The last day of June marked the end of one Rotary year and the beginning of another at the meeting of the Vista Hills Rotary Club, when the officers and directors of Rotary year 2009-2010 accepted their respective roles for a second year in a row. President Norman Brown took the oath administered by installing officer Jimmy Melvil, assistant district governor, to serve as club president for Rotary year 2010-2011. Jimmy also presented the Rotary Presidential Citation Award to the club, one of only three awarded to El Paso Rotary clubs for year 2009-2010. Norm gave out several "Service Above Self" awards to club members for their support of club projects during the past year. The first meeting of the new year will be July 14. There will not be a meeting on July 7.
The speaker at the meeting of June 16 was El Paso Chief of Police Greg Allen. Chief Allen leads the police department's focus on community relationships and on reducing crime to maintain El Paso's position as the 2nd safest large city in the United States. El Paso has been one of the top three safest cities for seven years in a row, in spite of the fact that the department operates with 500 less officers than the recommended number for the city of its size. Chief Allen received the Speakers' Award from club president, Norman Brown.
Chief of Police Greg Allen Accepted the Speaker's Award on June 16
The meeting of January 27, 2010 was "Lucky Wednesday" for Club president, Norman Brown. After being named Loser-of-the-Week numerous times, Norm finally proved that perseverance pays off when he picked the joker out of the deck to claim half of the $114 pot. Congratulations, Norm! A brand new game with a full deck of cards begins on February 3.
Norman Brown Picked the Joker and Pocketed the Jackpot Cash. Congrats, Norm!
At the meeting of June 16, new Vista Hills Rotarian, Julie Cordero, had her first chance to win the joker jackpot, valued this day at $122. Beginner's luck didn't show up at this meeting, as Julie pulled out the two of hearts and left as the "Loser-of-the-Week."
Julie Cordero, Loser-of-the-Week for June 16
Fellow Rotarian, Al Weisenberger, recently emailed an update on Rotary's 24 year fight against polio. In 1985, Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation undertook the task of eliminating the disease of polio from the world. To date Rotarians have contributed over $600,000,000.00 to this effort. A total of at least one billion dollars will come from Rotary before the job is completed. Two years ago, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $100,000,000.00 to PolioPlus, which was matched by Rotary. Now, the Gates Foundation has pledged an additional $255,000,000.00 with a match of $100,000,000.00 required from Rotarians.
So how's the fight going worldwide? In 1985 there were 350,000 cases of polio reported. Last year there were only 1,750 cases. The entire world, save 4 countries, has been certified polio-free by the World Health Organization. However, those 4 countries are among the most difficult: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. The only human disease EVER eradicated before was Small Pox, and that was accomplished in 1979. Now, each of us has a chance to be a part of this historic undertaking.
You now have the opportunity to use your cell phone to make a one-time US$5 donation toward PolioPlus by texting "polio" to 90999. Proceeds will go toward Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge .
A one-time charge of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill. Standard messaging rates and additional fees may apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Proceeds benefit The Rotary Foundation and are collected by the Mobile Giving Foundation. Service is available on most carriers. You can unsubscribe at any time by texting 'STOP' to 90999. For full terms, visit www.mgive.com/a .
For now, this service is available only in the United States for most carriers. To see the latest video updates on PolioPlus, click on the following link:
http://www.rotary.org/en/SERVICEANDFELLOWSHIP/POLIO/Pages/ridefault.aspx