The Rochester Rotary Club is excited to announce its list of dynamic weekly speakers that have been secured for the year so far. The roster includes high-profile members of the community who may help attendees improve their business skills, learn more about the community or just pique their interest about a new topic.
Weekly meetings are at noon on Tuesdays at River Crest Banquet Hall in Rochester Hills. Lunch is served buffet style and each week, a different speaker from the Rochester area is presented.
Speakers currently scheduled are as follows:
Feb. 21 — Janice Schroeder, clinical coordinator for the Center For Preventive Medicine, Executive and Travel Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Employee Health Services at Crittenton Hospital Medical Center
Schroeder will address adult immunizations.
Feb. 28 — Andy Meisner, Oakland County treasurer
Meisner will discuss new Oakland County financial programs, including the recently developed foreclosure program.
March 6 — Christine Hague, director of the Rochester Hills Public Library
Hague will discuss early literacy and demonstrate the bookmobile.
March 13 — Linda Pavonetti and James Cipielewski, professors in Oakland University’s Department of Reading and Language Arts
They will discuss the development of language skills and the importance of rhyming and cadence.
March 20 — Linda Eastman, chairwoman of Rochester Rotary Literacy
Eastman will present Rochester Rotary’s literacy projects in Detroit, Pontiac and Guatemala.
March 27 — Margaret Thorpe Williamson of Pro-Literacy Detroit
Williamson, a Detroit Rotarian, will round out our Literacy Month by discussing adult literacy efforts in Detroit and Wayne County.
April 3 — Brad Thompson, immigration attorney
Thompson will educate guests on the new application of the law to potential new citizens of the United States.
April 17 — Trent McEntire of McEntire Pilates
McEntire will discuss how he became interested in Pilates as well as the development of the “McEntire Method.”
April 24 — Mel Starr, author of “The Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon”
Dr. Starr, who resides in Michigan, has spent many years teaching history and has studied medieval surgery and medieval English. He will speak to us about writing in general and his books in particular. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
The Rochester Rotary is one of more than 32,000 Rotary clubs, which have 1.2 million members worldwide, and offers members a way to not only assist in improving the community, but also learn and have fun while fostering new relationships in the area.
The group of about 100 professionals strives to live out Rotary International’s motto of “service above self,” enriching the lives of world neighbors, city youth and people with disabilities every day. It works with local charities and is involved in several service projects, including serving meals to the homeless, maintaining Rotary Gateway Park in Rochester, hosting Christmas parties for needy children, job shadowing programs for high school students and sponsoring scholarships for college-bound students.
Internationally, the Rotary supports literacy and water programs, special medical missions, and the eradication of polio. For more information, contact the Rochester Rotary at www.rochesterrotaryclub.org, by searching for “Rochester Rotary” on Facebook or calling 248-327-4555.<http://www.rochesterrotaryclub.org>
The Rochester Rotary is proud to announce that it joined with Rotary clubs worldwide to meet a major goal of raising $200 million in new funding toward the eradication of polio.
The milestone — completed more than six months ahead of the Rotary’s goal date — was announced at the Rotary’s annual International Assembly in San Diego, on Jan. 18. The accomplishment was achieved in response to a $355 million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. All funds have been earmarked to support polio immunization activities in countries where this vaccine-preventable disease continues to paralyze children.
“We’ll celebrate this milestone, but it doesn’t mean that we’ll stop raising money or spreading the word about polio eradication,” Rotary Foundation Trustee John F. Germ said. “We can’t stop until our entire world is certified as polio free.”
Jeff Raikes, chief executive officer of the Gates Foundation, also announced that, in recognition of the Rotary’s work, the foundation is committing an additional $50 million to extend the partnership.
“Rotary started the global fight against polio, and continues to set the tone for private fundraising, grassroots engagement and maintaining polio at the top of the agenda with key policy makers,” he said.
Since 1988, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99 percent, from about 350,000 infections annually to fewer than 650 cases reported for 2011. The wild poliovirus now remains endemic – meaning its transmission has never been stopped – in only four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. However, Jan. 13, marked a full calendar year without a case in India, paving the way for its removal from the endemic list. Other countries also remain at risk for polio cases imported from the endemic countries though. In Africa in 2011, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo had significant outbreaks. Also in 2011, a small cluster of polio cases in China, which had been polio-free for a decade, was attributable to a virus from Pakistan.
To date, Rotary club members worldwide have contributed more than $1 billion toward the eradication of polio, a cause Rotary took on in 1985. In 1988, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention joined Rotary as spearheading partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. In 2007, the Gates Foundation gave Rotary a $100 million challenge grant for polio eradication, increasing it to $355 million in 2009. Rotary agreed to raise $200 million in matching funds by June 30, 2012.
The Rochester Rotary is one of more than 32,000 Rotary clubs having 1.2 million members worldwide and offers members a way to not only assist in improving the community, but also learn and have fun while fostering new relationships in the area. The group of about 100 professionals strive to live out Rotary International’s motto of “service above self,” enriching the lives of world neighbors, city youth and people with disabilities every day. Weekly meetings are at noon on Tuesdays at River Crest Banquet Hall in Rochester Hills and feature a new speaker each week.
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