Meeting Recap 03/25/2010
by lou on 02/04/10 at 6:25 pm
BULLETIN FOR MEETING OF 3/25/10
The 11:30 Club
There was an unusually large turnout for the 11:30 Club. It is always good to see many small groups of NF Rotarians socializing prior to the regular weekly meeting.
The Meeting
However, the attendance for the North Fresno Rotary meeting appeared to be a little on the light side. With this being the first week of spring, a beautiful day with mild temperature, some NF Rotarians might have found an excuse to be somewhere other than in Fresno.
Prez. Lou rang the bell and opened the meeting promptly, give or take a little bit, at 12:30. Dave McGlasson offered an appropriate invocation and Murr Barry did a good job of leading the group in the salute to our nations flag. Steve Bezzerides did a very good job of introducing the three visiting Rotarians and orchestrating the introduction of the two guests of Rotarians.
Someone reintroduced long-time NF Rotarian Clyde McCully, but I did not make a note of who did it and the memory is not a good as it once was.
Prez. Lou introduced the head table comprised of Tom Graves, Scott Lowe and Program Chair, Patti O’Neill. (Also at the head table was Karen West, the guest speaker, who was introduced later by Patti O’Neill.)
Prez. Lou asked if the Club had any recent travelers and Charlie Wadhams admitted that he recently visited the West Coast of Florida. While visiting Florida Charlie said that on one of the days they got to enjoy five inches of rain. He presented Prez. Lou with a “Cool One”, and insulated can-holder and a Florida post-card with a photo of a nude lady lying on the beach, a very, very, large nude lady laying on the beach.
Eric Mayu reminded the Club that the Boys & Girls Club would be holding two special events. On April 2nd would be Boys’ Night Out and on April 9th would be Girls’ Night Out. Attendee’s and Volunteers are needed for both. Contact Eric for additional details.
Paul Dyer announced that reservations are still being taken for the April 24th performance of Oklahoma at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater. Tickets are $55 and include the show, dinner and dessert. Sign-up sheets will be available on the tables at our meetings. For additional information contact Paul Dyer.
Prez. Lou, on behalf of his brother Nick, who wasn’t at the meeting, reminded the membership that the Wine tour originally scheduled for April 24th is rescheduled for the first week of June. Additional details will be forthcoming.
Dick Powell announced that he still has some tickets remaining for the annual Fresno Riverpark Rotary dinner and dance on April 10th at the Copper River Country Club. This is the primary Riverpark Rotary fund-raising event.
Jack Morrison of the Fresno Cultural Arts Rotary Club (Formerly Fresno Metro Club) thanked the NF Rotary Club for their generous donation of bath-towels for the Fresno Rescue Mission. Jack also announced that the Cultural Arts Rotary annual lobster dinner tickets were now available. Per Mr. Morrison, the quantity of lobster per person for this event is unlimited. This reporter missed the date of this fund-raising event and also the cost of the tickets.
Scott Lowe announced that the NFR annual Pancake Breakfast at the Fig Garden Village will be on Saturday July 10th. This will be the 25th year of this fund-raising event. The Club “kick off” for ticket sales will be on May 10th.
Raffle Ticket
The number of the lucky raffle ticket was 5077508. The lucky/unlucky winner was Paul Dyer. He was lucky because he bought the winning ticket. He was unlucky because he did not draw the ‘black ball” out of the red felt bag held by President Lou. As a consolation prize, Paul did receive a bottle of wine.
The Speaker
Patti O’Neill introduced Karen West, our guest speaker, whose topic was “Growing Up With A Special Needs Sibling”.
Karen is the middle of three siblings and is about 47 or 48 years old. Karen’s younger sister is 39 years old, named Loriann and has Down’s syndrome. Karen was eight and one-half years old when Loriann was born and wasn’t particularly happy to have a baby sibling. Karen is the “invisible middle child” in her family. Karen remembers when her father came home from the hospital and told her and other family members that the new baby was a “Mongoloid”. Karen didn’t know what the word meant. Loriann was immediately accepted by her family and the family friends. Loriann was not unlike other small babies and was very easy to love.
Loriann’s family, along with five other families with similar children, formed a support group to help the children. Together they hired a specialists.
Several years ago Karen purchased the house next door to the parent’s house. As Karen was moving into the new house, Loriann started to move her things into Karen’s house. Karen and Loriann have together lived in the house since. Some time ago, as Loriann got older, she told Karen that she wanted a baby. Karen got her a puppy instead, but it was Loriann’s responsibility to take care of the puppy. It didn’t take Loriann long to figure out that it took a lot of work to take care of the puppy. The desire for a baby has apparently not resurfaced.
Karen does not have any hesitation leaving Loriann at the house by herself. She knows how to use the microwave oven but does not attempt to use the range-top or the regular oven. She doesn’t answer the phone when it rings. She can open the front door but not the outside security screen door.
Loriann easily makes new friends. Most people easily accept Loriann. Loriann likes country-western music. A short time ago Karen took her to Nashville for a Tim McGraw concert. As they were returning to California at the Nashville airport many people that Karen hadn’t met came to say goodbye to Loriann.
Per Karen, there is a very wide range of abilities with Down’s syndrome-affected children. Currently they can live a relatively long life with adequate health and medical care. Most of these children qualify for SSI assistance. The Central Valley Regional Center also helps with funding. A large number of group homes are also available for these children. A variety of sports programs are available including Special Olympics, ARC Bowling, basketball and running. Special efforts are always made to teach these children to better socialize with others.
A good question and answer period followed Karen’s presentation.
-Cliff Speight-
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