their amazement at the warm hospitality shown by their Brazilian hosts and implored us to do the same when we receive another Brazilian team in April / May. They were met at the Airport of Maringa by a throng of Rotarians and paraded into town in a cavalcade of antique cars with a police escort. This set the stage for the outstanding level of hospitality that followed throughout the trip. They stayed in the homes of Rotarians for a week at a time as they traveled through the district and remarked that each parting was emotional as they had been so befriended.

While they were in Brazil it was announced that, with a combination of domestic petroleum resources and Ethanol production, Brazil had achieved complete energy independence! The team visited a huge sugar cane plantation complete with an ethanol distillery that is typical of the ethanol production in Brazil. All cars in Brazil are equipped to run on any blend between pure gasoline and pure ethanol. Ethanol is slightly les expensive than gasoline in Brazil and the two are often blended.

A common theme throughout the presentation was how much of the social support network in Brazil is provided by Rotary. Rotary funds day care centers, schools for the handicapped, addiction treatment centers, and an endless list of programs that help the less fortunate. Many of these activities are joint projects with non Brazilian Rotary Clubs that attract matching support from Rotary International. As a consequence Rotary is highly respected in Brazil (and in many other foreign countries) and that respect enabled the team to see many things not normally available to visitors. For instance they were taken down into the generator hall at the hydroelectric facility which would normally be off limits to visitors of any sort, let alone foreign nationals.

Based on their report we can be rightfully proud of our support of these young professionals.