Rotations March 18, 2014
It was another cold, gray and rainy Tuesday - - but the atmosphere inside was pretty nice! Rotary ain’t a bad place to be when the winter just won’t end!
President Susan rang the bell pretty much on time and shortly thereafter Sigur Whitaker led us off in the Musical Department with #40, “I’m looking over a 4 Leaf Clover”, followed by #18, “The 4-Way Test”, and ending with verse 4 of #5, “America”. Lisa Sands provided the invocation.
Lisa Chandler then stepped to the mike and talked to us a little bit about our “Centennial Moments” and how they often tie in with the theme of the guest speaker. Our speaker was Barbara Hamm Lee, host of WHRO’s “Another View” and her message was all about diversity. When our club was founded in 1914, it was all men and, in fact, Rotary excluded women. It was not until 1987 that the first woman was approved for membership in our Club and it was none other than our own Nancy Chandler - - and what a way to start! Nancy then stood and relayed here experiences from those earliest days. For sure, she held her own and, in a very short time, had most of the men thinking, “We should have invited women into the Club a long time ago!” Nancy related how one particular song that the Club sang back then carried the lyrics, “mingle with good men”. Several of the guys were a little embarrassed at the exclusionary language and offered to change the words. In true Nancy Chandler form, she replied, “Oh no, don’t change the words on my account! I always enjoy mingling with good men!” As you would expect - - Nancy got the best laugh of the day. But her contributions to our Club are no laughing matter. She has been and continues to be a major contributor!
School of the week: Sherwood Forest Elementary
Bill Gough delivered the Visitation Report: He was able to speak with Tom Richards' wife and she reports that he is in rehab and seems to be getting his strength back. Bill Jonak is getting stronger and should be back with us in a week or two. Ken Weeks sounds great and is also in rehab about 3 times a week but not yet ready to rejoin us. We miss all these guys!
Bill Burnette tried to introduce our Visiting Rotarians but had some difficulty. Seems that although several folks signed the registry, nobody wanted to stand up and be recognized. John Padgett did introduce his guest, Adam Kahrl.
Chuck Spence then introduced our “Rotarian of the Week” who was none other than our Rocket Scientist and Mars Expeditionary Planner, Bob Ash! Bob is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and designated as an Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University. Dr. Ash holds a BSME from Kansas State University and an MS and PhD from Tulane. Bob came to ODU in 1967 after spending two years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in CA and one year at the NASA Langley Research Center. A native of Holton, KS, Bob currently resides in Norfolk’s Edgewater neighborhood with his wife, Mary Lewis, who also serves as his “Manager”. He and Mary Lewis have two grown daughters and three grandchildren. Bob has been in Rotary for 31 years and served as President of our Club from ‘93 to ’94. He co-founded the Cooperating Hampton Roads Organization for Minorities in Engineering (CHROME) in 1983. He is co-author of the successful Commonwealth proposal, which established the Virginia Space Grant Consortium in 1989 and currently serves on the Energy Task Force for the City of Norfolk. He enjoys bicycling and gardening and his passions are Aviation History and Mars exploration. He is also an admitted “Sports Junky”. He also wants to take his grandkids to Australia and be here to see humans walk on Mars.
Congratulations and Fines: Mike Goldsmith was fined for a recent mention in the newspaper as was this reporter. John Searing paid for completing the Shamrock Half- Marathon for the 9th year in a row. Ann Baldwin paid for all the wonderful things that come from being a Rotarian, including a good connection to provide great eye glasses. John Chittick paid for receiving an award in Marseille, France for his work on HIV biology and his local testing program. Jim O’Brien paid for celebrating his brother’s 60th Birthday in Nashville TN where they enjoyed a “Picking Party” (not pork - - but music). Lois Kercher paid $5.00 to solicit pictures from Club members for a photo presentation being put together by George Compo for the Gala. Shep Miller paid in honor of his years working with our speaker on the NRHA and also relayed a story about the birth of his second child which occurred the day after his celebration of St. Patrick’s Day at Towne Point where he was “over served.” It was a long ride to the hospital the next morning but he was at least on hand for the very joyous occasion. Lisa Chandler paid to relay a great story she was recently told by a recipient of a Rotary Scholarship and the profound effect that the experience had on the student’s life. Barbara Lifland paid $25.00 for a new car. Barbara Lipskis anted up in celebration of returning from a skiing trip with two good legs. John Lynn paid to recount Duke’s (his alma mater) loss to UVA. The Cavaliers won their first ACC Tournament Championship since 1976 beating the Duke Blue Devils 72-63 this past Sunday. And of course this then led to Chuck Spence and Barry Kesser standing up and singing their version of “The Good Ole Song.” Whatever they paid for the privilege to sing definitely wasn’t enough! In fact, Bill Burnette offered to pay a fine if the two warblers would stop singing.
Speaker: Dr. Steve Jones, retired Norfolk Public School Superintendent, was the Rotarian of the Day and introduced our speaker, Barbara Hamm Lee, host of WHRO’s “Another View”. The title of her message was, “The Melting Pot Myth: Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter”. Her program, “Another View” addresses topics that are of interest to everyone but discussed from the African American perspective. Her message: we are proud to be African Americans and we have something to say! And while our forefathers may have conceived of an America that would become “A Melting Pot”, Barbara’s reaction is - - How boring is that! We should embrace, respect and celebrate our differences and it is the diversity in our country that makes life here unique and interesting. Diversity in this country is generally centered on race, life style and socioeconomics. Barbara relayed a race-based story of when she worked for a TV station in Baltimore and was assigned to cover the story of a white woman who had been elected to the local civic league. When she called to schedule the interview, the woman asked who would be covering the story from the station and that she “hoped none of the people were black.” Barbara let her know that she was an African American and that she would be coming to do the interview. Awkward moment for a certain lady! Barbara also recounted when she was invited to dinner with Jewish friends to celebrate Passover. She commented that the most segregated time in our country today is 11:00 AM on Sunday mornings when we all attend religious services. She also gave a good example of socioeconomic diversity when she was invited to visit someone in a public housing unit. Coming from a strong middle class background, Barbara had never seen cinder blocked walls in an apartment. She sat her purse down in a chair on arriving and was then invited to another part of the apartment. She noticed a man sitting in a nearby room who looked a little disconcerting. She suddenly found herself in an uncomfortable situation. Should she reach for her purse and carry it with her or leave it in the chair? Barbara stated that diversity and inclusion expands our worldliness, enhances social development, prepares us for future career success, promotes creative thinking and enhances self awareness. She relayed that President Jimmy Carter once said that, “We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic: Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” And Barbara adds to that, “All coming together in a beautiful pattern that is life”. Great Program!!
Raffle: There was $19 in the Daily Pot and $386 in the Big Pot. Harry McCoy walked away with the “little" money but couldn't find the Queen!
Have a great week everybody!!