President
Jerry Courtney called the meeting to order at 12:15pm.
Roy
Baldridge gave the invocation and the pledge of allegiance.
Dick
Meredith led the singing of God Bless America with Dick Riggs providing
accompaniment.
Sergeant at
Arms Dave Collins introduced one guest and reported that 96 members attended
the last meeting.
Fred
Seelenbinder announced that the Rotary Foundation surpassed its 2010/2011 goal
of $20,500 by raising $20,935, thanks in part to $1,000 donations from Ram Pai
and Bob Riehl which put the campaign over goal.
Bob
McPheron was called to the stage to receive his past president’s badge and pin.
Harold
Bischoff introduced guest speakers MESA Chairman Jim Shrader
from the Findlay Rotary Club and MESA
Secretary Ron Stoner from the Bowling Green Rotary Club. MESA stands for Medical
Equipment and Supplies Abroad, a project of Rotary District 6600. MESA began in 1981 when
Rotarians from Ohio
met Rotarians from Pakistan
who needed help with the Afghan refugees streaming into their country. The Rotarians realized that much of the
medical equipment being discarded in the United States as obsolete can still
be used by third world countries. So
they began collecting and shipping millions of dollars worth of equipment and
supplies to countries all over the world, with a concentration on Central America.
Emergency supplies were also sent to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Though medical equipment such as x-ray
machines, beds, wheelchairs and ambulances are still the primary focus of MESA,
the project has expanded to include other items such as desks and computers for
schools, and clean drinking water. Just
last month, Roselawn Manor in Spencerville donated 30 hospital bed frames to MESA which will be shipped to Honduras.
For more
information on how you can help, visit www.rotarymesa.org.