OUR SCHOLAR, JAMIE FELD, at WVRC on December 9th
Perhaps it is prudent to remind everyone that our meeting next week, on the 16th, will be at the Angeleno Hotel, NOT at UCLA. That’s the corner of Sunset and the 405 – formerly the Holiday Inn.
PP SEAN MCMILLAN provided the Invocation, a poem by Yeats. But before that, he helpfully gave figures showing that Americans drink 26 gallons of alcohol annually, thus somehow proving that we average 41 miles to the gallon… (I may have missed a point here, somehow). Anyway, the Poem is dedicated to our service personnel who are in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I know that I shall meet my fate, somewhere among the clouds above. Those that I fight I do not hate, those that I guard I do not love.
My country is Kiltartan Cross, my countrymen Kiltartan’s poor. No likely end could bring them loss or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight, nor public man, nor cheering crowds, a lonely impulse of delight drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind, the years to come seemed waste of breath, a waste of breath, the years behind in balance with this life, this death. (published 1919)
SALLY BRANT then led us in the Pledge, plus our reading of The Four Way test. The duo of RICK BROUS and LENNY FRIEDMAN took us through “ It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go “– and so it does.
There were several guests. PP ED GAULD brought Kathie, and their friend, Catherine Chambers. DWIGHT HEIKILLA had a Special Guest, Patrick Lo, who is with Northern Trust.
Long- time- ago former member Neil Campbell came up from the San Diego area – it was good to see him again. Ambassadorial Scholar Karen Lee was with us, and of course SUNNY was with LENNY. And despite a rigorous search, neither BRIAN WHITNEY or ATHENA JACKSON were able to identify anyone without a pin.
It was Birthday time, and the list was extensive, although attendance of some were not recorded. Leading off was ANN SAMSON, on the very 1st day of December, and she liked Tacoma. PP CHRIS BRADFORD was the next day, but in LA. This brought up MARGIE DOWNIE, who liked the 15th, in Santa Monica. PP HOMER NEWMAN preferred the 18th, in Brawley. PP JIM COLLINS stuck to the 20th, but chose Huntington Park. MARK ROGO brought us safely back to LA on the 22nd, while ELOISE SISKEL claimed Gosport, Indiana the next day. Closing out the month (and the year, for that matter) was RALPH BEASOM on the 29th. Did you know Ralph has an identical twin, who is also a physician? Those present were properly serenaded. And, just to prove that justice will indeed triumph, both TERRY de SOUSA and STEVE PETTISE were nicked five bucks each for not having the courtesy to be present when THEIR birthdays were announced!
PP CHRIS BRADFORD came forward with the Nominating Committee Report. The Committee is composed of the five most immediate Presidents, which meant that PP MIKE GINTZ was the Chair, plus President GORDON FELL, PP ED GAULD, PP SEAN MCMILLAN and PP CHRIS BRADFORD. Their task was somewhat complicated by the fact that two of the present officers did not wish to continue to serve, thus creating an open slot for President – Elect. This was solved by our having two active members who are both past presidents of their former Rotary Club and combined Rotary experience of nearly 60 years – MARCIA and RICK BROUS. The committee also has nominated the following as Club officers: DWIGHT HEIKKILA as Vice President, ALY SHOJI as Secretary, and PP DON NELSON as Treasurer. PP CHRIS asked for other nominations – there being none, the above named were elected for the 2011-2012 Rotary Year. President-Elect ED JACKSON becomes President, and ED now came forward to announce the Avenue of Service Chairs. Dr. COLBY SMITH will be New Generations, ABRAHAM CARONS will take over International, and both STEVE PETTISE as Vocational and JOHN HEIDT as Community Service will serve once again. Sounds to YOE like we are in good hands for 2011-12!
JOHN HEIDT reminded us that the project to prepare dinner for the homeless shelter at OPPC will take place this coming Thursday, the 16th. Those who wish to do the shopping will be ‘on duty’ from 2 until 3 pm, (immediately following next week’s meeting at the Angeleno) and those who plan to cook and serve will be on from 3 until 5 pm. Please check with JOHN on your plans
Scholarship Chairman CHRIS BRADFORD introduced our Speaker, Jamie Feld. Jamie was selected by District 5280 as an ambassadorial Scholar for the 2009-2010 year. She has recently returned from her year aboard in Argentina, hosted by the Rotary Club of Cordoba. Jamie is a Cum Laude honors graduate of UCLA, with a BA in Communication and Cultural Anthropology. During her undergraduate studies, she worked for 3 years at the U.S. Dept of Veteran’s Affairs in WLA improving HIV health services for veterans. Currently, she is furthering her health career in Phoenix, Arizona in a 2-year CDC Public Health Fellowship.
Jamie was assisted in her presentation by a Power-Point program – which worked most of the time. She began by thanking us for the opportunity to study aboard. We were shown the various aspects of being a Rotary Scholar, and she certainly carried them all out. Her host club was in Cordoba, which is the 2nd largest city in Argentina, with a population of about one million. While there, she made presentations to sixteen other Rotary clubs – in Spanish, of course. And we learned that Argentina is the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world.
She met and worked with several Rotaract Clubs in and around Cordoba. They were quite active, and each one had twenty or more members. They concentrated on Service Projects, and several were accomplished. One of their projects was teaching young kids the importance of brushing their teeth – this, without their having toothbrushes.
She had what should be a pretty simple riddle, or question, for us all. How many Argentineans does it take to open a bottle (of, I think, a carbonated drink)? For some reason no one had any suggested ideas – so I guess it remains a mystery. I must confess that she spoke quite rapidly, and my recorder didn’t separate her voice very well.
She was asked what she is doing now? She has a Fellowship in public health, which is a two-year program. One of her studies concerns the use and treatment of water, which of course is a problem worldwide. What were the most unexpected things you discovered in Argentina? I’m not sure of her answer, again. How safe is Argentina? It is very safe. Originally she was schedule to go to Columbia, but was able to change to Argentina, and it worked very well. She also visited Bolivia, and that is another place that is very safe. She then began distributing gifts which she brought, to those with the correct raffle ticket number. MARCIA BROUS was the first winner, and the numbers after that were jumbled, but it all worked out very well.
As she summarized her presentation, several members were singled out for their assistance in her scholarship activities. They included PP DON NELSON, ALY SHOJI, President GORDON FELL, PP ED GAULD, PP CHRIS BRADFORD and, somehow, YOE. While the honor was nice, the twenty five buck fine that accompanied it was accepted with good grace. Again, I apologize for my lack of unraveling Jamie’s rapid-fire delivery, and we thank her for her presentation.
And This Just In...
Link To Film Festival Videos
Please see this link to the videos (the top 3 are the winners). http://tucreatividadpuedeayudar.blogspot.com/
The third to the top is an example of a group of 10 gardens that a very poor barrio created with the help of a student of agronomia. The community residents take care of the plants, eat the plants, and at times use the plants to generate revenue.
The second from the top is "Iglesia Vieja" a community that does not have access to water. The first lady interviewed has 11 children. They rely on water coming once a month from a nearby river. The water is carried in from a horse and a bucket. A nearby more affluent junior high school created an exchange to expose kids to the realities. One child starts to cry mentioning "how generous those that had so little were to him."
The top video is the example of a community defining the need to bring water to where they lived. The well was dry, so they constructed pipes to bring water. A film student group in Cordoba, helped the community use a video camera to show what they created. There was no aid by government or outside donor to create this.
All of these projects are examples of the capacity and commitment of people to identify and solve their own local solutions. When Christopher asked what I was most impacted by, I realize I was most impacted by the industry and generosity of people with very little means and how so little could go such a long way when people work together.
http://tucreatividadpuedeayudar.blogspot.com/
I wish to convey just a portion of the passion and SOLIDARITY I experienced. I wish to convey a bit of the cultural richness I found in my stay.
Sincerely,
Jamie
